<p>We are finishing our prep for a 25th anniversary trip to Italy. We will need to rent a car for a week and we will have one large suitcase and 2 carryons. We will be driving on the “interstate” and in Tuscany. Any recommendations on make and model? DH says he doesn’t want to be “in a tin can”, although on reflection, our D’s Toyota Echo is OK, so I’m thinking anything that will hold the 3 suitcases and the 2 of us will be OK.
I should add that we will pick up the car at the Florence airport, drive south to our hotel in Tuscany, and leave the suitcases - we will be driving around the countryside, but coming back to one hotel in the evenings. Thanks!!!</p>
<p>Rental cars in Italy are almost always Italian cars. In France you get a lot of French cars. Shocking I know, but it’s true. Just ask for a mid-size and you should be fine. I’ve never had problems with the car quality. You don’t want a real big car, because the roads and especially city streets and parking spaces are all very small. Also, many rental cars are diesel.</p>
<p>One caution: unless you specify otherwise, rental cars in Europe will almost always be stick shifts. So if you drive only automatics you better make that a requirement. If you are going in summer time you better specifiy air conditioning too. It’s not standard on most European rentals.</p>
<p>We had a Fiat Punto in Italy last spring and it was almost too large on some of the back streets in the Dolomites and Padua. And it was TINY. The good news was that it used hardly any of that enormously expensive gas.</p>
<p>We rented our car through Avis here in the U.S. You can actually go online to their website and check out the different models available in Florence. It’s true that they are all manual, and that’s what we rented. We could have gotten an automatic, but it was only available in Mercedes, for twice the price. We did have some pretty scary moments driving through Alpine tunnels in a vehicle that was manual!!! Also had to refer to the manual, and found that it was in French !!!</p>
<p>I did some digging for a potential summer trip to Europe and I liked the suggestions here. From checking the websites, the savings were considerable. One other thing I read on a different site is that the surcharges at the airport can add up 30% to the bill, but that several companies are located just outside the airport and offer shuttles. It is always cheaper to rent in town. </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/rentcar.htm[/url]”>http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/rentcar.htm</a></p>
<p>Note that big-name companies (like Avis, Hertz, and Budget) generally charge more than consolidators such as Auto Europe and Europe by Car. Consolidators compare rates among various companies (including the big-name firms), find the best deal, and because they’re wholesalers pass the savings on to you. You pay the consolidator, and they issue you a voucher to pick up your car in Europe. </p>
<p>Consolidators<br>
Auto Europe
888/223-5555
<a href=“http://www.autoeurope.com%5B/url%5D”>www.autoeurope.com</a> </p>
<p>Europe by Car
800/223-1516
<a href=“http://www.europebycar.com%5B/url%5D”>www.europebycar.com</a> </p>
<p>Kemwel
800/678-0678
<a href=“http://www.kemwel.com%5B/url%5D”>www.kemwel.com</a></p>
<p>As far trusting the websites of the major companies … caveat emptor:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.usnews.com/usnews/culture/articles/040524/24travel.chart.htm[/url]”>http://www.usnews.com/usnews/culture/articles/040524/24travel.chart.htm</a></p>
<p>Ps No, it is NOT a link to the rankings. :)</p>
<p>25 years ago, we flew into Pisa and rented a car to drive to Florence and Siena and points in between. It was a very small Fiat. If I remember correctly, it was indeed a stick shift. We appreciated the small car because the streets are very narrow (often no sidewalk at all), traffic was often horrendous and parking was a nightmare. In fact, our car was towed in Forence though we had been assured it was safe to park it in front of the penzione (street cleaning). We spent a morning at the carabinieri filling out forms (available in six different languages).
Other than that, we had a fabulous time.</p>
<p>We had a good experience with Auto Europe in Spain and yes we picked up the car in downtown Barcelona and saved some bucks. Re the size of the car, not only are some local roadways narrow but if you encounter a parking garage the spaces are often unbelievably small and had to use them in Grenada, Sevilla, Segovia and a med-sized town in the Pyraneese.</p>
<p>For anyone going to Ireland chech out Dan Dooley for car rentals. Good deal particularly if you are going to be in both the Republic and Northern Ireland. And driving a standard shift in the UK is not difficult at all as clutch, brake and accelerator pedals are the same.</p>
<p>“And driving a standard shift in the UK is not difficult at all as clutch, brake and accelerator pedals are the same.”</p>
<p>This sounds very confusing. How does the car know what it’s supposed to do if you push on the pedal?</p>
<p>Would the Fiat PUnto hold 2 carry-ons and one larger suitcase? We know small will be better, but we do have to have enough room for the bags. We are staying just outside Florence for the first 4-5 days, at a hotel with a parking, but we won’t pick up the car until we head out for the countryside.
My H thought it would be easier to take the train out to the airport, and dirve the car back, because he could miss downtown FLorence - any thoughts - any advantage to picking it up downtown? He speaks Italian, so he is comfortable with this plan.</p>
<p>Some cars have awkwardly shaped trunks, but I’m sure most can hold 1 suitcase. If not, you can put the suitcase into the backseat, and the carry-ons into the trunk. We have always rented mid-size cars, and have been able to get 4 tiny suitcases in the trunk. I find 2 small easier to handle in Europe than 1 large…even up the winding stairs of hotels.</p>
<p>There’s no point to picking up the car at the airport if you are not going to be using it for 5 days. Unless the cost of renting for those 5 days is tremendously less than the cost of public transportaton + parking. When we visit a major city, we prefer to fly in, take a train to our hotel and use public transportation within the city. In London and Paris, we rented a car downtown when we were heading out to the countryside. You can ask for downtown pickup and airport drop-off.</p>
<p>We’ve had great success with AutoEurope. Good prices, good service – and we’ve been successful in arranging for an appropriate sized car in advance. I hate the places (including those in the U.S.) where you reserve a mid-size and they try to “upgrade” you to a minivan or convince you that a Chevy Geo is a mid-size. </p>
<p>I second Xiggi’s suggestion to look at Rick Steve’s website for general advice.</p>
<p>When my husband and I were in England several years ago we rented an automatic shift Fiat of some kind through Hertz; it was surprisingly comfortable and definitely large enough for both of us and our suitcases, but certainly not too large for narrow English country roads. I think it was considered midsized by local standards–it was at least the size of a Jetta, but smaller than a Honda Accord, and it seemed fine to us. We found Hertz fairly efficient and reliable. We were spending a couple of days in London before driving around the countryside so picked the car up at a Hertz location in London itself, the morning that we planned to start our driving. If you are going to be going staight from the Florence airport to your hotel in Tuscany then it does make sense to pick up the car at the airport, but if you are spending a couple of days in Florence itself first, I’d suggest seeing if there is in in-town car rental office that you can use so that you are not burdened with the car in the city.</p>
<p>Lizschup, </p>
<p>I believe that originaloog was referring to the location of the pedals, not implying that the accelerator, brake and clutch share a single pedal. The relative position of the three is the same as it is on cars in the US, even though the pedals and steering wheel are on the other side of the vehicle.</p>
<p>Cangel -</p>
<p>I don’t know specifically about a Fiat Punto, but most any car bigger than a Miata should be able to handle the luggage you describe, especially any sort of sedan.</p>
<p>Driving in and around the Florence city center is challenging, but I made it okay even driving by myself. Although I did have to park (at McDonalds) at one point and get out and walk on foot to first find my downtown hotel.</p>
<p>Warning about driving out to the Florence Airport to return the car: On the road out to the airport the big signs are clearly telling you which lanes to get in for the airport. Fine, or so you think. But at the last minute there is very tiny sign on the right side of the road telling you to turn right for the airport. And at that point, if you have been following their instructions, you are stuck in the wrong lane with hopeless traffic in the way. You will be forced go straight through the intersection and immediately onto a highway where you have to go about 10 miles before you can find a place to turn around and come back. I learned all this the hard way. So when driving out to the Florence airport, be lurking in or around the right lane so you won’t miss that tricky right turn.</p>
<p>Bassdad,
Thanks for the clarification - I feel pretty dense after reading it that way.
I just figured they condense everything else in Europe, they’ve figured out a way to put all pedals into one.</p>
<p>If it’s just two people, the Punto would hold plenty. We had two backpacks, a small suitcase, and a bunch of grocery bags and a cooler. And it wasn’t that crowded. I wouldn’t want to put four people and their luggage in, though, unless everyone traveled light. (I have only lately come to realize that most people carry way more luggage than we do. We have a 20" roller and two backpacks for the two of us. I’d rather do laundry than carry it.)</p>
<p>And just to make sure it’s clear, only in England would your rental car be likely to have the steering wheel on the wrong side.</p>
<p>Thanks especially to Coureur with the tip about the sign! We were not going to pick up the car until we were ready to leave Florence, so DH was hoping to miss the city center altogether by training out to the airport (we are staying somewhat outside the city). There are some other offices besides the airport and downtown, so we will get out the Florence map before we book. Rick Steves is a great idea too, I’m on my way.</p>
<p>I don’t know what you are interested in, but halfway between Florence and Pisa, and not far off the Autostrada, is Vinci. The town is very unspoiled, and, in the castle, there is an excellent museum of Leonardo DaVinci’s inventions. It makes a nice little sidetrip. Also, when you are in Pisa, there is a great little pizzeria/ristorante within easy walking distance. Just look at the tower, discern which way it would fall, and then walk down the street it points to and the ristorante is just down a bit on the left. Padova also has a great museum of art where we spent an entire rainy day. </p>
<p>Enjoy your trip! If you ever get a chance and decide to go down toward Naples, you have to do the Costiera Amalfitana, Capri and Ischia. We are prejudiced about Naples, though, since that is our old stomping ground. When are you going?</p>
<p>Momof1 - first of June. This is not a first trip, although we haven’t been to Vinci. I see USNA, you must have been stationed at Naples. After having had a taxi ride in Naples, I fear nothing! We loved Sorrento, and DH went to Capri on a school-type trip last summer.
I’m actually going to a meeting in Florence, and DH is taking a cooking course, and getting in some serious espresso cafe type time. Then we are going to spend a few days in Tuscany staying at one hotel and taking day trips - we want to go to Siena and do some wine tasting, I hope to go to San sepulcrano ?sp, possibly Cortona or San Gimignano - depends on how crowded things are - the more crowded, the smaller the towns we will go to, and some of these will fall off the list. I would love to go to Lucca or over to the Adriatic coast, but I’m afraid we will be too far south for good day trips to those places. Anything else off the beaten track that we shouldn’t miss?
Someone mentioned Rick Steves, we thought about spending a night or two in the Cinque Terre, but we decided we wanted to do the least amopunt of packing and unpacking we could, and still see some areas outside of Venice/Flor/Rome</p>