Driving in Italy - Rome to Venice (for cruise) with stops in Florence, Pisa, & Milan

We have been doing one-way rentals (within Italy) for more then 25 years. Contrary to common belief, trains are a very limiting way to see Italy (or any country) as they simply connect "Point A to Point B." Just trying to get to a place like San Gimignano, by train, involves waiting for a train and later transferring to a bus (or getting a taxi). The reality is that trains do not go to most places outside cities....and many of the best places in Italy are located outside major cities.

As others have said, one should research the ZTLs....if planning to drive in many popular cities. One should also be cognizant of the increased use of speed cameras on the major Autostrade...and observe the speed limits (or pay the price). It is also wise to familiarize yourself with the various parking rules..unless you want to get parking tickets (they can be expensive. That being said, we generally do not pay parking tickets :).

Regarding one-way rentals, it is usually easy to arrange this without paying any extra one-way drop fees. Our "go to" rental outfits are Autoeurope and Kemwel (they are sister companies located in New England) which are Consolidators (discounters) representing companies such as Hertz and Europcar. These companies will only handle rentals of 3 days plus, but often can give you better prices then you get from booking directly with the majors. Make sure to always check on various deductible options. If you do not want to rent (or buy) a GPS system, you might consider having T-Mobile as your cell carrier since they include data (for nearly all of Europe) in their regular cell plans. One can do quite fine with services like Gogglemaps....without paying any extra fees.

Hank

Don't know about europecar. But when we use autoeurope we are careful to use the site for Canadians. Interesting enough the prices are usually the same. Not certain why they have multiple sites. I did ask, and they told me it has something to do with insurance.

We have had very good experience with autoeurope's customer service post rental. A few times we got charged for a fuel fill when the tank was only half full when we picked it up. This may sound minor, but in the UK the charge, with admin, for a half tank was 53 GBP. I wrote autoeuorpe. They wrote back immediately and said they would look into it. Two days later another memo saying that I was correct and that the charge to may account by the rental agency would be reversed within 5 business days. It was.

Your payback on learning to drive a standard will be very good. I actually much prefer a standard in many areas of Europe.

Very much agree with the OP about the trains. We use them, but in conjuction with rentals. Last time we flew to FCO, trained to Cinque Terre for a few days, then trained to Florence for another few days, and then picked up the rental. Have done the same but gone to Lucca instead. So many great options to consider. One big difference from cruise line day excursions is you get to see various towns and cities at night. Places like Florence are very different at night and it is wonderful to sip wine and watch the sunset. Same in places like Dubrovnik. A complete tourist zoo during the day, magical after 5 or 6 when the cruisers depart the city gates.

Save your money on lessons and standard car rentals in the US and use the money for an automatic car in Italy. It is not worth it for just a few days. It is better to be comfortable driving than worrying about stalling the car while navigating in traffic.

I still have plenty of time to figure out what to do - but you make a good point, with so many other things that go into the vacation, this is one thing where the extra few bucks may be worth it so I do not have to deal with any potential issues.

Thanks - very helpful.

 

Pompeii is on everyone's visit list but Herculaneum is a much better preserved city and is on the same 'patch'! We went on a coach trip from our first cruise in 2014 so it was also our first excursion - what a beginning from the Guide: 'You can easily spend a week visiting Herculaneum - you really need at least 7-8 hours to at least see everything. We need to be back on the bus in 3.5 hours ...' :D Herculaneum is magnificent - some of the villas have the upper storey preserved and plaster friezes etc are visible - very impressive! To meet the timetable, the Guide did do a decent impression of a speeded-up video, but we did see all of the buildings!

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I have read some discussions comparing Herculaneum vs. Pompeii on the TA boards - and both look interesting. I have to do a lot more research before I decide (for this, my DW will go with whichever I decide). I recently saw a very good documentary on Pompeii which focused on the different methods they are using to scan, map out, and reconstruct the city virtually - and they are trying to do it as quickly as possible since a number of factors (e.g, erosion, weather, tourists) have been contributing to its current and future demise. As an FYI - this includes another eruption of Vesuvius, which is still an active volcano.

Our suggestion is not to try to see everything at one go. We must have been to Italy five or six times, for various durations, and we have yet to see and experience everything. Take your time in each area, savour the experience...it will only make you want more. Last visit we spent just under three weeks in SIcily, including LIpari. We only went through Rome in order to catch a last minute Med booking to Barcelona. Went by train from FCO to Civ. Spent all our time in Sicily....a little train but primarily rental car.

We have been doing one-way rentals (within Italy) for more then 25 years. Contrary to common belief, trains are a very limiting way to see Italy (or any country) as they simply connect "Point A to Point B." Just trying to get to a place like San Gimignano, by train, involves waiting for a train and later transferring to a bus (or getting a taxi). The reality is that trains do not go to most places outside cities....and many of the best places in Italy are located outside major cities.

 

As others have said, one should research the ZTLs....if planning to drive in many popular cities. One should also be cognizant of the increased use of speed cameras on the major Autostrade...and observe the speed limits (or pay the price). It is also wise to familiarize yourself with the various parking rules..unless you want to get parking tickets (they can be expensive. That being said, we generally do not pay parking tickets :).

 

Regarding one-way rentals, it is usually easy to arrange this without paying any extra one-way drop fees. Our "go to" rental outfits are Autoeurope and Kemwel (they are sister companies located in New England) which are Consolidators (discounters) representing companies such as Hertz and Europcar. These companies will only handle rentals of 3 days plus, but often can give you better prices then you get from booking directly with the majors. Make sure to always check on various deductible options. If you do not want to rent (or buy) a GPS system, you might consider having T-Mobile as your cell carrier since they include data (for nearly all of Europe) in their regular cell plans. One can do quite fine with services like Gogglemaps....without paying any extra fees.

 

Hank

Thank you for the info.

As mentioned above, I do have a heavy foot in the states, but tend to stay within speed limits when travelling in foreign countries, and in the Southeastern USA (I've learned my lesson - and that's a story for another day).

Autoeurope and Kemwel, thaks - I will definitely check them out.

I do have a portable GPS system, which I have uploaded with info from other states, so I can probably also do an update for other countries as well. We rented one for the car in Iceland, and it was horrible.

I will make sure I have done my research into the ZTLs of each town we would like to visit - and try to park at the outskirts of town.

Although I will be researching and providing the information for options that do not include driving, as mentioned, my wife is already leaning towards an all-driving or driving with cruise. Out of those two, I think we are both biased towards the option that includes the cruise - which is why I have begun my research on CC. It is the driving in Italy part of the vacation that I have the most questions/concerns about. Although I will have some questions about the cruise, I am pretty comfortable with that aspect of the vacation (unless I once again try out a different cruise line).

Thanks again!

Don't know about europecar. But when we use autoeurope we are careful to use the site for Canadians. Interesting enough the prices are usually the same. Not certain why they have multiple sites. I did ask, and they told me it has something to do with insurance.

 

We have had very good experience with autoeurope's customer service post rental. A few times we got charged for a fuel fill when the tank was only half full when we picked it up. This may sound minor, but in the UK the charge, with admin, for a half tank was 53 GBP. I wrote autoeuorpe. They wrote back immediately and said they would look into it. Two days later another memo saying that I was correct and that the charge to may account by the rental agency would be reversed within 5 business days. It was.

 

Your payback on learning to drive a standard will be very good. I actually much prefer a standard in many areas of Europe.

 

Very much agree with the OP about the trains. We use them, but in conjuction with rentals. Last time we flew to FCO, trained to Cinque Terre for a few days, then trained to Florence for another few days, and then picked up the rental. Have done the same but gone to Lucca instead. So many great options to consider. One big difference from cruise line day excursions is you get to see various towns and cities at night. Places like Florence are very different at night and it is wonderful to sip wine and watch the sunset. Same in places like Dubrovnik. A complete tourist zoo during the day, magical after 5 or 6 when the cruisers depart the city gates.

I think that a lot of our transportation needs will depend on how long we stay in Italy. If we do not cruise, we will have two full weeks and more days to explore each city (and will not need a car each day), but if we are making one day/night stop-overs, it would probably be beneficial to have a car.

I like how you phrased the following: "Same in places like Dubrovnik. A complete tourist zoo during the day, magical after 5 or 6 when the cruisers depart the city gates"

Rome, Florence, Milan, and Venice are highly potential over-night stops - and looking to enjoy them day and night.

Absolutely agree. And worth several days. We have walked and walked throughout Rome, Venice, and Florence. Every time we see something we missed. Only been in Milan once for two nights....and it was raining! We want to do more in the north towward Switz. We were there in the early 1980 travelling in a home made VW camper van that we purchased in London! Time to return.

There are some very interesting parts of Venice, away from the standard tourist areas, where the locals reside that we found very interesting. So glad we walked, got lost, and kept walking!

Save your money on lessons and standard car rentals in the US and use the money for an automatic car in Italy. It is not worth it for just a few days. It is better to be comfortable driving than worrying about stalling the car while navigating in traffic.

I can only strongly second this advice. My friend volunteered to rent a car and drive during a few days of our stay in Pozzuoli a couple years ago. She had driven manual years ago (but only had a little recent practice before we left). Let me tell you it was a disaster driving through Pozzuoli and other small villages and roads around it. Italy is very hilly -- she was constantly stalling out; and Italian drivers are VERY VERY aggressive and impatient. They will honk at you mercilessly, pass you precipitously, and feel free to hurl insults at you. Navigating was equally challenging == God forbid you should have to slow down a smidge to read a road sign, and good luck negotiating a busy roundabout where you have to figure out how to "gun it" to enter the circle and then navigate across three lanes before exiting a quarter turn later...!

drivers are VERY VERY aggressive and impatient. They will honk at you mercilessly, pass you precipitously, and feel free to hurl insults at you. Navigating was equally challenging == God forbid you should have to slow down a smidge to read a road sign, and good luck negotiating a busy roundabout where you have to figure out how to "gun it" to enter the circle and then navigate across three lanes before exiting a quarter turn later...!

No different than driving in New York (where I have spent most of my life).

But seriously, it may be better for me to stick with what I am used to (no pun intended).

Thanks!

Absolutely agree. And worth several days. We have walked and walked throughout Rome, Venice, and Florence. Every time we see something we missed. Only been in Milan once for two nights....and it was raining! We want to do more in the north towward Switz. We were there in the early 1980 travelling in a home made VW camper van that we purchased in London! Time to return

Regarding Switzerland with a car rented in Italy -- We have a system for our highways here called the "vignette". This replaces all tolls. You are fined heavily (and our police are very efficient!) if you drive on a "limited access highway" without one. You buy the vignette at the border crossing, or if this is not staffed, at any petrol (gas) station in Switzerland. Cost is 40frs which is about $45. It is valid for 14 months and there are no short term ones to get. However I find that in one day of driving in Italy I pay more than that in tolls. so I suppose you have a bargain. If you take the train to Switzerland and rent here all rental cars have the vignette on them.

The other thing to consider is the time of year. Our high passes close in late October, re-open in June as a rule.

In your place what I would do in Italy is to take the Frecchie trains between cities - they are VERY fast. Rome to Milan is under 3 hours for example. And then rent if I want to be in the countryside. For example in the Veneto or in Tuscany. And do watch those limited zones - I got lost in Lucca a couple of years ago and it cost me €100.

Regarding Switzerland with a car rented in Italy -- We have a system for our highways here called the "vignette". This replaces all tolls. You are fined heavily (and our police are very efficient!) if you drive on a "limited access highway" without one. You buy the vignette at the border crossing, or if this is not staffed, at any petrol (gas) station in Switzerland. Cost is 40frs which is about $45. It is valid for 14 months and there are no short term ones to get. However I find that in one day of driving in Italy I pay more than that in tolls. so I suppose you have a bargain. If you take the train to Switzerland and rent here all rental cars have the vignette on them.

 

The other thing to consider is the time of year. Our high passes close in late October, re-open in June as a rule.

 

In your place what I would do in Italy is to take the Frecchie trains between cities - they are VERY fast. Rome to Milan is under 3 hours for example. And then rent if I want to be in the countryside. For example in the Veneto or in Tuscany. And do watch those limited zones - I got lost in Lucca a couple of years ago and it cost me €100.

Thanks for the info and suggestions.

I figured that since we were so close to Lugano, it would pay to do a quick visit. Although one day a longer visit to Switzerland is in the cards.

I wonder if the vignette is like our EZ-Pass system?

Glad to see a Swiss...mention the dreaded Vignette. Personally, we see the Swiss Vignette as a complete "rip off" for tourists. It would be easy for the Swiss government to offer an alternative short-term Vignette....but they have made a choice to have tourists pay for, what is essentially an annual road tax, even if driving in the country for a few hours. As one who frequently vacations in Europe with a rental car, we now find ourselves avoiding Switzerland as our way of making a very mild protest :). Besides, driving on the French side of the border in the French Alps is not a bad thing.

Hank

No different than driving in New York (where I have spent most of my life).

 

But seriously, it may be better for me to stick with what I am used to (no pun intended).

 

Thanks!

From someone who spent four years in New York, it was much more stressful in Italy. :eek: YMMV.