Car hire in Chianti

Hi

My husband and I are travelling from Riomaggiorre to Florence on 17/07/14 and heading to Rome in the afternoon. We were hoping to see sunflower fields and having lunch in chianti region. I noticed that travelling by bus might not be the best option. We thought we can hire a car but was told that driving through Florence will be a headache but in Chianti, it will be better. I had a look online and it is quite hard to locate a car rental place in Chianti. They all look like we need to get it from Florence. We also have limited time as we may be getting to Florence at 9:30-10.00 (depending how we go with the trains, please note its our first time in Italy, so we are both clueless). We have to be in Rome around 7pm.

Could someone please help us?

Thank you
 
Driving in Florence is actually a bit problematic and could turn into an odyssey, but hiring a car is the only way for enjoying the Chianti area, in particular if you've limited time. You should depend on trains scheduled times if you choose to go by train and that's not a good idea, especially if you need to be in Rome by 7pm!
I suppose you're going to arrive in Florence at Santa Maria Novella rail station. From there you could take a bus to Florence airport for picking up there your rental car, so you'll easily get out from traffic and take the motorway A1 towards Rome; then exit at Firenze Certosa and take highway Florence-Siena.
Then choose a location and exit for enjoying the Chianti area and a delicious lunch there!
For hiring your car have a look at this link.

Have a nice trip!
 
Actually, you don't have to rent a car from the airport in Florence. If you arrive in SMN, you'll find many agencies just a few blocks away.... take a look at the suggestions and map here: http://www.visitflorence.com/florence-car-rental/

The thing is this: if this is your first time to Italy, you're telling me you're not going to stop and see Florence AT ALL?!

My suggestion: don't worry about renting a car at all, arrive from Riomaggiore when you do (trip is around 3 hours so get as early a start as you can), spend as much time as you can in Florence and then just hop on the train and head down to Rome.

Really wishing you had found us earlier so we could have suggested a better itinerary for your trip in Italy, it seems you've just left about 6 hours to one of the most beautiful regions in Italy! A pity but don't worry, take notes for your next trip to Italy ;-)
 
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