Where to rent a car in florence?

Neilo

Member
We will be renting a car for a week in Tuscany for the first time! We are very excited to get to drive around beautiful Tuscany!! My question is ... where is the best location for rental car pick-up and drop off?

We will be coming in from Rome on a Friday via train and spending an afternoon and evening in Florence! Planned on picking up our rental car from the Florence airport and making the drive to our villa just 8-10 miles south of Florence in the afternoon / evening on Saturday.

Just need to know if the airport is the best location for rental car pick up and drop off or if there is another location that is easier due to long lines etc ...??

Thanks in advance,

Neil O
 
Check the link Donna gave above, it has info on the downtown locations for car rentals near the Santa Maria Novella train station. If you're already in the center, those are likely easier to get to that the airport..... but just like Donna suggested, if you will be needing to be at the airport at the end of your stay, then taking the bus or taxi to the airport for the pick-up makes more sense so that you will return it closer to where you need to be.
 
Thank you Ladies .. but ...

Thank you Lourdes and Donna Denise:)

We will be heading back to Rome at the end of our stay so it sounds like we should rent our car from somewhere near the SMN Train Station for easier access etc ... However, I am a bit concerned as I have read that it can be difficult , as a first time driver in Florence, to navigate from the inner city and I do not want to incur fines for entering no drive zones when departing to our Tuscan Villa.

Is that a legitimate concern or is it relatively easy to exit the city from the rental car places near the SMN station?
 
While it's true that you should not enter the ZTL area in general (restricted access to only those with permits), all the car rental agencies have the obligation to submit the license plate of all cars that enter the ZTL area to reach THEM when you return cars.

It is easier to exit, just ask for specific directions (as many are one way streets anyway) to get out of the ZTL as well as how to get back to them. You shouldn't have problems with the ZTL as you leave, as the car was already there with them... but do make sure when you return it that you remind them to submit the license plate# (they have a special software to do it) before you leave. They theoretically have 3 hours to do it from the time you entered the ZTL but if they don't do it right away, they might forget as they move on to other tasks.

In general, you're right - unless you have a specific reason to do so, like car rental return, it is best to avoid the inner city and the ZTL ;-)
 
Top