No I am not going to rent an exotic, just some cheapy car for a week or so. Rates are outrageous in Italy for the most part anyway.

I looked at what we are doing when my wife and I travel there and it is cheaper to do the train from Rome to Florence and then rent a car for the rest of our loop than to keep taking the train. We will save about $300 US by renting a car over the train as well as have a little more freedom.

I will be renting the car In fFlorence to drive out in the country and go to Como and the Cinque Terre and back to Florence. I am wondering how difficult it will be to navigate for a tourist who does not speak Italian. I will have a map I am sure and my wife has an Iphone so not sure if we can use some GPS app as well.

My other concern is that if we get to the Cinque Terra and are then hiking between towns for a couple days if I will find a place to leave the car and if Italy has car theft as a major problem.

Any other general tips about driving around over there are helpful. Thanks.

I think the car we were quoted is a Punto, I'd love a 500 if I could find one.

 

Not sure about Italy but when I went to Oktoberfest last sept we rented a car in Munich and just paid a little extra for the navigation, which is basically just a Garmin Nuvi with a dash mount. I cant imagine what we would have done without the thing. Id suggest checking to see if thats an option.

Also, regarding the iPhone...intl data rates are insane so I wouldnt factor that in as an option.

 

The roads are easy to navigate, get a gps or just a map would be fine if you second guess yourself. People drive crazy over there anyway. If you end up going through the mountains there arent any cops, but it is not uncommon to see a vw van doing 90 on two wheels.

Gas will kill ya, make sure you have enough gas at all times, gas stations can be very scarce in the countryside. I literally went to one that was 2 pumps attached to some guys house in the middle of nowhere.

If you can rent one, a scooter is the way to go.... The views are beautiful, and in the mountains fresh water flows through drinking fountains with the coldest best tasting water in the world imo. Can't forget the fruit trees on the side of the road either.

Enjoy your trip, I suggest you dont go to crazy with activities, its a great place to just relax.

 

I rent cars in DE and IT for work. I prefer driving over trains most of the time and it will give you a little bit of perspective on American driving habits. In Italy, I would recommend not trying to match the craziness of the local drivers even though it is tempting to join in the fun.

I you are a newb driving in Europe, get GPS with the rental. Don't even think about trying to get around without it.

If you have to park your car for several days somewhere that can be risky. Probably less for theft than for unposted parking rules which can result in tickets or towing.

Also, don't take it for granted that hotels will have parking lots, even if they are in small villages.

 

my parents were able to make it around italy in a rental without much trouble

 

Italy is expensive to rent cars due to the insane accident rate and theft rate. Please remember that credit card insurance or ANY kind of insurance you may have when renting a car from an American company IS NOT VALID in Italy. That means that Amex insurance will NOT COVER YOU in Italy. You MUST buy insurance from the rental car agency.

 

I just got back from a week in Tuscany - rented a car in Florence at the airport as well.

Florence has an airport about the size of a postage stamp. Rental agencies are Hertz (where I got my POS), Avis (where my brother got his Alfa - also a POS), and Eurocar and a couple of others. Eurocar had Fiats, so you might want to look there.

I was supposed to get a Fiesta, and ended up with a Nissan Micra - whopping 60 horsepower that made pulling out in traffic a religious experience. Having said that, it answered the mail. I also got a Hertz "Neverlost" GPS (Garmin) that had all the speed camera locations plugged in - well, almost all, as the cops move them around a bit.

The Neverlost was one of two things that I'm glad I picked up. Do this to your GPS, though - go to the defaults and 1) set the search parameters to "fastest" route (not shortest, otherwise the GPS will take you on roads that haven't seen pavement since Mussolini was running things, and 2) have the agent fire the unit up and switch the language default to English - that'll save you five minutes in the parking lot, easy.

Driving over there is easy once you understand that traffic laws are considered "advice." Once you accept that, everything else falls into place.

Cost of the rental car and GPS for a week turned out to be a little over $500. When you return your car, have enough cash to fill up your tank on you - every gas station around the airport is cash only. I found a Agip station on A11 (about 10 minutes away from the airport) that took plastic.

The second thing was a prepaid sim card for a GSM phone. Take a unlocked GSM phone with you, and when you get to your first Italian stop, buy a TIM prepaid sim card. Total cost of 20 euros, and it was enough to call back to the US once a day to check on the kids, and call Hertz when the Nissan up and died in Siena one afternoon. Save your iPhone and go cheap.

My brother and his girlfriend went to Cinque Terre for a day. I can ask him about parking and other stuff if you'd like.

 

Thanks for all the pointers folks.

I did find in a tour book that there is a large pay lot near the soutern most town in the Cinque Terre so that should be good. Most of the hotels around Lake Como have parking, so I think I am good to go in that respect.

The comments about crazy drivers is a little intimidating but I drove around for a week in Jamaica and those people are nuts and it was right hand drive there so I think I can adapt. My wife scares easy so she will probably have a meltdown in traffic.