Car rentals in Europe (Italy)

[NJHalo]

Anyone ever done it? What site works best for this? 

Working on a trip to Italy

tia

[Adam]

stugots.net

[mrwicked]

done it.

was in florence for a while, we decided we wanted to move on to chianti in tuscany. so hopped online and booked a place in rada in chianti. so as we're checking out of the hotel (one of the oldest hotels in the world, was amaze), we asked where the car rental place was. walked down there with our stuff, stopped half way (about 3 blocks) to drink some wine, got to the place. no cars left. crap. found another place nearby, got a car (fiat 500 stick shift ftw!), drove to rada. easy.

this was back in september, just got a ticket in the mail today! guess i broke a rule somewhere in Rada in Chianti or Siena. who knows. tuscany is so amazing. after a few days there we made our way to rome via train (booked the hotel for rome as the train was pulling into the main rome station).

it's easy. i would recommend booking ahead though unless you are traveling on the fly like that; i was lucky they had one when i needed one. i would call the hotel and ask them either who to call or what site to use. or check a rick steve's book.

[Tank]

3 hours ago, calscuf said:

Start with kayak.com.

he wants a car, not a boat.

[NJHalo]

9 hours ago, mrwicked said:

done it.

was in florence for a while, we decided we wanted to move on to chianti in tuscany. so hopped online and booked a place in rada in chianti. so as we're checking out of the hotel (one of the oldest hotels in the world, was amaze), we asked where the car rental place was. walked down there with our stuff, stopped half way (about 3 blocks) to drink some wine, got to the place. no cars left. crap. found another place nearby, got a car (fiat 500 stick shift ftw!), drove to rada. easy.

this was back in september, just got a ticket in the mail today! guess i broke a rule somewhere in Rada in Chianti or Siena. who knows. tuscany is so amazing. after a few days there we made our way to rome via train (booked the hotel for rome as the train was pulling into the main rome station).

it's easy. i would recommend booking ahead though unless you are traveling on the fly like that; i was lucky they had one when i needed one. i would call the hotel and ask them either who to call or what site to use. or check a rick steve's book.

Sounds like what I am planning. I decided to nix the train after hearing from so many people that we will be missing too much by zooming by on the rails. Going to stay in San Gimignano for a few days instead of downtown Florence.

I am an obsessive planner, and with a wife and kids, I can't just wing it.

[Homebrewer]

Not giving you anything else until you report on the trip from Tahoe to Santa Cruz.

[mrwicked]

2 hours ago, NJHalo said:

Sounds like what I am planning. I decided to nix the train after hearing from so many people that we will be missing too much by zooming by on the rails. Going to stay in San Gimignano for a few days instead of downtown Florence.

I am an obsessive planner, and with a wife and kids, I can't just wing it.

smart move! have fun out there. let me know if you want any tips or anything, but you'll have an amazing time no matter what. you wont want to come back.

[NJHalo]

18 minutes ago, Homebrewer said:

Not giving you anything else until you report on the trip from Tahoe to Santa Cruz.

Leaving next Thursday!

 

[Amazing Larry]

There's some great street music in Florence.

[ten ocho recon scout]

Renter a car theough sixt once.wicked, ill see your ticket in the mail and raise it by 4.

Id suggest learning what the signs out there mean...the ones with numbers mean stuff.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

16 hours ago, Tank said:

he wants a car, not a boat.

Maybe he's going to Venice.

[red321]

Something to note...we just did this in France.

Check with your insurance. Most car insurance company policies do not carry over to European car rentals. Check with your credit card, if you rent with Amex they offer you CDL, and theft...but they do not cover liability. And they are very clear about that. Our insurance is with USAA and they were also very clear our liability coverage policy did not cover European car rentals.

So, basically what we did is we rented with the Amex and waived the expensive CDL coverage, and then had to go with liability through the car rental company...which was only a few bucks for the entire week.

[mrwicked]

On 6/29/2016 at 3:39 PM, Vegas Halo Fan said:

Maybe he's going to Venice.

venice is the sh*t! 

just make sure to get the f*ck away from san marco square when the cruise ship people show up. it's chaos. 

[Vegas Halo Fan]

1 hour ago, red321 said:

Something to note...we just did this in France.

Check with your insurance. Most car insurance company policies do not carry over to European car rentals. Check with your credit card, if you rent with Amex they offer you CDL, and theft...but they do not cover liability. And they are very clear about that. Our insurance is with USAA and they were also very clear our liability coverage policy did not cover European car rentals.

So, basically what we did is we rented with the Amex and waived the expensive CDL coverage, and then had to go with liability through the car rental company...which was only a few bucks for the entire week.

I have never rented in Europe, but when I was exploring the possibility I found this out. You have to obtain separate auto insurance for the trip, because your US policy won't cover you overseas. Some policies won't even cover your own car if you drive across the border into Mexico.

[ten ocho recon scout]

And if you drive in any big city there, you want insurance....trust me. Those people are crazy

[NJHalo]

3 hours ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

And if you drive in any big city there, you want insurance....trust me. Those people are crazy

Everyone tells me that Florence is the worst for driving, and to not even bother trying.

[ten ocho recon scout]

I havent been there, butthey say rome and london are bad...they were pretty crazy...but my money is on paris being the worst. I was scared to death driving through there

[mrwicked]

9 hours ago, NJHalo said:

Everyone tells me that Florence is the worst for driving, and to not even bother trying.

Yeah. Don't even try to drive around Florence, crazy rules. Most places are locals only, so you'll get a ticket. Just get straight to/from the rental car place.