Hi, after planning to see Rome without a car, we were going to get a rental car and drive north to either Assisi or Orvieto. My question is where in Rome is it best to pick up the rent
Hi, after planning to see Rome without a car, we were going to get a rental car and drive north to either Assisi or Orvieto. My question is where in Rome is it best to pick up the rental car in order to get out of town/traffic and get onto the road north the fastest and easiest way? Also, if we take the train from Venice to Milan, does the train go to the Malpensa airport? If yes, can we also board a train to Lake Como at the airport?
Have you considered taking a train to Orvieto because it is only 75 minutes away from Roma? You will arrive relaxed and then take the funicular up the hill to the town proper. Assisi is about a 90 minute train ride from Roma. Also, the train would be cheaper than a car rental. Are you going to use the car for additional sightseeing? Both Assisi and Orvieto are reachable from Roma by train. With a train you would not have to worry about navigating/driving through Roma, parking, etc. Driving in Italy is an adventure in motoring.
As for your second question about going to Malpensa from Venice, you would need to change trains at Stazione Centrale for the airport. Or you could connect to the Metro to go to Cadorna station and then connect to Malpensa. I cannot answer your question about a direct connection from Malpensa to Lago di Como. However, I'm thinking that you would need to go back to Stazione Centrale and then connect to Como, which is about a 30 minute train ride. Go go trenitalia.com and check their schedule.
As for car rentals, we prefer to use autoeurope.com because they are brokers using the big companies at a discount rate.
I second the advice to rent a car in Orvieto, rather than Rome, and to use the trains instead of a car unless you want the car to drive to places other than Assisi or Orvieto.
A train to Malpensa airport from Venice requires a switch in Milano Centrale.
When do you want to go Lago di Como? If you are coming from Venice, the best thing to do is to take a train to Milano Centrale and switch to a train for Varenna, a town on the lake.
If you are flying into Milano Malpensa and want to go to Lago di Como, you can take the Malpensa Xpress train to a stop before Milan where you can then switch to a commuter train to the town of Como on Lago di Como. From the town of Como, it is possible to take a ferry or bus to other towns on the lake. I have never done this, but if you post your question on the Italian Lakes message board of Tripadvisor, you can probably get all the detalis.
Or, coming from Milano Malpensa, you can take a train or bus to Milano Centrale and catch a train to Varenna, on Lago di Como.
Thanks for your replies and yes, we are heading further north and that is the reason for the car. Is there a rental pickup place on the outskirts of rome close to the roads heading north? When I went to the Hertz website just to get an idea of cost, they requested where in Rome we would be picking up the rental. Not having any idea where these many locations were in the city, I could not go on. Where would this information be available? Maybe it is a good idea to train to Orviet and pickup rental there???
Also, can anyone recommend a nice place to stay with a car within access to Florence by bus or walking? Thank you so much, it is such a help to be able to get on the ground information.
On two occasions the Hertz location at the Villa Borghese location was a good choice for us to drop off in Rome - one coming from the north, the other from the south. It's located at Viale del Galoppatoio 33. As I remember it you take the ring road around to the exit that will lead you to Villa Borghese which takes you to a main road with perfectly manageable traffic (it was a Sunday afternoon in August). The only tricky part is finding the entrance to the underground garage where the rental offices are located. Since you will be leaving from there I 'm sure most taxis know exactly where it is.
If you want to see Orvieto, picking up the car in Orvieto is a good idea.
You might consider staying in Fiesole, which is just up the hill from Florence, and there is a regular bus that takes 15 minutes into the city during the daytime, and a taxi ride is about 30e. Another possibility is to look for a hotel in the Oltrarno area of Florence that offers parking.
As I mentioned before, look on the autoeurope.com website for car rentals. They are cheaper, but still use the big rental companies. We usually pick-up a car from Stazione Termini and then leave from there. It is still easier to pick up a car in Orvieto and depart from there.
Another suggestion is to bring a GPS with Italian maps because it will be invaluable, but not infallible. You should also use a good map because sometimes the GPS can take you on a fieldtrip. We bought a Garmin on Amazon with free shipping and no taxes. Since my Garmin is older we purchased an SD card with maps for all of Europe, England, Ireland. We also purchased the SD card through Amazon.
The Hertz rental office in Orvieto is just across the street from the railway station. The train trip to Orvieto would take less time (and far less hassle) than driving out of Rome. And, as others have mentioned, Orvieto is a beautiful town for spending a day or just a couple of hours.
Unless you are a pro (meaning a serious experienced driver within Italy) I do not recommend driving anywhere within the greater Rome area. I have driven perhaps several thousand KM's in Italy and Rome is a challenge to navigate within ... many, many convoluted routes (seems like you are going in circles). I had to hire a taxi driver to follow to the rental car drop off location ... the old Villa Borghese Hertz location was located underground in a parking structure. I would recommend picking up your car in a more "quaint" location.
I read your post with interest as I am planning my first trip to Rome and intend to drive out of town too. As I am told it is much cheaper to rent "off site" from the airport your question is pertinent to me. I have driven in Italy several times and have no fear of driving in the countryside. You may want to check previous posts about renting in (and around Rome) from people who actually drive and do not take the train. Several years ago I read a post that was specific as to taking some form of transportation from the airport to a car rental agency which proved very easy and ultimately cheaper. I hope you can find a similar post or someone here who will specifically answer your question of a convenient rental agency on the outskirts of town. Regarding staying outside of Florence, I have stayed in Fiesole twice (with a car) and can support whole heartedly that recommendation from a previous poster. Watching the sun rise over Florence from Fiesole is a beautiful event! Good luck and good travels
Hertz has many neighborhood locations all over Roma. If you're staying at the Marriott Roma, there's one 2 blocks away. The AutoEurope one is in the parking garage across the street. You're on the northern wall of Roma and it's a straight shot north to Orvieto
