Even crossing the street in Rome can be a challenge!
Continuing my suggestions for travel in Italy for my brother Joe and his wife Susan.
In the first part of this series I recommended travel to Italy in early April. Now let’s talk about transportation, both for getting there and while you are there.
Getting there is mostly a question of where to fly into, and whether to come and go from the same airport. For the itinerary that follows, I’m suggesting you plan to buy round trip tickets into Rome. The main airport in Rome (Fulmincino, code FCO) is actually located quite a distance outside the city. I’m going to suggest you save Rome for last, making this an advantage. Driving in Rome is not for the faint-of-heart, but picking up a car at the airport and driving north through the countryside of Lazio, Umbria and Tuscany is just like driving at home.
And that brings us to renting a car. We always rent from AutoEurope, an American company headquartered in Portland Maine. Their website is very easy to use and the whole process if fully automated, but if you need to speak with someone they are always there and always helpful. AutoEurope guarantees you the best price for your rental – find the same car for the same dates at a lower cost and they will quickly refund the difference. They are actually an agent for a number of European rental car companies, so you’ll pick up your car from EuropCar or another rental company. AutoEurope has a web page with specific, helpful information about driving in Italy – here’s a link to it.
One tip about renting cars anywhere: use a credit card that covers the deductible and save the very high cost of covering it. Contact your credit card companies well in advance to ask about that, and (if one tells you they provide coverage) get it in writing! My experience has been that Mastercards generally provide this coverage and Visa cards don’t but verify that! Also, verify that the coverage will apply in Italy.
The most economical cars are those that come with a standard transmission and that operate on diesel. The cars are quite small, so you’ll get close to 50 miles per gallon – which you’ll be grateful for because fuel will cost $8 to $10 per gallon with the currency adjustment.
There are many online mapping services that will allow you to plan your route. Some will estimate the cost of fuel and indicate the cost of toll roads, if they are to be used (www.viamichelin is good for that.) It’s also a very good idea to purchase a map of Italy long before your trip from a large bookstore. You’ll want to know what’s within range of the places you are considering for your lodging.
Since the itinerary I’m suggesting for Joe and Sue involves a lot of touring in the country, a rental car will be a necessity, but I would never recommend one to anyone going to Rome or Venice. Driving in Rome is hair-raising – just walking across the street there can be life-threatening. And there are no cars at all in Venice.
