Cars

This is my favorite car to drive in Italy. A Fiat 500XL for 2 people and 2 pieces of luggage. It’s powerful enough, easy to drive and small for Italian road and parking spaces.

If you have 4 people, a station wagon is the go to car. Unfortunately, there is not much room. 4 regular suitcases will just about fit. By the end of the trip, you will be searching for solutions to fit expanding suitcases and purchases.

We have traveled many times with 3 couples and the above is classified as a 9 passenger van. It really fits 6b people and 6 regular sized suitcases. There is some small spaces under the seats. I fit all 6 suitcases in the back with some thought. The 5 speed stick shift is on the dash board. I have no problem driving this although it is a slower ride. Obviously because of its size, the van is difficult to maneuver in small towns and cities and parking is a challenge. This vehicle is for patient people who drive a stick shift.

I use Hertz rental and have had very few problems. I have always selected the additional per day insurance but have never had to use it.

Do not forget to bring all car adaptors for cell phone and your Waze app in the car.

Don’t leave anything of value in your car unattended. After my day trips, I bring everything purchased to my room. I have never had a vehicle broken into, however I don’t like to let my guard down.

Parking can be a nightmare, especially with the larger the car. Have patience, pull over and wait, something will open up.

I try and plan all my day trips and leave early in the morning. I also plan parking lots, lunch, and any other town I wish to visit. Moreover, I plan my return time to the hotel. We write this all down in my trip planner months (or a year) before I leave. You need a great co-pilot to help guide you during the drive. The co-pilot will be working with the Waze app or an equal GPS.

I try to keep drive time between hotels to no more than 4 hours.

I try and keep day trip driving to no more than 2 hours each way. I did break that rule occasionally.

I don’t like to drive after dinner unless it is a very short distance. I did break that rule occasionally.

I don’t have a car in the large cities; Rome, Milan, Venice. Either walk or take public transportation.

I usually rent a car leaving a large city and return it to a different large city. There is a charge to return the car to a different drop off city. You can rent a car and return it to the same town or city.

When more couples travel with us, we take turns to pay for for gas/diesel.

If returning car, we drop everyone off at final hotel with all baggage. We then drop the car off and walk back to hotel. Watch your return time, since Hertz will charge you for an additional day fee.

I have put on significant miles driving in Italy and for the most part they have been uneventful. There have been a few times I have said a few choice words toward another driver, however it is no different then my behavior in the USA.

Parking

Parking is always a nightmare in Italy, so get used to it. You must be a patient person to drive in any foreign country. The larger the car, the more problems. Sometimes even a bicycle is too large for the Italian street. Plan your day trips and search for parking on line and Wass app. When I approach a small town, I drive as far as I can keeping an eye on the larger Blue P signs. I look for the one closest to the towns since some are very far away with difficult walks.

You must obtain a ticket to park. Some of these automated boxes are a little walk from your car. Decide how long you will need to explore the town, put the change in and push the button. Place the ticket on your driver side dashboard. You will get a parking ticket if you don’t.

Some towns are worse than others for parking. Molfetta is bad. They are building a large hotel in the harbor and I hope it gets better. Positano has a parking garage that will drive you to the hotel to unload the luggage, drive the car back themselves and if you want the car, they will come and drop it off for you. Sienna has parking, try and find the upper lot. Gubbio and Assisi have easy parking. Alberobello (Truli) is tricky to find parking.

Hotel Palm in Cingue Terre is easy and you can park at the hotel.

I never leave any luggage unattended in my rental car. I will leave small souvenirs or a bottle out of view and locked in a vehicle as I explore a town. I remove all gifts from the vehicle when I park the car for the evening.

I always leave my passport in my hotel room and never had a problem. I will have it available when I arrive at a new hotel because the check in at the front desk of the hotel usually requires your passports.

Car traffic tickets

Italy makes it difficult in certain towns for driving. Many signs are difficult to read and before you know it, you may be in a bus only lane. They have a camera which takes a picture of your license plate. Then the municipality will try and track the owner and or driver of the vehicle. Since you went through a rental car company, it takes some time. Hertz will charge your credit card 50 to 100.00 dollars to provide the police with your name and address in the USA. They then will send you threatening letters to pay. They have one year according to Italian law to properly serve you for notice. I call my credit card company the moment I get home to tell them my card was compromised and send me a new one so Hertz can not charge me. The only ticket I have paid was a failure to where a seatbelt in Sicily and I was pulled over for it. I told them, no one wears a seat belt and many vehicles don’t have seat belts. They told me they have to look up the exact law and the cost for the ticket since they never wrote a seat belt ticket before. My friend from Italy told me that the police where happy that I bought them lunch and a bottle of wine that day.

Florence collects 25 million a year from tourists on tickets. Other culprits for tickets: Milan, Rome, Orvieto.

Don’t forget to bring cords for phones, car charger for cell phone, and adaptors for electric and hairdryers. They make one with multiple ports.