Arriving in Firenze Santa Maria Novella but want to rent car at Airport

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mgalella

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Heard horror stories about renting a car at the train station and navigating the restricted zones so we were thinking about getting to the airport rentals after we get off the train. Does that seem like a good plan that most people opt for? We will have all our travel bags so what is the recommendation to get from Firenze SMN to the airport rental car desk (e.g Enterprise)? I assume we can take a taxi but wanted to hear advice on the idea to go to airport for car rental (and return there) and the best way to get there if it makes sense.

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If you look at a map of Florence, and check the address of the car rentals near Santa Maria Novella, most are on Borgo Ognissanti.
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It is a short, straight shot along that one way road, out of the ZTL, and onto a ring road that circumnavigates the city. That is one option.
If you are fearful of city traffic and still want to rent from the airport vendors, you can take a cab to the rental locations-- which are NOT right at the airport (though they are served by free shuttle service).
Most rentals now come with GPS system or you can use your phone, regardless of where you pick up your car. The ZTL should only be an issue when you enter, whether to return the vehicle or go to a hotel (and their staff should phone the authorities to report your license and thus make your vehicle's entrance legal. Just make sure you tell them about your car, its license, etc.).
 
You can take the tram line T2 to get from SMN train station to the airport, the tram stop is in front of the train station.
Or you could opt to rent directly from Avis which I believe has car rentals right at SMN train station.
Once you’re inside the ZTL, the only concern once you pick up your car is that as you exit Florence’s ZTL area you don’t accidentally make a wrong turn and go right back in. Since the car is already at the agency, you just have to know your exit route out of the ZTL and follow it carefully. If you don’t make any wrong turns, then it shouldn’t be a problem to rent downtown as opposed to the airport.
 
Thank you both for your replies! Another option is to rent the car in rome where I am flying into and return in Florence. We are not staying in the city but outside of Florence

Any thoughts?
 
Depends on how much time you have and what you'd like to see. There are a lot of wonderful cities and towns between Rome and Florence that have appeal. And also how many in your party, how much luggage, etc.
The direct drive time is a little over three hours via the Autostrada, depending on your final destination. I've done the trip by train and by rental car, but when using a car made a point of visiting towns like Orvieto and Arezzo. And Siena is not too much of a detour for an unforgettable, one time experience.
 
Definitely, as CocoPazzo has suggested, take a look at the time you have available and you could plan on taking it slower to get from Rome to Florence and stop along the way to enjoy some places you might not otherwise visit. Of course, this means driving earlier than planned but are you spending some time in Rome first? How many days will you have in Tuscany total? If you already have a list of places you want to visit, you can definitely rent before and then return the car in Florence, or directly back in Rome, depends on what you have on your schedule so far.
 
Lourdes said:
Definitely, as CocoPazzo has suggested, take a look at the time you have available and you could plan on taking it slower to get from Rome to Florence and stop along the way to enjoy some places you might not otherwise visit. Of course, this means driving earlier than planned but are you spending some time in Rome first? How many days will you have in Tuscany total? If you already have a list of places you want to visit, you can definitely rent before and then return the car in Florence, or directly back in Rome, depends on what you have on your schedule so far.
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Thank you both again! There will be two of us with the standard amount of luggage. No rush to get to Florence area - we are staying in a little town called San Vincenzo a Torri. We will not be spending anytime in rome - just flying into the airport. We are staying 7 days here and then a few days in Florence. Looking at definite visits/tours of Siena and San Gimignano as well as Val d'orcia. Would also like to explore some wineries on our own without a huge tour - people seem to like Verrazano winery. Looking for mid-size wineries with of course beautiful location!!
 
Check out the Antinori winery in Bargino, and the Viticcio winery outside of Greve in Chianti for a taste of two different family run wineries not too far from each other.
 
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