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To & From the Airport | Coast & Countryside | Food | Sights & Regions | Drawbacks | Summary
Beautiful vistas, azure coastlines and tremendous gastronomy. Italy offers many wonders for all travellers. The trouble is, Italy is quite a large country. Exploring it all can become time consuming, expensive and overall, a bit of a pain. Naturally we’d say “Oh, hiring a car is best!”. This isn’t always the best option but let’s talk about why you should hire a car in Italy. Zest style.
Easy to and from the airport
With lots of countryside in Italy, transfers from the airport can become costly and time consuming. There are never many hotels or accommodation that close to each other. So if you’re having to share a transfer it can end up taking up valuable holiday time.
Sure, the public transport in Italy is very good. Trains and buses are regular and extremely good value. But again, you’re having to share the space with others and you’re working to other travellers’ timescales.
Hiring a car in Italy will take away that frustration and lost holiday time. You can hop off the plane and into your hire car often within an hour. At busier airports during the high season this can take a little longer but remember, taking your time to collect your hire car is a good thing. Also, if you’re collecting late at night, you won’t have to rush to catch the last bus.
Enjoy the coast and the countryside
With so much to see in Italy, many travellers often end up making many trips back (why wouldn’t you?!). But sometimes, travellers will want to split one holiday into two. Of course, you’ll never be able to see all of Italy in one holiday, but you can have the best of both worlds with a countryside and beach holiday. Take a road trip holiday in your hire car from Lake Como to Liguria on the coast for a great split holiday of coastal and countryside.
Lugging all your bags onto a train to go cross-country is okay, but you may miss out on beautiful sights along the way. Take your hire car on the motorway from Milan to Genoa for breath-taking views as you carve your way through the mountains towards the coast. Plus, when you’re driving, you can stop when you want, for however long you want. Perfect for a quick pizzette or macchiato.
Sample the best food
In our humble opinion anyway, Italy provides the best dishes for your taste buds of anywhere in the world. Often though, you’ll have to travel to little villages and towns that might not be within walking distance of your accommodation. This is the best bit about car hire personally, especially in Italy. You can hop in the car, and within 30 minutes you could be in one of the best Pizzeria’s in Italy. Without a hire car you may have to try a taxi, which could end up costing a lot over the course of a two-week holiday.
See the sights
We’ve spoken about the countryside and coastlines earlier in this post but where exactly is worth travelling to? Milan to Genoa and Lake Como has been covered previously, along with the Amalfi Coast. But where else?
Lake Garda and Verona
7% of all visitors to Italy head to Lake Garda and it’s not hard to see why. The turquoise fresh water is hard not to be drawn to. There’s plenty to see and do around the lake. The Northern end of the lake has a more adventurous feel to it. The wilder waters and dramatic landscape calls for windsurfing and hiking. The southern end of the lake, however, is very different. The relaxed Mediterranean vibe invites you to take a stroll through the pretty lakeside towns. Check out Scaliger Castle for a fairy-tale scene right on the water!
Puglia
Puglia is the heel region of Italy. Nestled on the south-east coast it basks in Mediterranean sunshine. Anyone who loves Italy will love Puglia. It’s less touristy than Campania or Tuscany but that doesn’t mean Puglia has less charm or beauty. Beautifully built churches adorn the backdrop of most towns in the region and the green Mediterranean seas always invite you. The main town Lecce, it often named the ‘Florence of the South’ for its baroque architecture fantastic dining, we’re sure you won’t be disappointed.
Tuscany
Tuscany needs no introduction. Its beautiful landscape coupled with history and art makes Tuscany truly special. You’ll certainly need a hire car to explore its entirety. The cities of Florence and Siena call this area of Italy home. Florence, the capital of the region is said to be the birthplace of the Renaissance. The Ponte Vecchio bridge is a tourist hotspot so try to visit early in the morning for an uninterrupted photo opportunity. As with all Italian cities, the streets are very narrow and there are some one-way systems. These aren’t clearly signposted so keep an eye out to avoid any car hire fines.
Drawbacks
There aren’t too many drawbacks to car rental in Italy. Other than poor choices by certain brokers on the companies they choose to work with. As we only work with the best car hire companies in Italy, you’ll always be in safe hands. The only negative about car hire in Italy is security deposits tend to be slightly higher compared with other European locations. Luckily, we protect your excess as standard. If you’re charged for collision damage, you’ll always be able to claim it back when you return.
Summary
Obviously, we love car hire and will always recommend it. Not just because we offer it, we genuinely love the freedom and independence that car hire brings. Car rental in Italy does come with a few drawbacks and some people do simply prefer public transport. But, if you’re heading to Italy soon, it’s worth thinking about hiring a car and we hope this post helps.
Italy car rental links you might find useful
