Renting a car in Italy
If you are actually reading this section, the cold blood of a fierce black mastiff is running through your veins.. ready for anything, quick, swift, aggressively defending its territory from any unexpected outside intrusion...relying solely on instinct to make sudden decisions, no compromises, no submission. Great! You’re ready to rent a car in Italy!!!
And if you have already done so, congratulations! You’ve made it back!
Ok, so driving in Italy isn’t for the casual driver (i.e. a tourist who’s leisurely driving while enjoying the views of the countryside). My older brother once told me while teaching me to drive “indecision on the road equals death”. For some reason that phrase stuck with me, but I guess the wide lanes of US highways actually seem to unofficially consent a little “should I take this exit or is it the next one?” of on-the-road ponderation. Yes, the urgency is there, but... there is a little extra room between my car and that other one over there... so I could still technically switch lanes if I must... in a little bit... ok.. perhaps now?.. ok now I’m turning my blinker on... he sees me.. so now I’m veering to the left lane...here I go.
This is not what you should expect from Italy. The roads are actually more narrow, on both highways as well as city streets. And if you do happen to stumble across a wider street, Italians interpret that as a 3-lane road. And then of course.. the Italian stuntmen. Oh, I’m sorry did I say ‘stuntmen’? I meant to say drivers. If you’re trying to go for a leisurely ride in the countryside, the Italians will make sure you get a little “thrill” out of your vacation and make you feel like you’re on a race-track. And did you know which country is arguably considered to have the worse signs in Europe? You guessed it! Let me go ahead and break down the pros and cons of driving a car in Italy, so you can decide for yourself whether renting a car for your trip is a suitable option for you or not.
Pro #1: You are free, you can stop when you want to stop, go when you want to go. You can visit the towns you want to visit, and skip the ones you don’t.
Con #1: You are not free, you are tied to a car. What I mean by this is that now you have to find parking for it before you can actually go and enjoy the wonderful things that Italy is known for. And don’t think that parking is so easy. The smaller the town, the less crowded it is, the better chances you have in finding a parking spot. But be careful, because you’ll have to pay in most cases. Very often the meter is not in front of the parking space. Often it’s actually nowhere near the car! Sometimes you have to look for it. It’s a machine that delivers a ticket based on how much money you put into it, but then you have to WALK BACK to the car and place the ticket in a visible spot. If you don’t, trust me, you will get fined. Speaking of fines, how would you even get fined if you’re driving a rental car? Remember the credit card you gave the car rental company? That’s how.
Pro #2: You can listen to the music you want to listen to.
Con #2: You can’t enjoy the music because of the guy behind you, who’s been blinking his headlights at you for the last 30 minutes, riding about 1/4” from your tailgate. This type of situation will most likely happen to every first-time driver in Italy. Italians do it to Italians, so no need to feel special. It will mostly happen on the “autostrada” (toll-highway), when you’re driving in the LEFT lane, which is considered the “passing lane” and keep your left blinker ON UNTIL you are finished passing and return to your right lane. If you are not passing, get out of the left lane!!! And if you forget, don’t worry, there will be plenty of occasions to remind you. You want to pass ONLY in the Left lane and make sure to recognize this sign “SENSO UNICO” means ONE-WAY, and be careful, because there are many one-way roads in Italy.
Pro#3: You can take off your shoes and not worry about people complaining about your smelly feet.
Con#3: “Wow, look at all those parking spaces. Wait! Why am I the only car here?” If you happen to say this, chances are you have passed beyond what is called the “ZTL” sign (Zona Traffico Limitato), which is the limited traffic zone, where only cars with special permits are allowed to access. This is usually in the historical centers, and very tiny towns have historical centers as well, so don’t think that you can get everywhere just because you’re going to a town of 500 residents. There is no way to get the permit, and most of the time there is a small white sign with a red circle around it right before you enter this “zone”. So you’re thinking “What’s the big deal, I can just make a u-turn and get out of here, no?”. Well, the bad news is that everywhere you go, there are cameras that will take a picture of your tag and fine you for trespassing, so if you have passed the sign, unfortunately you will be charged a fine.
Pro#4: You can use your American driver’s license, although if would be best to get an international driver’s license as extra ID from your local AAA office for about $10.
Con#4: Shoes aren’t the only expensive thing in Italy. Nowadays, gas is considered one of the most expensive commodities with a price of over $8.00 per gallon. Gas stations can be found on the side of highways, as well as in the cities. Fewer are found in the rural areas, so you may need to memorize this phrase: “Dove posso fare benzina?” (where can I get gas?). The other thing is that many gas stations close for lunch and all day on Sundays and holidays, so make sure you have plenty of “benzina” to carry you throughout the weekend. You can have a “benzinaio” fill up for you (with a surcharge) or do it yourself. If you do it yourself, the machines aren’t like the ones here, some of them only take cash (kind of like a vending machine).
Pro#5: You can get to know the country people, the locals! Oh, well, this would be the case if you speak fluent Italian, of course.
Con#5: Don’t even try to pick that up! The cell-phone, that is. Driving and talking on the cell-phone in Italy is against the law, so if you are caught doing it, you may be pulled over and fined. Trust me, it’s a good thing that it’s against the law... if you consider that most cars have a manual transmission and that Italians talk with their hands, it would be an absolute nightmare otherwise...
Pro#6: You can take your GPS navigation tool with you, given you download the Italian maps on it, and use it in Italy!
Con#6: You can’t drink as much wine as you want to, because someone’s going to have to figure out a way to get back to the hotel.. in the dark... hopefully without getting lost too many times. Signs in Italy can sometimes be “amusing”, but unfortunately not very easy to interpret. Like the elusive “tutte le direzioni” sign (to all directions), or the seductive “centro” (historical center) that you eventually want to get to, but don’t want to trespass the infamous “ZTL”. You may see two signs indicating the city you want to go to, but going in opposite directions. The GREEN sign indicates a toll-highway, while a BLUE sign will indicate a local road. It would be a good idea to learn some Italian, because if you find yourself in a rural area, chances are, it will be hard to find someone on the street to ask directions to, much less someone who speaks English.
Five Questions to Ask Yourself Before Renting a Car in Italy:
Ask yourself these 5 questions to help you determine whether you want to rent a car or hire a private driver/use trains and public transportation.
1. How long will you be in Italy? The more time you will be there, the more having your own car makes sense, especially if you are in no hurry and don’t need to “stuff” things into your itinerary.
2. Can you handle high-stress driving scenarios? And mostly, can your travel companions handle it? If you are OK with getting lost, wasting time trying to find your way around, looking for a parking spot, and so are those traveling with you, then you should be alright.
3. How many people are traveling with you? The more people in your group, the less comfortable taking trains and busses can be with the luggage, etc.
4. Do you want a relaxing vacation or an adventure with unexpected surprises? If you are traveling with no expectations, on a “go with the flow” schedule, than you won’t be disappointed if you don’t see EVERYTHING because you lost a few hours finding your way around.
5. Are you going to visit major cities like Florence, Venice, Rome, Milan, or are you also wanting to visit the countryside? If you are on a long vacation and have at least a week to dedicate to the countryside town, than it may be worth looking into renting a car.
TO CONCLUDE: Make sure you can drive a manual transmission, because it is not guaranteed you will get an automatic, even if you requested one. Also, if you do get an automatic, you will be charge a premium. Pack light and don’t bring huge suitcases, as Italian cars are smaller (and that’s a good thing, because if you were given a hummer, you wouldn’t be able to driver through certain streets). Even if you reserve an SUV, it will still be smaller compared to one you’d find in the USA. Stop at red lights and go with green lights (unlike here, in Italy you cannot turn RIGHT with a red light!!!). Italian cities are very crowded, and consequently so are the streets: mopeds, cars, motorcycles, buses, trucks, bicycles, pedestrians and.. strollers?! Just about anything you can imagine! So you really want to develop “360” degree vision and always use your signal lights.
Brace yourself with a lot of patience and have a “buon viaggio”!!
Some useful websites chosen by Nada’s Italy:
<www.nationaldrivesafe.com> - road rules of foreign countries.
<www.viamichelin.it> - maps of Italy, itineraries, road tolls, and much more.
<http://www.italiantourism.com/transp.html> more tips offered by the Italian tourism board.
USEFUL PHRASES FOR DRIVING IN ITALY:
1. Destra – Right – day-strah
2. Sinistra – Left – see-nee-strah
3. A diritto – Straight ahead – ah-deeree-toh
4. Divieto di Sosta – No-parking zone – deevee-ay-toh dee-sostah
5. Senso unico – One way – sain-soh ooh-neekoh
6. Mi scusi, dov’e’..? - Excuse me, where is...? - mee-skoo-zee doh-vay...?
7. Ho bisogno di un’informazione – I need an information. - oh-beezone-eeh-oh dee oon-een-fore-mah-zee-ohn-nay
8. Parcheggio – Parking lot/deck – par-kayjo
9. C’e’ un parcheggio qui vicino? - Is there a parking lot nearby? - chay-oohn par-kay-jo qoo-ee vee-chee-noh
10. Via – Street – vee-ah
11. All’angolo – At the corner – ah-longo-loh
12. Alla rotonda – At the round-about – ah-lah roh-tone-dah
13. All’incrocio – At the intersection – ah-leen-crocho
14. Al semaforo – At the light – ahl-say-maforo
15. Passo Carrabile – No parking/tow away zone – pas-soh kar-ah-beelay
16. Stop – Stop - stop
17. Uscita – Exit – oo-sheetah
18. Per andare a...? - To go to...? - pair-ahn-dah-ray
19. Lontano – Far – lone-tah-no
20. Vicino – Near – vee-chee-noh
21. Di fronte – In front – dee-fronetay
22. Accanto a – Next to – ah-kahn-toh ah
23. Benzina – Gas – ben-zeenah
24. Diesel/ Gasolio – Diesel fuel – deisel/gas-oleeoh
25. Senza piombo – Unleaded – sane-zah pee-om-bo
26. Distributore – Gas station – dees-tree-bootore-ray
27. Dove posso fare benzina? - Where can I get gas? - dovay-pos-soh fa-ray ben-zeenah
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