If you plan to rent a car in: Cannes, Livorno, Civitavecchia

[mlbcruiser]

Make certain you know where your rental car office is located (download a map from Mapquest, Google or Michelein or the rental website) and know ahead of time the best means to use to get there. Most agencies do not pick up at the port nor do they offer transport from the port to their office. In some cases it's easy; others not so easy. We recently returned from a combination land and cruise trip to Europe, and rented cars in 6 different cities. 3 of these were one day rentals while we were in port, and included Cannes, Livorno and Civitavecchia.

 

In Cannes, there was a bus from the port down the main blvd. which runs along the beach. It's main destination is "Palm Beach". The tourist info. booth near the port advised us to get off at the Hotel Martinez (coincidentally the Cannes Film Festival was going on and people and papparazzi were all around this hotel so it was easy to spot!). Our reservation was with Budget, but there were a few in the same area, which was near a major intersection about 2 blocks north of the beach, on the road along the side of the hotel. We were able to get a GPS, which was helpful. (BTW, for 4 of the 6 rental car reservations we had for our trip, all made via the net w/various agencies, we were told they had no GPSs. HOWEVER, it turned out that only one agency really did not have them: Iberrent in Lisbon, Portugal.) We had visited Nice, Monaco and Eze in the past so this time we visited St. Paul de Vence, which was just charming! We found the roads fairly well marked and thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful little town.

 

Livorno was a trial! I had prepaid our rental in order to get a much lower rate. Although I had done quite a bit of research, I had been unable to locate a rental office that was very close to the port, one that would pick us up, or one that offered transport to their office. I had only a downloaded map. However, upon arriving, we found Avis, Hertz and Europcar all had set up little tables dockside! (No help to us.) Taxi drivers all refused (quite forcefully!) to take us to the rental office, which coincidentally was again Budget's. There was a bus that was quite pricey that we could have ridden to a central location in Livorno. We called the rental office and were told NOT to take the bus as it would not drop us off anywhere near there. To make a long story shorter, we finally managed to get out of the port area and to a gas station on the west side of town, but we pretty much acted like Amazing Race contestants to do it! Once there, we phoned the agency again, and an agent then came to get us as we were only about a mile from the office. It was then we learned the port is about 15 kilometers long, with several different named areas, so they had not known exactly which port area we were at. But all's well that ends well, and the agent very kindly drove us back to the port when we returned the car. We had been to Florence before, so from Livorno we drove to San Gimignano, which I highly recommend. We had considered Lucca, but from doing some research and speaking to people who had visited both places, it seemed to be the more interesting of the 2. And certainly the drive there was very, very scenic and fragrant - through the hilly Tuscan hills.

 

Since we had returned a car to Civitavecchia in the past, we were familiar with the area and knew that we could walk to Hertz from our ship, which is what we did. So easy! Since we had visited Rome a few times before, we drove to a very very tiny town I only very recently ever heard of: Civita di Bagnoregio. (I THINK I have the spelling right?) It is NE of Civitavecchia, closer than Rome but the drive takes about the same amount of time or perhaps a bit longer since you drive on 2 lane, winding country roads. Whereas to reach Rome, you stay on the Autostrada the whole way. It is a tiny town, accessable only by car & reached by foot via a very steep, high "sidewalk" leading from Bagnoregio. (FYI: definitely NOT for those who are handicapped or in a wheelchair.)

 

If you do plan to rent a car and drive yourself to your destination when in port for one day, be sure to allow enough travel time to be able to reach your destination and get back to your ship at least 60 to 90 minutes ahead of time - just in case!

Edited June 7, 2009 by mlbcruiser

[screwcork]

Thanks for info,

 

So exactly where in Livorno is the Hertz office? (I have just rented a car there.)

 

Screwcork

[Hlitner]

Regarding Cannes, it only takes about 20 min to walk from the tender pier to Europcar, Budget, and some of the other city rental car offices (and its a nice walk through the heart of Cannes). As to Livorno, it is indeed a challenge. Hertz will usually pick-up right at the ship (this can vary depending on security) but you often have to contact their Livorno office directly. Their Livorno office is actually run buy an Italian company called Sifracar. You can check them out at http://www.sifracar.com/servizi.htm where they clearly offer a delivery and pick-up service at the ships.

 

There are a few rental car companies that maintain offices in the Livorno port but they are located at the terminal/shopping center building that is near the port entrance and far from most cruise ships. Maxirent does have an office and can sometimes do pick-ups and deliveries to the ship (again this depends on port security). As to Civitavecchia, Hertz is about a 5 min walk from the port entrance (there is a free shuttle bus from the ships to the port entrance) and its on the main road that goes along the water (about 2/3 of the way to the train station). Europcar is a bit further, although sometimes the shuttle bus operators will drop passengers at an auxillary port gate that is only 3 blocks from Europcar. Otherwise, Europcar is about a 15 min walk from the port entrance.

 

Hank

Edited June 7, 2009 by Hlitner

[screwcork]

Regarding Cannes, it only takes about 20 min to walk from the tender pier to Europcar, Budget, and some of the other city rental car offices (and its a nice walk through the heart of Cannes). As to Livorno, it is indeed a challenge. Hertz will usually pick-up right at the ship (this can vary depending on security) but you often have to contact their Livorno office directly. Their Livorno office is actually run buy an Italian company called Sifracar. You can check them out at http://www.sifracar.com/servizi.htm where they clearly offer a delivery and pick-up service at the ships.

 

There are a few rental car companies that maintain offices in the Livorno port but they are located at the terminal/shopping center building that is near the port entrance and far from most cruise ships. Maxirent does have an office and can sometimes do pick-ups and deliveries to the ship (again this depends on port security). As to Civitavecchia, Hertz is about a 5 min walk from the port entrance (there is a free shuttle bus from the ships to the port entrance) and its on the main road that goes along the water (about 2/3 of the way to the train station). Europcar is a bit further, although sometimes the shuttle bus operators will drop passengers at an auxillary port gate that is only 3 blocks from Europcar. Otherwise, Europcar is about a 15 min walk from the port entrance.

 

Hank

 

 

Thank you,

 

I have arranged with Sifracar to deliver and pick-up at the pier.

 

Screwcork

[vivian02]

Your information is really great. I have rented cars in the past in Germany without any issues but I have heard that Italy can be at times pricy. Were you required to take extra insurance out on the cars or would the agencies allow you to waiver the insurance and use your credit card as the primary insurer. Thanks for the information. Tim

[iancal]

We always arrange for Italy car rentals in advance thru www. autoeu.....com. Our experience is that in most instances all insurance is included and the prices are very reasonable (but we also go for a small car/w standard transmission). We did not have to rely on our gold card for insurance. We have found this rental car broker to be much less money than dealing with the majors directly and the agencies that they use include Avis, Hertz, Europecar etc.

Edited June 9, 2009 by iancal

[Hlitner]

Your information is really great. I have rented cars in the past in Germany without any issues but I have heard that Italy can be at times pricy. Were you required to take extra insurance out on the cars or would the agencies allow you to waiver the insurance and use your credit card as the primary insurer. Thanks for the information. Tim

 

Great Question! Almost every major credit card that provides CDW coverage specifically excludes any cars rented in Italy (and also Ireland). Before you even think about declining coverage check with your credit card company and if they say you are covered get it in writing (you will need it when you rent in Italy). Having driven many thousands of miles within Italy, we would not consider renting without a zero deductable (or something close to zero). We have never scratched a car driving in Italy, but have had several cars damaged when they were parked (this is not uncommon). For long term rentals in Italy (3 or more days) Kemwel currently provides zero deductable for cars rented from Hertz (Kemwel is a consolidator that represents both Hertz and Europcar) but they will not handle a one day booking.

 

Hank

[reallyme]

I concur... Check with your credit card company to see which countries are NOT covered. I think there are 6 of them for Mastercard. 3 start with an I. Italy, Israel, and I think India might be the other.