Italy Car Rental - International Drivers License?

[aussieonwater]

Hi All, We are looking to rent a car for the day in Livorno via Hertz. If you have rented a car via Hertz or other major company (Avis etc..) did they insist you had an International drivers license/ID before they rented to you or was your USA/Australian Drivers License enough? Any advise is appreciated. Regards, Jessica.

[Budd]

Last summer I rented a car from Eurocar & they did insist I have an International driver's License. I got mine from AAA. It's good to have in case you're stopped as not all police understand or can read English. The license is good for 1 year. Hope this helps.

[nparmelee]

Some will tell you that you don't need it, but if you get pulled over and don't have it, big problems, most of the rental car companies say they want one but may not actually check. And its not the International license you need but the International driving permit. AAA does them for $15 or so plus two passport pictures. You can download the app online from their web site. They are good for a year.

[Dunmore2]

When we rented in Pisa 2 years ago, my Canadian licence was all they needed. Be sure to check the car over for dents and dings and have it marked on the rental form.That way you should not get charged for someone else's damage.

[MickyBridges]

I also rented one in Livorno from Avis in July 08 and I used my American license without any issues. I also travel to England 2-3 times a year and always rent cars ... never an issue.

[dog]

We always get an IDL for Italy. It is needed if you get stopped by police.

 

The rental agency is not the one that requires it, Italian LAW is.

 

There is information on the slowtrav website about IDL and Italy.

[cberge]

It is NOT a int. Driver's Lic one needs it is an Int Driver's Permit,and that is required by Italian Law...has been for quite sometime,but enforced more in the past couple of years.PERMIT not Lic. $10 at AAA.

[Dowunder]

It's about $26 here in OZ available at RACV. I have always had one because of the law in Italy and have rented from Avis in Italy on many occasions and have been told it is not necessary to have one to rent a car. If you had an accident you would probably need to produce it as it is in various languages.

[HawkeyeCruisr]

I agree with previous posts - the Int. Drivers Permit is required in Italy even if the car rental companies don't ask to see it. When we were driving in Tuscany in May, 2007, we were stopped at a police roadblock and asked to show both our state drivers license and our international driving permit. Apparently these roadway stops are common and their only purpose is to check documents. So even if you think you will not break any traffic laws or get into any accidents, you should go ahead and get the IDP. We were congratulating ourselves for our foresight as we drove away from the roadblock!

[conandrob240]

We have rented cars in various locations in italy and Greece ver the past 2-3 years and have never had a car rental company mention an international driver's license or permit. If it was required, wouldn't the various car rental companies have to see it?

[HawkeyeCruisr]

We have rented cars in various locations in italy and Greece ver the past 2-3 years and have never had a car rental company mention an international driver's license or permit. If it was required, wouldn't the various car rental companies have to see it?

This from drivers.com:

Why is the IDP so valuable? Well, local traffic police (whether it be Dnipropetrovsk or Ulan Bator) may not be able to understand the language on your normal driving license while chances are they may be familiar with at least one of the languages on the IDP. For driving in Europe, travel officials say the IDP is more necessary in some countries than others, but is advised for most. And in more than 40 countries worldwide you cannot rent a car at all unless you have an IDP.

 

Obviously, in Italy you CAN rent a car with only your state's drivers license; this may be because the car rental people all read and speak English.

 

The op asked for advice and all I can say is WE were glad we had the IDP when we were stopped by non-English speaking state police. But hey, if your Italian is miles better than ours, you can probably get by fine with just your state's dirvers license!

[Dowunder]

I think Italy is a country where Rules & Laws are there to be broken. Especially when it comes to driving !!!!

[DavidandPaula]

Rented from Hertz in Civitavecchia last year. Had booked in advance over internet.

 

Clerk at pick up insisted on seeing International Drivers Permit at pick up and would not allow other drivers to be added as they did not have one of the permits (both Australian and Canadian fellow passengers).

 

The transalation was not for the clerks sake as he entered all details from my Aussie license but was for any Police etc in the event of traffic offence or accident.

 

Don't take the risk as it is a long way to go to get it if you need it and is cheap and quick to get. In Victoria go to the RACV with a passport photo and it takes a few minutes, they will also do the photo if you do not have one.

 

David

[dog]

We always get an IDL for Italy. It is needed if you get stopped by police.

 

The rental agency is not the one that requires it, Italian LAW is.

 

There is information on the slowtrav website about IDL and Italy.

 

It is called an International Driving Permit.

[conandrob240]

Sorry, still confused. Is it REQUIRED or not? I understand the arguments and the possible plus side if you get stopped by police or have an accident but the OP asked if it was required. So, from my own experience and what is posted here, the answer is NO?

[DavidandPaula]

Sorry, still confused. Is it REQUIRED or not? I understand the arguments and the possible plus side if you get stopped by police or have an accident but the OP asked if it was required. So, from my own experience and what is posted here, the answer is NO?

 

The original poster was from Australia and from my experience it is required as we would not have been able to hire without it.

 

As for citizens of other countries I cannot comment. It would appear from many other posters that if you are American you do not need it most of the time. I guess you can always take the chance of not needing it and thus save a few dollars. My choice in that situation would be to spend the few dollars and avoid a possible disappointment when you go to rent a car.

 

David

[DavidandPaula]

Hi All, We are looking to rent a car for the day in Livorno via Hertz. If you have rented a car via Hertz or other major company (Avis etc..) did they insist you had an International drivers license/ID before they rented to you or was your USA/Australian Drivers License enough? Any advise is appreciated. Regards, Jessica.

Jessica,

 

many post about the IDP but no mention of what its like once you get a car.

 

First impression on arriving in Rome as a pedestrain was that all drivers and scooter riders are completely insane. Once you drive in Italy you will appreciate their style and the need to drive like they do. It really does become a lot of fun and driving in the countryside is a really fantastic experience. We drove from Civitavecchia to the Northern suburbs of Rome to have lunch at a restaurant overlooking Rome. Made a wrong turn and finished up in the heavier traffic closer in to Rome but still okay. And you will be adjusting to driving on the other side of the road and on the other side of the car. My advice is see if you can get an automatic and also check out taking a GPS with the maps of Italy or hiring one with the car which you can with Hertz (I have the maps on my PDA along with some games to keep me amused on long flights).

 

Parking is the nightmare part of the experience. It is a real problem in most parts of Rome and in a large part of Florence. You will not get parking anywhere near the major attractions in Florence,we went there by taxi and our driver had enough troubles. I was so glad I wasn't driving that day. We got back to Civitavecchia after the supposed closing time for the depot and faced the prospect of parking the car and dropping the keys into the mail slot. There was no parking to be seen but then the agent came running out and took the car from us. It was about 7:30pm by then and we were able to make it back to the ship and get to our late dining on time.

 

Other thing to watch for is that many of the hire cars are diesel fuelled but many of the little sidewalk petrol pumps do not have diesel pumps. You need to fill up just before returning as the price charged if the fill the tank will really hurt you when the charges are applied to your Credit Card later on. (Mind you I hired a truck in Melbourne a few weeks ago and had a real problem getting it close to a diesel pump when it came time to fill it up before returning so Italy is not the only place you have problems like this)

 

David

[aussieonwater]

Thanks for all of your replies. I think we will just add a little paperwork to the mounting pile to tote with us and get one. Much better to be safe than sorry :). We are attempting Pisa & Siena from Livorno in one day (7am - 7pm) and can't really afford any extra delay.

 

Happy Travels All...

[jasmine77]

So if you download the forms from AAA what are the 2 passport photos for. Can you go into an office and do this on the spot? From what I understand, you should get the IDP no matter what to protect yourself.

[HawkeyeCruisr]

So if you download the forms from AAA what are the 2 passport photos for. Can you go into an office and do this on the spot? From what I understand, you should get the IDP no matter what to protect yourself.

 

The photos are actually glued into the IDP. We just walked into our AAA office and did the whole thing on the spot. They were able to take the photos, too.

[OttoCal]

Yes, get that Int'l Drivers Permit from AAA. The $10-12 they may charge + the cost of passport photos is worth it if they decide they want to see if or not rent you a car... and I think that is the only country that we have ever had to show one.

 

If you go to Pisa, parking can be brutal, so GO EARLY and pre-book a climb time online at Pisa's official web site.

Parking is bad anywhere in Italy, don't leave anything visible in the car, and it will be obvious that your car is a rental, break ins are reportedly common.

 

Take lots of photos of the car both when you pick it up and drop it off. Get maps ahead of time. Signage is funny- you have to look for signs that would say for example 'Direction Pisa' and stay on that road until you see the next 'Direction Pisa' sign then turn. It is a little weird.

 

Isn't Siena too far to do with Pisa in the same day?? Between parking, the bag check, the climb up the torre, then a quick peek inside the cathedral & baptristy that is at least a couple of hours, without adding on an overpriced snack or time for the required 'holding up the leaning tower' photos .

 

Maybe consider Lucca instead of Siena?? It is a charming walled city about 30 minutes drive from Pisa.

 

It has to be 2 hours each way from Livorno-Siena, and do you want to chew up 4 hours (plus that brutal parking- could add another hour to your trip, seriously) of your short day and make it a very rushed day?

 

Don't forget that you will probably need Euros for the tolls, so you will want to have some small change/smaller bills to pay at the toll booths. Don't try to go on the back roads, you will get hopelessly lost. Stay on the largest roads possible, and remember that driving is very aggressive in Italy compared to US standards.

[aussieonwater]

Thanks Ottocal, My 2y.o niece's name is Siena so we have to go and get lots of souvenirs - i did promise her ... We probably won't climb the tower - just look and move on. Thanks for all the driving tips. I figure if worst comes to worst and we miss the ship we can take a train to rome and meet it the next morning so not tooooooo :o worried.

 

Jessica.