we are a group of 8 staying in Spoleto for a few days in March. We are planning on taking the train to a few spots but I am thinking a mini van might be best and actually more economical but I can't seem to find a vehicle for 8 on line....any suggestions for local rentals? We are not looking for a driver.thanks

I think you are going to be out of luck on that one. Smaller rental locations like Spoleto will generally not have vans and they can even be hard to book in busier locations. You can try Foligno which is only a short train ride from Spoleto, but it would be rare for you to find one there. FYI, I know of a reliable English-speaking driver with a Mercedes van in Assisi if you should decide you need one.

I think you would be better off with two cars. A minivan that could accommodate 8 will likely be as much as the price of two cars. But, regardless of price, here are two significant advantages of smaller cars: you can split up and go to different places if you choose and most important, smaller cars are much better for driving on the narrow country roads and in-town streets.

Also, when you get to a town, I recommend that you park and then walk into the very center, at least the first time that you visit the town. You might then find more convenient parking closer to the center. Otherwise, you might find yourself in a very, very narrow street (which is common in the medieval towns of Italy, which are some of the most charming) such as this one in Ravello:

We rented a mini-van for two weeks in Tuscany and had no issues driving it, there were some tight situations, but we were careful and it worked out fine.

Mini vans, however, only seat seven passengers, not eight.

We knew there would be tight squeezes in the hill towns, what we didn't anticipate was how uncomfortable it is for the folks in the very back seats when you are driving on curving, hilly roads. Even those who normally don't suffer from motion sickness were woozy after an hour back there.

I've found a few vans for 7, but not eight people...oh well, will need to reassess when we get there...thanks for the input.

Eight plus luggage? If so that's a bus. Even if you found something with eight seats it wouldn't likely have any room for bags.

Have you looked at the station wagons? Some are fairly large. Still wouldn't have room for lots of bags.

You can rent big cars that seat 9 ... at least that's what the cars say they can carry!!
You can rent a Multiwagon (that is what this kind of car is called) in Rome and drive it up to Spoleto.

I found this website that have these kind of 9 seaters:
http://www.italyrent.it/vis_de...=menu&id_livello=219

I rented a 9 passenger van from Europcar (through Auto Europe) a couple of years ago. We had 4 couples.

I was most worried about the amount of luggage but we were able to get it in easily. Each of us had a carry-on size suitcase and a day-pack for our trip. I was particularly concerned that we not have a lot of luggage visible on our travel days and the eight suitcase fit under the "shelf" behind the rear seat of our Fiat Ducato 9 passenger van. We had the van a Friday through a Wednesday almost two weeks later. Picked it up at the Milan Malpensa airport and dropped in Rome at the Villa Borghese underground garage. (That Europecar location has moved since then.)

I found it easy to drive and really had no trouble parking it. I did have a tight squeeze in a narrow space in Poppi once and had to let everyone out prior to pulling into the space.

Europcar had this size van only at larger locations when I rented it.

thank you so much, we were thinking we would train it to Spoleto since we were concerned about 8 people and 8 pieces of luggage then rent car in Spoleto for our days in Umbria....I will keep looking, sounds like there are vehicles available..I just need to keep looking.

FOr 8 passengers (plus one driver), you will need one of the following vans:

* Fiat Scudo

* Opel Vivaro / Renault Trafic (They are the same van)

* Fiat Ducato

Of the three, the Fiat will have the best ride, but lacks in storage space and will be a little cramped for 8 people.

The Opel Vivaro or Renault Trafic will be much larger and still has a good ride. They have a long version and a short version. The long version will have more than enough room for everyone's luggage, too.

The Fiat Ducato is big and clunky. It rides like a truck with bad suspension. I would avoid it.

Most rental agencies have these vans, but you will need to get them out of a major city, and reserve WELL in advance.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: I have driven all of these and loaded them with our tour guests with our smaller tours. 2 years ago we decided to buy our own (we were spending $18,000 a year with a rental agency!), and we decided that the long version of the Opel Vivaro was best for us.

Hope this helps :-)

quote:

Originally posted by Michael - Soriano:
FOr 8 passengers (plus one driver), you will need one of the following vans:

A nine seater needs a commerical license doesn't it? I'm too lazy to look it up

Yes, Nine people in a vehicle (including the driver) is the maximum on a normal license. Actually, to be more specific... you can drive with a normal license in a vehicle that is licensed as a passenger vehichle with 9 or fewer seats. So you cannot drive a 50 seat bus with 8 people in it ;-)

quote:

Originally posted by slo31260:
we are a group of 8 staying in Spoleto for a few days in March. We are planning on taking the train to a few spots but I am thinking a mini van might be best and actually more economical but I can't seem to find a vehicle for 8 on line....any suggestions for local rentals? We are not looking for a driver.thanks

Vans that accommodate 8 are just not available. 7 passenger vans can be rented in Perugia at the airport or in town (try AutoEurope) and should be available in March (should your numbers change). I concur with the recommendation of two autos for eight.

We did rent a van for 9 people several years ago through EuropeCar via AutoEurope. We picked it up in Florence and dropped it in Rome. Still, even with that van, we needed to rent another car because there wasn't enough room for all of us and our luggage.

It was fine as long as we parked outside the walls of the towns we visited but as someone also mentioned it made for a bit of car sickness for the youngins who sat in the back.

quote:

Originally posted by Colleen in Umbria:
Vans that accommodate 8 are just not available.

Sure they are. I can get 5 waiting outside your door :-) as long as there is enough notice, since they are in high demand.

We rented a 9 passenger van last summer for our guests for 10 days in Umbria. Brad drove it with no problem (there were 6 of us), but 9 comfortable seats (driver plus up to 8 passengers). Regular license was fine for that number, but not room for 8 people's luggage. We picked it up and returned it to Rome from Kemwell/Auto Europe. We were able to park easily outside walls in Spello, Spoleto, Assisi, Bevagna, Montefalco, Foligno, etc.

We found it helpful to buy a small plastic footstool for 8 Euro for passengers climbing in and out of the back.

palma, this looks perfect. thank you

Look carefully at Suzy Kane's post. You will not be able to drive a mini van intoSpoleto nor any town I know of in Umbria or Tuscany. Even a vehicle the size of a BMW 5 series will challenge your driving and parking skills anyplace but on the autostrada. Depending on where you are staying in Spoleto where are you going to park the van and how will you get from there to your lodging? This same issue will come up for almost any trip you want to take. IMO it would be better to rent two cars and switch off who rides where when you stop for breaks.

has anyone ever tried to rent a luggage carrier for the top of a van. I just rented a 7 passenger van from kemwell and was told there were no luggage racks available we jave six people and I am worried we will have to have our luggage on our laps.

I agree with tessmar that parking is difficult if you're staying within the walled central ancient part of Spoleto--we had difficulties parking a little VW Polo and getting by other parked cars in the narrow lanes with they were parked on both sides of the street. Going around blind corners were the best challenge.

If you're staying in a villa outside the walls, parking should be easier.

There is an Avis rental franchise in Spoleto, but if you're coming in by train, you will need to make arrangements to be met at the station. Their office is in an industrial estate outside of town. We dropped out car off there to take the train to Rome and they were more than happy to drive us to the station.

I can't remember if there's another rental company with an office in town.

We stayed at the Hotel Charleston in the heart of town. While they do have their own garage it is tiny...getting the Alfa in and out was a challenge. As with most of these towns it is not easy to find your way around inside the walls...even with a map printed off viamichelin. And there is one street I got into where I can guarantee nothing much bigger than our Alfa could make the right turn at the end of...it was so tight my wife had to get out and make sure no one was coming so I could negotiate it by going forward as far as I could and then backing up and turning at the same time to sort of "cut and fill" my way.

Also, even if you can park a van outside the walls, how much fun will it be for all eight or nine to have to walk, perhaps a mile or more, and certainly up and down steep hills, sometimes in the dark, simply to get back to the hotel or to go to dinner? Multiply that by the number of times you'd have to do that and I'd be asking myself again whether two cars might not be better.

And BTW, it isn't only kids who might get carsick in the back of a vehicle on winding roads. I either have to drive or at least be in the front seat, and I certainly know other adults who have similar issues.

quote:

There is an Avis rental franchise in Spoleto, but if you're coming in by train, you will need to make arrangements to be met at the station. Their office is in an industrial estate outside of town. We dropped out car off there to take the train to Rome and they were more than happy to drive us to the station.

I can't remember if there's another rental company with an office in town.

Hertz has an office that appears to be 600 meters from the station in Spoleto.

We ran into the same thing and rented a mini van that seated 7 and a small car. We really liked having the two cars for our group.

we rented a van, do you think we can wing it if we decide we need to change reservation once we are there?