Tuscany and Umbria are the perfect locations for a fly-drive holiday, where car hire is really the only way you can fully discover the beautiful and rugged countryside of these regions. The stunning landscapes of Tuscany boast peaceful hilltop retreats and long lines of towering cypress trees, where the scenery and unhurried rural lifestyle of this region have barely changed in over four hundred years. Driving through Umbria, you will experience a journey across winding roads that lead to fortified battlements and impressive medieval towns perched on the top of rolling hills. And, like Tuscany, Umbria reflects a lifestyle that has not changed for centuries.
Hiring a car in Puglia gives you the opportunity to experience this distinctive landscape first hand. Characterised by rugged hills, lush olive groves and verdant pastures, and edged by rocky mountains and crystal-clear waters, Puglia is the perfect region to explore by car. A little inland is the quaint town of Alberobello where you'll find clusters of curious trulli houses that Puglia is renowned for. The breathtaking gottos of Castellana, the 'White City' of Ostuni and Lecce, located in the southern tip of Italy's heel and famous for its beautiful Baroque architecture, are also well worth a visit.
Sicily is Italy's largest island, so car hire is ideal if you're staying in one of the resorts away from the busy city of Taormina*. The north of the Island boasts the main resorts of Palermo, Cefalu and Erice all offering a very different experience for travellers, but close enough for you to travel between them by car. The motorways in Sicily are wide and well-signposted, which makes driving fairly straightforward, however it can get a lot busier once you’re in the resorts and cities themselves.
*Car hire is not recommended for Taormina.
With miles of stunning coastline of white-sand beaches, natural coves and some of the clearest waters of the Mediterranean, hiring a car in Sardinia will allow you to discover near-deserted sandy coves and rocky inlets. But there is much more to this beautiful island than the beach. With a car, explore historic towns such as the capital Cagliari and glamorous Costa Smeralda, or take a trip to the rugged peaks of the interior which form a wild, rural landscape that’s ripe for exploring off the beaten track.
Approximately 60 miles south of Naples, Cilento is a beautiful unspoilt area. And, if you have a car, this is an ideal base from which to explore other parts of southern Italy like Salerno and Naples. Cilento is an untouched conservation area threaded with monasteries and medieval towns. Its impressive cliffs and golden beaches are characterised by an untouched, rugged beauty that oozes southern authenticity. The region is also famous throughout the country for producing some of the best mozzarella cheese in Italy.
Bordering France to the west and the Italian region of Piemonte to the north, the coastline of Liguria is popular with tourists for its beautiful beaches and its picturesque towns and harbours. The region's most famous town is Portofino, a tiny fishing village that has blossomed into one of Italy’s premier resorts; a heady mix of picturesque charm and high-octane glamour, with multi-coloured houses, designer boutiques and innovative galleries. For a more natural beauty, wander the path-strewn hills to the crumbling Monastery in San Fruttuoso Cove, before settling down in a restaurant to a dish drizzled with pesto Genovese, the regional speciality.
