Renting a scooter in Florence

Where to get a motorino (moped or scooter) in Florence

You can rent your own scooter or take a guided Vespa tour to explore Florence the way most Florentines do: by motorino.

Just follow these safety rules and in no time you will be weaving in and out of traffic and escaping the tourist hordes to head out and discover the amazing hills hemming the city center.

Renting your own scooter in Florence

There is only one main central shop where you can rent a motorino (motor scooter) in Florence, just northeast of the leather market and train station–area hotels.

However, there is also a service that will deliver you a Vespa (or bike) directly to your hotel, B&B, rental, or whereever you are staying.

• Alinari, Via San Zanobi 38r (tel. +39-055-280-500; www.alinarirental.com)
  - €15 per hour, €35 for 5 hours, €55 per day for a 125cc motorino.
• Ecorent, [Delivers vehicles to your hotel or wherever!] (tel. +39-050-777-461 or 348-871-6221, www.ecorent.net)
  - From €50 per day.

Florence Vespa & moped tours

Florence Vespa Tour: Tuscan Hills and Italian Cuisine

Drive your own stylish vintage Vespa through Tuscany, just as the locals do, on this 4-hour small-group tour from Florence! Following your guide, leave Florence and head to the hills, passing beautiful attractions like the Church of San Miniato al Monte and Piazzale Michelangelo. Finish in the best way possible, with a relaxing and typically delicious Tuscan meal in Florence. Numbers are limited to 10 people on this fun-filled Vespa tour, ensuring you'll enjoy a more personalized experience...

Duration: 4 hours; Cost: $92 per person

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» book:

 

Vespa Small Group Day Trip to the Chianti Wine Region

Take a tour from Florence with a difference - by vespa scooter! It's a fabulous way to tour the Chianti region of Tuscany with beautiful vineyards and rolling hills. An exciting alternative to conventional tours, this Chianti Scooter Tour gives you access to country roads so you'll discover more corners of this world-famous wine producing region of Italy. Ride through the hillside of Tuscany on a Vespa scooter and soak up the sights, smells and sounds...

Duration: 6-7 hours; Cost: $108 per person

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» book:

 

Discover Tuscany on a Piaggio Vespa

This shared, full day excursion is an easy and fun way to discover the Tuscan countryside. Roll through Tuscany on a scooter and soak up the sights, smells and sounds: warm winds on your face, earthy colors, the scent of thyme and rosemary... this is an unforgettable experience that you won't want to miss! A comfortable minivan will bring you to Chianti country, far away from the busy and bustling city...

Duration: 6 hours; Cost: from $126 per person

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Florence Electric Bike Tour with Farm and Wine Bar Visit

Explore Florence and the Tuscan hill town of Fiesole with little effort and lots of fun on this 4-hour electric bike tour, led by a local host. Safe to ride, the bikes have an electric motor that start as soon as you pedal, meaning you’ll see the sights without getting out of breath! After admiring Fiesole’s views, pedal back to Florence, stopping for a wine and food-tasting session on the way. Then, look out for highlights like the Ponte Vecchio, Florence Duomo and more! Pedal behind your host and away from the busy city streets to the nearby hill town of Fiesole, an enchanting Etruscan town that enjoys incredible panoramas of the Tuscan countryside. Ride along the peaceful hill roads and stop at a working farm on the town’s outskirts...

Duration: 4 hours; Cost: $64 per person

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» book:

 

On smart scootering

Everyone will tell you never to rent a scooter in Italy. They say motorini are too dangerous, too unstable, too unpredictable, and the surrounding traffic is too insane.

They say you'll inevitably get into an accident and return home with, if you're lucky, an ugly road rash from skidding through gravel in your shorts at 30mph (and, if you're unlucky, a cracked skull).

Poppycock. I rent scooters in Italy all the time and the worst injury I've ever suffered was a bent-back thumbnail once when I misjudged flicking the start button. The real issue is that people don't treat scooters with respect. They're just too cute: like baby motorcycles, or bikes pretending to be grown-ups with an engine and everything. Aww. Plus, they're just so much darn fun!

As a result, many people drive around, without a helmet, at high speeds. They rubberneck the sights, chat with their companion behind them, or sit there texting with one hand and steering with the other. That's just dumb. Remember: a scooter is essentially an undersized, underpowered, under-stabilized motorcycle.

It's not so much that scooters are dangerous as it is tourists are stupid (not people: tourists. People who are perfectly sane, rational, and responsible at home often transform into giddy idiots after just a few hours on an exciting, exotic, sun-drenched vacation).

Scooters also fool you into thinking you can join the cars racing all around as if an equal. You're not equal. You are perched precariously atop a tiny scrap of metal and plastic with wheels. The drivers of the cars are cocooned in a protective metal shell padded by airbags and such. If you get hit by a car, you'll be road kill; they'll probably just think they hit a bad pothole.

Motorino driving tips for Florence

Yes, scooters are dangerous—though not much more so than walking—and yes the traffic in Italy is atrocious, doubling the danger, so take precautions:

• Wear a helmet (casco).
• Stay off major roads as much as possible.
• Drive cautiously.
• Obey all traffic signs.
• Keep your eyes on the road and on the surrounding traffic, not the sights.
• Don't weave in and out of heavy traffic or jump-start a red light before it turns green (even through all the other scooters are doing it).

In other words: do no, under any circumstances, drive like the locals, who are used to the traffic rules and have been riding a motorino since the age of 14.

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