Car Rental at Pisa Airport (PSA): No Deposit, No Credit Card and Full Insurance

Pisa Airport is the main gateway to Tuscany, and car rental here starts with one fact: the desks are not in the terminal. Almost every company sits in one rent-a-car building next to car park P5, about 500 m away, and three have their own offices outside the airport. For one week in November we found 976 offers here, with no deposit at Locauto (only a 0,01 EUR card authorisation) and up to 2,000 EUR at the others. This guide to car rental at Pisa Airport covers the 15 companies rated 8.0 or higher that we recommend, which of them take a debit card, how to reach the rental building, what the deposit will be, what a rental day costs in each month and how to avoid the restricted traffic zones (ZTL) of Pisa, Florence and Lucca. Every company was checked offer by offer in October 2026.

Data last verified: October 2026. Written by Simas Krasaitis, founder of Autorentwiz and former head of car rental at ADCRent.

Short on time? The key facts:

• Debit cards: 11 of the 15 companies we recommend accept them, from Locauto (no deposit, only a 0,01 EUR card authorisation) and Budget (200 EUR) to Alamo and Enterprise (500 EUR) and Dollar, Thrifty and Hertz (700 EUR)
• Credit card only: Sicily By Car, GaldieriRent, RentSmart24 and the standard offers of Automania
• Revolut and other online-only bank cards: none of the 15 companies accepts them at the desk. The only option is a special deal with no card needed at pick-up
• No deposit: Locauto (only a symbolic 0,01 EUR card authorisation), in the rent-a-car building
• No card at all: in our search Automania had offers with no card and no deposit at pick-up, from about 139 EUR a week
• Where the desks are: in the rent-a-car building at P5, 7 minutes on foot along the red path or a few minutes by the free shuttle. Centauro, RentSmart24 and Automania have their own offices outside the airport
• Late arrival: most desks close between 21:30 and 23:59. RentSmart24 is open 24/7
• Prices: November is the cheapest month (about 13 EUR a day on average), June the most expensive (about 39 EUR)
• Ferries: 9 of the 15 companies allow ferries, which matters for Elba, Sardinia and Corsica. Enterprise, Dollar, Hertz, Centauro, RentSmart24 and SRC Rent Car do not
• City centres: the historic centres of Pisa, Florence and Lucca are ZTL zones with cameras. Park outside them
• Free consultation: message us on Messenger and our car rental experts will compare all 15 companies for your dates, card and landing time. You get the same discount as when you book through our search

We analyse every supplier at every airport, because each branch has its own process: the same brand can run a smooth pick-up at one airport and a slow one at the next. Some branches perform well, some do not. At Pisa, 15 companies passed our check, all rated 8.0 or higher by verified renters, from international brands to Italian companies such as Locauto, Sicily By Car, Maggiore and GaldieriRent. Of the customers who asked us about Pisa and named their card type, 58% had only a debit card, so the card column matters as much as the price. To compare Pisa with other Italian airports, see our car rental in Italy page.

Locauto is the easiest choice for most travellers: it asks for no deposit, only a symbolic 0,01 EUR card authorisation at pick-up, accepts debit cards and has online check-in. Among companies that take a deposit, Budget is the lowest with a debit card, at 200 EUR. Watch the range companies: Maggiore, Sicily By Car and SIXT start low on small cars but block over 1,000 EUR on bigger classes. Two companies pair a high standard deposit with a very low one when you take their own zero-excess cover in the price: Centauro drops from 990 EUR to about 40-276 EUR, and GaldieriRent from 600 EUR to 100 EUR.

Pisa Airport has no rental desks in the arrivals hall. After you collect your luggage, leave the terminal and go to the rent-a-car building next to car park P5, at Piazzale Mario Cobianchi, about 400-500 m away. Cars wait in the large car park next to the building, in numbered bays for each company.

On foot, turn right outside the terminal and follow the red pavement and the “Rent a Car Terminal Autonoleggi” signs: the walk takes about 7 minutes. The free shuttle bus stops outside the terminal on the right, at the white shelter signed “Shuttle bus rent a car”. It runs about every 10-15 minutes from early morning until the last flight, and the ride takes a few minutes. With children or heavy luggage, take the shuttle.

• Centauro: office in Via Darsena 1, next to Hotel Galilei. Leave the terminal by the main exit, turn left and walk about 20 m to the meeting point in front of the Check-in A exit. The yellow Centauro shuttle runs every 10-15 minutes
• RentSmart24: office in Via Asmara 22, outside the airport. Call the free shuttle on +39 333 640 1818 and wait on the ground floor of the P2 multi-storey car park, in the bus parking area. For pick-ups between 22:00 and 07:00, online check-in is required
• Automania: office in Via Santa Bona 1, outside the terminal. Check your voucher for the meeting point before you land

Follow the “P5 Rent a Car Terminal Autonoleggi” signs on the approach road. The closest petrol station is the IP station by the PisaMover Airport stop. Fill up there and keep the receipt. Return during office hours if you can, so an agent checks the car and signs it off. Some companies, such as Enterprise and Alamo, have a key box at the building entrance for returns outside office hours. Locauto lists no key box, so plan its returns between 08:00 and 23:00.

Yes. 11 of the 15 companies we recommend accept a debit card: Locauto (no deposit, only a 0,01 EUR card authorisation), Budget (200 EUR), Maggiore (200-1,415 EUR), SIXT (300-1,054 EUR), Alamo and Enterprise (500 EUR), Dollar, Thrifty and Hertz (700 EUR), Centauro (990-1,500 EUR) and SRC Rent Car on most offers (800-2,000 EUR). The card must be a physical Visa or Mastercard in the main driver’s name, with the number printed on it. Maestro is refused by most of them, and some also refuse American Express. Read more in our guide to car rental in Italy with a debit card.

None of the 15 companies accepts cards from online-only banks such as Revolut, Wise or Monese at the desk. Their terms also exclude prepaid cards and cards in a phone wallet. With a Revolut card, the only option is a special deal where no card is needed at pick-up. In our search, Automania had such offers from about 139 EUR a week, with no deposit at the desk. You still pay for the booking online, and you remain liable for damage up to the excess unless you add full coverage. These deals are not available for every date, and it is easy to pick an offer that still needs a card at the desk. Message us before you book, and we will make sure you choose an offer that works with a Revolut card.

With a normal card, Locauto asks for no deposit, only a symbolic 0,01 EUR card authorisation at pick-up, and accepts debit cards. With no card at all, look at the no-card, no-deposit deals of Automania. A third route is a low deposit bought with the company’s own zero-excess cover: Centauro from 40 EUR, GaldieriRent and Automania 100 EUR, Sicily By Car from 100 EUR. These packages cost more per day, so compare the full price. Our guide to saving money on car rental explains how to weigh the deposit against the price.

Every rental price in Italy includes basic insurance with an excess: the amount you pay if the car is damaged or stolen. In our search the excess on small cars ranged from about 1,200 to 2,000 EUR. Full coverage bought online with your booking is the cheaper way to cover it: the deposit is still blocked, you pay for any damage first and get the money back afterwards. The company’s own cover at the desk removes the excess directly and lowers the deposit, but it costs the most. If you already have full coverage, you can decline the desk offer. Film the car at pick-up and at return, as we explain in our car rental pick-up tips. If a dispute starts, message us with the contract: we support you before, during and after the rental.

Pisa is cheap in winter. The average price across all offers runs from about 13 EUR a day for November pick-ups to about 39 EUR a day in June, and November comes out about 60% below the yearly average of about 33 EUR. August is cheaper than June, July and September. Most rentals here last 5 to 7 days, and bookings peak in June, then May and September.

Average price per day across all rental offers at Pisa Airport by pick-up month, October 2026 data. Prices change daily.

These are the lowest daily prices we saw for each car type. SUVs started cheaper than medium cars, and vans cheaper than large cars, so do not assume a bigger car always costs more. Large cars started from 26 EUR and station wagons from 32 EUR a day.

Small carsfrom 13 EUR/dayMedium carsfrom 17 EUR/daySUVsfrom 16 EUR/dayVansfrom 25 EUR/dayPremium carsfrom 91 EUR/dayConvertiblesfrom 119 EUR/day

• RentSmart24 for late flights: the office is open 24/7, and the company prepares your rental documents before the trip, so the pick-up itself is quick. The deposit is 650 EUR on a physical credit card. Pick-ups after 23:01 cost 75 EUR extra unless your rate already includes it
• Child seats at Locauto: when you book online, Locauto lets you add only one seat size. Add it anyway, then tell the desk which size your child needs. In Italy, children under 150 cm must travel in a child seat or booster
• Book at the airport, not in town: the cheapest offers with a reasonable deposit are at the airport, not in Pisa city. City offices are fewer and some sit inside or next to the ZTL
• Do not be late: most companies hold your car for 59-60 minutes after the booked time, Sicily By Car and Automania for 120 minutes, Dollar for only 29 minutes. Add your flight number to the booking, and if you land later, change the pick-up time before you fly

The airport is 2 km from Pisa’s centre, and the A11 and A12 motorways and the toll-free FI-PI-LI road start right next to it, so you are on the road within minutes. The roads themselves are easy. What catches renters out are the restricted traffic zones (ZTL) in the old towns: cameras record every plate, and the fine arrives weeks later through the rental company.

Pisa’s historic centre is split into several ZTL sectors that are active 24 hours a day, every day. In summer a separate night zone along the river (Lungarni) also applies from 22:00 to 03:00. Rental cars have no permit, so park outside the zone, for example in the car parks near Piazza dei Miracoli, and walk in. Do not leave luggage visible in a parked car near the tower. A ZTL fine is usually 80-335 EUR, and the rental company adds its own admin fee when it passes your details to the police. You can check the zones on the City of Pisa website.

Florence is about 80 km and one hour from the airport. Its ZTL covers the whole historic centre: Monday to Friday 07:30-20:00 and Saturday 07:30-16:00, free on Sundays and public holidays. From April to early October a night ZTL also runs Thursday to Saturday, 23:00-03:00. If your hotel is inside the ZTL, give the hotel your plate number on arrival: it can register the car for about two hours after you enter. Otherwise, leave the car at a garage outside the zone or at a park-and-ride and take the tram. Check the current zones and night dates on the City of Florence mobility website. If Florence is your base, you can also fly into Florence Airport, and our Florence Airport guide compares the two airports.

Two toll motorways start next to the airport: the A11 towards Lucca and Florence and the A12 along the coast towards La Spezia and Livorno. Take a ticket at the entry and pay at the exit by card or cash, and avoid the yellow Telepass lanes. The Autostrade per l’Italia website explains how tolls are calculated. The FI-PI-LI dual carriageway to Florence and Livorno has no tolls. Lucca, 30 minutes away, also has a ZTL inside its walls, so park outside them.

La Spezia, the gateway to the Cinque Terre, is about one hour from the airport on the A12. The village centres are closed to visitors’ cars, the roads above them are narrow and steep, and parking fills up early in summer. The easier way is to park in La Spezia or Levanto and take the Cinque Terre train, which stops in all five villages about every 15 minutes in season. For Genoa, Portofino or the rest of Liguria, you can also fly into Genoa Airport, and our Genoa Airport guide compares it with Pisa and Turin.

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