Self-drive classic car tour from Rome

You drive. That is the whole idea.

This is the Dolce Vita picture, with you at the wheel instead of in the back seat. Most classic car experiences in Rome work one of two ways. Either someone else drives and you sit in the back, or you follow a guide's tail lights in a convoy of identical cars, stopping where the convoy stops.

We do neither. We give you the keys to an electric classic car, a roadbook we wrote ourselves, and the hills southeast of Rome. Where you stop, how long you stay and when you come back is your business.

The car

An eStory: the shape of the 1960s Méhari, built today with an electric motor. Open sides, canvas roof, rope-woven seats, a nautical teak floor and a wooden steering wheel. Four seats, automatic, silent.

Ours are called Gina and Sophia, both on the road from 1 October.

It is not a fast car and it is not meant to be. On the roads it was made for — the Appian Way, the ridge roads through the vineyards — it is the most enjoyable way to travel that exists, and every single person you pass will look at it.

The roadbook

This is the part that makes it a journey rather than a rental.

We hand you a printed roadbook of the Castelli Romani: the route, the stops, where to park in towns where parking is genuinely difficult, which family wineries pour by the glass, which fraschetta serves the porchetta worth stopping for, and what time the light on the Tuscolo ridge turns gold.

We wrote it because we live there. It is the difference between driving through a place and being let into it.

How the day works

Pick-up is just outside Rome's restricted traffic zone, so you never cross a camera. Fifteen minutes of handover: the controls, the charging, the roadbook, the route.

Then you go. Half a day gets you the Appian Way and Frascati. A full day gets you the lakes, Castel Gandolfo, Nemi and the sunset from Tusculum.

We stay reachable by phone the whole time. If something goes wrong, we come to you.

You bring the car back at the agreed time, and we take it from there.

What it costs

Half day — 250 € for two people Full day — 390 € for two people Third and fourth passenger — 75 € each

Included: the car, insurance, the charge, the roadbook, the handover and roadside support.

Not included, deliberately: wine, food and entry tickets. We tell you where to go and we will call ahead to hold a table in your name, but you pay directly there. It keeps our prices honest and lets you choose freely.

Optional — Castelli picnic hamper, 45 €: bread, cheese, cured meats and fruit from the local market, packed in a bag that fits on the tailgate. The tailgate folds down into a table, which is not an accident.

What you need

A valid driving licence, held for at least one year. If it was issued outside the EU, an International Driving Permit as well — get it at home before you travel, it cannot be issued in Italy.

A credit card in the driver's name for the deposit, and a passport.

The car is automatic and simple to drive. If you can drive at all, you can drive this.

Who it suits

Couples who would rather be alone than guided. Travellers on a second or third visit to Rome who have done the monuments. Anyone who takes photographs. Families with two children.

It suits you badly if you want someone to narrate history to you all afternoon, or if you want to cover a lot of ground quickly. This is a slow car for a slow day, on purpose.

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