calli

I am planning a 3 week trip to Italy in September. We fly in and out of Rome arrive in on Sept 14th. My plan at this point is to take the fast train to Florence spend a couple of night there. Then go to Luca and Siena before getting a car (I read a car is not good in either city) and then finding someplace to stay south of Siena for at least 4 or 5 day. I have not decided where we will go after that point. We will be making our way south to end up in Rome on Oct 4th. My question is how many days should I plan to stay in Luca and Siena? What is the best way to get from Luca to Siena?
Your input would be much appreciated.
Thank you

His_Dudeness

First of all I'm jealous as Lucca and Siena are great spots. While you don't need a car to get around either, they make great towns for bases and there are hotels with parking. IMO it's always nice to have a place that's big enough to explore at night after you park your car from going on day trips and both Siena and Lucca fit the bill.

Jean

Are you heading to Florence immediately on arrival, or are you spending your first days in Rome?

There's no particularly easy way to get from Lucca to Siena. Fastest is probably by train with one or two connections, and the train station in Siena is outside of the historical center and below the town. Probably 3+ hours from hotel to hotel.

What was your plan for the days in Lucca and Siena without a car? I've been to Lucca twice and still haven't become a fan, so one full day would be enough for me. You could easily use a second day to visit Pisa by train. (Both Lucca and Pisa are also very easy day trips from Florence.) Siena has lots to see, but depending on your interests and travel pace you might feel two full days are enough to see the town. If you rented a car and continued to stay in Siena for a few more nights, you could take drives into Chianti (Castellina, Radda, etc.) and the Val d'Elsa area (San Gimignano, Volterra, etc.) that are very enjoyable with a car and are a bit far from a base in southern Tuscany.

Four to five days in southern Tuscany wouldn't be enough for me. For a first time visit, I'd want a week. If a week sounds too long, you could stop again before Rome. Pitigliano, Orvieto, Viterbo, Lake Bracciano.

At this point, my three weeks would be up.

calli

We are heading to Florence the day we arrive. We thought we could see some of Rome at the end of the trip. We have been to Rome two other times. I was thinking 2 days maybe 3 in Lucca. I thought we could take day trip to Pisa and maybe Livorno where my grandfather was from. Then on to Siena. I have been looking at car rentals. trying to figure out where to pick up and where to drop off. There seems to be less possibilities from Lucca then Siena. I was thinking of getting the car in Lucca and keeping it to the end of the trip in Rome.

Thank you for the suggestions of places to stop at before Rome. That makes keeping the car until i get to Rome a better idea. I had been thinking about dropping it off maybe in Orvieto.

Edoardo

Hello Calli,

If you are thinking to hire a car you can find here an useful map of the main road that connect the best tuscan towns http://mytravelintuscany.com/tips-fo...uscany-by-car/

I love Lucca, it is a beautiful town, and I love walking along its walls for a relaxing day, have you ever been there? If not have a look to this article http://mytravelintuscany.com/lucca-a...ind-its-walls/

I am quite sure you know many information about Florence, but for other hints I can suggest you to visit the Marble Quarries of Carrara http://mytravelintuscany.com/the-whi...es-of-carrara/ , not far from Lucca, and Lunigiana, the area with the most castles of Italy http://mytravelintuscany.com/lunigia...y-of-the-moon/ . I am available for further information, but in any case on the website you can find many other hidden places to discover off to the beaten path.

Enjoy your trip

Jean

calli, AFAIK the only car rental company with an office in Orvieto is Hertz.

If you wanted to pick up the car in Lucca and keep it until you reach Orvieto or Rome, I can recommend the Hotel Ravizza in Siena for easy driving in/out, good location for seeing Siena, and free parking. Ask for a room facing the garden.

http://www.palazzoravizza.it/en/the-hotel/

Jean

I forgot to mention that if you want to climb the Leaning Tower, you need to make timed reservations in advance.

IMO, depending on what you wanted to do in Livorno, you could probably do Pisa and Livorno in one long day. There are return trains to Lucca late into the evening.

kybourbon

I would reverse this trip. Upon arrival, you can take the local train (not the Leonardo Express) from the airport to Rome's Tiburtina station and catch the Sena bus (about 10 bus departures daily) to Siena or you can take a bus from the airport to Siena (2 departures daily).

http://www.sena.it/Home/78-1-en.html

http://www.sitbusshuttle.com/en/nuov...iumicino-roma/

If you start your trip in Siena, you can pick up a car there to visit Tuscany and drop it in Pisa (25 minutes by train to Lucca) or Florence (about an hour to Lucca so an easy daytrip from Florence). I'm not a fan of Lucca so my suggestion would be drop it unless there is something there you just have to see. I've stayed in Siena multiple times and find much more to see there than Lucca.

If you visit Siena/Tuscany countryside first, then Florence (after you've dumped your car), it's an easy train ride back to Rome from there.