Driving in Italy
Apr 23rd, 2016, 03:55 PM
#1
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Driving in Italy
We are going to Germany, Switzerland and Italy at the end of September. It's our first time going to Europe and we will be traveling with our 3 kids 8-11 years old. We are looking to rent a mini van or suv and drive everywhere but we are getting mixed suggestions from people. Does anyone know how difficult it is to drive in Italy? should we take the trains? We are going to Milan to Florence to Rome then down to naples and Amalfi coast. I have heard its pretty scary to drive to Amalfi coast! So I don't know if it would be easier to drop it off in Naples and take a cab to Amalfi? We also want to see Pompei I would love any suggestions or advice any could give on the subject.
Apr 23rd, 2016, 04:38 PM
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Cars can be very handy in the countryside, but a liability in cities. Given your destinations, trains would seem to be more appropriate. You can look up schedules here using italian city names:
http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en
http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en
Apr 23rd, 2016, 05:10 PM
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In european cities a car is a nonsense. Many have pedestrian only zones in the center with large fines if you get into the wrong place and hotels typically don;t have parking so it means $30to $40 per night to put a car in the garage. Plus you cannot use a car for sightseeing in the cities so it is sitting in a garage many days with you paying for the rental plus parking..
We have done many road trips in europe and it works well when you are staying in the countryside or smaller towns - where some hotels do have parking - but you pick up the car when you leave the first city and drop it when you reach the last.
But almost everything you list here is a city and it will be much easier and faster to travel from one to another by train.
If you look at bahn.de (the german rail site) they have schedules for all of europe and you can see train options. And for high speed trains between major cities if you buy tickets in advance you can often get very large discounts.
Can't comment on the first part of your trip - so don;t know if car makes sense or not - but don;t assume it is the best option or underestimate the inconvenience of find places to park (plus much parking is tiny parallel parkng spots - not huge mall style parkng.
We have done many road trips in europe and it works well when you are staying in the countryside or smaller towns - where some hotels do have parking - but you pick up the car when you leave the first city and drop it when you reach the last.
But almost everything you list here is a city and it will be much easier and faster to travel from one to another by train.
If you look at bahn.de (the german rail site) they have schedules for all of europe and you can see train options. And for high speed trains between major cities if you buy tickets in advance you can often get very large discounts.
Can't comment on the first part of your trip - so don;t know if car makes sense or not - but don;t assume it is the best option or underestimate the inconvenience of find places to park (plus much parking is tiny parallel parkng spots - not huge mall style parkng.
Apr 23rd, 2016, 11:50 PM
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we love driving in italy, though it can be stressful if you want to go slowly and enjoy the scenery. (hubbie always says the italians use the hood ornament to line up along the center road line!
All the places you mentioned are super easy by train... except Amalfi, where driving is restricted. (maybe not restricted for rental cars?? anyone know??) If you can afford to take a taxi to the amalfi, that would be great. others have mentioned taking a ferry from naples... but i haven't personally done this.
maybe try to hit pompei on the way out to amalfi so you don't need to go all the way back in. the little train from sorrento will take you to pompei.
anyway... short answer... i agree with above. you probably don't want a car on this trip except when you want to stopover in the countryside.
All the places you mentioned are super easy by train... except Amalfi, where driving is restricted. (maybe not restricted for rental cars?? anyone know??) If you can afford to take a taxi to the amalfi, that would be great. others have mentioned taking a ferry from naples... but i haven't personally done this.
maybe try to hit pompei on the way out to amalfi so you don't need to go all the way back in. the little train from sorrento will take you to pompei.
anyway... short answer... i agree with above. you probably don't want a car on this trip except when you want to stopover in the countryside.
Apr 24th, 2016, 12:38 AM
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Driving in Italy is easy - I always drive either with my own car or a rental.
Do pay attention to 'ZTL' zona trafico (?) limitado (?) and keep your invoices of hotels : if your hotel is located in a ZTL you can drive into it, and hotel should note your license plate. If not properly done, you'll get a fine, which will e dropped when you send copy of the invoice of the hotel.
Don't take too large a car, italian cities/towns have small streets.
Do pay attention to 'ZTL' zona trafico (?) limitado (?) and keep your invoices of hotels : if your hotel is located in a ZTL you can drive into it, and hotel should note your license plate. If not properly done, you'll get a fine, which will e dropped when you send copy of the invoice of the hotel.
Don't take too large a car, italian cities/towns have small streets.
Apr 24th, 2016, 08:45 AM
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Driving in Italy is not difficult, and not all Italians are speed demons. In fact, we get stuck behind slowpokes more often than we get overtaken by speed demons.
However, there's really no point in driving from Milan to Florence, to Rome, and to Naples. Between the cost of the rental car, tolls, fuel, and parking, the train would be cheaper, even with three kids. And on this route, you'd be riding on high-speed trains that go over 350 km (200 miles) per hour, and make very few stops, so the train is also faster than driving.
To get the best prices, you should buy your train tickets 120 days in advance on http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en . The discounted tickets are not reimburseable, so you should be fairly sure of your travel dates and times before buying tickets, and be sure to specify an early hour in the day to see all your options.
I just did a trial search of the timetables for August, about 120 days from now, and see fares starting at €173 for two adults and three children under 12, for a trip from Milano to Naples, on a train that stops in Florence and Rome. It would cost you somewhat more to buy this trip as three separate tickets, but you can see that the cost would be considerably less than driving, and the hassle would be infinitely less.
The train trip from Milan to Naples takes about 4 1/2 hours, about 1 1/2 hours from Milan to Florence, about 1 1/2 hours from Florence to Rome, and a little over an hour from Rome to Naples. The drive would take almost 8 hours, with moderate traffic. The drive is all on autostrade, and isn't scenic. In the mountainous areas, you mostly drive in tunnels. One stretch of the drive, from Bologna to Rome, is one of the most unpleasant stretches of road I've ever driven on, with heavy truck traffic that slows down on the inclines, so that you're constantly changing lanes. (On Sundays, truck traffic is restricted, but you can't always drive on Sunday.)
Then when you get to your destination, you usually have to stay in a peripheral area that has parking and doesn't have residents-only driving, so you lose precious vacation time commuting to the things you want to see.
With the money you save on driving, you can afford to hire a private car to drive you from Naples to the Amalfi Coast. They'll even stop and wait for you while you visit Pompeii. By the way, depending on where you go, it might be better to take the train to Salerno instead of Naples, and take a boat to your destination town. However, that would make it difficult to see Pompeii.
If you want to see some rural areas, maybe between Florence and Rome, you could rent a car at Florence airport and stay a few nights in a rural lodging. Or you could rent the car when leaving Florence and return it in Rome, taking a whole day for the drive, the scenic way, by back roads.
I live in Italy, and my husband and I go often to Milan and Rome, and fairly often to Florence. We've driven to Rome exactly once, because we wanted to do some rural touring after visiting the city. We've driven to Florence exactly once, but not to visit Florence; we were driving past to get to Lucca, and then to rural Tuscany. We've never driven to Milan. Apart from those few exceptions, we've always taken the train to these cities, even with family groups of four or more.
Some more advice: If you're flying home from Rome, you probably should visit Rome at the end of your trip, to avoid an extra change of hotel. You can go directly from Florence to Naples (or Salerno) and then return to Rome.
My husband and I vacationed in Switzerland last summer, and, depending on where you go, I would also prefer public transportation there. They have great train connections, including little mountain trains, and lake boats, and cable cars. Transportation is more expensive there than in Italy, but there are also many driving restrictions there.
I'm less sure about Germany. I've always managed to get everywhere I wanted to go by train, but I haven't as much experience there, and probably planned my destinations based on a train schedule. One of my daughters studied in Munich, and she managed to travel a lot without a car.
However, there's really no point in driving from Milan to Florence, to Rome, and to Naples. Between the cost of the rental car, tolls, fuel, and parking, the train would be cheaper, even with three kids. And on this route, you'd be riding on high-speed trains that go over 350 km (200 miles) per hour, and make very few stops, so the train is also faster than driving.
To get the best prices, you should buy your train tickets 120 days in advance on http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en . The discounted tickets are not reimburseable, so you should be fairly sure of your travel dates and times before buying tickets, and be sure to specify an early hour in the day to see all your options.
I just did a trial search of the timetables for August, about 120 days from now, and see fares starting at €173 for two adults and three children under 12, for a trip from Milano to Naples, on a train that stops in Florence and Rome. It would cost you somewhat more to buy this trip as three separate tickets, but you can see that the cost would be considerably less than driving, and the hassle would be infinitely less.
The train trip from Milan to Naples takes about 4 1/2 hours, about 1 1/2 hours from Milan to Florence, about 1 1/2 hours from Florence to Rome, and a little over an hour from Rome to Naples. The drive would take almost 8 hours, with moderate traffic. The drive is all on autostrade, and isn't scenic. In the mountainous areas, you mostly drive in tunnels. One stretch of the drive, from Bologna to Rome, is one of the most unpleasant stretches of road I've ever driven on, with heavy truck traffic that slows down on the inclines, so that you're constantly changing lanes. (On Sundays, truck traffic is restricted, but you can't always drive on Sunday.)
Then when you get to your destination, you usually have to stay in a peripheral area that has parking and doesn't have residents-only driving, so you lose precious vacation time commuting to the things you want to see.
With the money you save on driving, you can afford to hire a private car to drive you from Naples to the Amalfi Coast. They'll even stop and wait for you while you visit Pompeii. By the way, depending on where you go, it might be better to take the train to Salerno instead of Naples, and take a boat to your destination town. However, that would make it difficult to see Pompeii.
If you want to see some rural areas, maybe between Florence and Rome, you could rent a car at Florence airport and stay a few nights in a rural lodging. Or you could rent the car when leaving Florence and return it in Rome, taking a whole day for the drive, the scenic way, by back roads.
I live in Italy, and my husband and I go often to Milan and Rome, and fairly often to Florence. We've driven to Rome exactly once, because we wanted to do some rural touring after visiting the city. We've driven to Florence exactly once, but not to visit Florence; we were driving past to get to Lucca, and then to rural Tuscany. We've never driven to Milan. Apart from those few exceptions, we've always taken the train to these cities, even with family groups of four or more.
Some more advice: If you're flying home from Rome, you probably should visit Rome at the end of your trip, to avoid an extra change of hotel. You can go directly from Florence to Naples (or Salerno) and then return to Rome.
My husband and I vacationed in Switzerland last summer, and, depending on where you go, I would also prefer public transportation there. They have great train connections, including little mountain trains, and lake boats, and cable cars. Transportation is more expensive there than in Italy, but there are also many driving restrictions there.
I'm less sure about Germany. I've always managed to get everywhere I wanted to go by train, but I haven't as much experience there, and probably planned my destinations based on a train schedule. One of my daughters studied in Munich, and she managed to travel a lot without a car.
Apr 24th, 2016, 09:12 AM
#8
Great advice above.
I normally end up mixing bicycle and train as my main transport in Italy and only use a car to visit out of the way places up hills. Since you are going to the main drawers of the country it makes no sense to have a car, you are on holiday why would you want to take a car with you?
I normally end up mixing bicycle and train as my main transport in Italy and only use a car to visit out of the way places up hills. Since you are going to the main drawers of the country it makes no sense to have a car, you are on holiday why would you want to take a car with you?
Apr 24th, 2016, 10:15 AM
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With kids and luggage I much prefer a car.
Train is good for going from point to point.
Trains for 5 tend to be expensive and you have to get to the station which not always in the nicest part of the city.
Train is good for going from point to point.
Trains for 5 tend to be expensive and you have to get to the station which not always in the nicest part of the city.
Apr 24th, 2016, 12:26 PM
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I don't know what you mean by "the nicest part of the city". The stations in all of the Italian cities mentioned are in perfectly safe and decent parts of their respective cities, although maybe not the parts of the city where the glitterati live. You have to keep an eye on your belongings wherever you go, but that's also true if you drive.
The whole trip in Italy, with discounted tickets, could probably be done for less than €200 by train. I priced a trip from Milan to Naples for next August, as I said above, for two adults and three kids, and it was €173 with the Super Economy discount. It would require keeping the luggage to a manageable quantity, but that isn't very difficult. You have two adults and at least one child (the 11-year old) who should be able to manage his own suitcase.
The price I found was based on tickets bought well in advance, but even if you buy tickets close to the travel date, it shouldn't cost much more, because there is a "Bimbi gratis" fare that allows kids traveling with adults to travel free; this fare doesn't sell out as quick as some of the others. In fact, I just repriced the Milan to Naples trip for this coming Wednesday, and found the lowest fare to be €198, for 2nd class at the Bimbi Gratis fare.
No matter how you do it, driving with a rental car on this trip will be slower, more expensive, and more hassle than taking the train. That's not true of every trip of course, but I am certain it's true for this proposed itinerary, although I would encourage renting a car for a day or two to see a little of rural Italy.
When I moved to the Netherlands for a year, I was traveling as the only adult with two children. I carried nearly everything we needed for six months in three enormous suitcases, including bed linens, towels, and school books, and then moved it all from Brussels to the Hague by train with no help, except from my kids. (The only thing I shipped was summer clothing, which we didn't need for a while.)
I didn't understand the train system very well and ended up taking the first train heading in my direction, on the advice of the ticket agent in the station, instead of waiting for a direct train. Thus I had to change trains several times, with track transfers up and down steps. I left one daughter at the top of the steps and one at the bottom, and I ferried the big suitcases between them. We had the same routine when boarding and descending from trains.
When we returned home, we traveled via London and Ireland, lugging the same big suitcases, although I shipped a bit more on the way back.
So I know very well about kids and luggage on trains. On this trip I would not recommend driving. And I'm pretty sure the kids will enjoy the train ride at 350 km per hour.
The whole trip in Italy, with discounted tickets, could probably be done for less than €200 by train. I priced a trip from Milan to Naples for next August, as I said above, for two adults and three kids, and it was €173 with the Super Economy discount. It would require keeping the luggage to a manageable quantity, but that isn't very difficult. You have two adults and at least one child (the 11-year old) who should be able to manage his own suitcase.
The price I found was based on tickets bought well in advance, but even if you buy tickets close to the travel date, it shouldn't cost much more, because there is a "Bimbi gratis" fare that allows kids traveling with adults to travel free; this fare doesn't sell out as quick as some of the others. In fact, I just repriced the Milan to Naples trip for this coming Wednesday, and found the lowest fare to be €198, for 2nd class at the Bimbi Gratis fare.
No matter how you do it, driving with a rental car on this trip will be slower, more expensive, and more hassle than taking the train. That's not true of every trip of course, but I am certain it's true for this proposed itinerary, although I would encourage renting a car for a day or two to see a little of rural Italy.
When I moved to the Netherlands for a year, I was traveling as the only adult with two children. I carried nearly everything we needed for six months in three enormous suitcases, including bed linens, towels, and school books, and then moved it all from Brussels to the Hague by train with no help, except from my kids. (The only thing I shipped was summer clothing, which we didn't need for a while.)
I didn't understand the train system very well and ended up taking the first train heading in my direction, on the advice of the ticket agent in the station, instead of waiting for a direct train. Thus I had to change trains several times, with track transfers up and down steps. I left one daughter at the top of the steps and one at the bottom, and I ferried the big suitcases between them. We had the same routine when boarding and descending from trains.
When we returned home, we traveled via London and Ireland, lugging the same big suitcases, although I shipped a bit more on the way back.
So I know very well about kids and luggage on trains. On this trip I would not recommend driving. And I'm pretty sure the kids will enjoy the train ride at 350 km per hour.
Apr 24th, 2016, 03:38 PM
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the problem with driving , apart from the driving, is the parking. you will need to park the car somewhere and this will be expensive. you will need to make sure wherever you stay there is parking available.
We drove in Italy, and the only city we stayed in was Bologna, but we paid a fortune to park the car. you cannot drive in the cities because of restrictions and you need to be careful not to drive down one of these restricted streets otherwise you will be fined.
The driving itself was fine. I like the fact that you are expected to move to the left to let someone going fast past you.
here in melbourne, australia everyone hogs lanes. there is always some person holding everyone up.
If you follow the driving etiquette in Italy then you will be ok.
We drove in Italy, and the only city we stayed in was Bologna, but we paid a fortune to park the car. you cannot drive in the cities because of restrictions and you need to be careful not to drive down one of these restricted streets otherwise you will be fined.
The driving itself was fine. I like the fact that you are expected to move to the left to let someone going fast past you.
here in melbourne, australia everyone hogs lanes. there is always some person holding everyone up.
If you follow the driving etiquette in Italy then you will be ok.
Apr 24th, 2016, 06:19 PM
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Really great information from everybody here. One possible conclusion to be drawn is this: if travelling by car is indeed a whole lot smoother with a family, and if city centers are indeed a horrorshow with a car, then structure the trip this way:
Don't book accommodation in cities; book them in small towns that are an easy train or bus ride into cities. The kids will appreciate the easy/breezy lifestyles in smaller places (and so might you!). Not only that, but they can offer genuine delights of their own (thinking of Lucca or Arezzo vs. Florence, which is a teeming hellhole a lot of the time). You can stay at places with parking near train stations (or bus terminals) in smaller places, or further from the station and then park by the station.
Either that or don't have a car, and just take the train.
Don't book accommodation in cities; book them in small towns that are an easy train or bus ride into cities. The kids will appreciate the easy/breezy lifestyles in smaller places (and so might you!). Not only that, but they can offer genuine delights of their own (thinking of Lucca or Arezzo vs. Florence, which is a teeming hellhole a lot of the time). You can stay at places with parking near train stations (or bus terminals) in smaller places, or further from the station and then park by the station.
Either that or don't have a car, and just take the train.
Apr 24th, 2016, 10:46 PM
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The problem with staying in small towns is that at rush hour you'll be traveling on trains and buses packed with commuters. You could avoid traveling at rush hour, but that would cut into your sightseeing time.
I always like to stay as close as possible to what I want to see, especially when traveling with kids or elderly relatives, who might want to rest in the middle of the day. For that matter, I myself often like a nap in the middle of the day. Or to drop off purchases, or change shoes.
I always like to stay as close as possible to what I want to see, especially when traveling with kids or elderly relatives, who might want to rest in the middle of the day. For that matter, I myself often like a nap in the middle of the day. Or to drop off purchases, or change shoes.
