sio

Hello, I have come up roughly with the following itinerary for Italy for July this year and will appreciate if you can review and give me some guidance and ideas:

Day 1 (Sat): Arrive in FCO (from another European city), rent a car and drive to our Tuscany base near Montepulciano
Day 2 -7 : Day trips from our Tuscany base
Day 8 (Sat): Return the car and go to Rome - I am thinking of driving to FCO and take a taxi from there to the hotel in Rome instead of to a train station and deal with trains and then taxi in Rome Termini. Is this a good idea?
Day 9 - 11: Explore Rome
Day 12 (Wed): Train from Rome to Venice
Day 13 -15: Explore Venice
Day 16 (Sun): Flight out of Venice

Thank you.

klondike

Seems strange to be back tracking to Rome from Montepulciano to get to Venice...is there a reason you aren't seeing Rome upon arrival, then proceeding to Tuscany, then on to Venice?

One day (basically) is hardly worth all this effort--you'll barely have time to see anything. Perhaps you've already visited Rome before maybe? Same with Venice, one day is extremely short but it can be done.

bvlenci

It looks to me as though there are three full days in Rome, plus part of the arrival day. This would be a bare minimum of time in Rome, in my opinion.

annhig

yes, as you're flying into Rome and out of Venice, the obvious itinerary is Rome, Tuscany, Venice.

At the end of your stay in Rome, you could take the train to Orvieto, perhaps stay a night there, and then pick up your rental car there, and drive up to Tuscany. Then drive or get the train to Venice.

adrienne

Agree with the above regarding itinerary.

Taxi from FCO to Rome - good idea - why wouldn't it be. I would use a shuttle service - http://www.limoservicerome.com/

WWK

I agree with the above recommendations, but am wondering why you aren't flying directly into Florence instead of Rome?

Bamaman

Your trip would be much more efficient if you started at Venice, took a train down to Florence and picked up the rental car there. Spend your time in Tuscany, and returned the rental car at the Orvieto train station. Then take the 70 minute train ride into Rome Termini. When leaving Rome, take the train out to FCO.

With ultra expensive Italian gasoline, it's just too expensive to back track. I also prefer flying out of FCO later in the day.

ellenem

I suspect the OP has a one-year week rental (Saturday to Saturday) and is fitting the itinerary around that.

sarge56

I would not pick up the car in Rome. I would train to Orvieto and pick up a car there. And return it to Orvieto if you are heading back to Rome. Then train back to Rome from Orvieto.

I also would agree that your itinerary is out of sorts by going back to Rome before heading to Venice. I would fly into Rome. Do Rome. Train to Orvieto. Pick up car there. If you can return it in Bologna, then you could train from there to Venice. If you must return the car to Orvieto, then you can train to Venice from there.

Have a great trip!

sio

Thanks for all your replies.

Reasons for backtracking:
1. The agriturismo in Tuscany is from Saturday to Saturday.
2. I am afraid of driving from Tuscany to Venice; on the other hand, there is no direct train from that part of Tuscany to Venice, so, it seems to be a lot of hassles.

Should I really re-organise the itinerary? In that case, I may not be able to find an agriturismo to stay in.

The time in Rome and Venice should be ok for us, as we have been to these two places and it will be hot in July.

adrienne

If you've found a place you like in Tuscany then stay there and work your itinerary around it. You possibly could change your departure date so you have 3 or 4 days in Rome before heading to Tuscany but if this is difficult I would keep the itinerary as planned.

<< I am afraid of driving from Tuscany to Venice >>

But you're not afraid of driving out of FCO nor of the prior 8 days of driving? I don't get this.

How many train changes will you need from your area of Tuscany to Venice? You could drop the car at the Pisa or Florence airports or someplace else en route and take a train to Venice? Pisa and Florence are in Tuscany and since you're not afraid of driving in Tuscany these would be good locations rather than returning to Rome/FCO. This is predicated on changing departure to allow Rome visit before Tuscany.

Once plans are made, sometimes it's more difficult and stressful to change them and returning to Rome would be the better option. Your itinerary looks fine and sometimes in life the most logical options are not the best.

annhig

sio - i don't really understand why driving from Tuscany to Venice would be worse than Rome airport to Tuscany and back either, but never mind, if that's what you need to do to make the itinerary work, that's what you need to do. [and you can always come here earlier next time!]

hope you have a great trip!

sio

Thanks for all suggestions! I had a lot to think about and I discussed this with my husband. We decided to go with the original plan simply because we want to stay in an agriturismo in Tuscany. It is not easy to find one that is not renting on a weekly basis at that time of the year.

Now, after reading all the posts, I started to get worried about driving from and to FCO! So, tell me, if I want to return the car after Tuscany and take a train to Rome, where should I drop the car? I saw a lot of recommendations for Orvieto. What about Chiusi? What will be more convenient?

sio

Also, I cannot change the tickets to arrive earlier this time not only because I have to pay a charge to do that but also because I am using every single day possible of my holiday of the year and starting on a weekend maximizes the number of days I can spend in Europe!

sarge56

Orvieto. It is about 70-90 minutes to Rome from there, via regional train.

I think Orvieto is going to be your best bet for dropping off because it is a larger tourist destination than say Chiusi.

Have a fun trip!

adrienne

<< I started to get worried about driving from and to FCO! >>

My point was that you will be driving in Italy for 8 days and then all of a sudden you're worried about driving in Italy. This thinking defies logic.

Drop the car in Orvieto and try to have time to see the town, especially the cathedral with its magnificent frescoes.

kybourbon

>>>I saw a lot of recommendations for Orvieto. What about Chiusi? What will be more convenient?<<<

Where is your agriturismo? Tuscany is a big area and perhaps you are closer to Florence, Siena or Arezzo than Chiusi/Orvieto. If you are close to Siena, you could drop your car there and take the Sena bus to Rome.