frankc

Will be traveling to Venice and Montacatini Terme in September. Will fly in and out of Milan. Will first go to Venice for a few days and then base out of Montacatini to explore some of the surrounding towns like Lucca and Piza and then will go one day to Siena. have been debating if we should rent a car for the whole trip or take trains or some mix of the two. Looking for some guidance. Thanks

ekellyga

Personally, I would rent a car for the whole trip and not have to hassle with train schedules, hauling baggage to a hotel some blocks away, go when and where you want, etc. I love the train, but the car is freedom. Especially if you are not spending a lot of time in the big cities (rome, venice, milan). Just a thought.
The roads are good, driving is not a hassle, you can stop for lunch when you want.

mattruby

I dont know if this is 100% the right thing to do (my trip to Italy is coming up in 6 weeks) but we have planned to have a car in the Tuscany area and then train from / to the major centres. I personally prefer to be able to have the independence of having a car and stopping wherever I want and Tuscany region seems perfect for this type of thing.

I would therefore go - Milan (train) to Venice. Venice (train) to Florence or Siena. Pick up a car and drive around Tuscany. And then train back to Milan.
(or the other way around)

Im sure others more experienced than me will give you some good advice here though.

Good luck.

rex

It depends on how many "you" are - - but it is rather unlikely that you want to rent a car and drive to Venice to just pay to rent the car and have it sit in a parking lot for a few days.

So, rent upon leaving Venice. Or unless you have NO interest in Florence (or you already have a self-accommodating rental for your lodging time in Tuscany), then I might6 agree to train to there - - and then stay there for a few days; do your day trip to Siena (by <i>bus</i>, not train) from Florence; it will be much easier on you than driving there from Montecatini (Terme, I assume?)

You can drive yourself back to Milan. Typically, the best bargains in car rentals are the sixth and seventh days of a rental (essentially free); then the eighth, ninth and tenth are typically back to the same rate as the first/second/third.

Best wishes,

Rex

SalB

How long will you need the car? If you want it for 17 or more days, it is much less expensive to lease it. That's what we do and it includes all taxes and insurance plus tax stickers where necessary.

The only time we don't take a car is when we are planning to stay only in a city. We like the freedom. If you're spending a lot of time in cities though, it's silly to pay for rental and parking.

Cicerone

Driving to Venice does not make a lot of sense to me, as you can't use the car in Venice so you will be paying for it even when you aren't using it. You will have to park somewhat outside the city and take a train, bus or taxi in to Venice, and then a water taxi to your hotel, so it is easier IMO to just take the train and get out right at the station at the lagoon. Also, you will pay for the parking in Venice for the time you are not using the car.

I would personally take the train from Venice to Florence, and rent a car to explore the region, return the car where you got it, and train to Milan. You could rent from Venice and drive to Tuscany and then on to Milan, but you will have drop-off charges in that case. Also remember that insurance is mandatory, which adds to your cost, and that gas is $4.50 and up a gallon here.

I assume you have looked into an open jaw flight into Venice and out of Milan. If you aren't spending any time in Milan, it would make more sense to fly directly to Venice first.

platzer

Our last trip we drove. It cost a fortune and we were constantly lost and frustrated, wasted half thetime looking for a place to park, in fear of being in an accident, unable to drink for fear of the tough DUI laws.

The lasttrip we took the train. We sat in confort, sipped cappuccino or wine, got to meet some locals, reviewed guidebooks for our next stop, and arrived relaxed and rested as thetrain trip served as nice downtime from all our running around.

It's a no brainer,rea;;y.

PS 1: I'm might have rented a car for one day, but, of vourse, the #%$@ European rental car agencies don't permit anything less than 1 day rentals.

PS 2: Lucca is a boring waste of time. Don't bother.

jabez

I love driving in Tuscany and Umbria. I do not like driving from Tuscany to Milan or Venice (or vice-versa). It's a long long unspectacular drive.
Train to Venice (don't need a car there obviously)from airport. Then train to Florence and rent a car.
While I won't go so far as to call Lucca a bore,Pisa sure is.
Depending on how long you are there, I would hit some hill towns.

Hopehana

I just returned from Italy for a month and rented a car 3 out of the 4 weeks. This is my 5th time to Italy. Driving in towns can put you in a terrible mood. I agree train from Milan to Venice, Venice to Florence and pick up a car for those day trips. Signage is excellent if you have someone in the front seat helping you navigate.Toscana is such a great place to drive. Never been to Lucca but always heard it is lovely. Pisa is soooo touristy, get there by 9:30 there is a pay parking 2 blocks away from the entrance. It costs 15Euros to climb stairs and you are given a time frame for entrance. People everywhere coming out of busses. I do not get the attraction of Pisa. I would opt for San G or Volterra instead or even smaller towns around the area.

frankc

Thanks for all the feedback you have provided it is helpful. I will ask you all for another opinion- do you recommend somwhere besides Montacatini terme to use as a base to explore the other Tuscan towns? have been to florence twice already and was not looking to go back there.