BellaIzabella

We will be visiting Italy in May. Our Base towns will be Florence, Sorrento and Rome. From Florence we plan to visit Siena. Can someone recommend stops along the way(wineries, farma\s, restautants, cafe's, sight). We will return to Florence for the evening. This will be a day trip.

From Rome, we plan to drive to Orvieto. Can someone recommend stops along the way(wineries, farma, restautants, cafe's, sights). We will return to Rome for the evening. This will be a day trip. Should we drive or take the train to Orvieto from Rome? Are there places around Orvieto worth driving through and seeing that would require a car?

I have 6 books on Italy travels, but there is so much information I am getting confused and wanting to do more that I probably should plan for.

bobthenavigator

I would not drive to Siena. Take the bus and plan to spend all day.
Same is true for Orvieto. You are making this more difficut than it needs to be.

MmePerdu

Regarding Orvieto, if you planned to go on touring from there it might be worth getting a car in Rome and driving. But for a day trip the train couldn't be more convenient. The station is across the street from the funicular that goes up to the town which is small and walkable. A car, I think for such a day, would just be a liability. Take the train.

Mimar

Neither Florence or Rome make good places to base with a car and take daytrips. To get the most out of your visit, you will want to stay in the historic centers where all the sights are. Parking is very hard-to-find and expensive. Most of central Florence is a ZTL, a locals-only driving zone. If you search this forum, you will find lots of reports from people who've received, in the mail, tickets, expensive tickets, for driving in a ZTL. Cameras photograph your license plate and the car rental company identifies you -- for a fee which they charge to your credit card. Also central Rome is a pretty hectic place to drive.

If you want to day-trip from Florence to Siena, take the bus. From Rome to Orvieto you can take the train. If you want to meander and stop in cute little hilltowns, base yourself outside Rome or Florence.

I've been a bit terse. But planning a trip is like going on a diet; you have to cut out all these things you really want. But less is more, especially if you want to get a feel of the real Italy.

hollywoodsc

You don't want anything to do with a car in either Florence or Rome Both cities are extremely restricted to cars - fines for entering the ZTL zones are horrible and parking (if available) is very expensive.
Take the train from Rome to Orvieto, it makes a wonderful day trip. Some of my favorite pictures were taken in Orvieto.
The bus to Siena stops closer to the town than the train does. I took a day tour with Viatour.com from Florence to Siena. The tour guide narrated the ride thru Tuscany and we had a city guide for a couple of hours when we got to Siena. We had free time for lunch and then continued on the bus to San Gimignano for the afternoon, returning to Florence early evening.
I normally get to places on my own but this was so convenient I'm glad I did it.

Michael

Unless you plan to visit Bormarzo and maybe the Villa Lante near Viterbo, it makes no sense to rent a car to go to Orvieto.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...th/4201068161/ to Orvieto.

BellaIzabella

We land in Rome and leave out of Rome, therefore I would like Rome to be my final destination.

After we land in Rome, what is the best way to reach Siena? It looks liek we will then spend 2 nights there. This would allow me to then rent a car and drive throguh the hills and country. After staying in Siena for 2 nights, we can then return our car(in Siena) and take the train into Florence. From Florence we will then visit where we want(by train). Where can I rent a car from in Siena?

I will take you suggestions and take the train to Orvieto.

Where is is best to visit Chiusi from? Siena or Orvieto? We will have a car in Siena and no car in Orvieto.

MmePerdu

Many previous threads on car rentals, Siena:

http://www.fodors.com/search/results...r+rental+siena

goldenautumn

Bellalzabella,,

Instead of putting up separate threads for every small part of your trip, it would help you more if you put up one thread that told people what airport you are flying into, exactly how many days you have between when you arrive and when you fly out, and which airport you are leaving from.

I understand you want to "base" in Florence, Sorrento and Rome. But if you also want to see towns like Chiusi or go to dinner near Bologna, and use a car sometimes and the train other times, then sometimes it is better to start in Florence and end in Rome, or start in Sorrento and end in Rome. But nobody can help you figure out at what point you should rent a car and at what point you should use trains unless they see the whole picture of your trip.

Have you already bought air tickets and booked lodgings?

BellaIzabella

Thanks Goldenautum. I created seperate threads becuase after posting 1 thread and reading hte responses, it would give other ideas/thoughts for the trip. I am not sure exactly how many nights I want to spend in each city, I guess I was hoping the creation of threads would help me make a better determination.

I have booked flights but not lodgings.

I will create a brand new thread with what I plan to do and then I will add in what I would like to do, that way peoplke can respnd to both and give me thoughts as to how I can arrange my "wants" with what I will do.