Jaynjerz

I have never been to Italy and was wondering if 7 days if feasible to see the sights of Tuscany with a 2 or 3 night stay in Venice. I will be arriving and leaving in Pisa. I will be happy just seeing the tower and moving on in Pisa. My plan is to rent a car and drive to Venice from Pisa. On the way back make some stops in Bologna, Lucca, etc. Does this make sense? I think planning accomodations throughout my trip causes a problem, not having a home base. Any input will be helpful,thanks.

Tertitt69

I faced the same dilemma - choosing a home base - for a trip to Tuscany back in 2005. ALternatives include renting an apartment (but you will have to cater for yourself of course) or use a hotel as a home base. Back then, the choice fell on a hotel in a quiet location outside Lucca, which I would say was a successful choice. The hotel in question was Carignano, some 5 km from the town centre itself. Lucca is a very pleasant town with a completely walled-in old part which is quite large, and you can do a nice stroll on the wall itself which is up to 30 metres wide. I/we stayed in Lucca for 6 nights and then drove to Venice and stayed there for 2 nights, which was enough to cover quite a bit. I have a trip report on my own web page at this location:

http://tinyurl.com/ywoy4a

Enjoy & good luck

RJD

If you drive to Venice you'll have to pay for the car and for parking it while you're there. Consider taking the train to Venice at the beginning or end of your trip. Then rent a car for short trips in Tuscany.
Depending on the time of year you go, Tuscany can be crowded ,so if you want to avoid spending a lot of time looking for accomodations consider reserving places to stay in advance.

jabez

"...wondering if 7 days if feasible to see the sights of Tuscany with a 2 or 3 night stay in Venice."

Feasile,but not recommended. You will spend onbe of your days traveling. That's a big percentage of your short trip.
Driving to Venice is doable,but it's a long drive. Figure at least 4-5 hours.You then have a car in Venice,where it's a liability.
Train is slightly less stressful, but will take as long,if not longer depending on your connection.

Stopping at Bologna on the way back is fine, but how much time would you be spending there? Your day is basically gone returning and stopping there.
You could stop at Lucca on your way to Venice,but you would not have time to stop returning (remember your day will be spent traveling and with one stop at Bologna).
You also really don't have much time for Lucca, unless you arrive real early and spend almost no time there.
I appreviate your question: "Does this make sense?"
Not really.
Forget Venice and concentrate on Tuscany.Plan on a split ,staying in southern Tuscany and northern (need a car). Possibly finish in Lucca (stay your last night there or Florence,if possible).
First plan your stay:
For instance-
Night 1&2: Chianti
Night 3&4: Val d'Orcia
Night 5&6: Florence and/or Lucca

This is still crammed,but will give you a very nice taste of Tuscany.

TuckH

jabez suggests dropping Venice, focusing on Tuscany. As an alternative, I'd suggest dropping 'the sights of Tuscany'.

In driving to and from Venice, make it worth your while by making stops in Lucca, (skip Bologna IMO), Mantua, Verona and Vicenza. Doing a loop, you might also include Ravenna.

jabez

Tuck's idea works also. I still think Pisa RT for a 7 day trip makes a Tuscan visit most practical.
I,however, need to confess that Venice is not on my "A" list for my Iytaly trips. After a couple visits, I just have not warmed up to it as much as Tuscany and some other places (like Rome).
One thing that makes this forum great is that you will hear from sincere people who want to help. They also have different likes and dislikes.
The question is, what's your desire?

TuckH

The sights of Tuscany are somewhat scattered geographically and are best appreciated when one has the luxury of time. Venice should be uppermost on any visitor's must-see list.

ripit

Sure, this a very doable plan. I would spend the time as follows:

Arrive Pisa, bus to piazza dei miracoli, allow 1 - 2 hrs. making sure to check out the cathedral and the bapistry in addition to the belltower. Pick up rental car - drive to Tuscany.

Overnight in Siena or a smaller hill town for 2 nights. Use car to explore sights of Tuscan countryside.

Drive to Florence, drop off rental car. Spend 2 nights in Florence. Alternatively, you can spend 4 nights in the countryside and see Florence as a day trip (by bus or train, as a car in Florence is a useless headache).

Train to Venice. Spend 2 or 3 nights (depending on how many you have left). 2 nights and 2 days is enough to get the essence of Venice. Another night and day allows you to slow down and see more of Venice away from the main tourist areas.

Depending on what time your flight leaves Pisa, you can either catch an early train (~5 hrs.) or see if there is a discount flight from Venice to Pisa.

Alternatively, you can spend 1 less night in Tuscany before Venice and spend the night before your flight in Florence, which has regular and fast train connections to both Venice and Pisa.

Mimar

If you don't already have your tickets, you could fly into Venice and fly out of Pisa. Open jaws tickets save backtracking, are available for FF miles, and don't cost much more than roundtrip tickets, expecially if you take your return transportation into account.

From Venice, take the train to Bologna and pick up a rental car as you leave Bologna.

kialu

Hallo,

I suggest you the following:

1/2 day in Pisa (basically all you have there is the tower and the Piazza (square) dei Miracoli

2 days in Florence (is on the way)
1-2 days in Bologna (is on the way)
2-3 days in Venice

Forget about a car: you can't drive in Venice and all a.m. cities have a train station close to the centre, where you can easily walk.
Besides, as a 1st timer in Italy, you don't want to be driving in the traffic in a city centre.

For your hotels I recommend you the following: www.ItalyVip.com

Jaynjerz

Thanks to everyone for their input, so far. It sounds like Venice is going to make my vacation crammy.
What about Rome? Would it be feasible to drive to Rome from Pisa for 2 to 3 nights and make my way back to Tuscany? Rome sounds more appealing to me right now because of the distance. I have my tickets already, so RT from Pisa is concrete. I am also sold on renting a car in Pisa for the 7 days. Thanks.

jabez

I LOVE Rome,but I generally recommend enough time to best experience it.
Yo could go to Rome after you arrive (by train). Stay 3 nights in Rome.
Train to Orvieto and rent a car.
One night in Montalcino and then two nights in Chianti or Lucca (depends on departure time).
With only 6 nights I'd stick with Tuscany,but no matter your choice,you will love your triup.
what time of year are you going?