Carol2010

My husband & I start our 3 weeks in Italy by flying into Venice Apr 28 and plan to leave May 1st (it's our second trip to Venice). Originally, we were to hook up with our bike tour of Tuscany May 2 - 8 and then head to Amalfi for 5 days on our way to Southern Italy to visit relatives from May 14 to 18th. BUT, the bike tour has just been moved to May 9 to 14. It doesn't make sense anymore to try to travel to Amalfi and back to Florence between May 2 to 9 as we would lose so much to travel time. So I am trying to rearrange things on very short notice. Here's new plan, please comment/suggest changes:
May 1: train from Venice to Pisa arrive 3pm - tour Pisa, stay overnight Pisa (hotel suggestions?)
May 2: Rent car and drive to San Gimignano in the morning arriving around 11:30 am (or should we take the train?) – tour all day until 4pm (do we need that much time?) then drive to Siena and check into a hotel and grab dinner (We were considering Campo Regio Relais, any other recommendations for a central hotel within easy walking distance of the main sites?)
May 3: tour Siena until 3:30 pm and then drive the 2 hours to Umbria to our home base in Fratta Todina (Palazzetta del Vescovo).
May 3 - 8: from this base take day trips to Perugia, Orvieto, Assisi, Spoleto (others?)
May 8 - drive/train to Florence to join bike tour of Tuscany (Rada, Monteriggioni, Montalcino, Pienza, Montepulciano, San Felice to name a few)

My husband would prefer to use trains as long as possible before renting a car. Is it best to rent the car in Pisa or wait until Siena? Do we need more time to do the Pisa to Siena leg? Is stopping in San Gimignano doable and/or worthwhile? Are there any "must sees" in Umbria that I have missed? Thanks for your help as I am running out of time.

adrienne

May 2 is a Sunday which is a very crowded day for San Gimignano; weekdays are better. It's also a holiday weekend (could mean that many people are off to the beach for the weekend but there still could be lots of tourists). I don't believe San Gimigano has a train station. You will not need as much time as you have allotted.

zeppole

Why don't you instead base in Florence and do day trips to Pisa, San Gimignano and Siena. Then take a train to Chiusi or Orvieto and rent your car there? If you pick up your car in Orvieto, you'd have time to see the town and then wouldn't need to daytrip back to it, leaving you more time to explore other places (my pick might be the Piano Grande, depending on weather. Ask the locals.)

You can use Venere.com to plug in your travel dates and find an available hotel in Florence, plus user reviews and prices.

Florence is a very rich place and it's not a waste of time to be there more than once on your trip.

zeppole

PS: You use buses to day trip to San Gimingnano and Siena from Florence. Train to Pisa.

TDudette

If you are planning to scale the leaning tower in Pisa, you'll need to make reservations if our experience is any indication. I always suggest Royal Victoria hotel in Pisa (ask for a quiet room or the road noise might be a factor). You can also make Pisa your base for travel to San Gim and Siena. Since you are ending up in Florence, that might make more sense as a base.

Also, to "downtown" Siena is a taxi ride from train station (don't know where bus station is) unless you have a solid 1/2 hour and the legs to do an uphill trek! Since you are bikers, this might not be a problem except for time.

Have a great time!

Carol2010

Thank you for your replies Zeppole, TDudette and Adrienne, all very helpful. You have given me much to think about and now I have more questions.

I thought hard about the suggestion to base out of Florence especially the option of the train to Orvieto. But in truth, we are more interested in making our way to Umbria and thought a side trip to Pisa/Siena along the way would be worthwhile. We only end back in Florence on the 9th because that is where our organized bike tour starts. It is a bit inconvenient to have to go back to Florence after touring Umbria but we have no choice.

If we make Pisa a base to tour Siena we would have a long trip to Fratta Todina, which is why I was thinking we should overnight it in Siena before the long drive to Fratta Todina.

We have never driven this area so do not know what to expect. Are they very crowded, difficult to drive?

Is it possible to rent a car in Pisa?

How difficult is the drive from Pisa to San Gimignano? I have read some posts that lead me to believe it is not very pleasant, especially on a Sunday? Is that why you are suggesting busing from Florence?

Do you have a restaurant suggestion for dinner in Pisa?

Is San Gimignano worth a stop or should we concentrate on Siena? How long would it take to tour San Gimignano given it will be a crowded Sunday?

Should we abandon Pisa/Siena for longer in Umbria? I am just beginning to research the area and do not know how much time we should spend in each town. For instance, how long to tour Orvieto? What about stopping in Terni on the way to Spoleto? Can you do Spello and Assisi in one day? Oh, so many questions.

Thank you in advance for your assistance! Gratefully, Carol

Paul1950

Yes, you can rent a car in Pisa.