Florence airport easy to get to from Cinque Terre?
#1
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Florence airport easy to get to from Cinque Terre?
In June my 22 year old son and I will be leaving Cinque Terre by train and heading to the Florence airport to pick up our rental car to tour Tuscany for two days. Any ideas how long it will take us to get from Cinque Terre to Florence airport? Would like to know when we should leave CT to accomplish that and get to our B&B 30km south of Florence in Tuscany before dark. Is the Florence airport on the outskirts of Florence in the direction I'm going? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
#4
My first thought jamikins, but as she's going south of florence to her B&B, I suppose Florence makes sense. Jackie, you might investigate whether going to any airport is the easiest place. There may be rental offices by train stations along the route CT-Pisa-Florence that would be simpler and take less time. Maybe someone here will know. Maybe even near your undisclosed B&B location and pick it up there. You could ask your hosts.
#8
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We picked up our rental ( Avis)in central Florence. Just a few minutes from SMN train station in central Florence. The car rental agent gave us good directions to stay clear of the dreaded ZTL zones. Also an International Drivers License is required in Italy.
#10
For the best solution of all, if jackie would share the approximate location of her B&B, there may be an alternative, going most of the way by train then picking up the car closer to her destination, then enjoying a short & leisurely drive.
#14
I'd pick up the car at La Spezia as early as possible and make it a leisurely driving day. You'll have time for stops if something looks interesting. If you haven't been to Lucca, you could stop there for lunch and a stroll around. Make sure you can stow your luggage out of sight in the car.
#15
I don't think I'd want to leave a rental car with all my worldly goods in it, even out of sight. I love Lucca but I'd save it for when the trunk was empty and stop for lunch in the countryside somewhere where I could stay close to my stuff.
#18
Other than several Florence locations, one possibility appears to be Montecatini Terme, where there's a Europcar location walking distance, I think, from the train station:
http://www.europcar.com/car-rental-I...INI_TERME.html
I'd prefer doing that to trying to cope with picking up around Florence. A bit farther drive but I suspect generally easier. And you could take the scenic route, if you like to your destination. Otherwise, Pisa, as mentioned before, looks like a good possibility too. None are that far from where you'll be going.
http://www.europcar.com/car-rental-I...INI_TERME.html
I'd prefer doing that to trying to cope with picking up around Florence. A bit farther drive but I suspect generally easier. And you could take the scenic route, if you like to your destination. Otherwise, Pisa, as mentioned before, looks like a good possibility too. None are that far from where you'll be going.
#19
Montecatini Terme from the CT is 3 trains, 3-3.5 hours. You'd have to leave the CT very early, otherwise the MT car rental offices may be closed for lunch when you get there.
I still vote for La Spezia... Close by train to all of the CT towns, and 2-2.5 hours' drive from there to Montespertoli (or 3.5-4 hours if you choose to avoid the highways where possible).
FWIW, we've left luggage in rental cars when we've stopped for lunch. We look for a very visible parking spot, with people coming and going, and make a point of not opening the cargo area (and displaying our luggage to all) after we've parked. Maybe we've just been lucky (for 35 years).
I still vote for La Spezia... Close by train to all of the CT towns, and 2-2.5 hours' drive from there to Montespertoli (or 3.5-4 hours if you choose to avoid the highways where possible).
FWIW, we've left luggage in rental cars when we've stopped for lunch. We look for a very visible parking spot, with people coming and going, and make a point of not opening the cargo area (and displaying our luggage to all) after we've parked. Maybe we've just been lucky (for 35 years).
#20
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There's no train to Florence airport; you'd have to get a bus from the Florence train station. It would really be easier to reach Pisa airport, which (without knowing from which of the five Cinque Terre towns you'll be leaving) can be reached in about two hours, with a change of trains at Pisa Central station, not involving stairs.
The drive from Pisa airport to Montespertoli would take less than an hour, almost entirely on the limited access (PiFiLi or Pisa-Firenze-Livorno) highway. The highway passes right by the airport, and the route is mostly through countryside.
Montecatini Terme is harder to reach, and is not much closer by highway to Montespertoli. Besides, you'd have to drive (on the autostrada) past several large cities, including Prato and Firenze, with potential for traffic jams. I myself would much prefer to pick up the car at Pisa airport.
You can explore train schedules here:
http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...005817f90aRCRD
Use a date (weekday if you'll be traveling on a weekday, etc.) in the next week to see complete information about the regional trains.
The drive from Pisa airport to Montespertoli would take less than an hour, almost entirely on the limited access (PiFiLi or Pisa-Firenze-Livorno) highway. The highway passes right by the airport, and the route is mostly through countryside.
Montecatini Terme is harder to reach, and is not much closer by highway to Montespertoli. Besides, you'd have to drive (on the autostrada) past several large cities, including Prato and Firenze, with potential for traffic jams. I myself would much prefer to pick up the car at Pisa airport.
You can explore train schedules here:
http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...005817f90aRCRD
Use a date (weekday if you'll be traveling on a weekday, etc.) in the next week to see complete information about the regional trains.