April '05, getting around Italy
 

My husband and I have 2 weeks to spend. Planning Perillo tour for one week, just an independent Roman Holiday, in which there is one day of sightseeing with the group. We would like to take our second week to see Umbria and/or Tuscany, and want to have one base camp (no car). Our interests are: walking; seeing things growing such as olives, grapes, landscape plants; eating good food, and drinking good wine. We would want to stay in a good hotel (4 star) rather than agriturismo, but it does not need to have amenities galore. Prefer someplace quaint and clean. I keep reading about the ease of travel by train and bus, but I would like to know how accessible the small towns really are. Question 1: While in Rome, we would like to visit a small town southeast of Rome called Sora. My husband’s father was born there. No relatives we know of, just want to see the place. How can we get there? How long will it take? We’d like to spend a couple hours walking around, maybe have lunch, return to Rome. Question 2: What’s the best place for our 2nd week base camp? If we stay someplace like Spoleto, can we get trains to, say, Montalcino or Lucca, without it being a big pain in the butt? We don’t mind a couple stops, but we don’t want to be on trains or buses all day long. Question 3: Do we need to make our way back to Rome for one night before our flight leaves (at 10 a.m.), or would we be able to stay at our Tuscany/Umbria base camp and get to Rome airport by then? Your advice is very valuable to me. I’ve been reading this great forum for months and have become addicted. Thanks for the great info!

With using public transport, you really only have 3 choices as transport hubs---and even those will not be easy to some places. If Tuscany, stay in Siena or Florence---I prefer Siena. For Umbria, only Perugia has the options you would need.
You will need gppd planning to access the primary hill towns--most of them by bus. Look at www.turismoverde.com for Siena options, and www.trenitalia.com for train connections.

IF YOU USE THE TRENITALIA WEB SITE, GO TO TIMETABLE, ENTER YOUR ORIGIN AND DESTINATION AND IT WILL LIST THE AVAILABLE TRAINS AND HOW LONG THE TRIP IS ON EACH TRAIN.

You might want to look into a group walking tour of Tuscany and/or Umbria.
I can't offer an agency name at this moment, but I've seen some great brochures for walking tours. You stay in small towns and visit local sights, the groups are pretty small, the walks are considered reasonable (no marathons or cliff scaling) and there is still some free time built in.

I'll have to agree with Elaine's suggestion of finding a walking tour. Spending a week in Tuscany and/or Umbria and wanting to travel around without a car by yourselves is not practical.

Hi lo

Train schdules from Rome to Sora are at www.trenitalia.com/en

Question 2:
I suggest staying in Florence, it is the rail hub of Tuscany, and taking trains or buses to other towns.

Question 3:
Yes. You will have to be at the airport about 0730. Don't rely on the trains being on time.

Sora is lovely, as is the surrounding area. My family is from there as well. My mother and I were there in March and plan to return to meet lots of rediscovered family in May. I would say spend at least one night there. The Hotel Valentino is supposed to be good. Outside of town are more expensive hotels such as Hotel Olympia and Hotel Gardenia, I think.
Your husband's family will certainly show you a good time, I'm sure!

Grazie ISABEAUBLUE! Do you have any idea how we would get to Sora from Rome? I know our hotel concierge will be happy to advise us, but I like knowing in advance how to get around. Where did your Sora family settle? We're in Ohio. Thanks for the info.

LPF - It's a 2.5 to 3-hr train ride from Rome, changing at Roccasecca.

For details
www.trenitalia.com

Steve

LoPossoFare,
hi,
wow, sorry it's taken me so long to respond, i sort of forgot to check back!
We're in Ohio too! Please e-mail me at [email protected].

have you already gone on your trip?

we leave soon,
cheers, isabeaublue