Best transportation for family between Florence and Palazzo Ravizza in Siena?
 

Please help! This is our first trip to Italy for family of 5. Need the LEAST stressful method of transfering 5 people plus luggage between Hotel Ritz in Florence (on Lungarno della Zecca Vecchia on the Arno river) to the Palazzo Ravizza in Siena. Then the next day we need to check out of the hotel and transfer everyone plus luggage to Venice. (We have 3 nights in Florence, then 1 night in Siena, then 3 nights in Venice. This is part of our 2-week trip.) I want our 1 night in Siena to be wonderful, instead of annoying! Grazie!

Hop a cab to the bus station or train station, take your preferred method (bus is faster but train leaves you at a place that would be easier to catch a cab from) and then cab to the Ravizza. Or better yet, if you can rent a car, do that and then drop iot off in Venice. The Ravizza has parking so cars are not a problem (just make sure you ask about parking before you arrive as there are new rules for entering from the San Marco side).

Hi melissa,

Have you done a search on www.google.com for "limousine service Florence Italy"?

This site might also help you:
http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/planning/carservice.htm

Thanks for the transportation advice. I am nervous about randomly picking a driver or limo service. I always like to hear if anyone has had a good experience with a particular driver/guide. I'm still comparing the various options for transportation between Florence and Siena.

Hi Melissa,

If an overnight in Siena is really that important, why not put the bulk of your luggage in storage at the train station in Florence, take the SITA bus to Siena with just what is needed for the night, return to Florence and go on to Venice?

Sabina, how did you find Antonio? Does he have a vehicle which can transport 5 people and luggage? Thanks.

Melissajoy,

We're going to Tuscany this August. Based on recommendations here, I've hired Luca Garapa for several day trips and two hotel transfers. He can be reached at: [email protected]. He has been in touch with me constantly, and his prices were extremely reasonable.

Hope this works out for you, too!

Melissajoy,

I forgot to say that Sr. Garapa has an air conditioned van, and is based near Siena.

Weadles: Thanks for the tip. I will check out Luca's web-site. I am nervous about hiring a total stranger to transport my family in Tuscany! This is our first trip to Italy. How do you get around this feeling? (How do you figure out who to trust?)

Ira: Thanks for all your advice. I am thinking that maybe we will leave most of our luggage at the Florence train station, tell them Ira promised they would take good care of our bags, take overnight bags with us, hire a driver to take us to Siena via the scenic route, spend the night in Siena, then take public transportation back to the Florence train station, and retrieve our bags from storage, and take the train on to Venice! Eeeek, Ira, if there's a train strike, does that mean there won't be anybody to give us back our bags?! Ira, you are great. I can't believe how helpful you continue to be, no matter how paranoid my questions become.

Melissajoy, if you're worried about train strikes, check out this thread (Sue's post is exceptionally helpful).

Oops, forgot to post the link:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34486225

Melissajoy,

I totally understand your concern, but I've had very good luck booking people through recommendations made here on the forum. Five years ago, on a first trip to the Amalfi Coast, I took the suggestion of someone here and hired a driver to take us from Naples- Positano. We had a wonderful time with him ( Giovanni Gargiulo) and have used Giovanni three more times since then!

In this case, I would try searching previous posts for the person who recommended Luca Garapa. I think his name was Joey? Anyway, good luck, and have a wonderful trip!

Hi Melissa,

Take the SITA bus not the train. You have to change trains.

Enjoy your trip. Train strikes are always announced a week in advance.

Ira...interesting...if they announce train strikes a week in advance, how would I find out the train strike schedule?! Darn, I think I did find one site listing planned strikes for March, but I lost it...We are going in June. I did read about one lady who arrived at the train station and found they were on strike, to her surprise. She didn't check ahead of time, perhaps?

Melissajoy, check out the link I mentioned above...it has a website that lists the strikes.

Melissajoy, You don't describe the remainder of your trip, but I have taken my family to Italy. We stayed 4 nights on a farm in Umbria and will a rental car, toured a number of Umbrian and Tuscan hilltowns, visiting Siena enroute to Florence where we dropped the car.

Then, after 3 nights in Florence, trained to Venice.

However, since it doesn't sound like car rentals appeal to you, might I suggest you simply stay 4 nights in Florence and take a day trip, by SITA bus (our a day tour) to Siena. Your plan seems like alot of extra work merely to have one night in Siena (although I do admit, its nice to be in Siena after the day-trippers have left, much like with Venice).

Thanks for the advice, everyone! You're right, Leslie, I am going to a lot of extra trouble just to have 1 night in Siena. In fact, that 1 night in Siena is still costing me more time to plan than any other part of the trip! But if I don't get that 1 night in Siena, I will spend the rest of my life wondering what it would have been like....I actually originally had 2 nights scheduled in Siena, but someone said 2 nights in Venice wasn't enough, and I deciced they were right. It's all a matter of preference. I took 1 night away from Siena and added it to Venice. One of my ideas in planning this trip for my family is to give everyone a taste of everything...art museums, churches, ruins, a medieval hill-town, and a little free time. Then if we go back some day we'll know what we'd like to see more of. We have 4 nights in Rome (with jet lag!), 2 nights in Sorrento (as a base for seeing Pompeii, Vesuvius, Amalfi Coast, Positano, Ravello), 3 nights in Florence, 1 night in Siena, and 3 nights in Venice. The only way I could get 2 nights in Siena instead of just 1 without changing everything would be to have only 2 nights in Florence instead of 3. (Actually that has tempted me.)

Hi Melissa,

I suggest that taking away one night from Florence will not make it any easier to see Siean at night, and will reduce your pleasure in Florence.

Ira, sigh....I am so tired of worrying about my hotels in Florence. You're right, we do need all 3 of those nights in florence, but right now I'm in 2 different hotels in Florence! I have 2 nights at the highly rated and very expensive Plaza Lucchesi, and 1 night at the very reasonable Hotel Ritz in a family suite, but the Hotel Ritz has gotten some bad comments on-line, although my on-line friend Jack always stays at the Hotel Ritz. And the Plaza Lucchesi is nice I think but probably not worth the inflated prices they are charging because of the Calcio Storico celebrations. Ira, what hotel do you like in Florence? Right now the hotel in Florence is giving me as big of a headache as the transportation questions! I am so happy with my other hotel choices for Rome and Venice and Siena, but unsure for Florence.