Best way from Rome to Assisi to Florence in one day?
 

We are a family of 2 adults and 5 kids (ages 11 to 18) traveling to Italy this summer. We are staying for 6 nights in Rome, and then traveling to Florence for 3 nights and then Venice for 3 nights. We'd love to stop by Assisi on the way from Rome to Florence without staying in Assisi overnight.

What are all of our options to do this? I know we could take the train, or rent a car, or hire a tour driver, but I was wondering if there are other options I'm not thinking of. What would experienced travelers recommend? This will be our first time overseas so we're not 100% sure what our best option would be for a party of 7. Thanks for any help or ideas!

There is a bus from Rome to Assisi and a bus from Assisi to Florence. You'd have to look at the timetables to see if they work for you

http://www.assisionline.com/busoutasus.html

Trains go to Assisi too but they stop way down below that perched hill town - in the valley and a few miles uphill bus ride from there - buses more convenient because they go right from the upper town.

There are some few direct trains from Rome to Assisi, although usually you have to change in Foligno, and direct trains from Assisi to Florence. The trains are faster than the bus and run more frequently, and they take about the same amount of time as driving. However, the real issue is the luggage. Where would you leave it while you tour Assisi? There is no left-luggage facility at the station. There used to be a newsstand that would hold your luggage, but I don't think they'll do that any more.

Driving might solve the luggage problem, but it brings other problems. First of all, you'd need a van, and a seven-person van won't hold seven suitcases. You absolutely don't want to drive in either city, because accidentally straying into a limited traffic zone (ZTL) or a bus lane can bring you a big fine, plus a hefty fee from the rental company for their helping the police to trace you to your home. In Rome, if you rent the car at Termini station, you can get out of the city fairly easily without risking a ZTL, but driving into Florence is very problematic. Most people advise dropping the rental car at Florence airport, or some other peripheral place, and taking a train into the city. All of this eats up time.

I think your best option is to take the train and spend one night in Assisi. It won't cut into your time in Florence very much, because arriving in the evening and arriving the next morning are not much different in terms of what you can see and do. I think your best option is to take the train and spend one night in Assisi. It won't cut into your time in Florence very much, because arriving in the evening and arriving the next morning are not much different in terms of what you can see and do.

For the train, the cost for an adult would be about 25 euros (10 for Rome to Assisi and 15 for Assisi to Florence). Kids under 4 ride free, and kids 4-12 ride half price. There is a good direct train from Rome to Assisi at 7:58 AM. Most later trains require a change at Foligno, which involves lugging the suitcases up and down steps. From Assisi to Florence, there are lots of direct trains. All of the direct trains are regional trains, with no reserved seats. You can buy the tickets in advance and use them at any time in the next two months. Don't buy them online, as the online tickets are very restricted. The tickets have to be time-stamped in a machine by the track before you board the train. This is very important for open-ended tickets! An unstamped ticket is not valid on the train.

You can see schedules and prices here, if you use a date in the next seven days:

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...005817f90aRCRD

I forgot to mention the buses up the hill. They meet the trains, and are not a big inconvenience.

There are direct buses from Rome's rather inconvenient Tiburtina Coach station to Assisi, but they take almost 3 hours, to which you could add another 20 minutes to get to Tiburtina. There is one bus at 7:15 and another at 10:30. I think that if you want to get to Assisi at a reasonable hour without waking at the crack of dawn, the train is your only choice.

Here are the Sulga schedules from Rome to Assisi:

http://www.sulga.it/autolinea/autolinea4.pdf

I don't think there really are any buses from Assisi to Florence any more. On the site indicated by Sandralist, it mentions this service, but if you go to the Sulga web site, there are no schedules for it. I thought maybe the route was with another company, maybe a Tuscan company, but I can't find any. I found an old Sulga schedule from 2010, but it wouldn't have helped anyway, because there were only two buses a week, on Mondays and Fridays, leaving Assisi at 7 AM and arriving in Florence at 9:30; you had to call the day before to reserve a place. I have a feeling the service has been suspended.

I presume you have not looked at the total rental cost. A van that can carry all of you with luggage would be come with a breathtaking price tag. And since you don't want a car in Rome or in Florence, you will be stuck with a budget busting one-day rental. Also, a car that big eats a lot of gas. You would probably be able to hire a van tour for less than what it costs to rent your own car. It even comes with a driver who would take the ZTL risk on your behalf. The driver can also drop you off closer to the destinations instead of you having to hunt for parking spaces and then trek to your destinations.

Thank you all for all of the ideas and help! I think the one that resonates with me the most is to simply hire a van tour and driver for the day. Might not be the most economical option, but we'd get the maximum time in Assisi and possibly a tour guide to boot.

Does anyone have any recommendations on how I can find a van tour company who can drive all 7 of us from Rome to Assisi, wait around for us (or show us around!) and then drive us from Assisi to Florence, all in the same day? Thanks again for the incredible help!

for 7 of you ... I would do a transfer Tour.

Yes its expensive ... but the alternative is either staying a night, or missing it altogether. With 7 people, luggage etc ... day tripping it on the way through is not that easy.

http://www.tuscanytours.net/index.ph...ce-rome-assisi
for 6-8 people is E650

Thank you Newbie00!