Hello dear Fodorites --

Is car rental as necessary in Umbria as it is in Tuscany? I've been checking the trains on trenitalia and it seems that every town we're interested in (Assisi, Orvieto, Perugia, Cortona) has a station...

I've searched these boards and have found nothing on this topic. Am I missing something? Or is it feasible to travel through this area by train?

Thanks in advance!
h.

You can hit the 3 Umbrian (and 1 Tuscan)towns by train. Spoleto and some other towns can be added.
I,IMHO, believe that Umbria is best by car.

Like Tuscany, many sites that I like to visit in Umbria are best reached by car. But if I couldn't have one, I'd still go. But if I could have a car, I'd get one.

Gads, I hope that helps. I'm not sure it will...

You really need a car. FYI, the train stations at both Cortona and Assisi are actually in different towns about 2 miles away--you need to taxi to the real sights.

On the other (other) hand, it's not difficult to get a taxi at the station in Assisi. And it's not an expensive ride.

I don't know about really exploring the area, but I've been to Assisi and Gubbio using public transportation. I didn't think it was difficult or expensive.

It's probably *better* to rent a car. But if you can't/don't want to, etc., go anyway. You'll still love it.

Having taken a train to Cortona and been confronted with "no busses for another hour and a half", and the statement "there are no taxis here", we walked that 2 miles (is that ALL it is, Bob?) up to Cortona. We even called the phone number of the only taxi company we could find, but there was no answer. Thankfully, it was a day trip and we had no luggage, but it was quite a walk -- mainly up.

It's best to rent a car if you want to maximize your visit and truly enjoy and appreciate and enjoy the area. The beauty of Umbria is visiting the smaller, less visited and less touristy towns such as Gubbio, Spello,Bevagna and Trevi (a real gem).