I've decided to get all laid back about visiting Tuscany with Lucca as a base. Does anyone know if I can hire a car and driver in Lucca (maybe with a small van for myself, wife and two daughters) to spend a couple of days visiting nice towns in the region around there, please?

Try one of the major car-rental agencies; some offer chauffeur-driven cars as well as self-drive.

I've been racking my brain and hunting through old notes and the web looking for the name of the Lucca car rental agency from whom we rented a couple of vans in 2002. They also have drivers available. They picked us up from our cruise ship in Livorno and drove us back. It's family owned by a brother and sister who were lovely people to deal with. We arranged it all via email. Unfortunately the only thing I remember is Autonoleggio Something, which doesn't help much as autonoleggio simply means car rental. They were located about 3-4 blocks outside the walls, if that could possibly help.

Go to the yahoo groups page and join the Oceanacuisers group. The folks on that board share a lot of information on who they've hired as a private driver. The port closest to Lucca for Oceania cruises is Livorno.

Wilberforce:

If you're still looking for a car and driver in Lucca, I would recommend Autonoleggio Giglio, a very reliable family business. I couldn't recall the name when you asked early this year. The contact information is:
[email protected]