Hi everyone -

We are a family of 5 adults who will be staying in Carmignano and renting a car to see the countryside and taking public transportation into Florence. We will be in a villa from Sun-Sat morning, then move to a hotel for our last night, Saturday, before going to Rome Sunday morning (this is all in May).

What do you think of taking the train to Rome vs driving to Rome? With 4 adults travelling to Rome (the 5th is leaving from Florence the day we go to Rome), it seems cheaper to just drive. BUT, the train is so much faster (1.5 hours vs. 4-5 hours driving). I'm inclined to go the faster route, since we have such little time (3 days in Rome), but I wanted to hear your opinions.

If you do think we should drive to Rome, should we drop it off at the Rome airport and get public transportation into the center? Or should we brave a drive all the way in and drop it off in the center?

If you don't think we should drive to Rome, then we don't need the car Saturday and will stay in the city center of Florence near the train station. Do you think it's easier to drop the car off at the Florence airport and take public transportation into the city center or do you think we should just drop it off all the way in the city center of Florence?

Thanks in advance! -Fay

Fay -

I see no sense in driving to Rome - penny wise and pound foolish if you ask me. Time is money, and your time (and stress level) is worth something.

Another option might be to drive somewhere like Orvieto in Umbria, drop off your car, go up the funicular for a quick look at the Duomo and a beautiful Umbrian hilltop town, down the funicular, and take the train to Rome.

You can check out the train situation (from Florence or Orvieto or anywhere else to Rome) at the trenitalia website - trenitalia.com.

KC

After a week of driving in Italy you should be familiar with the conditions etc. of driving in that country, so I would have no qualms about driving into the Florence city centre although it is obviously more hectic than the countryside.
I would drive into Florence, stay there Sat. night and definitely take the train to Rome.

Take the train. We drove from Milan to Rome airport and dropped the car. As we were hurtling down the freeway with a zillion trucks pushing passed we wondered why on earth we were driving and not on the train. Not to mention the expense of getting from the airport to the city - being ripped off that is. Question answered, take the train.

You can drop the car off in Orveito. The train is about an hour to Rome.

DON'T TRY TO DRIVE IN ROME!!!!

driving in rome is an experience....not one that everyone needs to go through!

also, you really think it would be cheaper to drive? most of the freeways in italy are toll roads, gas is nearly $6 per gallon. the trains are the most efficient means of travel, time and dollar wise.

don't be fooled otherwise!

We love traveling by train, and in Italy is easy and not too expensive, and driving is - well, not for the faint of heart IMHO. I'd take the train and enjoy the relaxing and scenery, rather than staring at maps balanced on your knees and trying to not miss signs.

Overall, train travel in Europe is efficient and convenient. I would leave the driving, headaches, missed turns, and gas up to someone else and hop on a train! It's fast, fun, and an adventure along the way! Rome is especially horrendous for driving in, I would advise against a loaded car of people not knowing which directions to turn and getting caught in those famous traffic roundabouts with honking and bedlam all around you. Relax, take a convenient train into Roma's Termini station, then a taxi or bus to your hotel to arrive fresh and unfrazzled.

If you do decide to drive to the airport by Rome you don't have to drive through the city itself, just stay on the autostrada directly to the airport.

TRAIN. TRAIN. TRAIN. Italian trains are efficient and modern. Why would you give yourself unnecessary stress by driving when train travel is easy, stress-free and will get you to Rome faster. No-brainer really.

We rented a car in Florence last week from Hertz.We drove around Tuscany for a few days (stayed in Montepluciano). We dropped it off in Orvieto, there is a Hertz rental right accross the street from the train station. We then hopped on a train and were in Rome in about an hour.I would not recommend driving in Rome !

I have dropped a car in Orvieto several times to train to Rome and always arrange it so I have the time to lunch at I Setti Consoli, my current favorite in all of Italy. Drop the car at Hertz, walk over to the funicular, get to the top and walk a block or two to the best dining imaginable. (Bring money.)