We will be taking a 12 day trip to Italy this October. We fly in and out of Rome (already booked) and plan to drive from Rome to Tuscany (and Florence) and then on to Venice before returning back to Rome. Despite all of the "warnings" I have read here about driving in Italy, we plan to rent a car because we will be spending about 6 days exploring Tuscany. We plan to drive from Rome to Montalcino and then on to Florence. I understand from researching the forums here that it is not wise (and sometimes not even possible) to drive and park in the major cities like Florence. My question is, where do we park our car (overnight in most cases) while we visit the major cities like Florence and Venice? (Rome will not be an issue because we plan to only pick up and drop off our rental car in Rome.) Also, how much will it cost to leave are car parked overnight? Your advice is much appreciated!

Drop the car after Tuscany in Florence and use the trains after that---do not make it so hard.

Hi benjoanna ,
I'm with bob. Just use the car for the Tuscany portion of your trip. You really need it there IMO. You will have to pay to rent it and park it everywhere else while you won't be using it. Relax and take the train. Have you thought of flying open jaw, into Rome and home from Venice? Just an idea.

Have fun,
Michele

We've driven twice in Italy and in Germany and the Czech Republic, but I agree with the others to drop off the rental car when you arrive in Florence. You really will not need it for the rest of the trip and it will be too much of a pain.

If you still decide to keep the car:
Prices for overnight parking can have a huge range based on location, whether its monitored, etc. We just paid 13 euros/night at an inside, monitored garage in Bologna.

I always find it best to ask the hotel I'm staying at where and how much the closest public parking is. For Venice I'm thinking you will have to park on Mestre and train to Venice???Not really sure.

But again, best thing is to just drop off in Florence and train the rest of the trip.

For Venice you drive to the end of the causeway and park the car at Piazzale Roma. I would guess by this point the parking is about $40 per night. We hve done this severla times and it made perfect sense since we were in the middle of road trips.

But as others have said - you need the car only for Tuscany. I would drop it at the Florence airport and take the train for tee rest of the trip - otherwise you wil be paying $150 per day for a car you are not using at all.

And I am not a naysayer about driving in europe. We have done many road trips there and love driving. the drivers are, in general, better than in the US, since it's much harder to get a license, but they do drive faster and take driving seriously - so won;t be forgiving of mistakes (like dawdling in the left lane - which is VERY seriously for passing only). The other thing is that parking spaces are generally very little larger than the car, you need to be a good parallel parker - on both sides - and realize that for many of the hill towns the parking lot is outside the walls - and you then walk into the town.

Thanks everyone! Your responses are very helpful. We will plan to drop our car in Florence after Tuscany and take the train to Venice.

On another note, any suggestions for wineries or wine tours in Tuscany? We are looking specifically in the Montalcino and/or Chianti areas. I saw a few posts suggesting Franco Fadda but his website has been down. Thanks.

Let me add that you can certainly drive IN Florence..many of us have BUT one of the biggest problems is the maze of one-way streets, etc., not to mention the many areas where you cannot drive a car unless you LIVE in the neighborhood not to mention the other no-drive areas. Florence has LOTS of cars so driving there is not an impossibility.

I would advise you to know IN ADVANCE the location of the car drop off point unless you ARE planning to drop the car at the airport which is easier to find. The street numbering system with the so-called "red numbers" on one side and the "black numbers" on the other can be a nightmare.

As to driving in Italy...I'm not sure I agree with the generaliztion that the drivers there are "better" than the ones in the US and I live in the Washington, DC, area where the dsrivers are some of the worst...but due to the laws about not using the left lan except to pass that alone will make the drivers in Italy SEEM better than the ones in the US for sure..and they even USE their turn signals, too. I think you'll find the driving is worthwhile.

If you plan to go from Florence to Venice, regardless of transportation, without stopping to see some sights, then by all means go by train. But I would suggest driving if you want to see some sights, such as Ravenna (a slight detour).

We were in Italy several years ago visiting Lake Como, Milan, Venice and Rome. We flew into Milan, took the train to Lake Como area for two days, trained back to Venice, then to Florence. We rented a car in Florence and drove the countryside for three days visiting the small towns and staying in B & B's and Agritourismos. We then drove on to Rome and turned the car in at the airport, took public transport into city...never had to use a taxi. We had NO problems at all with the trains nor the driving though we did not drive in the larger cities and would see not reason to as the trains are so easy. Obviously, I would agree with previous advice to use the trains!

Can I add my question about driving too? Could use some opinions on our trip next July!

We will be taking the train into Italy from Switzerland and plan to spend a week in an agriturismo in Tuscany somewhere around Siena. We will have a car in Tuscany. Next we will go to Pompeii before spending our last days in Rome. No car in Rome.

The kids would like to see Pisa if it fits in with parental plans to relax - and I had 2 ideas to do so. Coming from the Bernese Oberland by train, pick up the car in or near Pisa, visit and drive to Tuscany (don't know if all that can be done in one day), or take the train straight to Tuscany and do a (long) day trip to Pisa and maybe Lucca from there. If taking the train directly to Tuscany, where would be the best place to pick up the car?

Next question - should we keep the car to go to Pompeii (another long trip, but we could stop along the way for gelato or if we see a cute village if we feel like it)? We could drive back to Rome and turn in the car there, maybe the airport if it's on the way, OR, should we get rid of the car at the end of our Tuscan stay and take the train to Pompeii and then to Rome? (Or any other combination?)

Thanks!

Re: the second half of your question. Where are you staying to see Pompeii? The town of Pompei or environs? Sorrento? Naples? I'd never drive and park in Naples. And probably not in central Sorrento. If you're staying elsewhere, consult your hotel about parking. Pompeii Scavi is a stop on the Circumvesuviana commuter train between Naples and Sorrento.

Driving between Tuscany and Pompeii, you will be on the Autostrada, a freeway. Getting off and on takes time and can be complicated. Seeking out cute little village would add time to your longish drive.

Italy has Autogrills and such, large restaurants that bridge the freeway and offer easy off and on. This is a definite experience.

If you want to go only to Pompeii and none of the other interesting sights near it (Amalfi Coast, Capri, Naples, Mt. Vesuvius), you can do it as a (longish) day trip by train from Rome. This might make more sense, allowing you to drop the car in/around Rome after driving from Tuscany. Or drop it even earlier; Orvieto is a favorite such location.

I should have explained my thinking...If we drive to Pompeii we would stay at a hotel I found across from the entrance - it has free parking. I was thinking of driving so we could stay overnight and then see Pompeii as early as possible in the morning, try to avoid the afternoon heat, then go back to Rome to check into an apartment.

I just didn't want to get us in over our heads with way too much driving.

Well, if you only want to see Pompeii and nothing else around, then your plan is doable. It excludes the Archeological Museum in Naples, which has many items from Pompeii including mosaics.

Possibly you could drop the car at Ciampino airport SE of Rome, then take a bus into Rome. Or go around (via the GRA, the ring road around Rome) to Fiumicino, which has a train line into Rome proper.

Re the OP's question re wineries or wine tours in Tuscany. Are you interested in visiting a few for fun, or are you seriously into wine? If more the former, then consider Castello Banfi. It's the biggest winery in Tuscany, and their estates reminded me a lot of the wineries in Napa Valley. They offer tours, which you must schedule in advance, but you can also just go there and pay for a wine tasting. They have several restaurants on-site (we didn't eat at them). My husband is way into wine, and on one trip, while I was horseback riding, he visited several small, highly-regarded wineries (Ciacci Picolomini; Biondi Santi, Casanova dei Neri). The hotel where we were staying was able to arrange those visits. I think that a lot of the smaller places like that, you can't just drop in - you need to schedule it first. On the other end of the spectrum, there are also small places that advertise with signs by the side of the road. Those, obviously, you can just stop by, taste their wines and buy a bottle.

On the other question, about driving to Pompeii, I think your idea of driving to Pompeii and staying there overnight is a good one. Driving to Rome, dropping the car there, then taking a train or bus from there will add a lot of time. If you already have a car, just get in and go. Though as I recall from making a similar trip a long time ago (from mid-Tuscany to Sorrento, then visiting Pompeii the next day), the drive is not very interesting south of, perhaps, Orvieto. You're unlikely to see any cute villages to stop off in.

In terms of visiting Pisa, it depends on where you pick up your rental car, and that depends on which is the best train and destination from the Bernese Oberland. If you end up in Florence, if you're going to visit Pisa, it probably makes the most sense to go there straight from Florence (depending on your arrival time). As you plan, however, use the train schedules and google maps to figure out estimated travel times. Then present that (in writing if necessary) to your kids, pointing out the exact amount of travel time to include Pisa in the plans. That has worked with our kids, to determine whether they're interested enough in a certain destination to take time out of schedule for the travel time required to get to and from that destination.

Lex - good info on wine tours! I'll be using that for our trip too.

You made me think of another option for Pompeii Lex. We could drop the car at Orvieto or Chiusi and go by train to Pompeii (if the station is close to the entrance that is - we'd have to deal with luggage), still stay overnight near the entrance, still get to Pompeii early and go to Rome by train later that day. We'd avoid the in and out of Rome an extra time in any case. Would you think train or car to Pompeii then Rome is better before going to Rome?

benjoanna,

It's not clear from your posts whether you are staying in Rome first (and then again at the end) or driving to Tuscany from the Rome airport directly upon arrival. I suggest one of these 2 options-

1. Pick up car at the Rome airport and drive to your location in Tuscany. After your Tuscan stay, drop the car in Florence. If you feel that jetlag would not make this possible then...

2. Upon arrival at the Rome airport, take the train to Florence. Enjoy your time in Florence and then when ready to go to the Tuscan countryside, rent the car. Return car in Florence or drive to Venice and return there. From Venice, train to Rome and enjoy Rome.

Both of these options will allow you to not split your time in Rome and save you an extra check-in/check-out of a hotel.

To get from Florence to Pompeii, you train to Naples Centrale station, then inside the station go downstairs to the Circumvesuviana commuter train terminal and take that to the Pompei Scavi stop, which is opposite the entrance to Pompeii. That station has luggage storage - if you need it.

Be sure you get the commuter train to Sorrento; that's the one that goes by Pompeii. BTW, Sorrento is not far beyond Pompeii and has a large selection of hotels.

kwren -

I don't take trains much, because to me, if it's not point to point, I'd rather be in a car. Obviously, not everyone feels that way. I like the idea of going, as we did, from Tuscany/Florence directly to Pompeii, then back to Rome to end your trip. You're already on the road.

In terms of taking the train from Orvieto/Chiusi to Pompeii, look at the logistics and make your decision. If you take the train, you'll need to leave wherever you are in your car in enough time to get to Orvieto/Chiusi to drop the rental car and meet the train you intend to take (take kids and luggage out of car, and onto train). Then switch trains in Naples as Mimar describes (kids and luggage off train, onto other train). Then off train (kids and luggage) and get yourselves (cab? walk?) from the train station to your hotel in Pompeii. I'm not into the on-off thing, and having to make sure I get to a train station at the right time (though we do take trains from one big city to another). But on the other hand, DH and I are comfortable driving most anywhere (except for in Rome).

When we went to Pompeii, we drove to Sorrento and spent the night there. It was interesting, and our hotel had a fantastic view, but I didn't love Sorrento. And that plan had a very serious downside, which was that we then had to drive our rental car back to Pompeei on our day at Pompeii (I remember that drive taking longer than I thought it would) and leave the rental car in a car park with all of our luggage in it. We had no problems, nothing was stolen, but IMHO it was a risky thing to do. At the end of the day, we drove to Rome (can't remember where we dropped the car) and finished our trip there.

Aside from Portugal where I rented a car for 4 days I avoided renting in Italy.
We traveled lots with suitcases, Mom and 2 kids, and although it was exhausting after long distances, driving would've been much more stressful and not more cost efficient.

Trains all over Europe are fast and overall easy to get used to, reading the lines on boards, tracks or binaries, etc. For me after the drive in Portugal riding in trains was much more easier, no parking and basically jumping in a train, sit, get to a point and fine our destination, not dealing with maps, parking and NIGHTMARE driving.