margo_reader

This is our first trip to Italy, and we need some help planning. We'll be driving from next to San Gimignano to Florence (Via Borgo Ognissanti) on a Friday morning to return a rental car by 10 a.m., and then traveling to Venice by train. How much time should we allow between starting from San Gimignano and actually boarding the train?
Can anyone please advise on which maps to use while driving in Tuscany? I printed out directions and maps from Michelin, but the maps are not detailed.

Gaia

Perhaps if you start at 6 am. you may make it to the station. I would not dare. (finding car rental return and going to the station takes time). Why don't you drive to Venice and drop your car there?

rex

Sounds a bit paranoid to me. It's less than an hour's drive. And, as was suggested above... you COULD drive onward to Venice - - but I'd recommend leaving all the earlier. Venice is a real bottleneck on Friday afternoons - - only one road across the causeway to get to Piazzale Roma.

Best wishes,

Rex

tuscanlifeedit

It is less than an hour's drive, as Rex said, so you don't want to be there too early. Find out when the rental agency opens, and be there, then. I have stood outside rental offices in Italy, in the morning, waiting for them to open. And I wasn't alone.

Also, get very good driving directions to the agency itself. Plan on an extra 30 minutes, at most, for getting lost in the city. There may be unexpected one way streets and blocked roads, but 30 minutes is about twice as much time as you will really need to find your way.

Be prepared and it won't be a problem.

If you have luggage, consider a taxi from the rental office. They can either call one for you, or direct you to the nearest taxi stand. If you are walking, that's a little different.

What time is the train to Venice?

rex

I think you can make the 10:39 (Eurostar), leaving at 7:30 am.

adrienne

Did you download a Michelin map? I've never done that so I don't know what it looks like. I have used the Michelin map for Tuscany that you buy in the stores. It worked fine.

If you're staying in San Gimignano your hotel should have an Italian Touring Club map. One side has a map of the area and the other side small maps of towns such as San Gimignano, Siena, etc.

There may be fewer roads than you are expecting. You'll mainly be traveling from town to town, I expect and should follow the signs rather than depending solely upon a map. It's pretty easy.

The only problem we encountered was going around Siena. We did it correctly one day but the very next day got on the wrong road. The map was no help in this area. We just either followed the signs to Florence (when going north) or Rome (when going south).

ira

Hi margo,

>I printed out directions and maps from Michelin, but the maps are not detailed.<

You can zoom in to street level on the maps at www.viamichelin.com.

Michelin says it takes an hour to get to your destination in Florence.

Figure another hour to drop off the car and another 0:30 hr to get to the train station.

Can you drop off your car in Mestre and take the train into Venice San Lucia?