We are going to Italy next month (November 2011) and I am trying to book our hotels/trains etc. We want to spend a couple of days in Florence then take side trips to Lucca/Pisa (one day by train coming back to Florence), Siena (one day?) and Assisi (one day) before heading to Venice. Would like to ask the experienced travellers in this Forum how to do it; we were thinking about renting a car to go to Siena early in the morning, spend the night there and then heading on to Assisi the next day, spend the night, then drive back to Florence, drop the car and take train to Venice (would spend a lot of that day travelling). Have read numerous comments against car rental but also in favor (beautiful countryside). This itinerary would give us only 2 days to see Venice before taking a train back to Rome for our flight back to the US. I visited Pisa as a teenager but my husband has never been to Italy; I am also considering dropping Lucca/Pisa for Sam Gimignano, by car, on the way to Siena. Also, is there a train from Siena to Venice? if so, we could go to Assisi first, any thoughts?

If you decide to rent a car, you might need a IDP. Happy travels

It would be good to have a car for touring the countryside otherwise you will waste a lot of time waiting for trains or buses.

You can take the train from Siena to Venice but it goes via Florence S.M.N. - no direct trains. I suppose it will depend if you feel like avoiding driving into Florence? In that case I will just drop the car in Siena and take the train.

Since the trip is in November, I presume you have already booked your flights. You would have reduced backtracking by flying into Venice, do Florence and day trips, then get car (at Florence airport unless you know how to exit Florence without going through ZTL) to drive down Sienna, Assisi, and drop off car for example at Orvieto then take train to Rome (after visiting Orvieto.) If you already have a flight into Florence, but if the arrival is early enough in the day, you can still go straight to Venice and bundle one of the your backtracking into the arrival day logistics.

It's not clear where your flights are in and out of.

Agree if you are flying into florence it would be faster to go right to Venice and get that trip over with. Visit Venice, then train to Florence for a couple of days. Pick up a car, visit the cities you want staying outside Florence (Tuscany without a car is a PIA when you are trying to cobble together trains and buses) and drive to Rome where you drop the car. Then you are already where you're living from.

Without kowing how many days you have it's hard to say if this is reasonable or not,

Where are you flying into and out? How many days total do you have?

It is difficult to suggest the best options, since we don't now where you will be before this section of the trip.

Since you said you will have to take a train "back" to Rome, I assume you will be in Rome before Florence. If this is the case, then, when you depart Rome, straight to Venice by train. Then train to Florence. After florence, get a car to visit Siena and Assisi and drive back to Rome.

You might even put all your Rome days at the end of the trip.

Hi Katver, my husband and I just got back from our Tuscany trip. We flew in and out of Florence, rented the car at the airport, stayed in Montepulciano for seven days, returned the car at Florence airport, stayed in Florence for three days and flew back home.

I have not been to Pisa or Lucca but opted for San Gimigniano instead. We were in San Gimigniano on a Saturday around noonish so parking was a bit difficult. However we were able to park at a school parking lot, made certain it was legal to do it (the groundskeeper said it was okay since there was no school). It was a short walk to Porta San Marco, albeit a bit steep. On the way up we found a restaurant that was open, ordered our first pizza and crostini on this trip and we were well nourished for our first hilltown in Tuscany. San Gimigniano took our breath away. Rick Steves book on Tuscany directs you to a tower(free) where you see the city, its towers and the countryside. It was a magnificent view. We spent around two hours there.

On your way to Siena from San G, do stop by at Montereggione. This walled city is mentioned by Dante in his Divine Comedy. It is a small city that you can complete your visit in an hour. This was also a stop for the Via Francengena pilgrims on their way to Rome one way or to Canterbury the other way. Parking is fairly easy. Then you are on your way to Siena.

We visited Assisi from Montepulciano on a Sunday when a Peace March was ongoing. Italians from the whole of Italy were represented at the march, traffic was not allowed close to the walled city so we had to walk with the marchers about eight kilometers to St. Francis Basilica. We got to talk (really gesturing and nodding our heads) to Italian teenagers who were proud to represent their cities. Assisi was so crowded but we were happy to be a part of the crowd. We loved Assisi.

Having a car around Tuscany gives you a lot of freedom to stop anytime you see a gorgeous view, take tons of pictures and even take a white road or two. We do highly recommend that you do your homework regarding European road signs, ZTLs, and where to park in a walled city.

My husband and I believed that a GPS is essential. However we did not totally rely on it. We purchased the Italian Touring Club maps, printed directions from Via Michelin, studied the routes we were taking and familiarized ourselves with the names of the towns on the way to our final destination.

There is a wealth of information on this site and it behooves you also visit Slow Travel site.

You will have a great time in Italy.

I have a total of 12 days and all I have so far is flights in and out of Rome; I have already booked our Rome hotel for the first 4 days; I was thinking of going to Florence next, day trips, then Venice, but I had not considered the option of taking the train to Venice from Rome and get that out of the way and leave Florence/Tuscany for the final leg..a good option still since I have not booked Florence/Tuscany hotels. Hope to do that in the next couple of days! Would prefer to do train between major cities, so, maybe a train from Siena to Rome via Florence? so I don't have to drive into Rome..

Traveltilican, from whom did you get your car and how long did you spend in Siena, hotel recommendations would be great too! also, if I modify the schedule I would end up visiting the Tuscany towns on the weekend..hopefully not too crowded in November. This is our 10th wedding anniversary trip, thanks for all the tips, everybody!!

ok, katver, how about this:

Day 1 - fly into rome. stay 4 nights.

day 5 - train to venice. Stay 3 nights,

Day 8 - train to Florence - stay 3 nights. Day 9, trip to Siena by bus.

Day 10 - train to Assisi

Day 11 - train to Rome.

that does load the end of the trip with "one-night stands" - not desirable on a wedding anniversary trip!

if you can rearrange your rome stay, it would be much better to do this:

Day 1 - fly into rome. get train to venice. stay 4 nights.

day 5 - train to Florence. Stay 3 nights. Day 6, trip to Siena by bus.

Day 8 - train to -Assisi - stay 1 night.

Day 9 - train to rome - stay 3 nights.

day 12 - fly home.

Day 11 - train to Rome.

Katver, we rented our car through Thrifty. I comparison shopped and found Thrifty to be the cheapest. Mind you we rented a Smart car, it was automatic, handled well on steep roads and kept up with the bigger cars on the Autostrada. Parking was a breeze since this car is teeny, after driving an SUV here in the States.

We stayed at an Agriturismo near Montepulciano and day tripped to Siena and Assisi. We spent a whole day in Siena and also a whole day in Assisi.

Annhig has very good suggestions if you prefer not to rent a car.

I hope this helps.

oops - reverse days 11 & 12 of course!

Annhig, sounds good except that I would rather spend more time in Tuscany than in Venice and our Rome hotel has been booked for the first 4 days, non-refundable. I am actually thinking of leaving the last leg (Florence/Tuscany) more open, i.e., perhaps not book ALL the trains, so we can have more flexibility; I am not sure about this..it seems that everybody recommends getting train tickets in advance due to the savings and availability, same with hotels (but really, even in November?)...

I was looking at the map and it does not make "geographical" sense to go from Siena to Rome via (or back to) Florence by train. I am willing to drive in Tuscany but I am reluctant to drive in bigger cities..may consider it, if there is no direct train from Siena to Rome.

Traveltilican thanks for the recommendation, I am going to go directly to Thrifty, we have so little time left!

"t seems that everybody recommends getting train tickets in advance due to the savings and availability"
I've been to Italy mote than 20 times and have never purchased train ticket before arriving. You are traveling popular routes with frequent trains.

There is a direct bus from Siena to Rome.

I've been to Italy moRe than 20 times

>>>I am willing to drive in Tuscany but I am reluctant to drive in bigger cities..may consider it, if there is no direct train from Siena to Rome.<<<

You aren't allowed to drive in the cities (Rome, Florence, Siena, Pisa, etc.). There are traffic cameras that take photos of your license plate if you cross into the ZTL. You eventually get a ticket in the mail.

>>>Would prefer to do train between major cities, so, maybe a train from Siena to Rome via Florence?<<<

The bus is much more comfortable and efficient for Rome/Siena and Siena/Florence as these routes are only served by old trains that don't have reserved seating. The bus drops you at the city centers, your luggage is stored underneath. Travel time is faster than the train and doesn't involve a change between Rome and Siena like the train does.

Rome/Siena http://www.sena.it/Home/78-1-en.html

Siena/Florence http://www.sitabus.it/sita-toscana/F...-Siena2010.pdf

I would change all of my Rome stay to the end of the trip. More efficient than staying in Rome twice and you only have 12 days which is not very long for all these places.

I am not sure about this..it seems that everybody recommends getting train tickets in advance due to the savings and availability, same with hotels (but really, even in November?)...>>

well, it looks as if you will have to make some tough decisions - or come back another time!

really, it is venice that doesn't work in your itinerary, if you want to be able to see Florence, siena, Lucca and Assisi, AND do some driving in Tuscany. of course you can busk hotel accommodation in Italy in November, but you still need a plan, if only to be able to book and return your car which is much cheaper booked in advance.

Assuming that you have an early flight our of Rome on Day 12, here's version 3:

Day 1 - fly into rome. stay 4 nights.

day 5 - train to Florence. Stay 3 nights [2 of you just want to look round rather than see major museums]

Day 8 - Pick up car. tour tuscany.

Day 11 - return car in Assisi [or Orvieto]. Train to Rome. overnight near Termini station.

Day 12 - fly home.

OK, how about this:
Day 1 Arrive in Rome (8:00am) stay 4 nights
Day 5 Rome->Venice by train, stay in Venice one night (a day and a half)
Day 6: Venice-Florence by train (arrive in Florence in the evening)
Days 7&8: Florence
Day 9: day trip to Lucca/Pisa by train or bus, sleep in Florence
Day 10 (a Saturday): get car, drive to Siena, stop at San Gimignano on the way there, sleep in Siena
Day 11: See Siena, leave in the evening for Assisi, drop car in Assisi
Day 12: See Assisi, take an evening train (or bus?) to Rome and stay near airport
Day 13: fly to US

Ambitious- it's hard to drop towns! Where do we educate ourselves regarding ZTLs?

Does anybody know if it is worthwhile renting a car through AAA? they use Herz.

My husband thinks we should drop Venice but I want him to see Venice, take a "romantic" gondola ride in murky water, ha ha, I was there as a teen, he has never been there! This may be more restful for us..I still think we should go, what do you think!

This article tells mostly about Florence ZTL, but all the places you mentioned have ZTL.

I would arrive Rome and immediately train to Venice since you will probably be too tired after an overnight to do much sightseeing that day anyway.

How many hotel nights do you have? Your numbers seem to be changing.

You are not counting on how long it takes to get from point A to point B. You are not going to see much unless you cut out some of the train/road travel.

I'm not sure there is anywhere to drop a car in Assisi.