mrfreeze

I think I have figured an itinerary for my wife and I, (using a lot of the great advice from here)changed my mind to go in mid april instead of march as in my last post.
We are thinking on arrival in Rome on 11 apr 07, for 5 nights, planning on staying in the Arena Guest House, near the coliseum.

Then on to tuscany, thinking on a train, or bus to Siena to rent a car, then to Greve in Chianti for 7 nights at the Casa Nova La Ripintura farmhouse to use as a base to explore some of the Tuscan countryside,(one day to drive to Pisa to see the tower to see the tower).

Finally drop the car off in venice, stay 4 nights in the Pensione accademia, then head home on 28 apr.

Does this sould like a good way to divide up the time for the trip, as we dont want to be changing accomodations any more than necessary?


Also would appreciate any feedback on the chosen accomodations?

Thanks

Bill

Henry

mrfrezze,
Going from Rome to Florence and renting a car there would take you about half the time as going to Siena.

ira

Hi mr,

Looks like a good plan.

You could also rent a car in Orvieto or Chiusi, both about 1 hr by train from Rome.

mrfreeze

thanks for the replys, would it be advisable to rent a car right in Rome, then go to Greve direct, I dont know how difficult it would be to get out of rome being I am un familiar with the city, I thought siena looked closer to rome.

JeanneB

I would do as Ira suggested: train to Chiusi or Orvieto. It's only a little over an hour drive from Chiusi to Greve.

I would also return the car in Florence, Bologna, or Padua and train into Venice. If for no other reason, the view of Venice as you exit the station is magical.

toni_g_b

We dropped our rental car off IN Rome in an underground carpark near Villa Borghese. Finding the location took a bit of searching, but the drive in itself couldn't have been easier for mid-day, mid-week in August. I would guess the reverse is even easier. The rental agencies typically have very detailed maps show you how to get out of the city. Although I can see the point of picking it up in a location outside Rome, this way you get to explore the courtyside on secondary roads on the way to Tuscany. Not to mention the time spent getting to the train when the final objective is just to get a rental car in the first place.

ira

Hi mr,

The decision as to whether to pick up the car in Rome depends on how comfortable you are driving in the maniacal traffic in Rome.

The same is true of other large Cities in Europe.

That's why many posters suggest going to a smaller town.

I'd stay with the decision to drop the car in Venice.

Traveler2

toni: I am so glad to read your post about driving out of Rome. From everything I have researched getting to and from the train stations in Rome can be problem. (especially since the hotel I am staying in has not responded with the location of the nearest metro station) I am finding out that the cost of renting a car is the same as the cost of the train and then you have the reservations that are needed to take trains, (You don't always get on the train you want) and then the cost of getting to and from trains to where ever you are going. I think having the luxury of a car; going at anytime you want, can out weigh driving in the city.
If you have any other advice I would appreciate it.
Thanks for you comment.

toni_g_b

We rented from Hertz at Via del Galoppatoio 33, in part because of the location, and also the hours they were open at this location. Not all are the same in this regard even if they are the same company. Alot of people recommend using Autoeurope and if I had it to do again I'd probably use them too; the rates seem cheaper and they seem to be acting as agents for the big names like Hertz. We rented a Ford Fiesta with auto transmission (a must for my husband). Small enough to get around the narrower lanes, big enough for comfort and luggage (including a type of hatchback that hides your luggage from view.

Although I'm confident the agents can help you get out of Rome, we came in from A1 on A24 to the inner ring road (there are two) and then north on it. No worse than most interstates in major US cities. I'm not advocating driving the inner city. Once you're out of the Rome sprawl, I'd highly suggest pulling out your map and heading for the secondary roads. There's so much to see around each bend. Orvieto for a start!

Get a road map of Italy and begin researching on the internet the towns you pass on the way to Greve. We're going back to Rome next year and on our way there plan to visit Marmore Falls in Terni and then Tivoli

LoveItaly

Hello mrfreeze, your itinerary sounds wonderful to me. If you are comfortable picking up your rental car in Rome, and it sounds like you are, IMHO that would be the best way to leave Rome. Regarding Venice, arriving by train is wonderful but driving into Venice is easy (try to avoid driving to Venice during the late afternoon commute time as the traffic can be horrendous)and is what my husband always did and that worked fine also. If you want to take the train to Venice JeanneB gave you some good suggestions as to where to turn the car in (assuming there is a car rental agency located in those cities for the drop off) and taking the train is easy and enjoyable. Do enjoy your time in beautiful Italy!