How to travel in Tuscany
 

We have four days to explore Tuscany in May. We will be coming from Rome and and leaving from Florence, both ways via train. We want to shop and sightsee in Florence plus see some of the countryside and small towns. We are not keen on a group bus tour so thinking about a car rental. Not sure if I should book all four nights in Florence and rent a car for a day trip, or stay a couple nights in a small town.
Any thoughts and comments, especially on the car and rental locations, would be appreciated.

I'm guessing you haven't been to Florence before.

If you have a lot of interest in seeing the treasures and sights of Florence, I'd stay in the city and make a day trip or two by train or bus to a couple of smaller towns. No need for a car.

If you have more interest in seeing small towns and scenery than Florence, then rent a car and stay in a town that will be geographically central to the parts of Tuscany you want to explore. Drop the car at the airport when you're leaving. If you wanted to spend a day in Florence, you could train or bus into the city from somewhere like Siena or Lucca, but that would be a long and busy day and you'd only see a fraction of Florence.

Your call.

Jean is correct---if you plan to see Florence then go to Florence first---an easy train ride from Rome. Then, decide if you want 2 days to wander rural Tuscny by car or just do day trips to Siena/Lucca et al.

Thank you! It's the first trip to Europe for my husband and I (not counting my trip 40 years ago). This part of the trip has been hard to plan, too many options. Trying to keep the stress level to a minimum.

Just keep reminding yourself you can't see/do it all. Plan your itinerary around what interests YOU, not what the guidebooks say are the must-sees.

If you choose Florence as a base or for a day, make reservations for the Uffizi and Academia (if they interest you) to avoid waiting in long lines. Plan to see the Duomo early in the morning or late in the afternoon, as there may be lines there too.