Italy by car, train or both?
 

My 4-member family is planning a trip to Italy this fall, and I'd like to get some advice on transportation. We're spending 8 days in Italy -- plan is to start in Cinque Terre (from Pisa), then head to Florence/Toscana then on to Rome, flying home from there.

Question is this: I know cars are bad for Cinque Terre, but cars are necessary for Toscana, then bad again for Rome. Then again, with 4 people seems like a car would be cheaper ...

thoughts?

When you are figuring costs, don't forget gas at over $6/gallon and parking, which is expensive in the cities. Plus, you can't take your car into the traffic limitation zones (ZTL) in Florence. If you do stray into the zone, you can be socked with a very large fine that will arrive from your rental company after you are home. It's too easy to get lost, too, because the street names change every couple of blocks and the names are posted high up on a building, not down where they are easily spotted. So you might have to rent a GPS unit, too.

In Rome, you don't want to drive!! It's insane. That's not just my opinion. And parking, again, will be expensive.

I am not opposed to driving in Italy -- we have done it a lot. It's just that you have to look at the whole picture before deciding whether to do it.

Folks constantly complain - well not always complain - but are flummoxed by the ticket they get in the mail months after driving in Florence - having entered the no-fly (no-drive in this case) zone - ditto for Rome

Large parts of the city centres in these and other Italian towns are off-limits to cars - some on certain days as to your license plate ending in even or odd numbers or some such things

Anyway cars and Italian towns just do not mix - you are constantly warned not to leave anything in a parked car overnight (and even in Autostrada rest stops) and many hotels do not offer parking so add $20-30/day or so for parking charges, etc.

Rent a car in Tuscany (say Siena so you need not drive at all in Florence) for a few days and return it say at Orvieto and take the train to Rome.

Hello, robbydee!

Whether you need a car for Toscana depends on what you want to do in Toscana. Eight days isn't much time, and if you are already planning on seeing Rome and le Cinque Terre, that will leave you just a few days at most in Toscana.

If you are thinking you want to see Florence, Pisa, Siena and Lucca -- it makes no sense to rent a car. Just base yourself in Florence and use the trains.

If you were thinking what you want to do is see rolling vinyards and a some small hill and castle towns, you still might not need a car. From Florence, you see San Gimignano on a day trip by bus, and take a scenic bus tour starting in Florence, heading for Panzano in Chianti, then catching another bus to Siena which goes along a famously scenic road. Or you can hire a driver for a day for a countryside scenic tour.

However, if you were thinking of IMMERSING yourself in the Tuscan countryside for several days, a car would be a real asset. But it becomes a liability for all sorts of reasons -- stressful driving, heavy traffic, expensive parking, the risk of fines -- if you try to drive into the art cities, especially during peak tourist season.

If you do rent a car, be aware that there are ZTLs in parts of Pisa and Siena, not just Florence.

PS: You can also daytrip to San Gimignano from Siena by bus.

Lots of guided wine/foodie tours out of Florence. As zeppole mentions above, bus to various towns also easy.

But do check on where the bus stops are-in Siena, I think it's at the bottom of the town. San Gim bus within an easy walk.

I've visited dozens of Tuscan/Umbrian hill towns by train and or bus - the bus system is especially excellent with lots of departures and you need just show up - buy your ticket before getting on the bus, usually is required. Either at the bus station ticket office or from a cafe/tobacchi (sp?) shop. Driver often does not sell tickets and you have to cancel them yourselves when boarding to make them valid.

the bus will drop you near the summit of hill towns - by car IME you often, in busy season, have to park pretty far down the hill and hoof it up.

Buses are also dirt cheap - Florence to Siena about 3 euro i believe.

OK, to start with, you only have 8 days, so how much time do you have for driving around in Tuscany? In fact, figuring in travel time between cities and the gearing up and winding down upon arrival/departure, your time is pretty tight.

Here's my suggestion:
No car needed in CT. So take the train from Pisa and stay in CT for whatever period you choose.

If you want to tour Tuscany for a day, hire a driver. My strong recommendation is Luca at hillsandroads.com. I've used him, as have others here. Nice guy, speaks excellent English, and knows the area. Has a van, so can accommodate 4.

Train to Florence. No car needed.

Train to Rome. No car needed.

If you're 4 able-bodied, reasonably aware people, you should be OK. The car thing can be a real hassle, and especially no fun for the driver.

I would only rent a car for Toscana from Florence and drive to Rome. Because you are 4 it would be cost effective. I would not keep the car in Rome but can't imagine doing Toscana without a car. We did not find it difficult to park outside the villages but then again we like to walk.

k9korps ... you're right on the time crunch. I'd spend more time, but I don't want my kids (8 and 11) to miss more than 5-6 days of school.

I really want to stay in the Cinque Terre (I was there 10 years ago for a day and vowed to go back) ... my wife loves Toscana, so I'd like to see that again, and Rome seems like a must for the kids ...

all that in 8 days is probably foolish. I HATE tours, buses, day trips ... I like to get somewhere, get a room and not worry about timetables until the next day.

Maybe the kids would hate Cinque Terre ... doesn't seem kid-friendly since it's all about the view and the hiking ...

maybe I should get a car at the end of the Cinque Terre portion and wind our way down to Roma somehow and then dump the car.

plus I just saw that this is going to cost us $7000 or so ... flights even in late September from Cincinnati to Pisa are $900. Yikes ... I thought maybe they'd be $650-$750.

This seems like a colossally bad idea ... but I'm doing it anyway!!!