Bellbird

Am finalising itinerary, could use some help for the "middle" bit as I'm trying to cover too much in to little time, methinks.

Arrive Rome (3nts)then by train to:
Sorrento (2nts) pick up rental car
Somewhere in Tuscany? (3 nts) with car
Lake Como (2 nts)with car
Somewhere near Malpensa Airport (1 nt) for early am flight to Paris.

My question relates to the 5 nts between Sorrento and Milan. I want to see Tuscany, e.g. Florence, Siena. Hubby wants Lake Como.
We don't know what the roads are like, travel times, so can anyone comment on the feasibility of the plan? What's a good 3 day Tuscan base with car? Or should we just ditcht the car? Ideas appreciated and thanks for help so far to previous posts.
B

european17

ttt...

monicapileggi

How about basing yourself in Siena and do a day trip (by bus) to Florence and the other two days spending time in the area.

monicapileggi

PS: I stayed at a small hotel about 1 mile from the Milan airport a couple of years ago. Here?s what I wrote on my web site:

HOTEL RISTORANTE CERVO
s.a.s. di Garbuzzi Alberto & C.
Via de Pinedo 1
21019 Somma Lombardo
Località Case Nuove, Malpensa
Phone: 0331-230821
Fax 0331.230156
email: [email protected]
http://www.hotelcervo.com
Room #4 was nice with twin beds, large bathrooom and heated towel racks. The hotel's restaurant served o.k. food, but not the best.

<u>http://www.luvtotravel.homestead.com/home.html</u>

Monica

troberts

We stayed in Florence for 3 nights and Siena for 3 nights. Much preferred Florence but with a car it's very hectic. My recommendation would be to spend some time in Florence. Tons to do and many good places to go to get great food and entertainment ... but not pay the high tourist dollars. Siena was nice and lots of ability to do day trips by car but I found Siena itself fell quite a bit short of Florence... in my opinion. Using the scenic roads, (specifically the S223) the trip from Florence to Siena is about 45 minutes non stop. but do stop, the Chianti towns are beautiful and there is lots to do and see. Just one thing. Make sure you parkt he car outside of town when going for the day. It can be a bit tight in those walled cities if you get going the wrong way. Any questions, please email. One last thing... as good as Fodors is... it is far from perfect and missed the mark in many areas. So be prepared.

buongiorno

Other than in Florence the car will be good to have for cruising around Tuscany and most of the roads are good with excellent signage so getting from place to place should not be a problem. We stayed at a great little place in Reggello called Villa Rigacci for 3 days and toured around Tuscany. You can really stay just about anywhere. A little town we especially like was Greve and the beautiful area around it. As far as Como goes, while the town of Como you could pass on, the small towns along the lake and the lake itself are well worth going to with Bellagio being a favorite. There's easy car ferries and you can get from side to side.

tcreath

If you want to rent a car, then I personally would recommend that you not stay in Florence. Florence is great but you couldn't pay me enough to drive into that city! Siena may be a good base. We loved Siena, actually a little moreso than Florence. From Siena I would recommend taking the train or bus from Siena to Florence and save the car for some Tuscan drives other than Florence.

ira

Hi Bell,

I assume that you are skipping Venice on purpose.

How are you getting from Sorrento to Florence?

If you are going by train, I suggest that you stay in Florence, visit Siena, get the car and drive to Lake Como.

Bellbird

Some good ideas as always, many thanks to you all. You're correct Ira, I'm missing Venice in this part as I'll have seen it a couple of weeks earlier (I'm doing a hike through the Alps and catch a few days in Venice on the way to Rome). My poor hubby misses out (I'm selfish) as he joins me from Rome. P.S. Thanks for topping european17.

Does anyone know a base just outside of Florence where you could get easy parking then bus it quickly to town (i.e. closer than Siena?)

Thanks Monica, I've seen the Cervo mentioned a couple of times, so I'm checking it and a few others out near Malpensa. From older threads, it seems a trip from the lakes to catch an 8.30am flight may not be feasible!

monicapileggi

Bellbird,

I had considered spending a night near the lakes, but as you said it wasn?t feasible. Our flight left around 10am, but you do need be at the airport 2 hours before the flight. I didn?t want to worry about possibly getting lost and having to get up extra, extra early.

One suggestion if you do choose Hotel Cervo, research a place to eat for dinner nearby. We weren?t thrilled with the food at the hotel restaurant.

If you view my web site (hotel listing) you can see a photo of the room we stayed in and the bathroom.

Monica

ira

Hi bellbird,

You might want to consider staying in Fiesole.

Bellbird

Two excellent ideas. Ira, you've pointed out the obvious to me and I'm slapping my forehead. Why didn't think of that - perfect! Thanks so much.