dorm57

We are planning a trip to Italy in mid-May. Roughly 14 days with the first 7 days in Rome and the Amalfi coast. The last week would be split between Florence and Venice.

We will rent a car for the first week, but for the second week ... should we consider taking the train from Rome to Florence to Venice or keeping the car be the better choice?

Ciao ... Dorm

neckervd

Do you really want to drive within the cities of Rome and Florence?

bvlenci

Between Rome, Florence and Venice, the train is much faster, and if you buy discounted tickets (nonrefundable) in advance, it's surely cheaper as well.

Besides, the car is less than useless in those three cities; it's just an expensive nuisance.

I myself wouldn't rent a car at all for this trip, because I wouldn't want to drive on the Amalfi Coast either, but for that part of the trip, I can see at least a possible defense for renting a car.

michelhuebeli

Take trains and buses, even down south - if one of you drives, the driver gets to see very little if anything, the road is curvy and narrow and B-U-S-Y - the driver's eyes are glued to the rear of the vehicle ahead and the road, no fun.

And when you get there, wherever "there" is, you waste time and money looking to park, and worrying about incurring fines for transgressing the ZTLs that - half the time -you can't even really know they're there.

PalenQ

Yes if visiting large cities cars are useless and must be parked often at a high price and perhaps remote from your hotel. And you should not leave anything of value in the car when parked.

Trains are modern, fast and can be cheap if you cop the limited in number discounted tickets bvlenci talks about-so book early to save a to over full walk-up fare - www.trenitalia.com is the official site of Italian Railways - check both first and second class as at times first class discounted ducats may not cost much more than the cheapest available 2nd class ones.

Discounted tickets are train-specific and can't be changed-for lots on Italian trains check www.seat61.com - great advice on discounted tickets - www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

dorm57

bvlenci and michelhuebeli ... exactly why I asked, so thank you for the guidance. We are traveling with friends who've visited Italy before, so they can certainly weigh in as well.

What is the easier way to travel from Rome to Amalfi ... train or bus?

dorm57

One more question re: getting from Florence to Cinque Terre. I've read steep, winding, twisting roads so is there train service from Florence to Cinque Terre?

suze

<should we consider taking the train from Rome to Florence to Venice>

Yes!

PalenQ

<should we consider taking the train from Rome to Florence to Venice>

train goes thru Bologna - to me one of Italy's finest cities but one which few stop at - spend some hours or the night here if you have a day to spare -escape the tourist hoards of Rome, Venice or Florence and marvel at what is called Italy's largest single grouping of medieval edifices.

neckervd

Trains from Florence to 5Terre every hr. 2 1/2 - 3 hrs ride. 1-3 train changes according to the 5Terre village you want to reach.
There is a motorway from Florence up to Pian di Barca. Only the last 10-30 miles on local roads are "steep, winding, twisting".

PalenQ

Most of those trains Florence SMN to 5Terre are Regional trains you can just hop on with a valid ticket-and as they are flat fare just buy your ticket at station on day of travel- you may want to stop in Pisa for a look at the Leaning Tower.

If it's an IC train those require seat reservations before boarding -they come with the ticket - again little reason to buy ahead - unlike the fastest trains won't save much by booking in stone ahead of time usually.

gail

One of my most wonderful experiences when visiting Italy was taking a train from Florence to Milan on a Sunday. We stopped at a market and bought cheese, fruit, bread and the train was filled with Italian families - we imagined going to visit Grandma for the day. We bought reserved seat tickets at the station and watched the countryside roll by. Also took train Venice to Florence and found ourselves wondering why US trains were not so great.