We will leave Nice Sept. 7 and would like to train to Rome with a stop overnight in Orvieto. Is this practical? We will then be in Rome for 5 nights. and our last night will be near the airport for easy morning arrival. Can you suggest a reliable rental agency in Rome for the 5 nights? Is this better than a hotel? We like the Citadine Apartment Hotels in France for comfort. Do you know of a similar chain in Rome? Our French part of the trip is easy because we are day tripping from Nice, but the Italy part...wow.

You will most likely have several train changes (perhaps as many as 4) and a very long train ride (10 hours)? It might make more sense to catch a flight from Nice or Monaco, sparing you the cost of a hotel accommodation and two ES train tickets, and see Orvieto as a day trip from Rome (one hour away).

I sincerely doubt there is a chain that handles apartment rentals, but many people here can recommend good experiences with Roman hotels.

I would not relocate to the airport for your flight home. The airport hotels (with the exception of the price Hilton) are not all that close to the airport, and have unreliable shuttle services for early morning flights, and taxis there are only slightly less expensive than car services straight out of Rome, which can be booked for all hours and easily reach the airport in less than an hour for early morning flights. If you don't have an early morning flight, you can take the direct train to the airport from the center or Rome.

If you still want to take the train, the most logical place to break up the journey is Pisa, with its magnificent monuments (swarmed by tourists) although getting off in Camogli or le Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera makes for a picturesque seaside setting.

Sorry, TYPO -- I meant to write that many people on Fodor's have good experiences renting apartments in Roma, and can give you recommendations. I think an apartment will be more enjoyable than a hotel for the stay you are planning.

Have you considered flying from Nice to Rome? The plane depart at 12:45PM and arrive at FCO 13:50PM.

Here is the website..
http://www.blu-express.com/cgi-bin/a...BV&LANG=EN&LFF

I live on the Italian Riviera and I would definitely take kismet's advice. It's less than 100e per person to fly.

By the way, it is a snap to get from the center of Nice to its airport. And not bad to catch a train in Rome to central Rome.

I will take the train from Riomaggiore to Pescara at the end of September and just looking at the prospettive trip made me feel tired.

I am still looking for the best and less trains changing schedule..Who know I may overnight at Bologna or Parma..
I wished that there were a plane from La Spezia to Pescara.
Is nice to dream..

I took the blu-express flight from Nice to Rome in June and it is an easy, economical & quick way to travel. I like flying over the Mediterranean - pretty views.

kismet,

Air One flies out of Milan Linate to Pescara for as little as 50e.

I thank you all and we will use the blu-express. I also will cancel my hotel near the airport and go in the morning by train. Our flight out is at 8:15 so I assume that will give us time in the morning to get the train? Other than Orvieto, can you suggest a few other day trips from Rome. We have been to the city before on a tour so we visited all of the typical sights including the Vatican. Is there another airline in case we can't get blu?

There wasn't when I flew in June - but I just checked www.whichbudget.com and now they list two additional airlines, Meridiana and AirBerlin, as flying between Nice & Rome.

Jerry,

I assume the 8:15am flight you are talking about is FCO to the US? If that is the case, you should use a car service to take you to the airport, rather than head for Termini at dawn. You will need to be at the airport by 5:30 or 6 latest. I can't recommend a service but if you put up a new thread or do a search, people have had good experiences with specific ones.

If you have not seen Ostia Scavi, it is a marvelous daytrip destination. I am also extremely fond of pretty, tower-filled Tarquinia, which also has a much-admired Etruscan museum (start at the top and walk down) and Etruscan tombs. If your only previous experience of Roma was a tour, don't leave Roma for daytrips without having explored the Trastevere district, including its beautiful mosaic-filled church.

As for another airline out of Nice, look on the Nice airport website and see which airlines fly out of there.

This thread on airport car services in rome should interest you

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...fer-advice.cfm

Are Ostia Antica and Scavi near each other? I assume a bus can be boarded for this trip. Can you suggest a casual restaurant for lunch. My husband says I spend entirely too much time looking for a place to eat. He forgets
I am a recently retired cooking teacher.

Ostia Antica and Ostia Scavi are two names for the same thing. You can take a local train from Roma Ostiense train station to reach Ostia Antica.

Here is my plan. Please tell me if it is practical because I really need to firm up hotels.

Already have reservations to fly Nice to Rome (blu). Thank you kismet for suggestion. Take train to Orvieto, spend the night (Hotel Duomo is good?), next afternoon rent car and drive to Siena and overnight, then Montacino/ SanG, (should I use one or two nights?, then head back to Orvieto to return car. I will then take train to Rome to use remains two nights in Rome before my Sept. 14 flight home.

Does this make sense? I can't tell driving distances.

What time are you arriving in Orvieto? If it is before 3pm, it might make sense to get off the traiin, look at the Duomo, pick up your rental car and drive to someplace like Montepulciano and spend the night. If you are arriving in Orvieto close to dark, spend the night there as you planned.

Montalcino is in between Orvieto and San Gimignano, and it makes a nice lunch spot on your way to Siena.

Were it me, I would spend 2 nights in Siena, and one night in San Gimignano. (I don't mind road trips).

I would drop off the car in Pisa or Firenze and take the train back to Rome.

You can use a feature like mappy.com or via Michelin to see mileage/kms, but remember driving in Tuscan hill country is slow going.

You have some other opttions (just to confuse you more!)

Fly to Rome airport. Pick up a car there. Drive to Montepulciano or Montalcino. Do a Tuscan loop and return the car in Orvieto.

Fly to Rome. Take train to Firenze (90 minutes). Either spend night there or catch a bus for Siena and spend night there. Do Tuscan driving, ending up in Orvieto. Get rid of car in Orvieto.

JerryM,

Regarding Ostia Scavi/Antica: I can recommend a restaurant in Ostia Antica, about a 15 walk from the ticket booth of the ruins. You walk to the "borgo" (the small medieval village/castle, and the restaurant is called Il Monumento. Have the cappaletti and the chicken cacciatore.

You can take the regional train, located in Via Giolitti at the bottom of Termini, that goes to the famous Castelli Romani..Little towns outsite Rome..


Old charming little towns, perfect place to spend the day..

http://www.initaly.com/regions/latium/castelli.htm

"Termini" train station is in Rome..