Rethinking Itinerary: Florence, Assisi, Siena
 

I have made reservations for Italy for May 2006. We are flying into Venice, and then I planned on picking up a car in Florence and driving to Assisi (staying at Malvarina), then Siena and back to Florence. I planned it this way because I thought we were flying our of Florence, (that is what out BA itinerary said). When I spoke to an agent, I found out we are flying out of Pisa. With that said, I am now thinking it would make more sense to go from Venice, Florence, Assisi, Siena and then fly out. What do you think?

Hi there!
I am currently living in Firenze and can assure you that flying out of Pisa makes more sense from here rather than Siena. There are buses and trains that will take you directly from here to Pisa, and the Pisa airport is used quite frequently from here. In fact, I always recommend to my friends that they confirm exactly which airport they fly from, as the two are often interchangeably used by travel agents due to their proximity.
Stick with your original itinerary -- you will have little to worry about!
Happy Holidays!

Thank you so much for that advice. It seemed like unnecessary back tracking, but I would rather not re-do my hotel reservations !

Hi t,

It is about 1:30 hr by train from Florence SMN to Pisa Aeroporto.

See www.trenitalia.com

If you are planning on dropping the car at Florence airport, it's about a 10E cab ride back to the city.

((I))

It is two hours from Pisa to Siena, so either way, you will have to get to the airport somehow! Perhaps it would be best to check your departure time -- an afternoon departure will be no problem, but an early morning departure may be problematic regardless of your city, and you might want to overnight in Pisa before your flight!
Just a thought...