Three days between Rome and Florence ... train or rental car?
 

My husband and I will be arriving at FCO at noon Oct 14, and have to be in Florence to meet friends on Oct 17. We've decided to spend 2 nights in Orvieto and get to Florence by bedtime on Oct 16 so that we're settled there, but can't decide about transportation options for the three days.

We've driven a car in France and Spain, and are comfortable doing so in Italy, but don't want to drive too far on our first jet-lagged day (hence Orvieto). We would prefer, however, not to drive into Florence. Our current thought is to rent a car at the airport and return it somewhere along the way, taking an evening train into Florence. Since we hope to visit Pienza on the last day, I wonder if Chiusi might be a good drop-off point. Or Siena? (We'll see Siena later, so don't plan to include it at this point.)

So .... Pick up at airport, drop off at Chiusi? Siena? Orvieto? Or should we take trains from the airport to Orvieto and pick up a car there the next day? Is the drive from the airport to Orvieto as straightforward as it looks? Or maybe driving into Florence isn't as bad as I'm imagining?

Sorry to make it sound so confusing, and thanks for any thoughts and guidance.

Personally, I would do trains all the way from Rome to Florence via anything you like and not bother with the car at all.

That said, if this was a trip with DH, who LOVES to drive, especially stick shift, and considers driving in Italy to be the pinnacle of behind-the-wheel experience, then we would be renting a car.

We drove into Florence in our fancy, fast sporty rental and did a entry into a tunnel between two buses that left me shaken...then we had to ditch the car in a garage owned by the hotel shortly after and didn't see its jaunty red sleekness again for 4 days, all at astounding rental rates.

Take trains.

Hi KC,

Unless you are absolutely sick of Rome, why not stay there? You can take a daytrip to Orvieto.

((I))

I know you apologized in advance for sounding confusing -- but I am confused!

Have I got this right?

You are flying into Rome but spending your first night in Orvieto.

You are spending your second night in Orvieto.

You are spending your third night in Firenze. (Florence?)

Do you want to see Pienza after you leave Orvieto, on your way to Firenze?

Do you not want to eat dinner in Firenze? If you drive, I think you want to be in Firenze before dark, and therefore before the dinner hour.

How much luggage are you carrying?

Have you considered dropping off the car in Arezzo?

PS: I think it's a great idea to spend two nights in Orvieto, even if you aren't sick of Roma. Do you want to see other things in Tuscany other than Pienza and Firenze?

You should be fine driving from the airport to Orvietto.

After Pienza, either just drop the car in Chiusi or Arezzo and train to Florence, or, drop it at the Florence airport and take a taxi or the bus into the city. The airport is only 10-15 minutes from the city center. This would save your having to navigate the car into Florence. I recommend not returing the car in Siena.

Thanks for all your replies. It's always so helpful to have knowledgeable feedback.

LJ - Yes, I see your point about cars but DH is pretty keen on the car thing. We rented a sweet little Mini-Cooper in Spain recently and he had a ball driving it around the highways and byways of southern Spain. He particularly loved the area around Ronda and the Sierra Grazalema. Need I say more?

Ira - We're not sick of Rome AT ALL, in fact we're distinctly underprivileged in the Rome department, but we have five nights there at the end of our trip, which should quench our thirst.

Zeppole - Yeah, I don't seem to have explained myself very well but you've got it basically right. We'll spend two nights in Orvieto, recovering from jet-lag and using the car to see some local sights (including, I hope, Civita di Bagnoregio) and then head north on the morning of Oct 16, stopping in Pienza (highest priority) and then Montepulciano (depending on time) and getting to Florence in the evening. We will have three nights in Florence altogether, so not important to be there in time for dinner, but I see your point of not wanting to arrive after dark. I guess in October it's dark pretty early.
(We are fairly light travellers and will have one 21" suitcase each plus a large handbag for me and a daypack for DH. We managed just fine with this for three weeks in Spain.)

Zoecat - Thanks for the reassurance regarding the drive to Orvieto. It does seem like it would be simpler than taking a train into Rome and then transferring at Termini for a train to Orvieto. I hadn't looked at Arezzo as a drop-off point, but will research that, as well as dropping off at the Florence airport. Just out of curiosity, what's the problem with returning the car in Siena?

I don't want to answer for Zoecat, but my problem with dropping the car in Siena is that it's not all that easy getting from Siena to Firenze, especially in the evening.

You will need to drop off your car within office hours unless you drop it off at the airport -- which might make sense in your case.

I never drive after a transatlantic flight and would opt for the train to Orvieto and pick up car the next day.

PS: If your husband likes to drive, I would make seeing the unique landscape of Tuscany a priority over seeing the towns other than Pienza. After Pienza, consider talking a route that takes you through Montalcino, up through le Crete Sinese (in the area of Asciano) rather than heading over to the autostrade in the direction of Arezzo. You'll have a longer drive, but the farmlands and erosions of the Tuscan hillscape in that area are unique, and much of the reason people go (except those who go to hang around tourist stores and restaurants).

If you take the longer drive, I think dropping your car off at the airport makes a lot of sense, so you don't feel like anything is chasing you. You can find food on the road. Eat a big lunch in Pienza or nearby.

Hi kc,

>We're not sick of Rome AT ALL,......we have five nights there at the end of our trip......<

You have a good plan.

Enjoy your visit.

((I))

Siena an be confusing and congested when driving in to return your car.

Well, that's two very good reasons not to return a car in Siena, so I'm convinced! I'm liking the idea of returning it to the airport in Florence - directions are usually well-marked on the freeways and within airports, and the longer hours of operation take the heat off getting there at a particular time. Thanks.

I'm also liking the idea of taking a somewhat longer but scenic drive north through the Crete Sinese. On viamichelin, it looks like we could skirt Siena and continue north towards Florence after exploring the area.

I tend to overplan, but if we left Orvieto by, say, 10am and spent some time in Pienza and perhaps Montalcino, then took our time through the hills and booted it from Siena, arriving Florence by sunset (which is 6:30pm) ..... would that be a doable day?

I don't understand your last post: you are thinking of Orvieta, Pienza, Montalcino and Siena in one day? IMHO: that would be dreadful (and I am the fellow Canuck whose husband thinks that fast cars and fabulous autoroute driving is the point of the Italian holiday).

We spent a full day in Siena and I would not want to do less...your schedule, if I understood correctly would give you about 15 minutes!

No, no. We will have spent two nights in Orvieto, and we'll be in Siena for two nights later, after we join our friends. This day would just be taking the slow route from Orvieto to Florence, with stops in Pienza and/or Montalcino along the way.

SO relieved! yes, that sounds fine...in fact, it is making me all too jealous for words.

Once when we were in Siena, we spent a wonderful 3 hours lingering over one of the best meals of that part of Italy. This place is more the haunt of local business people than for the turistica (the English function on the website doesn't even work!) but Guido's is super...

www.ristoranteguido.com (Vicolo Beato Pier Pettinaio, 7-+39 0577 280042)

Buon viaggio!

I think your plan may need about another hour. Can you leave earlier in the morning? Were you planning to eat lunch on the run or a full sit down meal?

Use viamichelin to calculate the drive time from Orvieto to Pienza, and add another 15-20 mins for parking and a wrong turn here or there.

Research whether there is actually anything you want to see in Montalcino other than the view.

Consider dropping your car in the Firenze airport, since it is no problem to find it in the dark, and you can get good transportation into the city, and easily find a taxi at the bus stop to take you to your hotel.

Viamichelin calculates driving times thus:

Orvieto to Pienza 1h13m
Pienza to Montalcino 29min
Montalcino to Asciano 40min
Asciano to FLR 1h36m

We can certainly leave earlier in the morning, I was just timing it for lunch in Pienza. Having never been to any of the towns in this area, I've somewhat just chosen Pienza and Montalcino, um, by reading Rick Steves. Pienza for the renaissance architecture, and Montalcino just to wander. I'm open to other suggestions.

I've made a note of your restaurant suggestion for Siena, LJ. Thanks to everyone for their help. This forum is a gold-mine!