Train Travel
 

We will be in Italy for 2 weeks & are debating over whether to rent a car, or take trains between cities. We are thinking of starting in Milan and working our way south to Rome. In Tuscany I'm thinking we will definitely want a car for the freedom of exploring the region. What are your experiences with the train system in Italy? Obviously it is much cheaper than renting a car - but will we be missing things by being on the train? Thanks!

Train travel is often the easiest and most effective way to travel in Italy. While cars give one great freedom in the countryside, a car in an Italian city can be difficult to handle.

Your approach of a combination of train and car travel is excellent. We can advise you better on when to train and when to car if we had a better idea of your itrinerary and interests.

We are still figuring out our itinerary. We will fly into Milan from Chicago, spend a day or two there, then work our way down toward the Cinque Terre, to Florence and Tuscany, maybe Siena, then down towards Rome. Since it's our honeymoon we're interested in spending the most time in small towns where we will be able to be immersed in the culture & relax! So, I'm assuming the trains stop at smaller towns too? I'm thinking we will rent a car in Florence & head through Tuscany. We had originally thought about renting a car in Milan & dropping it off in Rome but the prices are too high!

You wrote "What are your experiences with the train system in Italy? '

They're cheap, comfortable, efficient, they go to more places than one might think, and SITA buses and others take over in the countryside in very many places.

Trains drop you in the center of town (except for some historic hilltop-towns and walled-in towns where the line and station have to be on the periphery), usually the bus system has a hub nearby - it's really *the* way to travel if you can keep your luggage to a manageable minimum.

A car for a day or two can fill in nicely between cities, no question. But you should not leave luggage in the car when sightseeing, so that's always a problem. It's worth swinging by a train station to stash bags at the left-luggage service, just for peace of mind...

WK

For the Tuscany part of your itinerary, you might want a 3-day car rental. I've found that 3-day car rentals aren't much more expensive than a 1-day rental. AutoEurope (and likely other agencies) doesn't charge a surcharge for renting in one location in Italy and dropping off in another location in Italy.

I would rent a car at the end of my stay in Florence and then use it for exploring Tuscany before heading to Rome. You could drop it off in Chiusi (which has a charming small archeology musuem) or Orvieto (with its famous Duomo and hilltop setting) and take the train from there or drive into Rome and drop the car off there.

Suzy Kane

Suzy -

I have check out rates on autoeurope for car rental from Florence & dropping off in Rome; it says that add'l one way fees may apply & they will contact me to advise of these fees. Have you done this type of rental & had extra fees involved? I know on other sites (hertz, etc) they do charge if you're not returning to the same location.

Hi Angela,

My husband and I will be in Italy for 2 weeks in July and are planning a very similar trip. Milan to Venice, Cinque Terre, Florence/Tuscany, then Rome. We have been researching trains, cars, etc. and I think we're going to take trains to Florence, then have a car until we reach Rome (rent for a week). Rentals are surprisingly cheap - we've found economy size rentals for around $300 for the week through Avis, Hertz, etc. For a 3-day trenitalia pass (we need Milan-Venice, Venice-La Spezia, La Spezia-Florence), I think it's about $200 per person! I'm having a hard time figuring out the trains too and am looking forward to smart posters helping :)

One important note - depending on when you're getting married - we're going in July and I think we need a/c places so we're trying to book them all asap :) Just something to think about!

Good luck!
Jen

Thanks for the advice Jen! We are in the process of checking otu places too. We'll be there the first 2 weeks of June - so I'm not sure how hot it will be. But I've been in Italy in July/Aug. before & it is defnitely hot that time of the year!

With the car - are they charging you one-way drop off fees?

I don't believe there are any charges for dropping off in a different location. At least Avis was $311 total for the week including CDW (this is collision insurance that you should have). And, I have to say, I e-mailed the companies because they each have a TON of various locations in Florence and Rome, and I was hoping to find out which location for each company was closest to the Florence train station. Avis is the only one that e-mailed me back info and is helping me choose, the others had no idea...

One more question Angela - have you found a place in Cinque Terre?

For Jen: Point-to-point train tickets in Italy are quite reasonable, especially if you take regional train rather than the Eurostar Italia. For your trips they'll be much cheaper than a pass.

For Angela: I've rented cars in Ireland and France through Auto Europe. In each case I picked them up in one city and dropped them off in another and there was no additional fee. While the site says additional fees MAY apply, I doubt if they will. However, if they do, you can always cancel your reservation.

I have not yet found a place in Cinque Terre - any suggestions???

tigordon,

I doubt you need a train "pass" for you itinerary--point-to-point tickets will probably be cheaper.

Thanks so much for the advice ellenem - we'll check out point-to-point tickets once we get there :)

I've done quite a bit of research on CT but most places are booked. Unfortunately we're going right at peak season. The place I've heard the best reviews on is Hotel Steno in Monterosso. It sounds amazing, but they only have one room, no balcony & no view, for 120 euros. So we're still looking.

Angela,

My experience regarding an extra charge with AutoEurope for dropping off at a different location has been the same as TimS. There hasn't been one. However, I would confirm that with AutoEurope in case there has been a change in policy. We have just rented from them for a trip in September and were not charged a surcharge.

For Cinque Terre, I can highly recommend this agency: http://www.arbaspaa.com/

They offer apartments (a superb selection) and rooms in the Cinque Terre villages and a few hotels in Monterosso and elsewhere nearby.

We rented an apartment in Manarola from this agency and were very pleased with the prompt and complete replies and with the apartment.

I'm very fond of the Hotel Marina Piccola in Manarola http://www.hotelmarinapiccola.com/index.htm but it's difficult to get into; it's very popular and only has about 12 rooms; some with seaviews. If you don't stay there, make sure to eat at least one meal there. The food and the setting are excellent.

Suzy Kane

AngeleS, re: the Cinque Terre, you might consider staying elsewhere on the Italian Riviera and training/boating into the CT. Santa Margherita Ligure (which is adjacent to Portofino) is a popular place to stay. We liked Camogli. Other people have other favorites.