Travel Logistics for Fall 2011 Trip to Italy
 

My husband and I are first time travelers to Italy this coming Fall and will be sharing a villa with friends in the Tuscany region the last week in September. We are flying into Rome and arrive at 10:30 in the morning on September 21. We plan to spend 3 days in Rome and need some help in our logistics planning for that period. First of all, we would appreciate suggestions for a reasonably priced, conveniently located hotel for sightseeing and the best way to get there from the airport. And second, what is the best plan from Rome for getting to our destination (near the town of Pienza) by 2:00 pm on September 24. We had considered renting a car somewhere in Rome and driving up or, instead, taking a train somewhere in or near Pienza and then renting a car out of there for the week. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Are you all going to be together in Rome? Or are you meeting your friends in Pienza?

The best way to get from the airport to Rome central is the train. It is called the Leonardo Express. It is around E14 per person. It takes about 25 minutes. Here is the link:
http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...003f16f90aRCRD

Trains depart about every 30 mts.

Re renting. Your best bet is to train out to Orvieto and then pick up a car there. You DON'T want to rent in Rome. Not worth all the problems.

Buon viaggio!

"The best way to get from the airport to Rome central is the train."

This is true if you are staying not far from the station. Otherwise you may need to take a taxi, bus, or metro from there to reach your hotel, incurring more luggage dragging and costs.

An official taxi from FCO airport to Rome costs 45 euro, door to door, so this may be best for you since it may not cost that much more than what two people would pay to take the train and then some other transport to your hotel.

Almost every day on this forum someone asks for recommendations for "a reasonably priced, conveniently located hotel for sightseeing" in Rome. Do use the search function above to see the many recommendations that you will find here. Also, please help us by telling us what you consider "reasonably priced" in euros/dollars. Your idea may not be the same as mine or anyone else's, so knowing your price we will help us make better suggestions.

Sarge56 has given you good options for getting out of Rome.

Another good option for rental car location is Chiusi. Check out both and see which fits your needs best. Orvieto is about 1 hr by train from Rome. Chiusi is about 1 hr 20 min.

Also, be aware that the smaller rental officers like those towns above, are closed on Sundays, & some parts of Saturday and sometimes Monday too.

Unless you are staying at a hotel that is very close to Termini Station, you would probably need to take a cab to get to the train station to travel to another city (Orvieto, Chiusi) to pick up a rental car.

Why take a taxi to the station to take a long train ride to rent a car?
Why pay for both a train ticket and a rental car?

My suggestion would be to get a taxi to a suburban Rome location of a rental car company.We have done this a couple of times when heading North from Rome.
We arranged a rental from, and took a taxi to the Hertz office at Via Franco Sacchetti 15 E
Easy in and out of the office to pick up our rental
Then it was just 2 turns and your on the GRA with a short way to go To the A1.
We have also done this heading South using the EUR office. Just as easy.
I assume that you will be returning the car at FCO a week later.

I would agree with EllenM, regarding your arrival in Rome. The train will cost 28 euro for two to Termini station. A shuttle or taxi shouldn’t cost anymore than 45 Euro for Door-to-Door service,I think well worth it for jet lagged travelers.

Lots of hotel info and reviews on this site + TripAdvisor and Slowtrav

sarge 56; We are meeting our friends in Pienza. That sounds like a good plan for the train from the airport to central Rome. The only concern I have about the car rental....not sure how close Orvieto is to Pienza as I was looking forward to the scenery from Rome to Pienza but maybe I'll get enough of that once in the Tuscan Region or maybe I'll see enough of it on the train to Orvieto. Thanks for the advice!

You're right.....I do need to learn to be more specific on these forums. Reasonably priced for us would probably be in the 90 - 100 Euro per night since the value of our dollar is not too wonderful right now. We typically are used to paying about $100 - $150 per night for nice accommodations; hopefully, we can find that in Rome. Our agriturismo in Tuscany is within those parameters but that may be the difference in the country versus the center of Rome.

IndyRity,

90 - 100 E per night is very budget, but that's my price range as a solo traveler.

You might want to check out this hotel in Rome - Hotel Giardino Rome **. Nothing fancy, but a great location, super friendly and helpful owner Katy, cozy, typical breakfast. Double paned-windows on the street side make it a quiet sleep. Their prices will be a bit more than your budget, but it's a nice, reasonable place.

Buon viaggio!

Instead of a hotel in Rome, why don't you look at an apartment rental. There are lots of choices http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals...ium-lazio/rome is a site I've used to locate an apt. We had a good experience last March with http://www.thekeytoitaly.com/rome (Marco was the guy who helped us). There are lots of price choices and you'll have a more private time compared to a hotel.

The drive up the A-1 to Orvieto isn't all that interesting but don't be intimidated about driving out of Rome if you choose to. If you train up to Orvieto, rent a car, drive up the A-1 and take the Chiusi/Chianciano terme exit following strada per Chianciano (road to Montepulciano Pienza)you'll get a taste of the scenery before you arrive at Pienza. The A-1 isn't all that interesting, but you'll feel comfortable driving on it (like our interstates). Either choice of Rome or Chiusi should give you plenty of time to make your rendevous at 2 pm in Pienza.

A couple of tips, order a MICHELIN ITALY CENTRAL MAP
(for $10 from Amazon.com). It is detailed and it will be fun for you to study before you drive and after you've come home to pin point your adventures. Also, study google maps of where you'll be driving and get down to ground level and "drive" the A-1 with your mouse.
When at the train station, pick up tourist maps of the little towns you want to visit if available.

We spent a few days in Rome, then went to the airport and rented a car there. It was super convenient and we avoided the craziness of any driving in Rome. When our vacation was over we returned the car to the airport, walked about 5 minutes through the airport and into the Hilton .. spent the last night at the Airport Hilton - (we had a very early flight.) Easy,Breezy.

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions...clayman, I'm definitely going to order the Michelin map you mentioned. We have a GPS so I'm not worried about getting lost, but I actually am a diehard map person and love "highlighting" our routes before and after in different colors. Based on others suggestions as well...going to get a taxi from airport (hotels I'm looking at don't offer shuttles) directly to hotel/apartment. Going to take train to Orvieto and rent a car there to drive to Tuscany. Getting very excited now. Mile Grazie to all!

Chuisi is closer to Pienza than Orvieto if you don't want as long of drive and aren't planning on touring Orvieto. Remember that most car rental companies will be closed from 12:30 or 1 until around 4. You need to plan to arrive around their schedules.

>>>Based on others suggestions as well...going to get a taxi from airport (hotels I'm looking at don't offer shuttles)<<<

Most hotels don't offer shuttles. You can book your own. They will ask your flight and be waiting outside of baggage claim with a sign with your name on it.

http://www.romeshuttlelimousine.com/...t-transfer.php

http://www.romecabs.com/transfers.html

IndyRita,

Do be sure to have paper maps. GPS isn't totally reliable as you should know.

For Rome, you can also look at apartments from sleepinitaly.com. Or a friend stayed at Hotel des Artistes, which is not too far from the Termini train station. I think they have a web site. Our friend said it was a nice place, and the neighborhood was good. He was there with his 12 year old daughter.

What Dayle said about smaller car rental offices being closed on Sunday and Saturday afternoons also applies to lunch hours (or two hours).