My husband & I are traveling to Italy to attend cooking school outside of Florence in a small town called Grassina. After completing the course we are traveling to Naples. We don't relish a 15hr. train ride and are thinking of driving. Where is the best place to rent a car and begin our drive and how difficult is it to get there. Also is it possible spend a bit of time in Siena and still reach Naples the same day?

15 hours? That can't be right!

HowardR: You are right.....friends told me it was an all day affair to travel by train.....looked up on website Rail Europe and it seems to be only 4 hours. Much Better!!!!!
I guess that is the way to go......

No, it can't be. Grassina is but two miles outside of Florence. Take a cab to the train station and buy Eurostar tickets to Naples and you will be there in about four hours, the same amount of time it will take to drive to Naples but without all the problems of having a car in Naples. If you really want to see Siena on the way, you could rent a car and drive there, visit Siena in the morning and continue the drive to Naples arriving in the late afternoon/early evening. But I wouldn't want a car in Naples.

No, it can't be. Grassina is about 30 min. south of Florence, and even the slowest train from Florence to Naples is about 4 hours, 40 minutes (Eurostar does it in about 3 and half hours.)

http://www.fs-on-line.com/home/en/index.htm

I would think your cooking school could help you to figure out what makes the most sense from Grassina to the train station; most likely a bus.

You will NOT want a car in Napoli, so IMO, it's not worthwhile to rent one just for this journey.