Tuscany Help
 

My husband and I will be in Italy towards the end of August and are trying to work out a plan.

We will be flying in and out from Rome.

The plan was to spend 8 nights in Rome and then 5 nights in Sorrento. But my well travelled daughter has suggested that 8 nights in Rome is way too long for August. Her exact words were: "after a few days with the crowds and the heat, you will want to poke your eyeballs out".

So now the plan will be:
Rome 4 nights
Tuscany 4 nights
Sorrento 5 nights.

We have already booked the train from Rome to Naples and the departure time is 11.50am. So wherever we stay in Tuscany we will need to be back in Rome in the morning with the car dropped off and ready to catch our train. The easiest will be to drop off and pick up a car at Rome Termini. (I know it is crazy to get in and out of Rome, but we have driven in Italy/France before, and are willing to give it a try)

So I now have 2 options for Tuscany
1. Spend the entire 4 nights at http://www.locanda-cortona.com near Cortona.
Driving time is 2.5 hours to Rome
Con: the distance returning to Rome to catch the train by midday.
Pro is the amazing views this place offers and it looks like such a great place to stay.

2. Spend 3 nights at www.vicchiomaggio.it in Grieve in Chianti for 3 nights.
The last night somewhere a bit south of Orvieto (not sure where) and reduce the driving time from 2.5 hours to 1.5 hours.
Pro: closer to Rome on the return trip and a great place to stay
Con is the distance to get there on the way out of Rome (3.5 hours) and staying somewhere different on the last night (although this should not really matter)

For those that know the area, which will be the better option at that time of the year.

I would recommend http://www.santantonio.it/ 5 mins out of Montepulciano. The Val d'Orcia area is absolutely stunning and we loved this place to stay.

Have you considered taking the train to Orvieto and picking up and dropping off the car there? Just check that the car rental place is open if you are doing either on a Sunday (I think it is closed on Sundays).

thanks jamikins but all booked out for our dates

Just a heads up on returning your rental to Termini: Be sure you have the address of the garage where you will return the car, not the address of the rental office in Termini. Your gps will go crazy trying to get you into the train station. You can get that info from the rental company when you pick up the car.

sundriedtopepo, thanks for that information.
do you know if the garage is far away from the termini?? or is it all in the general area.
I am planning to rent from the termini so that when I drop the car off we can just jump on a train to Naples.
But if I need to go to a garage I may need to rethink my plan.

I would recommend doing an exhaustive search of places in tuscany, I liked the Greve in chianti area, however, it pales in comparison to Siena area or San Gimignano region.

You don't need to rent from the office where you want to leave your car. More creatively, you could rent some place like Chiusi and drop the car in Orvieto, taking the train from Orvieto back to Rome's Termini station. But do check jamikins' tip. These smaller rental car offices are often closed in the afternoon as well as Sunday.

Forgot to mention you need an International Driver's Permit to go along with your driver's license. If you're in North America, an IDP is easily obtainable at your local AAA/CAA office.

Millie2012 sorry to take so long. Yes the garage will be close by, the rental company we used had their garage within a block or two of the station.