In late September we will be attending a wedding in Umbria, Umbertide specifically. We plan to fly to Rome, get as far as Orvieto by train/bus and pick up a car. How are we doing so far? Any suggestions for day trips from Umbertide? Is San Giovanni Rotondo within reasonable driving distance?

A closer train station to Umbertide would be Chuisi, but if you want to visit Orvieto that's a good plan too. San Giovanni Rotondo is in Puglia, much too far for a daytrip from Umbertide. Better daytrips would be: Perugia, Gubbio, Assisi, Arezzo, Cortona and Florence.

Thanks. We will also be spending some time in Rome after our Umbria visit, without a car. Is San Giovanni Rotondo accessible by public tranportation from Rome?

San Giovanni Rotondo is still quite a trip from Rome. It's location in a remote area of the Gargano Peninsula makes daytrips there from distant cities difficult. You could possibly do a daytrip there from Rome but it would be an extremely long day. A Eurostar train leaves Roma Termini at 7:38 in the morning and arrives in Foggia at 11:11 am. There are buses to San Giovanni from Foggia but due to your lack of time, I might choose to take a taxi rather than depend on a slow bus schedule/trip. The drive up to SGR from Foggia is about 45 minutes, depending on traffic. Go on a weekday if possible because the place is very crowded with pilgrims on weekends. After you have spent the afternoon in SGR, you can take a Eurostar train from Foggia leaving at 7:53 pm arriving back in Rome at 11:22 pm. Like I said, a very long day.

Day trips to Todi, Citta del Castello and Montone are also possible and well worth the drive.

Where are you staying in Umbertide? We rented a restored farmhouse there 3 years ago. It was a wonderful spot and a terrific base for seeing the region.

My family is renting a house near Montone in November; Tries2, can you tell me more about it?

(I've heard Umbertide is not all that picturesque, but a good place to find gas stations and supermarkets, etc.)

Montone is very charming, unspoiled and not touristy. Compared to that, Umberitde is less so, but has it's own charm. There was a wonderful street market while we were there, there are some very attractive shops, the church is unusual and interesting and the people friendly. There is a fantastic bread store and we ate at Rocco's where we had a delicious dinner and met some of the friendly local people. If you need any more information, just ask and I will be happy to answer whatever I can.

We are staying at In Convento Mincione (www.thisoldconvent.com) between Umbertide and Lago Trasimento.

Is it possible to do this trip without a car: Rome to Umbertide, some day trips, back to Rome?

Your hotel is about 20 km from Umbertide. Does it have a shuttle back and forth into town? Daytrips will be possible by bus from Umbertide, but getting there might take some time or end up being costly if you need to call a cab from Umbertide to come and get you at the convent. This is an area that would much better be seen by car.

We will probably proceed with the car rental. How stressful is it to drive in that area? A day trip or two to Assisi is a priority for us. What about parking?

The area is very easy to drive in. There is ample parking in Assisi, both at the foot of the hill and up in town.

Would you recommend arranging a car rental earlier than later? If we decide to overnight in Orvieto would you suggest a reservation (Sept. 16-ish)?
We will be travelling from Leonardo da Vinci airport to Orvieto. Is there a bus and/or a train right from the airport. Returning from Umbria we will likely drop the car in Orvieto and continue on to Rome for a few days. Bus or train into the city?