sandralist

Are you staying at Agritursmo Marciano? Anyway, even if it is some other lodging with a restaurant, that is not what I would call a "pre-planned event."

Here is how I see your options:

Since you have taken a transatlantic flight before and driven afterwards, and felt fine, and think you will be up for the 4 hour drive to Venice, then I suggest picking up the car at the airport and planning to stop for lunch in the area between Ferrara and Bologna, but in the small towns or countryside. Not in either city. I would target restaurans in Cento, San Giovanni in Persiceto, or San Pietro in Casale or Budrio. There are good restauranst in all these places. Look at Slow Food guides or try some internet searches and there are interesting places to stroll around if you arrive early for lunch. But since you are unlikely to leaving the airport area in your rental until 10.30 am, this is the right target zone for lunch. After lunch, you've got about a 2.5 hour drive to Siena. If the weather is nice and you are totally alert, you can consider taking the SP222 south to Siena instead of the A1 autostrada.

OR (consider whether it might be raining that day and unpleasant to drive, especially since you must drive both on fast narrow highways and over mountains)

You can take the bus or a taxi from the Venice airport to the Venice train station, get a fast train to Florence (doze on the way) , get a taxi or bus at the Florence train station to take you to the Florence airport, pick up a rental car and drive the SP222 to Siena.

Like I said earlier, what I would do is take the train to Florence and then another train to Siena and a taxi to my lodgings. Have dinner and spend the next day, Sunday, sightseeing in Siena. Monday morning I would pick up a rental car in Siena.

bvlenci

As others have said, the four-hour drive from Venice to Siena is almost entirely on the autostrada, and the part between Bologna and Florence is largely in tunnels. I did this drive once and wouldn't do it again unless absolutely necessary. Unless you're traveling on a Sunday, when truck traffic is restricted on the autostrada, you'll be driving with many large trucks, through tunnels, with more inclines and curves than most autostrade have, because you're crossing the Apennine mountain chain (which also explains the tunnels). It's a boring and annoying drive. There are two exits in the Ferrara area, which might be a promising stopover. Between Bologna and Firenze, most of the exits are in the middle of nowhere. I don't know if you'd find anywhere decent to eat in this stretch other than the Autogrill on the autostrada. Maybe someone else has an idea.

I like Sandra's original suggestion. Take the train all the way to Siena. You can get a taxi or a shuttle to the Mestre station, which is the best for getting trains to Florence, coming from the airport. You'd have to change trains in Florence, but it's a fairly easy change. When you get to Siena, you'd have to get a taxi to your lodging, or maybe the agroturismo would arrange a pickup. The train trip would take a little less time than the drive, because it's a high-speed train between Venice and Florence. (The slow train from Florence to Siena takes up most of the time you've saved, but it should be scenic.) You can get both tickets at the same time at Mestre station. You could save money on the ticket from Mestre to Florence by buying it online well in advance, but I would hesitate to do this, because you can't use it on a different train if your flight should be late. The full cost, if you buy at the station should be about €58 per person.

There are direct trains from Venice Mestre to Florence at 37 minutes past nearly every hour; the train at 8:47 is an exception.

For future reference, or for others reading this, the drive from Fiumicino airport to Siena is considerably shorter than from Venice, and there are some scenic routes you could take.

I've often taken a long flight (or, rather, three flights) in the opposite direction to visit my daughter in Indiana. The trip takes from 18 to 24 hours, and yet I usually get a rental car at the airport and drive an hour or so to get to where she lives. However, I wouldn't consider the drive from Venice to Siena after a long flight, and, as a matter of fact, I would be reluctant to do that drive again even if I were well rested.

We go to Florence fairly often from where I live (about two hours south of Bologna), but we always take the train. The one time we drove that route, we were actually going to Lucca, and wanted the car for sightseeing. Because of the mountains, the quickest route, either by train or car, takes us north to Bologna and then south to Tuscany.

NYCFoodSnob

Just imagine how you'll feel if you can't get any sleep on the overnight flight to Italy. Sure, in my thirties, a second wind can get me through a day without sleep. But how alert will you be on a foreign highway you've never driven before?

Imagine stopping along the way to eat a fabulous lunch in the lovely Italian countryside. How many courses will you order? How much wine do you intend to imbibe?

Imagine what effect food and drink will have on your tired body. What happens if something you ate doesn't agree with your system? I wouldn't want to be driving anywhere near your car. It's a good thing CDW is mandatory in Italy.

keithman

Lol. These posts are great. All can rest easy as we are pretty in tuned with what our bodies can and cannot do after a long red eye. But I'm so glad to have so many of you concerned.

With that said, thank you so much Sandra, bvlenci, and Jean. Those are great, helpful options that I will explore. Love getting the non-judgmental, personalized advice. Most likely well just slightly change plans and either train to Florence or right to Siena. May hit you up for questions later if you don't mind.

Thankfully, the "inescapable" box that I backed myself into seems more drama than reality.

Lastly, Sandra, we are staying at the Marciano. Do you have experience there? Heard the dinner is quite an "event".

bvlenci

If you rent a car near the Santa Maria Novella train station in Florence, make sure you have very good directions for getting out of the city without passing though the ZTL (limited traffic zone). The rental agencies are right on the edge of the ZTL, and a little wrong turn could be very costly. That's why many people recommend taking the bus to the Florence airport and renting the car there.

sandralist

I have relatives who stayed at the Marciano and enjoyed it, and were very happy with the entire experience of the dinners. They didn't have a car at all, and made it their first stop flying into Milan (got there by train + taxi). They enjoyed the walks to Siena, and after just 2 nights moved on to visit me (on the Mediterranean). They brought me a bottle of Marciano's wine, and while I am sure it fits the home-cooked, it is worth sampling some other Tuscan wines while you are in that area, at enoteche in Siena or other towns.

Regarding renting a car in Florence, you might have a hard time making it from Venice airport to a city office in Florence before the offices close up on a Saturday. Even if your flight lands right on time at 9am, even if you didn't check luggage, it will still take you some time to get to the train station in Venice and get onto a train. Given the 2-hour ride to Florence, you may be cutting it close. Might be better to book the rental car at the airport (it's a 20 minute taxi ride from the Florence station) --- and it is much simpler to leave the airport and avoid all risks of ZTLs, and simply head out for lunch in the Chianti (don't go too far, because restaurants will be reluctant to seat you much past 2.15, and better to be seated by 1.45)

keithman

Thank you bvlenci and Sandra. Sounding more like that I'll rent from Florence airport. Little bit of pain but not that big of deal in the scheme of things and we don't want to stress trying to make the rental agencies in Florence city.

While I have you, and recommendations for food in Siena? Thanks again for everything!

joannyc

Antica Osteria da Divo and Taverna de San Giuseppe were my favorites.

Peter_S_Aus

If you were to taka a train from "Venice" to Florence, you would not have to go to actual Venice, the island. You could just take a train from Mestre.

ElendilPickle

In Siena, we liked Morbidi for lunch (take-out or dine in) http://www.morbidi.com/morbidi/ and Ristorante Bagoga for dinner. http://www.ristorantebagoga.it/inglese/home-en

Lee Ann

PalenQ

Morbidi sounds like a dreaful name for a restaurant!

Jean

"Regarding renting a car in Florence, you might have a hard time making it from Venice airport to a city office in Florence before the offices close up on a Saturday."

I think you'd be OK, as long as you train from Venice Mestre before 2:00p. The Hertz, Avis and Budget offices on Via Borgo Ognissanti (not far from the Florence SMN train station) close late on Saturdays -- 7:00p for Hertz, and 6:00p for Avis and Budget; no closing for lunch.

FYI, the Florence ZTL is not in effect on Saturdays after 4:00p (but back 'on' between 11:00p and 3:00a in summer). The car rental companies have the ability to get a permit for the car to drive in the zone for 2 hours, but you have to ask and trust that they do this. Obviously, you can eliminate any chance of getting a ZTL ticket if you rent the car at the airport.

http://en.comune.fi.it/administratio...ce_by_car.html

You can get rental quotes from Autoeurope.com.

Peter_S_Aus

Perhaps Morbidi makes a point of only serving dead animal.

keithman

Thank you all so much!!

PalenQ

Perhaps Morbidi makes a point of only serving dead animal.>

What about those of us who like our meat moving around-the ultimate freshness- not even dead yet?

keithman

This has taken a weird turn.

For the record, here's the updated plan. Shuttle from Venice airport to Venice Mestre station, train to Florence S Maria novella. From there we will be renting a car (they are open till 7 PM) and driving to Siena. Biggest annoyance will be shuttle to train station and the 500 meter walk to the car rental. But overall not so bad.

Should depart Florence around 3:00 at latest. With dinner at 8 PM outside of Siena, any recommendations for the drive from Florence to the Agriturismo?

Jean

I think that's the Hertz office on Via Borgo Ognissanti. According to Google Maps, it's more like 700 meters. You can take a taxi.

I would drive the Via Chiantistrada (SR222) to Siena. It runs through the heart of Chianti and should take about 3 hours not counting any stops.

Do you have your International Driver's Permit?

sarge56

Well, I've never driven from Florence to Siena, but I have taken the Express Bus. It took one hour. How is it that it would take a private car three, Jean?

Jean

AFAIK, the Express Bus takes the fastest, most direct route between Florence and Siena, mostly on the autostrade. Hence the name Express. I'm suggesting SR222 which is a secondary road with a much slower driving speed.

Of course, if the OP wants to get to the agriturismo as fast as possible, then there's really no question. Just take the autostrade but know there will be traffic.

NYCFoodSnob

The SR222 is one of my favorite drives, and I've driven from Florence to Siena numerous times. Typically, I base myself in Panzano or Castellina. If you don't stop, the drive can take over two hours. But if you stop, and there are plenty of lovely towns along the way, the time will fly by.