My significant other and I are taking our Brady Bunch of a family ( kids are ages 8, 12, 14,18,19,21) to Italy in June, and I'm having trouble deciding the best course of action. So far this is what we have: 6/21: Paris to Rome, arrive 9 AM. Staying in apartment near Pantheon for two nights.
6/23: Depart Rome, time TBD, for villa outside of Lucca in Pieve Santo Stefano. Should we take the train to Florence or Pisa to pick up rental cars (would prefer a minivan, but it looks like the only options are giant full-size vans that might make it hard to navigate narrow roads)? As this is a Sunday, I think it will be difficult to find a local car agency that is open. Another option is to take the train all the way to Lucca, get a shuttle to our villa, and then pick up cars Monday morning. Thoughts? I'm concerned about driving a car myself around Tuscany...should I be? Visit Lucca, Cinque Terre, Florence. Relax and rest up for the remainder of the trip. 6/30: Depart villa and head toward Venice. We are planning to drive to Desenzano, visit Sirmione, and spend the night. Return rental cars there and take train to Venice on July 1st. Another possibility is to drive all the way to Venice. We'll stay in apartment or hotel rooms (Venice or Lido or?) for two nights. We can also skip Desenzano, drive straight to Venice on Sunday, June 30, and stay there for three nights if that seems better. How/when should we return rental car? July 3rd: Depart Venice by train to Geneva, stay in airport hotel. July 4th: Fly back to US Thoughts?
Posted by
Twin Cities, Minnesota
2048 posts
Just a couple random questions/comments. Will you be staying in Paris before your flight to Rome or is this a connecting flight from US? I ask because the itinerary depends a little on how well rested you will be when you hit Rome. I love Rome, but it is exhausting and can be hot the end of June. You say two nights, does that mean you are really only going to be in Rome for one full day? 8 people in a car (especially when that includes younger ones) sounds really crowded, especially with luggage. I would recommend public transportation as much as possible and limit yourself to renting a car to when you are in Tuscany and a car enables you to more easily visit places less accessible by public transportation. Don't overplan the week near Lucca. Come up with a tentative, flexible schedule with lots of down time. Will the older kids be able to go off on their own sometimes? Be sure to take a bike ride on the Lucca ramparts. Make sure the kids are all part of the planning process. You can assign them locations to research and have them make recommendations. For Venice, do not stay on the Lido. It is just too far away from Venice proper and will mean a long vaparetto ride back and forth each day. The only time I rented a car in Italy was at the Pisa airport and it was easy to access. I would ask the people you are renting the villa from for a car rental recommendation.
Posted by
roswell, ga, usa
1501 posts
Make sure you thoroughly investigate Car Rentals before you finalize your itinerary. Large cars/vans can be very hard to come by in Europe, and sometimes one is promised, but not available. I would think requiring a car of this size you'd need to pick it up at a larger city. That being said, use public trans as often as possible. Personally, I wouldn't want to drive a car in Italy, but perhaps if you find you need two have the oldest of the group ride with you. We take our little garmin to Europe with us, and pre-load the maps from the U.S., so all verbal instructions are in English. Bring fun things for the little ones to do in the car so they don't get on the older one's nerves :-) My kids are far apart in age, and this is the best advice I can give. And I hope your villa has a nice pool! Have fun and good luck :-)
Posted by
OP
California, United States
16 posts
Thank you for the advice! It really helps! We will have been in Paris for a few days, so hopefully everyone will have adjusted by the time we hit Rome. I know we'll be wiped out by the end of our weekend...that's exactly why we are having a week of rest in Tuscany. Everyone will have the option to rest, or join those that are day-tripping it.:) I want to use public transpo as much as possible, but I know that a car is necessary at the villa. Two, actually. I'm just trying to figure out the best way to do the rentals, because our Sunday-Sunday stay makes it much more difficult to find a local office that is open. Does anyone know of a Lucca car place that might be open on a Sunday?
Posted by
roswell, ga, usa
1501 posts
Check with local Hertz. They should be able to tell you if the pick up location is actually open on Sunday. We've rented from Hertz when we went to Paris, but Paris is a big city, and France is a lot different than Italy! I'm rooting for your Brady Bunch to have a great trip! Two cars at the villa, giving the kids options is a really good idea.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8371 posts
The Hertz office in Lucca is open Monday-Friday, and closed on weekends. The Pisa Airport Hertz office is open until midnight 7 days per week. The Pisa city Hertz location is open regular Monday-Friday hours and from 8:00 to 1:00 p.m. on Saturdays. If you're not a member of their frequent renter program, go ahead and join to enjoy price discounts. You should look on Hertz' website to check the van prices. Your family is just a little too large for European rental vans, which often max out at 7 passengers. I think you'll find two smaller automobiles cheaper transportation. While you're at it, check AutoEurope.com to see what their charges are. FYI: Driving throughout Tuscany is not at all difficult, as the roads are often crooked but in good condition. You can just see so many different sights with automobiles in the region. The drive over to Venice is a little busy the first hour north of Florence, but flat and fast from Bologna to Venice.
With so many in your party, traveling city to city by train would just simplify your travel.
Posted by
OP
California, United States
16 posts
Thank you for your help, everyone. I think we're going to take rent the cars at either the Pisa or Florence airports. Pisa is less than an hour to the villa and what the villa owner recommends. But I'm wondering if it is better to just get them in Florence since we'll be arriving from Rome on a Sunday and dropping them off on Sunday to catch a train to Venice...less backtracking, no train transfer necessary. I definitely want to avoid the ZTLs; how easy is it to drive from the Florence airport to the Lucca area? Thoughts?