20 days until trip and need help!

Get a car leaving Rome, dump it on arrival in Florence. Spend some time in Perugia, see Assisi, see a couple of the usual hill towns. Skip CT no wmatter what anybody else says. Anticipate spending less thime in Florence than you think.

Kathryn

Better yet take a train to Orvieto and rent a car there and go to Assisi, Cortona, and just up the road Montepulciano. and leave the car in Siena and take the train into Florence. This avoids all ZLT zones. Make sure you rent in the US - Avis car rental is just up the street from the Orvieto train station.
Happy travels

You don't need to rent a car, but it does expand your options. If you'd prefer not to rent a car, then spend a couple of nights in a town along the rail line between Rome and Florence. Orveito (actually in Umbria) is a great small hill town, while Siena is a very nice moderate-sized hill town. Orvieto would be more relaxing, and Siena would offer more things to do. Either would be a good choice, and both provide a nice contrast to the larger cities you plan to visit.

I wouldn't rent a car and drive in or around Rome. It is an awful place to drive. As an alternative, and I have done this, is to take the train to Florence and then day trip to the Tuscan countryside from there by car. To avoid driving into or around the city center (restricted!!!you will be heavily fined), you will instead take a taxi to the airport and rent from there. The entrance to the autostrada is nearby. We saw Siena and San Gimignano in one day and could have gone on to Volterra if we had more energy. If driving on your own, you will need to purchase a GPS with European maps preinstalled. I wouldn't drive there without one. Maps are OK, but hard to use on the run. Shelley (above) also has a good idea for seeing the area around Orvieto.

Thank you all! This is so very helpful. I was concerned that if we moved from place to place too much it would tire us out but your suggestions for day trips or even into the hill towns for a couple nights seem very do-able and relaxing.

the two recommendations to either rent the car in orvieto or train from from to orvieto and sienna are both great ideas

Kathryn,

With only 12-days in Italy, I'd suggest using high speed trains rather than rental cars, as it will be a much more efficient use of your short travel time.

For driving in Italy, the mandatory International Driver's Permit would be required, and you'd also have to be careful not to enter any of the dreaded "ZTL" areas (€100+ ticket each time you drive past one of the automated Camera). A GPS would also be a really good idea.

Could you clarify whether the 12-days includes your two flight days?

With such a short time frame, my suggestion would be to "keep it simple". I'd probably structure the trip along these lines:

Day 1: Flight to Rome

Day 2 -5: arrive Rome; touring (you probably won't be able to do much touring on your arrival day, as you'll be tired and jet lagged - what time does your flight arrive?). Use the Leonardo Express to Roma Termini (€11 PP, about 35 minutes, DON'T forget to validate!)

Day 5-9: Train to Florence (about 1.5 hours via EuroStar Italia / Alta Velocita). You could have a relaxing breakfast in Rome and still be settled in your Hotel in Florence by early afternoon. Florence IS in Tuscany, but you could also perhaps take a day trip to Siena. You might enjoy the Red Bus tour that goes to Fiesole, which is above Florence.

Day 9-11: Train to Venice (again a fairly short trip) - that provides about 2.5 days, and would allow for some side trips to Murano or other nearby locations.

Day 12 - trip to the Airport and flight home

There are lots of ways the trip could be structured, and this is only one suggestion.

Good luck with your planning!