Hello all. Wife and I are planning a stay in Umbria this fall. So far thinking about Gubbio, Assisi, Spello, Perugia, maybe Todi and/or a couple more.
I know we can visit these towns without a car, but thinking about renting one anyway for flexibility and getting off the public transportation lines.
If we don't rent a car, we will probably base in Perugia.
Any thoughts on if there is better base with a car and what prevailing opinion is as far as car vs public transportation? Thanks.
Given your intended destinations you will be doing a number of day trips from your base. A car is probably more efficient, but not essential as all this locations have good bus connections to Perugia (but less so on weekends since bus transportation is designed primarily for commuters and students).
If you decide not to rent a car, then Perugia is probably the best option, being the region’s capital city and transportation hub.
If you opt for a car, which would be my choice, Assisi and Spello are centrally located to many destinations. With a car you might even consider some countryside accommodations, like agriturismo or similar. Just be aware that both Spello and Assisi have a ZTL, therefore cars are restricted in the historical center, therefore choose your accommodations judiciously so that you have parking available, if not at the hotel, at least in close proximity.
Regarding the time to travel I’d opt for late October rather than early November. The chance of rain will be slightly less and you will have longer days at least until the last Sunday of October, when Europe switches back from daylight savings to standard time.
We wanted to visit Umbria and visit Gubbio, Assisi, Spello, Perugia, and Orvieto and my reserach indicated that trains would be possible to visit those places, except Gubbio. However, Gubbio had a bus that we could take from Perugia.
When Road Scholar came out with their tour "The Hidden villages of Tuscany and Umbria" we took that wonderful tour. We used Spoleto as a base city for Umbria. Umbria was great. Don't miss Assisi, Spoleto and Orvieto for sure.
We had a car and stayed in Spello for a week. We choose Spello due to the train station and access by train to Assisi and Perugia. It was easy to park at the lot on the side of the town and small enough to walk everywhere. Driving around the area was easy and we were always sure to google map the parking lots on the outskirts. The surrounding towns of Trevi, Montefalco, Bevagna and Scheggino (my personal favorite) were wonderful . We were there in October and had a few rainy days, but overall it was lovely. We lucked on to the Sedano Nero (black celery) festival in Trevi. Among the very few tourists, it was a true taste of local village life and a memorable experience. Warning; parking was a nightmare, but doable!
I'm sure you can do it with public transportation, but I would say that having a car gave us more options and was not difficult. We rented at FCO and drove from there. Let me know if you choose Spello, because we stayed in one of my most favorite Airbnb's. We also did a small group wine tour through the area which was fun.
Thank you all for you responses. Much appreciated. We have driven in Italy a few times and have no problem with it. Were just trying to decide how we wanted to travel this time and i think you all helped us decide to drive. And you've also given us other towns to consider. I think Assisi and Spello are definites for us and Gubbio is probable. I've been to Perugia and used it as a base using public transportation, so I think if we drive, Perugia is a maybe. Thanks again for the help.
We has a rental car and wanted to stat near Perugia. We stayed at Hotel Locanda Stella which I highly recommend. Thw rooms have spectacular views and a wonderful breakfast is included. Also, there is a great onsite restaurant for dinners that feature Umbria.cuisine. It is a 4 km drive into Perugia. We were able to easily do day trips to Assisi and other towns. When we wanted to go into Perugia we parked at a Minimetro staion and to the Minimetro to the top of Perugia.
Hey David!
I've been to Perugia and used it as a base using public transportation,
It's interesting that you are asking the group since you have had first hand experience. We will be in Perugia late October this year. We have already booked our VRBO. Part of the time in the area we will be staying at an agriturismo where we will help harvest olives and take cooking classes. They will take us to Assisi and Bevagna as part of our stay and we plan to visit Montefalco and Spello on our own. At Halloween, there's the Fiera dei Morti (Fair of the Dead) in Perugia. We are staying and extra two days for it.
I know by now that you've pretty much decided on driving, but when we were in Umbria last year (based in Perugia) we used the Umbria Go card. At the time it cost €45 for 7 days and gave unlimited travel on buses and trains within the region, with the exception of Freccia and intercity trains. It even included the ferries on Lake Trasimeno. We visited Gubbio, Spello and Orvieto as well as using the local buses and minimetro. We definitely got our money's worth and it proved quite a relaxing trip.
Thank you for the additional responses. Greatly appreciated.
Thanks for the recommendation Becky, we'll check it out.
DougMac, yes, have done the public transportation but just wanted to get POV from those who have done it by car. When I did it 15 years ago, I had never driven in Italy, or Europe for that matter. A little different now that I've done it a few times.
Tim, yes, have decided to rent a car and drive, but thanks for the information. Good to know.
Thanks again everyone.
If I may, I’ll add a couple more places to the discussion. Just a bit farther south is Spoleto, a small hilltop city of less than 40,000, but with an infrastructure that includes an easy parking garage below the town, and a combination of moving walkways, escalators, and elevators to help navigate into the city above. There are still some stone stairs to deal with, too, but it’s extremely evocative and scenic. We had a car, and visited towns north of Spoleto, including Assisi, but that’s as far north as we made daytrips from where we were staying in Umbria.
One of those towns, not yet mentioned, was Bevagna, a delightful place. One of the remarkable sights in Bevagna was what used to be the Amphitheater in ancient Roman times, which was converted to housing (“condos?”) in the Middle Ages, which still remain. It’s the one place in the area that’s actually flat, and not a hilltown.
Although where we stayed is addressed “Spoleto,” we actually stayed at an agriturismo about 5 miles west of the city, at Santa Caterina https://agrisantacaterina.it/ . It was October when we stayed, and was clearly not high season for the area - no crowds. It rained heavily one day, but was pleasant the rest.
We visited “downtown” Spoleto as a daytrip, as well as neighboring hill towns by car, and while we could’ve theoretically gone to a town for dinner, we were up some twisty farm roads (almost all were paved) and it was just far enough and dark enough that we decided to not try that at night. instead, we ate breakfast and dinner each morning and night at the agriturismo.
Maria’s an excellent cook, and also runs a shop onsite that sells some of her preserved foods. Her dining room is a potential restaurant, and while we were the only ones having dinner most nights (sometimes her husband, too), a couple of nights there were other people who weren’t staying there.
Thank you Cyn. Appreciate it. Since we've decided to drive, I think we will base in or around Assisi. Driving also gives us a chance to see more places. Thanks again for everyone's suggestions.
