8 nights in Vinci (outside Florence)

It might be worth asking the owners of the agriturismo what their other guests do and where they go. My guess is that everyone rents a car.

From where you are you'll need to drive or bus to get to a train station. Empoli is probably the closest.

Venice is just too far to make a worthwhile day trip destination. Ok if you are willing to stay overnight but then you are paying twice for rooms.

It takes about four hours from Empoli to Venice. So you would have about 8 hours on a train and not much time to sightsee.

You're one of the very few, on this forum, to home base in Vinci, and for 8 days.

As mentioned already, transportation to and from Vinci, from anywhere else you want to go, is going to take time. And this added transportation time will affect how much you can do in day trips.

Sounds like you need to get an idea of where on the map Vinci is, in relationship to other places you want to see. Go here for that

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=vinci,+italy&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=29.910058,66.09375&ie=UTF8&ll=43.758449,10.91938&spn=0.109106,0.466919&z=12

You mentioned the train but Vinci does not have rail service. So you're going to need a rental car to get other places efficiently.

But if you haven't driven in Italy before, then be aware that you want to avoid, if at all possible, driving a car into Italian cities or larger towns--especially Florence.

Here's one of the few prior discussions of Vinci

http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/17706/vinci.html

You should rent a car for the week. We have stayed in agriturismos many times and they are usually in the coutryside away from public transportation. With a car you can even get to Venice for a day trip. I lived in Chioggia, which is just south of Venice, for several years and we often drove down to Florence for the day. But I would recommend staying in the Tuscany area as there is so much to see nearby Vinci.

Rosie, i would definitely rent a car. Vinci is a nice little village, you could drive to Lucca and San Gimignano in about an hour or so, and you could drive to the closest town near Pisa and Florence and then take the train. A friend of mine went to Montecatini therme and loved it, it is about 40 minutes from Vinci. I would get a good map or gps, we got lost a few times driving in Tuscany but that is part of the experience! I think Venice and Cinque Terre are to far away. Have fun!

Yes Rosie I would have to say that your location is not the most convenient for day trips unless you are going to keep them to things in the area. Venice and the Cinque Terre are really too far as others have suggested. I would think if you were planning 8 nights in a location like that it would be for R&R and a lot of time in the immediate area. Definitely get a car!

That being said - there are many towns within an hour of Vinci (probably smaller ones you have not heard of) - I would definitely visit:

San Miniato (the town - not the church in Florence) - they have a great truffle festival every year. http://www.aolmaia.com/sanminiato.html

Carmignano - an interesting wine town - might be worth it to research a visit to a winery here and find a good place for lunch. Ambra is one of my favorite producers in the area: http://www.fattoriaambra.it/tour_en.html

Poggio a Caiano - very interesting Medici villa http://www.florence-on-line.com/around-florence/medici-villa-poggio-a-caiano.html

I have a few photos and a map here: http://www.florence-on-line.com/around-florence/vinci.html

IMO, a rental car makes the most sense. Vinci has regular (by Italian standards) bus service. As I recall, there was a bus about every 40 minutes.

I would not suggest a day trip from there to the CT or Venice, but it would work well for Florence, San Gi and Sienna.