A 12 day self drive Italy Trip for 4 seniors

We returned in May from just such a trip as you are planning. We were two couples aged 64 plus. We flew into Venice airport & took the boat to Venice for three days. Bought the three day vaporetto pass. Then took the train to Padova for one night. We bought the one day Padova card which is good for unlimited public transport plus the Scrovegni is free. We then trained to Verona for one night. Bought the Verona card with unlimited public transport. We then trained to Florence for two nights. We rented a car when we left Florence and drove to our Agriturismo outside of Siena. (This was the Burgo Rapale which I highly recommend). We used the car to tour the hill towns of Tuscany and just to drive the little back roads which are virtually traffic free and seem to present pleasant surprises around every bend. After ten days in Tuscany we drove to Orvieto where we turned the car in and took the train to Rome. Bought the three day Roma Pass good for public transport and free, line busting access to several of the major tourist sites. We took the 40 Euro shuttle from our hotel to the Rome airport. This trip was enjoyed by all. Some things you should be aware of: 1. Travel light, and I mean Light with a capital L. If you don't, you will be sorry. Take this from one who now knows. 2. Do not entertain the notion of driving in Florence or Rome. If you rent your car in Florence the agent can show you a route from the rental office to get out of town and avoid the ZTLs, but you must follow this route exactly. If you rent on Sunday or after 7PM the ZTLs are not in effect. 3. Plan at least 2 days in Verona & Padova if you have the time. 4. If you train to Rome Termini, do not attempt to take the Metro to your hotel. There are several hundred up and down steps which you will have to negotiate with your luggage and then fight for a space on the train. We could have walked to our hotel on Boncompagre with much less effort than we expended on the Metro.

I think if you stay in Northern Italy, driving will be no problem. You can certainly rent a car from Venice on the way out of town -- we just did this from Holiday Autos, best deal I found. I'm not sure if they handle automatics, if you'd need that. You're right - definitely no car for Rome. You could do an open-jaw ticket flying into VCE and out of FCO (Rome Leonardo da Vinci) and not backtrack. Buon viaggio!

It sounds like a good plan but I would base out of Florence instead of Pisa. Lots more to do and see. Day trips to Pisa and sienna are very easy from Florence. You can pick up the car on your way out of Venice and drive the Tuscany region. I would suggest ditching the car before leaving Florence. You can easily and cheaply take the train from Florence to Rome. You won't be able to drive in either Florence or Rome.

Donna

I can tell you how I would do it given what you want to see:

I would pick up the car in Venice. I would stay outside of Florence in the hills of Chianti. (We did this in 2008. had a beautiful 2 bedroom, one bath apartment with a kitchen and a washing machine for 115 euros for 4 people. The apartment was about 1200 square feet-huge, and was part of working vineyard.) I would use public transportation to get into Florence (we could walk to the bus and ride in) and use the car to day trip to Pisa, Siens San G, Cortona, wherever you wanted to go. Then I would drive to Orvieto or Orte. I would go via Assisi. I would drop the car in Orvieto or Orte and take the train from into Rome.

We drove in Florence once and will never do it again. It is possible to drive there, but it is not fun and was stressful. Be sure you research ZTL zones and traffic cameras in these areas. Traffic cameras are everywhere, not just on major highways. And ZTL zones are in most cities with old towns. We always went the speed limit, and we were very careful to watch for the ZTL signs in cities. We never got a ticket (2 years later, knock on wood)

The only reason I would stay in Pisa and day trip from there was if I wanted to try to have day on the Cinque Terre. However, you are farther from many of the more interesting sites in the Tuscany area-long driving for day trips. The CT is worth a night or two, but you will have to plot out what all you want to see before you will know if you can squeeze it in this trip. We did this trip with my sister and her husband in 2008. We did 2 nights CT, 3 nights agritourismo in Tuscany, 3 nights Rome, 3 nights Venice. We day tripped to Florence, Siena, Pisa, Orvieto and Assisi. It was their first trip, and it worked really well. They got to see most of their "must sees" and a lot of their "would be nice". Our time in the Vineyards of Tuscany was heavenly.

I agree with Connie; look at a map and you'll see that Pisa is nowhere near the center of Tuscany. In fact, its in Liguria. If you want to tour Tuscany and Umbria, pick a town more central to the region. We've used hilltowns as a base, parking overnite near the top on the road. Or you could rent a place in the country, as suggested. As RS says, in the major cities a car is just an expensive headache.

Other than that, a car may or may not be useful depending on what you'd like to do. If you want to be driving around (in areas other than Tuscany/Umbria) and visit small out-of-the-way towns, the car is the way to go. But if your other travels will mainly be to visit larger cities such as Venice, Florence, Rome, etc. then these are all well served by rail, and the rail is more convenient since it goes to the heart of the cities.

We did a trip at the end of May. Started in Milan, took a train to Venice, where we spent 2 nights. We rented our car from Venice and drove to a small town outside of Florence called Imprunenta. We were able to drive all over the Chianti region which was just beautiful. When we went to Florence we took a bus from Imprunenta. Very easy. You would not want to drive in Florence. If you need to go to Pisa it is probably about an hour or so away. We dropped the car off at the airport in Rome and got a ride to our apartment. As mentioned Pack Light, plan to do laundry. You'll be glad you did.

For a drive filled with stunning scenery leave Venice and drive the Great Dolomite Road. Spend at least one night (two would be better) in one of the Dolomite towns. At the end of the road you could stop in Bolzano and visit Otzi the ice man located in a most interesting museum. If you did this route it would be the opposite direction from your plans so you would probably have to make an adjustment somewhere else. The Dolomite road was the favorite part of our drive in Italy in 2007.

Wow! Thank you one & all for the valuable info! I’m on my way to planning a great trip! From my limited research it looks like a good time to go would be the end of May beginning of June. The hotel prices seem to rise in the middle of June. Please let me know if I’m correct?
When we travel we are not the bed & breakfast type & prefer a nice hotel (medium price) with local charm, bathroom in the room, & AC if possible. Could I get some recommendations for good hotels in Venice for 3 nights & Rome for 4 nights? One of the kind responders recommended an agritourismo in Tuscany, which sounds great! Can someone supply the name of a great agritourismo for 4 0r 5 nights?
Thanks you all in advance for all the great info!

John & Kathy

for the past several years, we have enjoyed staying in apartments in Venice. more room, kitchen (although we don't really cook in, nice for wine ans snacks and breakfst stuff)

the last couple of times we have used these folks with good results. Most can be rented for three night minimum.

www.veniceapartments.org

These folks also get good reviews and there are lots more agencies.

www.viewsonvenice.com

Thanks for the info. We used a GPS for Ireland & it works great (also have the Euorpe maps). We plan to pick up the car when we leave Venice & drop it of on the way to rome.

Make sure you have a good map like Michelin and stay away from big cities like FLorence. You will need a good navigator or rent a car w/ GPS. Stay in countryside like Tuscany or Umbria and driving will be a breeze.