Advice on whether I'm cramming too much into 1 day

When are you planning to travel Sheron? That will make a difference to the length of the 'day'.

Hi Sheron!

This summer when we went to Italy, we flew into Rome, and by the time we got on our way with the rental car I would say it was close to 10:00. Since we couldn't check into our villa until 4, we stopped in Montepulciano. It was pretty close off the A1, (I'm assuming you will be taking the A1) and it was a cute place to have lunch and walk around. I really think it would have been too much to do another town that day... although this is taking into account that it was the summer, and the heat made walking around almost unbearable) My additional advice to you is to plan some, but don't over-plan. The best thing about being in Italy is driving and getting lost, and then ending up in front of a castle or something. That is how we discovered our favorite little town, castello di Mondinella and our least favorite as well. Anyway, it sounds like a great plan, (I have never been to either one) maybe you should go to Orvieto first and see if you feel up to it. You may run into a place you want to go to more while you are on the road. I think you might be too tired to go into Siena after, but I don't know. We usually just did one place each day with the exception of Pisa and Lucca. I would definitly go to Orvieto or Montepulciano or somewhere on the way, since you will be going right by.

We are planning to visit in mid-September.

Sheron - just stop in Civita, see what you want to see and then see if there is enought time for Orvieto. If not, you just go on to Siena. We traveled from near Siena to Rome with a stop in Civita. We were meeting people in Rome for mid afternoon so we did our quick stop including lunch in Civita then took off. All was going fine except there was an accident and "morte" (death) which meant they closed the entire freeway for about 4 hours. Needless to say we did not make it to Rome until dinnertime.

I'd advise to skip Civita and just stop in Orvieto. But...see how your day goes, and you can get to Civita if you have time.

There is much more to enjoy in Orvieto. Civita is cute, falling into the valley. Civita will take you 30 min to see top to bottom. Civita is about 18K from Orvieto, so a quick drive.

Orvieto has a beautiful Duomo, great ceramic shopping. St Patrick's well (fun to walk down) Wonderful views from the walls, a fun funicular to get to town. We did Orvieto as a day trip from Rome last November (by train) spent a good 3-4 hours there, shopped, walked around the town, went into the church, had lunch and just "chilled" out in the main piazza- people watching.

I love Orvieto. This was my second trip there. Civita was done a few years ago..we rode our tandem bike from Orvieto to Civita and back and saw the entire town in a really short period of time.

Sheron- This last September we made this same trip in reverse. We left Greve (north of Siena) at 6:00 am, stopped in Civita and then made a quick 1 1/2 hour stop in Orvieto. We left our car in Orvieto at 3:52 to catch a train to Rome so that we could be in Rome and at our apartment before 5:00. You are leaving Rome later in the day, but it should stay light later than 5. It is possible, it is just a matter of how much time you want to spend in each place. If I decided I only had time for one, I would probably choose Civita. Since you have 5 days in Siena, you are probably going to be in other hill towns, but Civita is very unique. Have a great time.

I would start by leaving very early, both to give you a longer day and to, hopefully, experience less traffic getting out of Rome.

It depends on what you want to do. There is time to walk around city centers but probably not enough time to schedule a tour of tunnels in Orvieto (unless you can catch one right when you get there).

Be sure to call your lodging if you are running late so they know you are still coming.

I think I will take the train to Orvieto from Rome (instead of driving out of Rome) & then I will sightsee in Orvieto & then rent the car towards the end of the day in Orvieto & drive to Civita if time permits. The question I have is whether I can leave my luggage somewhere in Orvieto until I pick up the car. Does anyone know if there is a luggage storage facility at the train station in Orvieto? If I don't have time to see Civita that day, perhaps I can drive from Siena to Civita another day...though it would take more time to get to/from Civita than I would probably spend there. Is Civita worth spending that much time to get to/from? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I did a similar trip two years ago but went all the way to Florence. I enjoyed it, but you do need a warning if you have never driven in Rome that you will want to have your "A game" ready. We did OK, but it was definately an eye opener. Traffic regulations are more of a guideline than laws in Italy. You will want to make sure your directions are clearly outlined to get out of town. Even with my wife navigating while I drove, it was a struggle to make all the correct turns.

As for timing, it does appear tight to get it all done and be done by dark, but that will depend a lot on the time of year. Best of luck.

Sheron, I'm in the "less is more" school. I've never been to Civita, although I'm sure there's wonderful things to see. I have been to Orvieto, there's lots to see and do.

Given that you planned on leaving Rome around 9-10am its already going to be near lunch by the time you get there. So you have 1/2 day to put your bags somewhere, explore, get your car, and drive to somewhere near Siena before its dark. IMHO that's plenty right there. You'll have time to wander in shops, view the subterranean ruins, climb the tower, sip some coffee, enjoy the views, etc.

As a general comment - traveling in Italy can take much longer than ever anticipated due to a variety of problems, including but not limited to strikes, road work, strikes at the road work, lunatic drivers going out of control, lunatic drivers going out of control going on strike, minor accidents, more roadwork and more strikes to name a few. I have driven many times in Italy and I will continue to do so - but just make your schedule flexible enough that you can change if need be. Prepping yourself for the unexpected (strikes et al) will help you tremendously. So if time is working then the stops you want may be accomplished - but if you are a bit more laid back and something unexpected happens you can cruise past one place and just go to another.

Kevin knows of what he speaks. Italy is a place where efficiency isn't given the emphasis that it is given in the US, one of the things that makes Italy so special.

Hi Sheron,

I have never driven in Italy, but I easily spent one day in Orvieto last year. That was arriving by bus at about 8:30am and leaving on the last bus (for my home base) at around 7:15 in the evening.

Since my primary interest was in seeing Signorelli's frescoes in the cathedral, I spent 'hours' studying them - and the collection in the Museum of Archaeology. I could have used a second day to see some of the other fascinating sites in the immediate area, so the answer to your question rests on what you would like to do and see in town. I always go straightaway to any town's Tourist Office and spend a good 20 minutes with staff going over the town's attractions, reviewing my site-seeing plans with them and getting updates on what is closed that is usually open, etc. When you describe what you would like to see and do they can give you a pretty accurate idea of how much time you will need. An invaluable service. You will have a great time, no matter how you get there!