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Assisi/Orvieto?

Posted by (Gettysburg PA) on

I have been struggling with 2 nights in middle of our itinerary, and would love some feedback - I know no one but me can make the decision but I am so torn!

Itinerary as of now is:
First trip to Italy
Arrive Venice am- 2 nights
Train to Florence- 4 nights (This is over Sun/Mon so I feel I need to keep 4 days since so much closed on Mon)
Get rental car- to Tuscany area- 4 nights (Siena, Montepulciano, etc)

To Assisi- here is my problem!
I had planned 2 nights in Assisi then drive to Orvieto to drop car and take train to Rome for 5 nights.
After reading more about Orvieto and all the great recommendations here I wanted to add a night to Orvieto or at least try to see town/cathedral. Seemed to make sense since we would be right there to return car!

Bear with me please-

Trying to work around the car rental return hours (closed 1-3) and train schedule to Rome is a pain. We really do not like arriving in a new city after dark- so returning car at 4 then taking 5:30 train to Rome gets us there later than we would prefer- close to 7:30 (Sept so it is getting dark by then)
There is a 3:23 train that we would not be able to catch even if we returned car at 3.
So basically I would like to be on that 3:23 train to Rome.

Should we-
Stay just 1 night in Assisi- arriving there before noon stay over and leave next day early afternoon to Orvieto. Gives us an evening and a morning in Assisi.
Drive to Orvieto- drop car about 4 then check in to Orvieto hotel for 1 night. See Orvieto that evening and next am- catch 3:23 train to Rome. Again- just an evening and morning in Orvieto.

I don’t care for the 1 night stays but can’t figure how to fit Orvieto in and still be on early train with car drop off hours limited.
Other option would be to leave Assisi really early on Day 2 get to Orvieto for a quick day visit then drop car by 4 and take the darn 5:30 train.

I hate to give up time in Assisi and I have already juggled days as much as I feel I can- I know people will say- save something for next trip- but even if we do go back to Italy (so many other countries we want to see!) I doubt we would go to Rome again so I want the 4 full days/5 nights there.

Should I just skip Orvieto completely? Just look at photos online of that beautiful cathedral? Or avoid it completely by returning car in Spoleto?
Should I cut time short in Assisi? Will I regret that?
Suck it up and arrive in Rome in the dark?

Sorry this is so long- but it has been keeping me up at night. I need to reserve our rental car and want this settled.

Posted by
6898 posts

Christine, this is a tough decision. My wife and daughter were recently in Italy and had this same choice. They opted for the extra time in Assisi as it is our favorite hilltown. They wanted to see Orvieto but there is no luggage storage there. So once you turn in the car, you have your luggage to tow around. Also, the car rental place is about 100 yards from the train station. They did consider finding a parking area and leave the luggage in the trunk while they took a short visit of Orvieto but in the end, they decided to turn in the car and head for the train to Rome.

Posted by
7368 posts

Thank you Larry- it was your spreadsheet of wife/daughter trip that got me thinking about Orvieto!
So- they did not see Orvieto at all? I guess that is where I am leaning.
If we did just the 1 night in Assisi and went to Orvieto- we thought we would check in hotel/drop luggage first then drive car down to drop off and take funicular back up- all that just seems like a lot of extra work just to see the cathedral.
We don't like leaving luggage in car if we can find a work around.

Anyone else want to chime in?
Is dropping car at Spoleto as easy as Orvieto? so much closer to Assisi and rate is the same. We could actually get to Rome a lot earlier and give ourselves another 1/2 day there.

Posted by
32405 posts

Christine,

"we thought we would check in hotel/drop luggage first then drive car down to drop off and take funicular back up"

As I recall, Orvieto also has ZTL areas so you might consider dropping the car first and then take the Funicular to your hotel (or perhaps a Taxi). Which hotel are you staying at? Hopefully one of the others can clarify that.

Posted by
2456 posts

If it helps, the RS 2014 Italy book indicates that the Hotel Picchio, which is 300 yards from the train station in Orvieto, will hold baggage for 5 euros per bag. I seem to remember confirming that by e-mail last year, but did not actually use it since I decided to stay longer in Orvieto. Orvieto is a terrific town, much more there than just the wonderful facade of the Duomo. Loved Assisi too.

Posted by
6898 posts

Christine, on my wife's trip, they only had 1 night for Assisi and they had to be in Rome the next night which included dropping off the car in Orvieto. You have two nights in Assisi. That extra night affords you the option to spend one of them in Orvieto. For my wife's trip, they did not have that option and chose to turn in the car and move on to Rome.

Posted by
7368 posts

AACK Larry- I thought I was all set! no Orvieto- keep 2 nights in Assisi- now maybe 1 night each will be OK

I am without my RS Italy book right now- my daughter took it as she will be going to Italy in June before us- I need to get that back and read all about Orvieto/Assisi again.

We do have a hotel booked in Orvieto- Aquila Bianca- I chose it specifically because it has easy car access and a parking garage. So I think it should be easy enough to drive up- drop bags- drive back down, if not we can drop car, take funicular and bus with our bags or a take a taxi- but funiculars are fun- just not so much fun with baggage ;)

Posted by
8 posts

On our 2010 trip, we arrived in Assisi about noon, saw both Assisi and Santa Maria degli Angeli. Got up early the next day, drove to Siena saw the city and had lunch, drove to Orvieto saw the church and a bit of the town, then drove to a hotel at the Rome airport in time for dinner. My husband is slightly disabled, so we were not rushing from place to place. The point is all of these towns are great, but small.

My suggestion:
Consider driving to the Rome airport, dropping the car there and taking the express to Termini. It is "expressway" all the way to the airport and it is an easy walk to the train station. From the Termini train station, you can get a cab, bus or the metro. The area is well lit and reasonably safe.

Finally, toss a coin in the fountain, you will want to come back to Rome.

Posted by
9436 posts

We spent 3 nights in Assisi and absolutely loved it. We wished we could have stayed longer. We spent about 6 hours in Orvieto and, to us, it was just ok. There were other towns we liked much better. You could ask 10 different people and get 10 different answers... so for what it's worth, if it were me, I would spend the 2 nights in Assisi and have a quick visit in Orvieto... or none at all if you have no time. But I also wouldn't cut my time short to take the 3:23 train so as not to get to Rome after dark... it wouldn't bother me to arrive after dark... Rome is very lit up (in fact, more charming after dark imo)... I wouldn't let getting there after dark factor into it.

Posted by
11613 posts

Too bad you are skipping Orvieto, but great that you are planning another trip. By the way, the funivia is very comfortable with luggage.

Posted by
7368 posts

Sorry Zoe :) it was a really hard decision- and I do hope we get back to Italy!
This way we have more time in Assisi and will probably day trip to Spello- which was also on our too long list.
Also gets us to Rome earlier so another half day there will come in handy.
Can't do everything!

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