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Best Towns for Overnight Between Rome and Venice?

Posted by (Atlanta, GA, USA) on

Our family (with kids 8 and 6) is considering a Mon-Sat stay in Rome, before we need to be in Venice to catch a cruise (don't worry, we'll spend several days in Venice, too).

We're starting to think we should shorten our stay in Rome and spend 1-2 nights on the way back, either by car or train. We'd prefer to stop somewhere in Tuscany or Umbria to get a taste of that area, but would rather save Florence for a future trip when my kids will appreciate it more. A hill town sounds ideal.

We'll need to be in Venice by about 13:00 on Sat, since our cruise allows boarding 11:30-15:30. Ideally, we could sleep in the hill town Fri night, leaving first thing Sat. It seems like if we left by 8:00, we would be OK. With all of that in mind ...

  1. Does staying in a hill town the Fri night before our cruise sound like a terrible idea?
  2. If you think we can manage this, would you suggest a car instead of public transportation, to minimize risk?
  3. Suggestions for great towns that would be compatible with our schedule?

My leading contender is Siena, based on Rick's review. It also seems close enough that we could leave on Sat morning--but maybe there are equally charming hill towns even closer to Venice?

Posted by
5687 posts

I've never done the Tuscany hill towns - maybe someday! Otherwise, I've never driven in Italy. I might drive in say rural Tuscany but I don't think I'd want to, personally, to Venice. If it were me, I might stop for a night in say Verona or Padua. (Bologna isn't very exciting, but the food is amazing - and it would be an easy stop off the train.) Then it would be easy to get by train to Venice quickly in the morning.

Posted by
11676 posts

Siena or Orvieto would give you a taste of Tuscany or Umbria and their hill towns. If you have two nights I recommend a car to explore more on your one full day. We have driven all over Italy on many trips without any problems at all. If you have only one night, you might as well take a train.

Posted by
96 posts

Thanks for your input! Here's my current thinking. Let me know if you any comments.

The only absolutes are: (1) Flying into Venice Sunday evening, (2) Must be back in Venice Saturday mid-day, and (3) Will have 3-4 days in Venice later. In between (1) and (2), I'd like to minimize overnights and experience a hill town.

Option A
Sun: Arrive VCE @ 16:50, overnight near Piazzale Roma
Mon: Late-morning train to Rome
Tue: Rome
Wed: Rome
Thu: Daytrip to Orvieto (or different day)
Fri: Rome
Sat: Morning train, Rome to Venice

Option B
Sun: Arrive VCE @ 16:50, overnight near Piazzale Roma
Mon: Late-morning train to Rome
Tue: Rome
Wed: Rome
Thu: Train or drive to Siena
Fri: Siena
Sat: Morning train or drive, Siena to Venice

Option C
Sun: Arrive VCE @ 16:50, take 19:30 train to Rome
Mon-Thu: Option A or B
Fri: Train from Siena or Rome to Venice, overnight in Venice
Sat: Make everyone less nervous and wake up in Venice!

Posted by
5687 posts

Tough call. I'm usually in favor of getting to the first destination on the first day without splitting up my nights in one town, but because you are arriving so late, maybe not.

I don't see any reason to rent a car just to drive to Siena, personally. I'd take the train.

Posted by
585 posts

In your situation I would stay in Rome for four nights (mon - Thurs night) and then take the train toward Venice on Friday. The Monday you will be traveling and coping with jet lag, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday will be spent exploring Rome. On Friday I would get a train to somewhere like Padua or Verona, both interesting towns, and only about 1-1.5 hours out of Venice, spend the night and get the train into Venice Saturday morning. The cruise ship terminal is about 20-30 mins walk from the station.....maybe a bit longer with luggage and kids and depends on how hot it is. You might be able to get a taxi or a cruise ship shuttle from Piazzali Roma to the terminal. The hill towns are worth a lot more than a flying visit and you do need to build in some time for the what ifs..you know, someone gets sick, car problems, or luggage doesn’t make it etc. before you get to Venice. Other option would be to drop Rome and stay in a hill town for the four nights. For this trip stick with trains...visiting towns in a car involves issues with the dreaded ZTL’s which can cause the unwary tourist issues that could haunt you well after your visit.....search this forum for lots of info on this!

Posted by
5697 posts

I'm big on slow travel and not worrying about rushing to trains, planes or cruise ships, so I would avoid a one-nighter, just go straight on the train from Rome to Venice on Friday.

But -- different strokes for different folks.

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