The group I am traveling with has an extra day in Rome and thought about doing a day trip to Florence and Pisa. We wouldn't really spend much time in Pisa, more just to see the leaning tower of Pisa and plan to spend more time in Florence. Our goal would be to take a round trip train from Rome to Florence and then Florence to Pisa. Any thoughts on of this will be too much in one day? We also thought about spending some time in wine country instead of time in the city of Florence, not sure if anyone has experienced those areas of Florence and what their thoughts were?
You can easily do a day trip from Rome to Florence as the high speed train tops at 150 mph and travel time is one hour and half.
But the other railway segments are on ordinary trains, much slower, and travel times add up. IMHO forget Pisa.
Touring the wine country needs time and a car, and you have not.
Any thoughts on of this will be too much in one day?
Florence + Pisa is absolutely too much. IMHO, Florence deserves more than one day so don't shortchange it just to get a look at the tower. Pisa has its merits beyond the tower but again, I wouldn't short Florence to do it.. There's also no way I'd personally trade Florence for a wine thingy that can be done in the U.S. unless you are very serious wine connoisseurs. Go to Florence to experience what you can't in the U.S. such as the art, architecture and history.
Editing to add: I'll agree with the others that if you've only 3-4 nights in Rome, you shouldn't have any trouble filling your time without leaving the city at all.
Orvieto makes a nice day trip from Rome- much closer than Florence and can be enjoyed in a day.
Florence needs more time than you can give it this trip.
I do have to ask- how many days are you in Rome? We've never run out of things to see and do there- we'll need to return few more times!
It will take you 3+ hours to get from Rome to Pisa and then at least another hour to get back to Florence. Same timing issue if you want to go to Florence to take a Tuscan wine tour, too much time lost coming from Rome and too little time left to explore Florence. It's best to skip Pisa or a wine tour and focus on Florence for your day trip. Those are my thoughts.
This will be my first time traveling to Europe and I'm looking for any recommendations on which area to stay in Rome? There will be 3 females staying together so we are looking for something safe and clean! We will be staying for 3-4 days!
The above from your earlier post
How do you figure you have an 'extra day'
This idea is not practical, and it isn't even close. You should open Google Maps and get an idea of where those destinations are in relation to Rome and to each other. A full week in Rome is not too much, but if you get bored you could always do some visits NEAR Rome, like Villa D'Este or Ostia Antica. You may be underestimating how large are, and how time-consuming it is to visit the Roman Forum or the Coliseum (just to pick two examples.) I agree that Orvieto is reasonable daytrip from Rome, and you can say you were in a different city with a different vibe than Rome.
This may not be your only trip to Italy in your life. I didn't see the other post, but what does the rest of the trip consist of?
No, No, No, too much. Go to Florence and enjoy the wonderful city. It is cheaper to find a nice hotel there than Rome.
I've been to Florence, and I've been to Pisa. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd rate Florence a 10, and Pisa a 2. Forget Pisa. It takes way too much time to get to and from there. Why spend so much time in train stations? Save Pisa for another trip.