Ciao! We will be going to Italy in August 2012. We'll be staying a week at a villa in Terranouva Bracciolini, which is 30 minutes from Arezzo. We are arriving a few days early to go to visit Rome for 2 days. My question is, would it be feasible for us to take a train to Florence or Arezzo and get public transportation to the villa or should we get a car from Rome to drive to the Villa? We plan on doing at least one day trip to Florence and one to Arezzo. I've heard so many stories about how difficult it is to park, etc., that I thought it might be best for us to avoid driving if we can. We also have 6 people in our immediate party and not sure if we'd get a car big enough for all of us.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Also, I know very little about the town where the villa is near. I didn't pick it and the rental company doesn't send out all the "details" until closer to are departure date.
Posted by
San Diego, CA, United States
864 posts
You can rent a 6/7 person van so that solves that issue. We've rented villas in Tuscany before and always rent a car. Bus service in the countryside can mean long waits to/from. Also with a van/car you will be able to shop at the nearest co-op for fresh bread, fruit etc. for breakfast at least and dinners as well if you so desire. (And then there's the issue of transporting a case of really good local wine....) If no one wants to cook those co-ops have fantastic deli sections, prepared foods, the cheese, the ham ahhhhh. Nothing like sipping a glass of wine, snacking on a antipasto platter and watching dusk settle after a long day seeing the sites. When we want to go into Florence we drive to an outlying bus stop, park the car for the day and bus in (o/a a 20 min ride). Parking space has never been an issue on the outskirts nor have we had any theft. We drive to the hill towns and always manage to find a spot to park but we do have to walk a fare distance. If someone in the group has mobility problems you can usually drop that person off at the outer limit of the historical area.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
Have you tried asking the owner of the villa?
Posted by
OP
Holtsville, NY, usa
5 posts
Thanks for the input. The villa rents bikes and can arrange for a car rental for us but since we are starting off in Rome we'll need to rent in Rome. Now on to finding a hotel/B&B for our 2 day stay in Rome!
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
I would think it would be more comfortable to take the train from Rome to either Florence or Arezzo and then arrange either for a driver from there to the villa, or pick up the rental van in Florence or Arezzo.