I am arriving at Rome airport April 4 in the afternoon and immediately traveling north to Umbria/Tuscany area. We are not staying in Rome. Our possible first stop is Orvieto. Would we be better off renting a car and driving out of Rome airport or taking the train from the airport to Rome and then to Orvieto? We would like to explore the hill towns with a car but I am not sure how the driving our of Rome will be. We will eventually end up in Florence but I think we will drop the car in Siena so as to avoid driving in Florence.
Posted by
Marin, CA
532 posts
I love Orvieto and it's a very easy train ride from Rome. We stayed at Magnolia Inn(see RS) and it was a great value & location. We actually ended in Orvieto and had dropped off the car in Chiusi first (used Autoeurope) That location was a three minute walk from the train station.
Posted by
Clifton Park, ny, usa
109 posts
Hi Barbara,
We have done this many times. If you can drive the LIE you can do this. Pick up the car at the airport as you will need it for the hilltowns. Rome is ringed by the GRA and you will need to take it to get on A1 going north. It is relatively straightforward. Driving in Italian cities is NOT recommended and in some cases, forbidden(Siena). You have a good plan.
Orvieto is wonderful.
Posted by
Los Angeles, CA, USA
1449 posts
I would recommend picking the car up outside of Rome. Battling traffic in cities not designed for cars (Paris, Rome, etc) is an exercise in frustration, and add to that you'll be just off the plane and probably not at your best.
Posted by
Corsicana, Texas, USA
354 posts
You didn't mention which airport you were flying into, but renting a car at FCO and driving to Orvieto involves highway driving practically the entire way. You bypass Rome proper by using the ring road. Have money for the tolls. Also, research where you will park your car in Orvieto, since there lots at the foot of the hill as well as on top of it.
Posted by
Ann Arbor, Mi
3696 posts
I have driven many times in Italy and while you could rent the car at the airport in Rome and then drive north and not into the city, you could also take the train to Florence and get your car there. It is relatively easy to pick up at the airport and it is near the freeway. You could then make a circle of the Tuscany area and return your car to the airport in Florence. I have driven to Siena 3 or 4 times and each time it was a nightmare. We have never found a place to park, so if I ever wanted to stop there I would get a better map or take a train or bus in for the day from Florence. You probably don't want to drive right in Florence either, but if you just go from the airport you don 't have to, then if you want to stay in Florence just drop the car.
Posted by
Wichita
831 posts
Barbara,
Yes it is relatively easy to drive from FCO to Orvieto but why do it. Just take the train to Orvieto and stay the night then rent a car in the morning to begin your adventure.
Posted by
OP
Islip, NY, USA
10 posts
Thank you all for your suggestions. We're still hammering out our itinerary.
Posted by
Calgary
2297 posts
Terry,
where did you try to park in Siena? We drove straight to the Stadium lot as recommended by RS and had no problems finding spots for 2 cars. And that was 3 or 4 days before the Palio so pretty much at the height of the season. Price for parking fee was fine, too, not even half of what I'd pay in Calgary ...
We didn't take the cars into Florence, though, as the parking lots recommended to us would have required quite a bit of extra walking. Taking the bus into town was ok but we did loose quite a bit of time to explore the city due to the restricted bus schedule.
Driving from the airport to Orvieto is not difficult but if you do arrive during rush hour it might be a bit more stressful. The train ride would take between 2 and 3 hours depending on your connections.