Drive from Rome to near Lucca

hey hey andrejw
it will be busy during october with it being harvest and festival time. how late in october, there are festivals to attend and have fun. lots of wineries all around lucca and it's hills, which is still in tuscany. my own opinion why drive so fae when it's all right around you.
first thing, all drivers will need to obtain an IDP (aaa.com/IDP) it is mandatory in italy. read rules.laws, signage, car big enough for families and baggage (pack light, i'm sure can wash clothes while there. i bring a small container of laundry soap/bounty sheet if dryer)
stradavinoeoliolucca.it/ wine road and lucca olive oil, lots of wine and vineyards
discovertyuscany.com/ things to do, event calendar, scroll down click october. lots of fairs & festivals, check dates your around and where it's at
visittuscany.com/ lucca, montecarlo, and versilia wine & olive trail. many small towns along the way, lots of small shops making their own products within this very agricultural area. drive down to the coast of versilia
discoverytuscany.com/ barga in garfagnana
discoverytuscany.com/ lucca guide to 7 historical villas and mansions
villarealedimarlia.it
click events, click halloween 2025 treasure hunt (oct 18 & 19 oct 25 & 26 10am to 6pm) if kids in family group fun adventure, buy tickets on line before event
fattoria sardi vineyard and wine tasting in lucca
pinochio park and garzoni gardens in collodi (pinochio.it)
where pinochio was created by it's book author. between lucca and pistoia
fattoria al dotto vineyard/farm winetasting in lucca
toscana.info/ pistoia
i had these places bookmarked for our next trip but an unforeseen medical issue has put us hold. just sharing things for you and your gang. enjoy have a great time and do eat plenty gelato.
aloha

As usual I suspect driving times from Google are understated and the actual drive will be longer. You can choose between the drive through Florence, longer but easier, or the coast route, not as pleasant as most of the route is on an ordinary road and not on highways. I would not stop en route as it would make a long and tiring trip; however, if you take the Florence route the obvious stop would be Orvieto, more difficult to advice a stop along the coast route but I would say Castagneto Carducci (a town unknow to foreigners but all old Italians had to learn by heart the Carducci romantic poem celebrating it) or a short detour to Massa Marittima, both untouristed destination.

Forget any interior route including Siena or Montepulciano; the driving would be so slow that you would not really have time to stop.

If you wanted to take the freeway between Rome and Florence before swinging off to Lucca once you skirt south of Florence. This is probably about the same time as the coastal route depending on traffic. If you wanted places to pull off and stop on the way there Orvieto makes a great stop just off the freeway, but it is a little before what is probably the halfway point. Arezzo is probably 15-20 minutes off the freeway and is larger city but an interesting place to pull off to explore and maybe lunch before pressing on.

Keep in mind that unless you choose your lunch spot for speed - eg a bar with premade sandwiches or pizza - lunches are designed to drag in Italy but especially rural Italy. A quick tour and lunch can easily add 3 hours to your trip if you don't keep it in mind. Also the standards for drunk driving in Italy are very low and the penalties are high so at lunch and wine tastings have a designated driver.

Have a great trip,
=Tod

Because it could be cumbersome to coordinate all three cars, maybe doing a scenic drive and taking a packed picnic might take the stress off. Or, search out an agriturismo or rural restaurant and do a big lunch.
I think adding in sightseeing in will be a drag, plus you'd have to worry about all the stuff in the trunk.

4 hours from Rome to Lucca are not enough. To that you need to add a stop at a stazione di servizio for bio needs, so plan on at least 4.5 hours.if you take the coastal route 5 hours are not enough.

I think you've quite underestimated the amount of time it will take you to get there. And wrangling 3 carloads of people with varying bathroom needs on a long drive isn't something to ignore. If you stick with the A1 towards Florence, at least there will be plenty of service stations you can stop at. At least Orvieto is on the way. But if you just want a quick lunch that isn't junk food, but also won't take hours, consider stopping at an Autogrill. There's one at Montepulciano Est, about 1 1/2 hours from Florence..

Because of the length of the drive and 3 cars of people I would just get to the villa. I understand food at the Autogrills is quite good- get lunch on the way- at least the 3 cars with luggage will be relatively safe parked at a service stop.

Make sure all drivers have an IDP and do your homework regarding driving in Italy.
(not saying you haven't- it's just a a bit of advice I like to give to all tourist drivers in Italy)

Leaving luggage in unattended cars is never a great idea