Drive or train from Florence to Venice?

Will you already have a car? Or are you asking if you should rent a car for the transfer from Florence to Venice? If you'll already have a car I would drive and drop the car outside Venice. I would not rent a car just to drive from Florence to Venice unless I was going to take a couple of days to do the drive to see other places.

Depends on if you have interests in between. If it's based solely on time, money, or convenience, the train wins hands down.

Hi!
We will have a car for driving around Tuscany- then headed to Venice.:)

I'd suggest using the high speed train as they travel at up to 300 km/h so are much faster than a car.

You may be aware of these but there are a few other potentially expensive caveats you'll have to be aware of with using rental cars in Italy. It's important to note that each driver listed on the rental form must have the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. (so you must carry both). These are valid for one year, and easily obtained at any CAA/AAA office (two Passport-sized photos required, which may be provided by the issuing office).

You may also want to have a look at some of the posts on the forum concerning the dreaded Zona Traffico Limitato (limited traffic) areas that are becoming increasingly prevalent in many Italian towns & cities (especially Florence!). Some of these are enforced by automated cameras and some by local police. Each pass through one of the automated Cameras will result in a €100+ ticket and visitors often don’t know of these violations until several months after they’ve returned home.

wow - I knew none of this - we just booked flights. Thank you So much!

Two questions: How long do you have and what do you want to see?

If time is of the essence, then just take the train. If you have a few days, then a car will let you slow down and explore.

If you want to explore small towns and rural scenery, then the car is essential. If you wish to stop in major towns and cities, the car is a hindrance.

ZTLs are something to be aware of. But they are not a reason to choose to drive or not. You just need to be aware that they exist, make note of where they are and be prepared to park in lots outside of towns and walk.

Our plans are (so far) Rome for 3 days, east of Cortona (Tuscany) for 4 days then head to Venice for 2 days, then back to Rome to fly out the next day. :) Train seems relaxing, and we will have explored for 4 days.

Happy for any input!

We will be in Italy for 10 days in April, visiting Venice, Cinque Terre, Pisa and Rome. We are not renting a car and do not plan to use any cars during our trip. Trains all the way!

I just checked our train tickets for Venice to Manarola in which we go through Florence and change trains. The Venice-Florence leg of the train trip is 2 hrs. 20 min. via a frecciargento (high speed) train.

Ken's post is the exact reason we are not dealing with cars during our trip! Too much rigmarole, in my opinion!

"Train seems relaxing"

Trains won't be quite as relaxing if you have to pay hefty fines on the spot! I should also mention that there are some potentially expensive caveats to be aware of when using trains and other public transit in Italy. They're very easy to deal with once you know the rules, so not really a big deal.

If you need further information on using public transit, post another note here.

Not to be a contrarian, but in your case I would drive to Venice and drop the car in Venice upon arrival at Piazzale Roma where all the parking structures are (rental offices are inside the city parking structure).

The drive from Cortona to Venice is about 4 hours (nearly all on freeways) and you can take your sweet time.

If you were in Florence prior to that, then the train would be the smart choice, but you are in a rural location near Cortona. You would need to drive the car into Florence (always a traffic hassle, especially for those who don't know the city), find your way to the rental office, go from the rental office to the station (15 min walk if you return downtown at Borgo Ognissanti with luggage and all) and then take the train. Any time savings with the train journey from Florence to Venice (2 hrs vs 3 hr drive) would be negated by the time it will take to return the car in Florence, transfer to the station, and take the train. In the end it will take you at least the same 4 hours. If you absolutely want to take the train, it would be better to return the car in Arezzo and take the train from there (change trains in Florence). Timing is similar but at least you save yourself the hassle of driving in Florence. Many Italians who live in rural areas are scared to drive in Florence.

However, as I said, in your shoes, would bite the bullet and drive the 4 hours (plus pit stops) all the way to Venice instead.

If you decide to drive all the way and you have not had the opportunity to visit Anghiari earlier in your trip, you should go to Venice via the E45 freeway via Cesena (where you connect with the A14 toward Bologna). Anghiari would be along the way on the E45 (exit: Sansepolcro) and would make it a nice lunch break. Beautiful medieval town. The E45 route is only a few km longer than the A1 route from where you are.

"But still probably beats trains- dragging luggage and possible mugging ."

"Dragging luggage" is not a problem if one packs appropriately. I've travelled on dozens of trains over the years all over Italy and have yet to be mugged. Where are these muggings occurring?

While each mode of transport has pros & cons, I much prefer the efficiency and comfort of trains. Especially as no hassles with I.D.P.'s, ZTL's, speed cameras, parking charges or the risk of having luggage pilfered.

"Possible muggings"? We should keep our advice practical. If one has direct experience of being mugged, or witnessing a mugging, that is one thing. Although I guess "mugging" is possible anywhere in the world.

As for car size, three of us rent a Fiat 500L every summer for s couple of weeks, it's fine.

The advantage of the train is that the car driver also gets to relax and enjoy the view, and there are no traffic issues. But if you want to stop along the way, take a car.

If you have good luggage, cobblestones are not a problem. I bought mine from the RS travel store.

In the specific case of the OP, driving all the way is more efficient. He already has a car to stay in the rural villa, so he still needs to get an IDP and pay for renting the car regardless. Postponing the return 4 or 5 hours would not increase the cost. Also gas and tolls would be cheaper than train fare for two people. The ZTL would be actually an issue only if he decided to take the train, because Florence has a ZTL and he would need to enter it to return it near the station.

Having said this, the risk of being mugged is virtually zero in Italy. A compact car is adequate. Even an economy car is adequate if you have limited luggage. Renting a Mercedes will cost you more money. I have no idea what the lack of police patrol has to do with the size of a car one should choose. Also Italian highways are patrolled a lot via cameras which are everywhere on freeways, so just because you don't see a patrol car, it doesn't mean the highway patrol doesn't see you. There are driving rules and they are often enforced by cameras.

To tell the truth, my father has spent in Italy 82 out of his 84 years without ever being mugged there. He was mugged only once, in San Antonio, Texas.

...dragging luggage and possible mugging .

Good heavens. We've ONLY travelled Italy by train and managed our own luggage everywhere with no issues at all. The trains are great for going city-to-city as they tend to dump you out right the middle of the action where it's more difficult for cars to go, and they get you from Point A to B efficiently for reasonable cost. There's nothing to fear once you understand about validating tickets when necessary.

Just a word of warning - really watch your speed coming across the causeway into Venice - I've seen more than a few posts here of people getting dinged by the speed cams for going only a few kmh over the speed limit and getting a hefty bill months later in the mail...

By law all speed cameras give drivers a 5% or 5 kms leeway.

The causeway between mainland Venice and the tourists' area has a limit of 50 kms per hour, so you must run at least at 56 to be fined.

Locals know where cameras are and tend to drive over the limits.