Florence to Loreto

Yes, you can certainly drive if you are accustomed to expressway and city driving. You will need an International Driving Permit if your driver's license is not from an EU state - easily obtainable from AAA in the US. The Basilica of the Santa Casa is pretty incredible. We went because we met an officer in the Italian Air Force who told us that their patron saint is Our Lady of Loreto. Once we learned more we had to go. There you can see the actual house which the faithful believe flew from the Holy Land in 1294. The Basilica is so old more than 50 popes have visited, and there are art works by numerous famous artists and it's a real experience. My only advice would be to check the Basilica's schedule because the place has immense capacity, and if your visit happened to coincide with a large event, the lines would be endless.

Trains only take 3 hours outbound and about 3.25 hours on the return trip, but do require 2 connections each way, at Bologna and Ancona.

I haven't stopped at Loreto but have enjoyed driving in the area, for instance to Gubbio and Urbino. That 3.5 hours really looks like the minimum. If you return by a different route, then it will be slower. I would find the driving more worthwhile if you had time for more stops.

Thank you for the information. If we go by train what type of ticket do we purchase? You mentioned connections. Do I need to purchase separate tickets?
Thank you!

If you day trip by train, you'll have a maximum of 5 hours in Loreto. The earliest "fast" train to Loreto leaves Florence at 8:45 and arrives in Loreto at 12:05, and that's the earliest you could arrive on any train. The last "fast" train back to Florence leaves at 15:42 and arrives in Florence at 19:15, giving you only about 3.5 hours in Loreto. There is a "slower" train that leaves Loreto at 17:05 and arrives in Florence at 21:59, and it's the last train back to Florence until the following morning. Full fare tickets are expensive, about 130 euro per person round trip on the "fast" trains. Pre-purchasing discounted (non-changable, non-refundable) tickets in advance could reduce the cost by up to 50%, but they lock you into a specific day and times for travel. Check the Trenitalia website for details.

Thank you! Luckily if we decide to do this we can lock in the date and it’s further out June 1 so the rates are lower! $170 for two tickets round trip. My next concern would be the 15 minute transfer times. Are those hard to connect to? I don’t want to get stuck at the train station. Sounds like an adventure. We are in Florence for 4 nights so this would just be 1 of our side trips. I know lots of travel time so that’s what we have to decide. We did a day trip to New York last year while staying in Boston so we know what we’re looking at as far as lots of travel and quick exploration! Kind of why we were considering driving. More to see but also more stress. The other way I’d probably take a day trip to sienna or Lucca. I love reading all of the ideas on this forum and the iteneries! I’ve been doing it for months now preparing for our trip! 5 nights in Rome and 4 nights in Florence. First trip to Italy! Meeting my daughter and son-in-law for 4 days in the middle from Boston and we’re coming from California. So excited!