Getting to ROME and FORENCE from Todi, Umbria

For a day trip to Rome, I would drive at least to Orte. Then from Orte you can catch a train. Orte is closer to Rome than Orvieto, and the time it takes to drive from Todi to Orvieto, you can be in Orte, and the road is a much better road (it's all freeway in fact). From Orte to Rome, it's a 45 min train ride.

Florence is much farther. A day trip would be a very long day. These are the options:

1. If you go to Orvieto to catch a train it's a 45 min drive to get to the station in Orvieto. Then from Orvieto to Florence it's more than 2 hours by train. So you are looking at well over 3 hours each way, maybe 3.5 hrs when everything is said and done.

2. Another option than catching the train from Orvieto, is to drive to the Terontola station, which is much closer to Florence and an easier freeway drive from Todi (and just 15 min more driving time than going to Orvieto although it's twice the distance). From Terontola to Florence it's a 1h20m train ride. You would save about 40 min. (one way) over option 1 (also you would save yourself from driving the curvy Orvieto to Todi road at night).

3. Alternatively, if you feel up to it, you could drive all the way to Florence. If you take the freeways via Perugia-Bettolle, you can probably be in Florence (park at Piazzale Michelangelo or Porta Romana) in just over a couple of hours. But I don't think you'd save more than 20-30 min over option 2 after you take traffic and parking in Florence into account.

Your choice

There is also a regional train, not to be confused with Trenitalia, but connects to Trenitalia.

http://www.umbriamobilita.it/it/orari/servizio-ferroviario Blue line is the regional train.

To go to Florence you would connect in Perugia. For Rome connect in Terni.

There is also bus service that connects this area. http://www.umbriamobilita.it/it/orari/servizio-ferrovi.

Check with the people you are renting from. Sure they would have all the info.

Train schedules for Trenitalia are here:
www.trenitalia.com
Enter
From: ORIGIN STATION IN ITALIAN (Orvieto, Terontola, Orte)
To: DESTINATION STATION IN ITALIAN (Roma Termini, Firenze S.M.Novella)
choose a date in the next 7 days (schedules for regional trains are loaded weekly, but they are about the same)
Enter the approximate time you want to depart (use 24 hr clock)

There is only one, perhaps two, buses from Todi to Orvieto (and vice versa) - mine left at 5:50am from an unmarked bus stop outside the walls, so you may want a car. (The owner of my hotel drove me to the bus stop. )

I didn't even contemplate that you may have thought of not renting a car until Zoe pointed it out.

I highly recommend renting a car if you stay in Todi, or you won't do any day tripping anywhere that far, as you envisioned.