We are staying in Rome and would like to drive the "self guided driving tour" in Tuscany. We need advice on which city to take a train or bus to so we can rent a car and start the drive.
Thanks for any suggestions you may have.
Posted by
seattle
2103 posts
Many people rent from Hertz in Orvieto. If you do this, Pitigliano is a town about 2 hours drive away that is worth seeing. We used the DK Eyewitness Guide Backroads Northern Italy guide to choose wonderful roads and stops.
Posted by
Rural Georgia
2184 posts
How long do you plan to have the car? Where is your destination? Are you thinking about doing this as a day trip?
As mentioned, Orvieto is a popular place to rent, but it is on the outskirts of Tuscany. You want get to the heart of the Tuscany drive until you're about 1 1/2 hours in. We rented at the Rome FCO airport and drove part way up the Autostrada, then hopped off to drive through the countryside. You could also consider taking the train to Siena, but I'm thinking renting at Orvieto may be easier.
You may find this interesting.
Edit: I should have pointed out that we stayed just outside of Greve at an agriturismo for a week. As gerri pointed out, this is not a day trip if you plan to stop at all, and if you don't stop you'll miss the charm of the region.
Posted by
lexington, il
4105 posts
Christy,
If you have never driven in Italy, this is must reading. Download their PDF.
https://www.italybeyondtheobvious.com/dont-mess-with-ztl-zones
That being said, I agree with DougMac. This is the drive you were requesting. Each town on the route is different and the countryside is beautiful.
This is by no means a day trip. Your best starting point would be Florence. Which is a 90 minute train ride from Rome. If this is where you plan to start, come back on to get recommended rental agencies and locations.
While the drive in miles is not long, the time it takes to navigate, find parking, visit the town then repeat the process 3-4 times is time consuming.
If you do the route this way, spend the night in Pienza or Montepulciano.
Then drive to Orvieto and train back to Rome you'll have a much better experience.