hiring van and driver from cruise ship in venice to go to florence.

Do you need to take your large bags to Florence? Could you use a small carry-on bag and just pack the things you need for the 2 days - then when you return to Venice you can retrieve your large bags.....
Just a thought.

Question: Have you visited Venice? Is that why you want to disembark in Venice and hit the road straight away to Florence?

This is going to cost you a fortune. Not only does the driver need to take you to Florence but he/she will also drive back to Venice that night and the same for the Florence driver.

If you need assistance with your bags Trenitalia offers a service that can help.

http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en/Purchase/Info-&-Contacts/Disabled-passengers

You should be able to arrange help at both stations so that you can easily make use of the train system while in Italy.

Donna

And of course you could pack "lighter". Why do you need "large" suitcases?

It might be best to give up the idea of Florence this time around. Staying in Venice for the two days instead of paying a fortune to dash off to Florence, shouldn’t be a hardship.

Autoeurope has chauffeur driven service to do what you want. I didn't see it on the first website, so you will have to call for info. A good travel agent, one whose credentials you've investigated, should be able to find a driver for you. We have older friends who travel around countries only with a driver; it's just not the style of the majority of people who post here.

It sounds like this is a post cruise excursion, so you do need to take all your luggage. However, if you could find a place in Venice to store your things, you could travel by train with only overnight bags. Pack light!

Thanks to all. We have a sister with decreased mobility....on her first trip ...so although I am very familiar with train travel in Europe, we are investigating all choices of travel...great suggestions as always...
Does anyone know of a place to actually store the suitcases in Venice ...we will be staying one night in a hotel there...upon our return frm Florence...

Can't answer your question about storing the suitcases but I would check with the hotel first to see if they would hold them there for a couple of days since you'll be staying there on your return. If they won't, they may be able to help you with another place to store them.

Likely the hotel you will be moving into on return to Venice will...

Send 'em an email or call'em.

Perhaps the hotel where you'll be staying when you return to Venice will let you store the extra luggage there. Even if they charge you a small amount, it might be worth it to store a good bit of it and really travel lightly to Florence. Send them an email and see it that is possible.

Addendum: Just saw posts from Nancy and Nigel -- guess great minds all think alike at the same time.

triple-synchronous-simultaneity That's not often seen around these parts. Lovely ;-)

Or see if Viking has a luggage transfer service to your home or elsewhere.

We stayed at a rental just outside of Florence a few years back. The owner of the property is a travel agent. She speaks english very well, and may be able to help you with hiring a driver. She arranged transportation for us while we were there. Contact Violetta at www.beautyinitaly.com

thanks to all...we found a service which will store our luggage just at airport. so we will be able to travel super light by train!