Italy questions-various

JG,

1.) Using a Scooter to see Tuscany wouldn't be the best idea IMO. Tuscany is a rather large region, and using a Car (as the others have suggested) might be a better idea. Scooters are best in the tight confines of old and narrow city streets, but not as well suited for the open highway.

2.) I normally buy my outgoing ticket (and reservations if required) when I arrive in a particular city, since I'm at the station anyway. You didn't indicate how long you'd be staying in Venice, but in mid-September a few days in advance should be adequate. Use the bahn.de site to determine when the earliest train will be.

3.) I've never used Vernazza Rooms, so don't have any information.

4.) My preference would be to pre-book lodgings in Varenna, as in my experience September is still a fairly busy travel month. You might be fortunate and find something by just showing up, but I'd prefer something a bit more definite. Check Rick's books for lodgings and send them an E-mail.

Good luck and happy travels!

Scooters in Italy are very dangerous. Use the search feature above for details on this and many other issues. If you have no reservation in mid Sept for Vernazza, get there early in the day and ask around the train station.

It isnt't the scooters that are dangerous but the DRIVERS. Also, there is little keeping to one's own lane, especially on winding hillside turns. It is pretty much like it has bcome here,-- whoever isnt afraid to die has the right iof way!
September is not the high season. August is Italian vacation month and most tourists are in Italy during summer. You COULD experience difficulties vis-a-vis rooms but it isnt likely. Varenna is a great spot (we recomm apt thru Hotel Montecodeno) You could also try Verona and Vicenza. Both are on the train like from Milano to Venezia.

Your idea of renting a car to see Tuscany is the best one. Some travelers find driving a rental car in Tuscany too stressful and use public transportation, but Tuscany is one of the few places in Italy where renting a car probably makes sense for many. You're not the first person to come up with the idea to drive a scooter or vespa in Italy, but so far we've not had anyone say they actually did it. Most people find driving a car exciting enough and at least you have steel around your fragile body.We try to be supportive of travelers' ideas but when it comes to safety issues where you may be blind-sided by traffic conditions you didn't anticipate based on your experience here, some of us just refuse to say the easy thing, which is "anything you can think of doing, you should do, go for it." Especially when we ourselves have not done it. The advice given here in the past, by people who ride cycles/scooters here, is at least 90 to 10 in favor of trying to warn you that conditions in Italy will be MUCH different than doing the same thing here. It will be way different than watching Samantha Brown ride a vespa on one of the Greek Islands where there aren't many cars on the road.Ron from Rome commutes on a motorino and has written a descriptive piece, here a few months ago, on what riding a scooter in Tuscany would be like for you. I can't find it but you might want to use the Search function (upper right) to locate it.

forget the scooters, rent a car. It may rain, our last trip in Italy in Sept. rained 4 days before the sun came out (Tuscany) We're going again this year in Sept. and hoping for sun.

You can purchase advance train tickets in Venice at the train station or at the American express near St. Mark's. We wanted to take the 10:45 train from Venice to Florence, we arrived about 10:00 at the station and purchased it. I was VERY nervous we wouldn't get on, but it worked out fine. The train was full, but we found 4 seats together.

We have rented a vespa twice to do the Amalfi Coast and couldn't imagine doing it any other way. We drove from Sorrento to Paestum without any problems. We didn't rent in Tuscany the first of June this year because the weather was rainy, not because we would have any problems. Our only advice would be to rent the biggest vespa available so you could drive on the autostrada.

Tuscany is a big area, I don't think you COULD take a scooter on the highway anyways, we never saw one on the highways.

Just to add about going on the highway with a scooter, if it is under 150cc you aren't allowed on the highway with it. Honestly, riding along the highway on a motorcycle looks terrifying and in Italy it looks even scarier, though many people love to do it.

If you are an experienced scooter driver you will probably be alright for a day trip in Tuscany. If not, no need to worry about hotel reservations in Varenna.