Italy travel help

Hello, Vicki. My sister and I will be in Italy in Mayfor 14 days. She says it's easier to drive through Tuscany/Umbria, and take trains for major jaunts. Driving and parking in Florence is difficult, busy, not easy parking, so maybe train from Siena to Florence, then train to La Spezia from Florence? Then drive down the CT and to Pisa? As for being in Rome for their "4th of July"you are both crazy and lucky. Probably lots of things will be closed, but there will be festivals galore!

Rent in Orvieto from there drive north and visit Tuscany. Keep the car to visit all small towns and countryside. Car is not needed for Florence. Leave it for last and return the car there. Siena is small enough, you can keep the car and park outside the city walls for the day you want to visit. If you intend to stay in Siena longer, leave it for last just before Florence. Return the car in Siena then go to Florence from Siena by bus. Rome has a birthday party this year again on April 21? I dont think it will be suh a big deal. 2766 is not a nice round number.

Vicki, As Roberto suggested, use the car for the portion from Orvieto to Siena, but do NOT drive in Florence! The city is saturated with ZTL Cameras, so if you drive in Florence, you'll be receiving one or more expensive tickets a few months after you get home. Also note that for driving in Italy, EACH driver must have the compulsory International Drivers Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. IDP's can be easily obtained at any AAA office. A car will be of no use in the Cinque Terre, as most of the five towns are "car free". Using the local trains is by far the easiest method to get around. There are also boats in the summer months (weather permitting). I'll try to suggest a more detailed sequence tomorrow, when I'm using a "full sized" computer. Happy travels!

Thank you so much for all of your helpful hints We are trying to decide if we should go from Florence to Venice or Cinque Terre to Venice From what I have read it seems like the train from Cinque Terre to Venice is a very slow trip of 6 hours with 1-3 stops Any suggestions? Again,
Thnks

To go from Venice to the cinque terre by train you need to go back to Florence. So obviously it's faster if you go from Florence.

You might want to consider going to Orvieto as a day or overnight trip and then returning to Rome (it's a short train ride). Then take the fast train from Rome to Florence - only 90 minutes. Make your second base in Florence and do day trips, either by bus or train, from there. You can easily visit Siena, San Gimignano, wine tours, Tuscany vespa tours, etc.
The less you pack and unpack, check in and out, the more time you'll have to enjoy the places you're visiting. You definitely do not want a car in any of the cities - most have highly restricted zones, hefty fines, and scarce parking. As mentioned above a car in Cinque Terre is useless. Gas is really expensive. I paid the equivalent of $8.50-9.00/gallon last Oct outside Rome. Train travel is the way to go. Relax and enjoy the scenery.

We are going in May too. We are flying into Florence and renting a car when we leave to tour wine country. From other replies to your question, I am getting worried because I rented a car from the downtown location and have to drive out of the city and return it there. Hope they give us clear instructions how to get out of town. We are then taking a train to Cinque Terre and walking the cities. I am not sure you need a car there. There are trains that go from town to town which are very close together. From there we take train to Verona for a couple of days before heading to Venice by train also.

We have secured our trip We are arriving in Rome, then to Orvieto, where we are also renting a car Everyone I have talked to says it is good to have a car in the hill towns to appreciate the area We are taking the train to Siena, Cinque Terre, and Venice I am finally not as stressed out plans and excited for the jouney I am sure you will have a wonderful time Enjoy
Vicki