My 2 friends and I are planning a trip to Italy May 8-25. I have been to Italy twice before & am comfortable traveling there, taking trains, etc. but the others have only been to Venice (briefly). Here is our itinerary so far with some questions. Rome - 4 nights - May 8-11. That will give us 3 full days to tour. I'm not counting on doing much on May 8 as that's the day I arrive & know I'll be jet-lagged From Rome we would like to go to Florence, Lucca, and a town in Tuscany, 3 nights each. 2 of us are willing to drive in the country but don't want to drive in the cities at all. I have been to both Assisi and Siena in the past, liked them both but would like to go somewhere different. I'm happy to stay in a small place or outside city walls especially if we have a car. Question 1: which order should we go in? Looking at a map my friend thought Rome-Siena (if we choose Siena) - Lucca - Florence, then on from Florence to northern Italy (not sure where we're going there yet). However, in looking at transportation connections I'm thinking go to Florence first, then rent a car (at Florence airport?) then on to Siena & Lucca. Is it difficult to navigate out from Florence airport to smaller areas? Question 2: are there other places in Tuscany where we could rent a car, if we don't want to rent from Florence airport? I'm not a nervous driver but I've never driven in Europe, only taken trains. The only reason I want to rent a car is to see more of the countryside in Tuscany. I'll put my northern Italy questions in a separate post so this doesn't get longer than it already is. Thanks for all your help! Janet
Phoenix AZ
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8371 posts
AutoEurope.com offered a fair rental car rate, and we picked the car up at Hertz's 60 Sansovino location in Florence. (Airport rentals come with high taxes and carrying charges.) Their instructions got us going south 20 miles to our agriturismo between Certaldo and San Gimignano. This is a great area to do day trips from and every farm has rooms and apartments for rent. See Booking.com. We toured all over the region, but especially liked Volterra and San Gimignano. We found Siena very congested and hard to find parking in. It's best visited by bus from Florence on a day trip. We stayed a night in Orvieto, a 70 minute train ride north of Rome. It's a fantastic hilltop town, and close to another incredible site of Civita. Hertz is just across the street from the Orviato train station, and a great place to turn in a rental car. Tuscany, Chianti and the area south of Florence is no problem driving in if you're okay driving a straight shift car.
Have a great trip!
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32402 posts
Janet, A few points to mention about driving in Italy..... As you'll be driving in Italy, note that EACH driver will require the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. Failure to produce an I.D.P. if requested can result in fines on the spot! You can obtain I.D.P.'s at any AAA office for a small fee. You'll also need to be aware of the dreaded Zona Traffico Limitato areas, which are becoming increasingly prevalent in many towns in Italy. Passing through these zones can result in expensive fines, which you won't know about until several months after you've returned home. Recent posts here would seem to indicate that authorities in Italy are becoming more aggressive in collecting the fines from foreign drivers, and there may also be charges from the rental car firm for providing renter information to law enforcement. You could rent the car in Orvieto, Siena or other places in that area. Florence airport is certainly a possibility, although it may be slightly more expensive to rent there. Happy travels!