Hi travel buddies, Mid May, my husband and I are planning to fly into Florence, take a train to a Tuscan town ( Lucca?)rent a car so we can get to hiking trails and visit other villages, return the car ( where?) and take the train into Rome. We have 12 days starting May 12. We’ve already booked 5 nights in Rome at the end of our trip. Questions: Is Lucca a good base for 4-5 days? We want to take day hikes some of the days and perhaps rent a couple ebikes for a day. Is Orvieto a better choice of a base given we want to maximize using trains. I appreciate your thoughts on trip planning.
Also, in your candid opinion, should we expect Rome to be packed with tourists this May? What’s your experience? Thanks in advance.
Posted by
5117 posts
I'd focus on the hiking you want to do first and narrow down from there. Lucca would not be my choice for a driving/hiking trip, but there are good hiking options in the area (Alpi Apuane)--we also went to Cinque Terre to hike, which I do not recommend (better to stay in the villages) and we also stayed in Barga and did some hikes there. I preferred Barga to Lucca, but Lucca has many fans. I just think the parking could be a bit of a pain, but you can always book a place with dedicated parking.
Are you going to stay in Florence before moving to the smaller town?
One of my favorite trips was southern Tuscany, where we hiked in Ucellina park--I like coastal hiking--what kind of experience are you looking for?
This might be helpful: http://www.50hikesoftuscany.com/
Posted by
11645 posts
We love Lucca and spent four days there but it is not a good base as it located on the far western side of Tuscany.
Look at Siena or Montepulciano. We have never used trains or buses, always rent cars. I recommend a car while you are in Tuscany so you can visit its charming villages. j We usually stay in one of the Chianti villages north of Siena.
Also look at Volterra and Cortona.
Posted by
OP
Madison,WI Eugene, OR
18 posts
Thank you for these really useful suggestions and recommendations. Yes, the idea of coastal hikes is fabulous. Ideally, we would like to start with a couple nights in Florence…but am concerned that mid May will already be packed with tourists. And we’ve been to Florence a while ago but never spent time in Tuscany.
What other villages do you recommend visiting by car? I will look for a hotel that includes a dedicated parking spot. That’s a great tip!
Posted by
5117 posts
If you stick with Lucca and want a coastal excursion, look at Montemarcello--it's an hour drive. Much less crowded than Cinque Terre trails. We walked from Lerici to Tellaro to Montemarcello, and there are numerous other trails in the area. https://www.parcomagra.it/
I gotta say, if you are concerned about crowds, Lucca would give me pause, but since you will be out exploring during the day, maybe it won't matter as much in evenings.
When you rent bikes, get directions (at the bike shop) to the park along the Serchio, where you can ride a path along the river.
If you drive up to Barga, there is a cool bridge at Borgo a Mazzano. There are some thermal baths in this area.
I've always regretted I did not make it to Pistoia.
This post brought to mind an older post that had a lot of detail about the area:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/have-you-stayed-in-tarquinia-pitigliano-grosseto-massa-marittima-volterra-tellaro-or-bobbio
I came across this one also: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/road-trip-to-mts-near-lucca