We are spending two weeks in Italy from the end of June into July. We were thinking of driving from Montepulciano to Rome as opposed to taking a train. We heard it is a nice drive, but we wanted advice as to where to stop along the way and where would be the best place to return the rental car, which we do not want to keep while in Rome. Thanks!
Jess
Posted by
Paris
10422 posts
We basically did this last week. I don't know that it's a "nice" drive -- most of it is on the A1 highway.
We turned our car in at the airport and then took the Leonardo Express into the city.
Another option would be to drop (if you rent from Hertz) at the Hertz in Orvieto and then take the train into Rome from there (about 80-90 minutes, I think). You could also leave your bags with the Hertz people and take the funicular up to see Orvieto for a couple or three hours if you wanted before coming back down for the train.
And if you want to keep the car but still see Orvieto, you can park in the free lot behind the train station and take the funicular up.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16231 posts
You can take also regular highways to Rome. The freeway A1 is the fastest way.
The best place to return the car is in Rome. Where exactly depends on the company you rent from, but the Tiburtina station is easily accessible from the freeways.
Posted by
Niagara, Ontario
1688 posts
As Kim says, the drive along the A1 is not a nice drive. Maybe you heard about the nice driving close to Montepulciano, up and down to the west in the Val d'Orcia, away from the highway.
Where you drop off your car will depend on the rental agency you use. Choose one which is close to your lodgings in Rome.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
We were actually looking at a coastal route that would take us through Grosseto- it looks like E80? Or perhaps the train is a better option, and if so, what is the best train option from Montepulciano to a Rome?
Posted by
Niagara, Ontario
1688 posts
I've never driven the coastal route. The closest main train hub for the area is in Chiusi, about 30 kilometers or so S.East of Montepulciano. I don't know if any of the smaller towns east of and closer to Montepulciano have train stations.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
12113 posts
If you want to drive, I think the coastal route has to be better than the A-1. As I recall from the bus ride from Orvieto to Rome ( part of an RS tour) it was mostly just driving down a freeway with little visual interest ( or perhaps I was so amped up to see Rome for the 1st time, that the drive there was seen as a necessary penance.)
The other advantage to the coast route is leaving the car at the airport and not having to deal with driving in Rome.
Good call on not wanting a car in Rome.
Not meaning to demean your driving skills, but the odds of a happy ending between a tourist driving in Rome and poking a sleeping bear with a short stick are better for the latter