Planes, trains and automobiles, oh my

The original post says they need a rental car to do side trips.

Sara, if you rent the car at the Rome airport, be VERY CAREFUL when you leave the airport. The sign for the road you need to go towards Rome and ultimately the Lucca area, is directly outside the car rental exit and if you miss it (all four of us in the car missed the sign) you will circle around and around looking for the correct road. Kent is right, the road from the airport doesn't go INTO Rome, but around it and it's fairly easy to maneuver if one of you has the skills to navigate the roads.

Deb

You're flying into Rome, so just do what you'd do here: rent the car at the Rome airport. When you do it that way, you don't have to drive through Rome.It's possible you may pay a little extra to pick up the car at the airport, but in this case it's worth the extra charge because it saves you by avoiding the cost of the train, saves you time, and you don't have to lug your luggage on and off trains.

Take the express train to Florence, the local regional train over to Lucca and the bus to your village.

Sara: Many travelers on this forum have reported they were glad they had a GPS in Italy.

Thanks for the tips about cars vs train and trying not to get lost. I wrote the info about taking the right road out of FCO in my guide book. Don't want to get lost before I get started, there will be plenty of time for that. I think a hand help GPS is in my future. Appreciate the words of wisdom.

Sara: Re your last reply, "I think a hand help GPS is in my future"What you probably want is an auto GPS with European map pre-loaded, not a hand-held GPS. The GPS manufacturers use the exact term hand-held GPS to refer to the type of GPS used by hikers. While it might be possible to use one of these in Europe, 90% or more of people on this forum have purchased auto GPS for use in Europe. And you need the models that come with a European map pre-loaded.

Hi Sara ,

When are you going to be there? I just left Vico. Do you have family there?

Rent a car in Rome and drive. Takes about 4 hrs. Best is to always fly into Pisa.

When you stay in a small rural place, saving time should not be the issue. The charms of the rural location should more than offset the inconvenience of getting around, or you chose the wrong place to stay.

The decision to make is whether you want to spend a day sightseeing via car on the drive from Rome, or if you expect to be tired from the flight and just want to get to your destination. For me, it would be the latter choice. And I'd take the train from Rome to Florence, about 1.5 hours on the hi-speed line. Then pick up a car there, carefully avoiding the traffic-restricted zones in Florence, and drive to my destination.

Many thanks for all the seasoned travel advice. Our trip was fantastic. Staying in a small village build in the 15th century was a huge highlight. Took advise and rented a car from Rome airport and brought a GPS. Saved us lots of wrong turns -- we still had plenty, but were able to correct before we were too far gone. Drove back to Rome at the end of trip to enjoy a few days seeing the sights. Returned car as soon as we got to Rome, then transitioned to public transportation.

Sara,

After your experience in Italy-- please tell me what you suggest. We will be flying in and out of Rome. Our first 3 nights are in Lucca; the next 3 nights in Cinque Terre; followed by 3 nights in Sorrento; and the last 3 nights in Rome.

There will be four of us. I am investigating whether or not we should pick up a car when we arrive in Rome and return after Sorrento. Or, should we take the train from Rome to Pisa, get a car, use the car while in Lucca and Cinque Terra, return the car in Pisa... THEN... take the train to Sorrento, yada yada.

After reading the responses to your messages-- I'm thinking we might be better off getting a car when we arrive in Rome and then returning it after our 3 nights in Sorrento (before venturing into the City of Rome for the last 3 nights).

I was concerned about the drive from Cinque Terre to Sorrento being too long-- but, I'm not sure we would save any time by taking the train(s).

What do you think? Thank you for your advise. By the way--I'm from Fairfax, VA Elaine

Elaine,
If I was doing your trip, I would get a car at Rome airport. It's easy to get out of the city from the airport without getting into the traffic mess. It's a tough drive after being on a plane all night, but with frequent stops we did it. The train is a great way to get around, but I find it is expensive for 4 people, especially if you are getting a car anyway. If you take the train to Pisa you need will need to do a transfer in Florence. Sometimes there is an hour wait between train arrival and then departure.
The biggest surprise for us was how long it took to drive places. Expect 6 plus hours from Lucca to Sorrento. We planned to go to Pompei, but the driving distance was too much and I felt all we were doing was driving this trip (we did a lot of side trips and ran out of time), so cancelled that part of the trip when we got in country so we could spend more time in Rome.
As for driving to Sorrento, it depends if you want to drive along the Amalfi coast or just stay in Sorrento. If you want to go on excursions, then drive. I recommend going to Positano, just south of Sorrento. If you plan to chill and drink Chianti, then drop the car at the Rome airport and take the train to Naples and the circumvesuvia metro to Sorrento (pick up at Naples train station). It is quicker by train, so you need to weigh the time savings with dragging your bags around and the cost of 4 people to ride the train vs the car. I actually debated this and opted to drive. Though once we got to Italy we decided to cancel our trip to Naples/Pompei.

Rome trip: Definitely drop your car off as soon as you get to Rome and take the subway. You can get a ticket for all day for 4 Euros. Be aware, they say 24 hours but that means only the day you buy.
On another note, have you been to Lucca before and know you want to spend 3 days. We took 2 short day trips there since it was close to where we were staying. Not that much to see. Consider spending more time in Sorrento and Rome.