Private driver from Florence to Rome

Ever heard of trains? Way faster than cars.
No, I'm not talking about Amtrak.

yruss, this is really easy to do on your own, unless you plan to make several stops along the way.

You could take a train from Firenze to Assisi, arrange for a local guide in advance who can meet you at the train station and drop you off there afterward. Or, you could spend the night in Assisi (completely different feeling after the daytrippers are gone), and take the train to Roma the next morning.

I'm usually with you on the train, Roberto, but these folks want to stop off in Assisi. It appears that having a car and driver (so they won't have the hassle of renting and returning a car) might save them 30 minutes for each of the two travel legs, plus whatever additional time would otherwise be required for moving between hotels and train stations (with luggage). Maybe the driver will also be able to save them a bit of time in Assisi by delivering them to the highest point they want to visit, but I confess that I'm only speculating there.

And there are three of them, so perhaps the car and driver will not be too big an extravagance. I think the car-and-driver plan might change the idea of seeing Assisi in transit from "not worth the bother" to doable, if a bit rushed.

Yes, Roberto, of course I have heard of trains. There are three of us and we will have our luggage. One of us is my 72 year old mother and I am trying to make the trip wonderful for her and not too very arduous. She is a trooper, but I want to make things easier if I can. I am concerned about having to walk all over Assisi with our luggage and about having to walk from the train uphill to the town and sites. If you think that is not a problem, them maybe we will try it by taking the train. I have never been to Italy and that is why I was asking.

y,

You can certainly use a private driver if you wish, but it's not going to be cheap. Whether that's a realistic option will depend on your budget.

Travelling by train is the usual method most of us use in getting around as it's the quickest and most efficient. However, I note this is your first trip to Italy, so there are a few potentially expensive "caveats" to mention regarding public transit in Italy. For example, if taking Regionale trains (also buses and metro) using locally purchased tickets, you must validate the tickets prior to boarding on the day of travel, or risk hefty fines which will be collected on the spot! If travelling on the fast trains such as the Freccia high speed, tickets for those are specific to train, date and departure time and can only be used on the one train listed on the ticket. If you board the wrong train by mistake, again hefty fines! In some cases, travel from one place to another involves one or more changes so you would have to be up to speed on how to do that.

If you wanted to try travel by train, this is one method that you could use.....

• Use direct train from Firenze SMN to Assisi - there's a direct departure from Firenze SMN station at 08:02, arriving Assisi at 10:49 (time 2H:47M, Regionale.
• Store luggage at Deposito Baggagli office at Assisi station - they're open from 06:30 to 18:30 if I'm reading this correctly....

*"Stazione Ferroviaria, (linea F.S. Foligno-Terontola): Piazza Alighieri - tel. 0758040272 numero verde tel. 8488-88088 ,Deposito Bagagli - Edicola Stazione F.S. Apertura 06.30 - 18.30, Tel. 339 3724592.

• Take Taxi from station up to the town - some walking will be required.
• After touring, take Taxi or Bus back to station and collect luggage.
• Take train to Rome. There are direct trains at 14:10 & 16:24 (among others) from Assisi to Roma Termini.
• When you arrive in Rome, take a Taxi to your hotel.

If you decide to use a private driver, one point to note is that he may not be able to get you all the way to the sights, so again some walking will probably be required. As I recall, there's a ZTL (limited traffic) zone at the entrance to the city at Piazza Matteotti so the driver would not be able to go any further than that without incurring a fine (unless he has a permit for that city). It's a bit of a walk from there to the Basilica of St. Francis, so something to keep in mind (a local Taxi might be able to take you closer).

If you'd like to get some idea of the cost via private driver, you might contact this firm for an estimate - http://www.italianlimousinenetwork.com/ . They're extremely professional and the trip would be very comfortable for all of you.

One more thing. I was in Assisi with a friend who had some mobility issues, and we hired a local taxi driver to take us to some of the Franciscan sights outside the city. He dropped us off, picked us up at a prearranged time, and repeated for an afternoon. I think we paid about €50 for three hours of pickups and drop offs. He was doing the same route with other passengers in the times between, it worked flawlessly.

Didn't pay attention to the Assisi stop, since they title says Florence to Rome, but hiring a private driver to take you around for the whole day all the way to Rome would be extremely expensive. An easier option would be renting your own car.

You could take a train from Firenze to Assisi, arrange for a local
guide in advance who can meet you at the train station and drop you
off there afterward.

I like this idea. It's going to cut the $$ considerably plus take care of the luggage issue. As noted above, it won't eliminate the need for some footwork (neither would a driver from Florence) but it will reduce the very substantial cost of a driver for the whole enchilada.

Er, wrong country. I meant the whole panino.

Definitely sounds pricey.
If you want an idea on how much and an option that could likely provide the service
try Elisabetta at Professional Tour Tuscany. They provide very reasonable costs for private rides such as this and guided tours.
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