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Private driver in Italy

Good Day to all. I am wondering if anyone has had any experience with hiring a driver in Italy? We will be going next year with another couple and thought it might be nice just to have a private driver. Any suggestions would be grately appreciated. Also any other suggests that would be our trip the best ever would be appreciated as well, never have been to Italy. We will be in Rome for 4 nights 5 nights in Florence and 3 nights in Venice. I hope this helps. We are planning on going mid September 2026. There will be 4 of us. We are looking at a day trip to Pompeli, Pisa Tuscany/Siena Cinque Terre. We are also thinking of doing VRBO or AirB&B's in each of the cities.

Thank you for all the input you can give me.

Stay Safe and Healthy!

Posted by
8784 posts

Which areas will you be visiting?

We have used private drivers in Amalfi/Sorrento area
Lots of recommendations here-do a forum search

To get a general idea of pricing you can check
daytrip.com

Your hotel is often the best source for recommended local drivers

Train travel is easy and fairly inexpensive in Italy
Use a driver for areas that need a car (rural Tuscany for example if you don’t want to rent car and drive yourself)

Posted by
24034 posts

Before we can give a really good answer, need to know when, where, and how long?

Posted by
19 posts

Thank you to the two that have responded so far. I will definitely look through the forum pages to see what people have said.

Posted by
6448 posts

Thanks for adding those location details. I am not seeing a ton of need for private drivers in that plan though. I am basically sharing the good news that you will need to spend very little on private drivers -- all of those cities are linked by fast trains.
It will likely be faster to take the train to Naples to transit to Pompeii. Pisa is a snap on the train, Siena is not difficult by bus (though maybe for the scenic drive it would be worth it). I don't recommend a day trip to Cinque Terre because of the travel time, but you could compare to see if a private driver would facilitate that. It would be great to do a scenic drive in rural Tuscany, and if you are interested in wine tasting of course that is a given.
Even if I were independently wealthy, I would find so many other areas to splash out than a private driver--put it toward accommodations, tours, meals.

Posted by
1116 posts

I've hired private drivers in italy. Very easy to find..just look for NCC drivers in your preferred locations online, or read reviews on TripAdvisor. Look for a driver in the city of departure.

If you would stay in a hotel the hotel can link you up with a driver they recommend.

But I agree that some of those trips can be easily done by train.
I'd try to go by train on the trips where the driver would just be waiting in the car for hours, while you are paying. Example: Pompeii.

Better to use a driver for countryside trips, wine tasting, etc.

But your time in your 3 cities is so very limited that I would not consider doing any trips outside those cities...maybe with exception of Pompeii. You've got four days only in Rome......tiny amount of time. Will there be jet lag to slash the first day on the ground?

Posted by
8784 posts

4 nights in Rome is really just 3 full days-that’s just barely enough for Rome itself

Consider visiting Ostia Antica rather than a long brutal day to Pompeii

Suggest you try to fly IN to Venice out of Rome

Venice is perfect place to get over jet lag and much easier to fly IN Venice than OUT of

With your itinerary the only time a private driver makes sense is for a day trip out of Florence
I would skip Pisa and CT and spend your time visiting the beautiful hilltowns in rural Tuscany

ToursbyRoberto.com gets good reviews

Posted by
6949 posts

I'm going to agree that your existing plans dont lend themselves to a lot of day trips if you want to see the major sites in the cities you will stay in. The exception would be Florence, but as noted, both Pisa and Siena are easily reached with public transportation. A private driver for the Tuscan hillsitowns would be worthwhile. But I would never recommend a daytrip to CT from any of these cities. The travel time is too great to make it worthwhile.