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Rail-Car-Rail Connections

The fall trip that I've previously mentioned is coming together - sorta.

The plan is Rome (3 days), Tuscany (4 days), Dolomites (3 days), Florence (3 days) and Rome (2 days) - plus travel days. We're staying near the Termini station and the original plan was to take the train to Orvieto to pick up the car for our stay in Tuscany. We would then drive to the Dolomites and return it somewhere between the Dolomites and Florence. The one significant problem with this plan is that rental car offices in smaller cities are generally closed on Sunday when we would leave Rome. This leads to the following questions:

  • How difficult is it to drive out of Rome after picking up the car at the Termini station early on a Sunday morning?
  • I was reading another posting that suggested the Tiburtina station might be better - true? A better alternative?
  • As an alternative and to avoid Sunday, we could stay an extra day in Rome on arrival and one less day prior to departure. This is definitely not ideal but could be done.
  • What would be the easiest place - convenient to the train - to drop the car after leaving the Dolomites?
  • If Bolzano is easiest, one possibility is connections in Voltera (15 min) and Padova (40 min) - enough time?
  • Should we consider driving all the way to Florence?

FYI - we're not adverse to driving and driving long distances - just interested in it being "user friendly"

Thanks in advance for your time and suggestions.

Posted by
20081 posts

I am not quite clear on this. If you are picking the car up Sunday morning in Rome, then spending 4 nights in Tuscany, then 3 nights in the Dolomites, that brings up turning the car in on Sunday in Bolzano. Another bad day. There are 3 direct trains a day between Bolzano and Florence. They just stop at Campo di Marte station instead of Santa Maria Novella. That should not be a major difficulty.

Posted by
84 posts

Thanks for the info.

The plan includes an additional travel day between Tuscany and the Dolomites in addition to the days mentioned. This means we actually travel to Florence on a Monday.

Posted by
15161 posts

Tiburtina station is easier to get on the freeway and get out of town, however on a Sunday morning traffic at Termini is not as bad as on weekdays. If you are coming down to Florence, just drive to Florence. Exit the A1 freeway at Firenze Nord. Follow directions to Firenze Centro and return the car at the airport. No need to drive into Florence. The freeway ends at the airport. Then take a taxi from there to your hotel.