All-
My wife, another couple, and I are going to Italy in the second half of April. Our 2 week trip consists of landing in Rome, going immediately to Venice, then to Florence, then to Riomaggiore/Cinque Terre, then to Sorrento, and then back to Rome. For the majority of the trip, we are planning on booking individual train tickets. However, on the portion of our trip from leaving Riomaggiore/being in Sorrento/to arriving in Rome, we were considering renting a car. We figured renting a car in either Riomaggiore or Pisa would allow us to get into the Tuscan countryside and to Siena, would get us all the way down to Sorrento, allow us to get up to Pompeii and maybe around to some other towns on the Amalfi Coast, and then up to Rome.
We are trying to determine if the potential hassle of driving and finding parking for essentially 3 days would be outweighed by the cost savings of having all 4 of us in one vehicle and not having to pay for all those train ticket legs and the convenience of getting into the Tuscan countryside on our way down and around places on the Amalfi Coast?
Appreciate any thoughts? Also, if the rental is the option we do go with, would Pisa be the most convenient/cost efficient place to rent from in relation to Cinque Terre?
Thanks in advance!!!