Rome and Tuscany

Congratulations! We went on our honeymoon in November and spent about 2 weeks in Italy. We started in Venice and stayed there for 3 nights. We then took a train to Florence and spent 3 more nights. We considered going to Orvieto, Assisi and Siena but never pulled the trigger. We then took a train to Rome and spent 5 nights there. Keep in mind that your arrival day will be spent with finding your hotel and dealing with jet lag. Venice was easy to deal with because we took a water taxi from the airport directly to our hotel. It was a nice 45 minute boat ride and the fresh air was welcome after that long flight! For trains between cities, check trenitalia.com or italotreno.it for advance purchase. I got super economy fares of 9 euros for each leg on trenitalia. The problem with buying in advance is that the tickets cannot be changed. If you want to just wing it, you should be able to get a train whenever you want, but it will be expensive.

Thank you for your message! We are debating on whether or not to rent a car instead of taking a train because we hear that since we want to spend some focused time in Tuscany it would be easier to get around. Do you speak Italian? We plan on brushing up some on the language of course, but are they patient with Americans who are not fluent? I am concerned about the communication factpr since we will not be in the "touristy" areas where alot of English would be spoken.

You'll find most people have a modicum of English just as you will have a modicum of Italian. Only in Southern Italy do you find people who don't speak English at all (including hotel staff!). Even in the little Tuscan hill towns you can get a room and a meal with no trouble, and you can easily joke with people as you bumble their native language. Mostly they are pleased that you're trying. And I'm afraid there is no such thing as a non-touristy place in Tuscany, but it is wonderful anyway. Have a terrific honeymoon!

Lisa,
Consider arriving in Rome and training to Orvieto, a nice place to get over jetlag. Rent a car in Orvieto and drive into Tuscany, this will give you some ideas http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/tuscany/hs_planning.htm drop the car, maybe Siena, and go to Florence then train to Rome.

Thanks Henry! We will probably take your suggestion for the car. One question though - rather than return to Rome, we were thinking of flying out of Florence, or perhaps making the drive to Venice for the last two days and fly out from there. Could we easily drop the car off in one of those cities and is this a reasonable alternative (to fly out from either)? Is one better than the other?

Lisa, I was suggesting going straight to Orvieto and making Rome your last stop. Trying to see too much means more travelling then sightseeing.
I wouldn't return a car to Florence although you could return it to the airport. Returning the car in Siena and busing into Florence is easier. I don't think you can get direct flights home from Florence or Venice.

Flying home from either Florence or Venice will generally involve transferring at a European hub (always?), but that's easy. I think it's a little easier to fly out of Florence because the airport is a short cab ride from town. In Venice, you'll need to allow time to get to the airport on the mainland and that can be a little challenging with VERY early flights since you need to allow time for boat schedules. I find both Florence and Venice more pleasant departures than Rome, just because the airports are much smaller and less chaotic. The flights I've had have left quite early, but I'm flying to the west coast of the US; you might have later departures going to the east coast.