Now I'd rather take the train wherever possible; originally renting a car in a smaller town and returning to a different town was a problem. Instead of picking up car in Florence (I'm sold not to now) I'm switching to train to Lucca (I hope). We're staying there 2 nights to see Pisa and CT. Will there be buses to get from hotel to sights there? Then we have hotel resv at Cortona for two nights because it was in the middle of Sienna and Assisi, that we want to see. Train/bus/car rental? Then we're heading to Sorrento by train, but now not sure from where? We were originally going to pick up and return rental in Florence. Any input? Thank you.
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
Answering only as to CT and Florence (hope others will answer as to your other destinations): In the 5 villages of the CT, all destinations are easily walkable from the train stations; I don't know if I ever saw a bus in the CT, within a village, I mean. . . . . ¶ Same answer for Florence, even though it's larger - very walkable.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17572 posts
The train from Florence to Lucca is very easy; you catch it at the main station Santa Maria Novella) or at the suburban Rifredi station. Cost is just over 5 euro. You are staying 2 nights in Lucca, and visiting Pisa and Cinque Terre from there, right? Is you hotel inside the walls at Lucca? Lucca is quite small and very walkable; most of it is traffic-free and there aren't any buses to take you around inside the walls. It is an easy walk to the train station from most anywhere in Lucca.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32384 posts
Judy, a day trip to Pisa and the C.T. from Lucca is going to be a LONG day, and won't leave much time to see the sights in Lucca. Also, a day trip to Siena and Assisi from Cortona is going to only allow a short time in each place. The main difficulty is the travel times between locations. Hopefully one of the group here can find some way to realistically accomplish this. Cheers!
Posted by
Coraopolis, Pa, USA
1018 posts
Your itinerary sounds more like a marathon race at a dead run than a vacation. First of all, how many days do you have for the vacation? Since you want to go down to Sorrento and back to Florence, have you purchased your airline tickets yet? If not, I suggest you fly open jaws so you won't need to have time consuming back tracking. You could fly into Pisa and fly home from Napoli. This will help to maximize your time in-country. Next, you could work on maybe eliminating a destination. Italy will seduce you, so always assume you will return. Buon viaggio, RB
Posted by
Los Angeles
425 posts
You can get between all these towns by bus or train quite easily: just plan your trip carefully, don't rush too much, and study the schedules . Suggest that you go to Siena as a day trip from Florence (SITA or TRA-IN bus) Assisi can be day trip from Cortona (bus/regionale train) Cortona to Sorrento by train: OPTION 1: Regionale train to Chiusi Scalo, connect to Intercity train (IC) to Napoli Centrale, connect to Circumvesuviana rail to Sorrento. OPTION 2: Regionale train to Roma Termini, connect to AV, ES or IC train to Napoli Centrale, connect to Circumvesuviana rail to Sorrento). www.ferroviedellostato.it (Trenitalia trains) www.sitabus.it (SITA buses Florence/Siena) www.vaibus.it (Lucca buses) www.trainspa.it (Siena buses) www.lfi.it (Cortona buses) www.vesuviana.it (Circumvesuviana Naples/Sorrento)