train vs rental van

A van is a big vehicle for Italy -- tough to park in the best circumstances -- and a vehicle is totally unnecessary (and a big problem) in the cities. It might look to cost less on the surface, but the high cost of fuel, parking fees, tolls, and traffic tickets (not insignificant and a frequently mentioned problem) need to be considered.

Train tickets, purchased as far as possible in advance for the high-speed routes, are a bargain. You can all relax, chat, eat, watch the world go by. What exactly is your planned route? We can help with ticket planning.

if "we" is two of you, and 6 of them, that's 8 folks the way I count it.

The biggest "van" you can get with a normal driving licence is a 9 seater, but that won't have any room for luggage - the seats will go all the way up to the back window.

Will the 8 of you have any luggage?

You might do better with 2 full sized cars, but that means splitting up, staying in contact, and arranging to stop together.

Wouldn't it be nicer if you were all together, and could chat and nobody would mind a side conversation, and no navigating and no worry? All the places you have listed are far better without a car - except perhaps Parma at which my intuition says you are going to so you can visit a cheese factory or ham producer. For that you could get a taxi or two.

You won't want a huge "van" in any of those places, and you probably won't want two large cars either.

Train fares can be quite cheap, and most of your travel will be on Regional trains which are really cheap and easy.

Sounds like a great trip!!

If you’re actually contemplating a rental van in Rome, Florence, cinque Terre, Milan, Venice then I’m guessing you’re new to the Italian Travel scene. 🙂 You really really don’t want to do that. Bad bad idea.

Train tix are dirt cheap in Italy if you buy them early and the train takes you directly into the city center where you’ll be slapped with expensive ZTL fine if you drive.

Buy your tix at trenitalia.com or a reputable reseller like trainline.eu

Since you might be new at traveling...only stay on Venice Island...not Mestre or Lido

If you stay out of city centers you won't be "slapped" with fines, but why would you stay in the suburbs far from the sites you came to see? You are on vacation to see things, not to avoid fines and easily park a van.

There is another variable to be taken into account: you can drive a van at 80 kms an hour, a car between 110 and 130 (depending if you are driving through the mountains or not). Both Trenitalia and Italotreno run dozens of high speed trains on the Milan-Venice-Florence-Rome backbone. Trains that go at 250/300 km an hour.

Driving everywhere would mean wasting vacation time, drive when there are no faster options, including the time to reach the rental agency and to get the car. You should use viamichelin.com to search for the best routes and determine gas costs and tolls. The driving times on Google Maps are unrealistic.

You're going to a few places (Venice, Cinque Terre, at least) where vehicles are not helpful and parking is worse than Manhattan. For me, about the only place in Italy where driving your own vehicle is more desirable than train travel is Umbria/Tuscany.

We've got six adults in our party, and aside from the week in Umbria/Tuscany, we'll be on trains. Even then, for nights out where wine is involved or for wine tasting during the day, it'll be some form of taxis...

Also, the rental car companies we've used charge a premium for additional drivers. So you pay extra (and it can add up) for one or more extra people to be allowed to drive the rental car. If you opt to save money and only have one driver, that person is stuck as the chauffeur for the entire trip.

Trains are easy. And, best of all, trains mean everyone can savor the countryside, chat, relax and otherwise enjoy your group trip.

Driving in Italy all non-EU drivers require an IDP - North Americans can get these at AAA/CAA - which are required by law to be presented upon request to law enforcement along with a valid home driving licence.

8 people should rent 3 economy cars. 3 economy cars are way cheaper than one van. Also they are easier to drive in ancient small streets, easier to park, and ultimately 3 small trunks have more room than one van trunk.

Having said that none of the locations you mention lend themselves to car driving. All of them are cities with strict car restrictions, limited parking. Cinque Terre are not a city, but the area shares the big cities’ limitations on van driving: small narrow roads and limited expensive parking.

The places you are visiting are best done by train.

This is Venice "Main street" (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI-YKEYI8zk
Please explain to me how you are going to park your van (or 3 cars) on these "streets"?
On the other hand, the station is directly on that "street", with a "bus" stop in front (click for photo).

The other cities you list also cannot drive into. Hotels will have no parking (or will be in the suburbs).

With a group that size, well planned rail trips will be the best mode of travel. As mentioned earlier, a vehicle to accommodate a large group will present some problems when driving in cities. Having two or three cars will also be a problem in cities due to parking and ZTL areas.

There's also the need for each driver listed on the rental form to have the compulsory IDP, and the ever present risk of driving through ZTL (limited traffic) areas or bus lanes in cities (hefty fines!). There's also expensive parking & fuel, tolls, speed cameras including the Tutor which measures the average speed between two points as well as instantaneous speed, and finally the possibility of theft from your rental vehicle if you stop anywhere for sightseeing.

Although this post is a few years old, you may find it to be interesting reading - https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/nightmare-italy-traffic-infractions-with-rental-car .

There are also a few caveats to be aware of when using trains and other public transit in Italy. If you need more information on that, post another note here.

What's the time frame for this trip? As Laurel posted earlier, if you could provide more details about your roue, I'm sure the group could work out an efficient transportation route.

Thank you so much for your input - I am convinced! We will look into train schedules and maybe just get a van while we are in the Parma area. I assume schedules for June will be posted by now? Last time I looked there weren't too many times posted for some of the legs of the trip. This is the rough plan:
Friday, June 14 Florence - Ravenna - Venice
Sat Venice
Sunday Venice - Cinque Terre
Monday Cinque Terre
Tues Cinque Terre - Pisa - Parma
Wed Parma - Milan

the schedules, especially the regional ones, won't be out yet. There is too much time before the schedule change.

But it won't change much, if at all. Just look for the same day of the week in May.

Friday, June 14 Florence - Ravenna - Venice
Sat Venice
Sunday Venice - Cinque Terre
Monday Cinque Terre
Tues Cinque Terre - Pisa - Parma
Wed Parma - Milan

All these destinations, in just 6 nights ?

Friday 14th-- minimum 5 hrs of travel, excluding waiting

Sunday-- minimum 5.5 hrs of train travel

Tues- almost 5 hrs on trains

If I am reading your plan correctly, you will mostly being seeing trains and train stations.

You may wish to reconsider where you are going, as it looks like too many places in too few days.

maria,

That's a very ambitious Itinerary for such a short time frame. Are your arriving in Florence on 14 June via international flights from the U.S. and then going directly to Ravenna and Venice? As the previous reply mentioned, the trip from Venice to the Cinque Terre will take about six hours, with 2 - 4 changes, so that will be the better part of a day spent in transit.

A few questions.....

• Do you fly home after Milan?
• Is it possible to rearrange the order of your Itinerary?

I adored Ravenna, but you don't have time for it. You really need to whittle back your list of stops. I'm afraid you're not going to get any sense of Italy at all and will constantly be looking at your watches.

We plan to leave Rome - Florence and then travel to Ravenna, Venice,
Cinque Terre, Pisa, Parma, and Milan...

Marla, where is Rome and Florence in the plan? How many nights did you allocate for each?
I'll agree with the others that the itinerary you've published is overly ambitious for just 6 nights.