We are traveling from DC to Florence this fall to go on one of the Best of Tuscany in 11 days tours. After much research, I’ve decided that the best way to get there is to fly to Rome and then take trains to Florence. We would take a train from the airport in Rome to the Roma Termini station, and from there get a train to Florence. This will eliminate the chance of missed connections due to flight delays in flying to somewhere in Europe and then connecting to Florence. I’ve also read that the airport in Florence is sometimes shut down during strong winds.
For the return from Lucca, we would take a train from there to Florence airport and then return home from there. I’m not concerned as much about possible delays on the return trip, and feel it would be easier than getting to Rome by train from Lucca.
Do these travel arrangements seem like a good idea? Also, I’d be interested in hearing from people who are going on one of the Tuscany tours and leaving from the DC area. What are your travel plans?
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
7886 posts
Sounds good
You might want to add a few days in Rome at start or more time in Lucca or Florence at end
I would want to be staying in Florence night before departure flight - most of those flights out of FLR will be early am
Wait til you arrive at FCO to buy your train tix to Florence
There are many discussions here on that topic
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
6917 posts
I like to give myself time before the tour to get over jet lag, acclimate to the new time and weather and provide a buffer in case of cancelled/delayed flights, etc. I also like to have some time after a tour to do those things that the tour didn't cover that I'm interested in.
Posted by
Virginia, USA
6060 posts
Your travel arrangements make sense.
I have taken the train from Rome to Tuscany (Cortona) immediately following a flight from IAD to Rome. It is doable, but it can make for a long day. I just bought my train ticket on arrival. If you have extra time, you might also consider spending a couple of nights in Rome before moving on to Florence.
Check flights from Pisa as well as Florence. Pisa is a bigger airport so there may be more options. For your connecting flight, I have found both Munich and Zurich to be good airports for connections.
Posted by
OP
DE
3 posts
Thank you so much! We plan on arriving in Florence the day before the tour starts to acclimate and get over jet lag. I like the idea of spending the night in Florence before flying out since the flights are so early. That was helpful since I haven’t started checking out flights yet.
Posted by
Firenze, Italy
1862 posts
The main con to your plan Lucca > Florence > USA is that most flights from Florence connecting somewhere in Europe to USA leave quite early in the morning, so probably you will have to spend your last night in Florence.
Have a look to flights from Pisa that is quite to Lucca. Probably there will be less options for transatlantic connection than Florence, but the airport in Pisa is a military base with two parallel runways much longer than the one in Florence and so is less exposed to bad weather. It takes really disastrous weather to shut it up.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16566 posts
Pisa is closer to Lucca if you can find a flight. Maybe Air Dolomiti (part of Lufthansa) to Frankfurt then Lufthansa or United from FRA to IAD, is probably the best option.
Pisa airport is larger and busier than Florence, but it is almost exclusively European low cost airlines now. The major traditional airlines (Air France, Swiss, KLM, etc) have almost all pulled out of Pisa and focused on Florence only instead.
If flying out of FLR you must spend the last night in Florence.
Posted by
179 posts
Having traveled to Italy a dozen times or more in the last twenty years, the United
Nonstops (UA884 and UA885) between Dulles and Rome are the way to go. Less hassle and you can get a train to wherever you’re headed easily from Termini after a ride into town on the Leonardo Express.
Posted by
OP
DE
3 posts
Thanks to everyone for all of your tips! I have a better idea now of what I want to do.