Travel from Sorrento to Hill towns of central Italy

I hope you are aware that you'll need to change from the Circumvesuviana train that runs Sorrento to Naples to the Trenitalia system for Naples to Rome.

Orvieto is on a main train line, no problem getting there. Viterbo also has a train station. But for much of Tuscany you'll want/need a car which lets you get to cities not served by rail and also gives you flexibility to explore the countryside. I suggest renting it outside of Rome, say in Orvieto.

As for how many days, that's hard to say because everyone's different. One person's measured pace is another's excruciatingly slow pace; if you want to browse in shops, sip cappuccino's and savor fine art you'll go at a different pace than someone who just wants to hit the highlights. Read thru guide books and decide what you want to see and how long you want to spend seeing it.

I agree with renting a car and taking it at a location outside Rome. You do not want to drive in that city.

When you decide on the agency, use the toll-free phone number to call and talk with an agent about where you can take the car and how to get there using public transportation from the RR station.

Also fix the place of return and ask if there will be a drop charge.

We rented a car in Rome, at Termini, and getting out of town was fine. And, we did this on a Monday morning.

Judy: There's a reason why Mike and Carl suggest picking up the rental car outside of the Rome city center. I'd guess in the last couple of years on this board, more than half of the travelers reporting on this subject have been unpleasantly surprised by the difficulty of getting out of Rome. I'm not saying it can't be done. But many travelers reporting here have chosen to take the train from Termini to Orvieto and pick up the rental car there or at other locations in southern Umbria or Tuscany. Or at the Rome/Fiumicino airport rental facility, which has you starting your Italian driving experience at a location outside the Rome megalopolis. The best decision for you is related partly on how much confidence and prior experience you have driving out of Rome.

Thanks for all the helpful advice from everyone.

We also did not have a stress-free voyage out of Rome/Termini, even though we'd acclimatized for four days in Rome before picking up the car. We got very lost.

On the other hand, while getting lost was frustrating, driving in Rome was invigorating in a very weird way because it sort of didn't matter how I drove as there are apparently no road rules! Anything and everywhere goes in the free-for-all! Not for the faint of hear, yet an adrenaline rush.

Randy