My sister and I along with our husbands are going to Italy the first of October for a month. We fly into Venice and want to know if it is best to drive from Venice to Arezzo by car or take a train. We don't know if we would see more of the country by train or car and what the roads are like. Also if you can rent a car one way and take train back? We will be returning to Venice a week later to board a ship.
We will be staying in Arezzo a week, but plan to travel to Tuscany and other places while there so maybe better to take train to Florence and then rent a car for the week we are there?
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16899 posts
Trains are simple, departing frequently from Venice to Florence by fast train and connecting there to a regional train to Arezzo. Or a few times per day, you can connect at Bologna to an InterCity train that shaves half an hour off the trip. See www.viamichelin.com for driving times and www.trenitalia.com for train tickets. Advance-purchase train tickets are cheaper, if you can confidently lock in a specific train departure.
Main roads and trains are running pretty parallel through Bologna and Florence, through the same scenery. If you drive the coastal road via Ravenna, then I would stop there, and continue through some wild "mountain" scenery, too, but it's a slower road with more intersections. You can pick up and drop off a rental car in different cities. Arezzo does at least have Avis car rental available.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16631 posts
The time of travel is similar by either train or car (about 3.5 hours). You will likely need a car once in/near Arezzo if you want to take day trips to the various Tuscan locations. Since there are 4 of you sharing a car, it might be cheaper to drive from the start in Venice instead of taking the train, then renting the car when you get to Arezzo. The cost of fuel+toll is probably close to 50-60€ tptal, while the train fare is over 50€ per person at the base (full) fare in 2nd class. Also, once in Arezzo, unless you rent from Avis (which is across the piazza from the train station) all other companies are not walking distance, therefore will require you to take a taxi.
Your call.