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Tuscany Road Trip

Posted by on

Hi,
I'm planning out the details of my honeymoon for late March/early April, and we will be spending part of it in the Tuscany area.
My tentative plan so far for this part of the trip is:

Sunday March 26 (morning): Arrive in Florence (train from Venice)
Monday-Tuesday March 27-28: Explore Florence, possible day trip by bus to Lucca
Wednesday March 29 (morning): Rent a car and head into the countryside. Spend two nights (Mar 29 and 30) at agriculturismo (likely Ancora del Chianti in Greve, but I'm very open to suggestions)
Friday March 31: Overnight in Siena area as we are working our way south
Saturday April 1: Overnight in Orvieto; return car there
Sunday April 2: Train to Rome (my fiance really wants to go to the Roma soccer game that afternoon)

A few questions --
- Is there a significant chance of running into issues with snow driving in the area that time of year?
- On the autoeurope website, it was much easier to find manual than automatic cars. I don't drive manual; is it doable to get an automatic, or will we run into problems with that?
- Is it correct that it will be much easier to experience this part of the country via car than relying on public transportation?
- I'm from the US and don't have any sort of international data plan. What is the best way to manage navigation in an unfamiliar area: GPS, buying an international plan of some type, etc? How do you go about this?
- Does it make sense to do the multiple overnight stops on the roadtrip rather than having a single home base? It looks like it is an hour drive from Greve to Siena, so I was leaning towards just making our way south since we are heading that way anyways, rather than backtracking several times.
- Any tips on where to stay when in the Siena area while we still have a car - better to stay outside the city center to avoid dealing with parking, or leave the car at the bottom and lug our luggage with us up to the city?

Thank you!

Posted by
16235 posts
  1. Snow is possible at the end of March, but not likely at those locations, since altitude is limited.
  2. You can rent automatic cars at major locations (downtown, airport) in Florence, however rental companies generally have them available only in larger size vehicles, and obviously they will cost more.
  3. Yes. Countryside (like Chianti) and smaller towns are more easily reachable by car. If you stay in an agriturismo a car is virtually necessary since they are located in the middle of farmland.
  4. You can use a GPS navigator from home, if you have one (you will need to load European maps) or you can use Google Maps on your phone. You can check with an international data plan with your provider, or buy at SIM card in Italy for about 30 euro, which comes with 2Gb, 300 international voice minutes, 300 SMS texts. However you will need an unlocked phone to load that plan and you will have an Italian tel. number while you do. You can buy such cards at any telephone stores. Below is what I use (Vodafone). Vodafone has a store near the Duomo in Florence, on Via Martelli. There are also 2 in Venice not far from the Rialto bridge. http://www.vodafone.it/portal/Privati/Tariffe-e-Prodotti/Tariffe/Estero/Vodafone-Holiday-English
  5. For short distances it is best to have a central base. From Greve to Siena is one hour each way, but checking in and out of hotels will take you longer (packing, unpacking, check in/out paper work, etc.).
  6. My suggestion would be to stay an extra night in the Chianti at the same location and visit Siena from there on a day trip, since it's very close. Siena's city center is closed to car traffic, so you will need to park outside the historical center. The closest parking lot is the Parcheggio FORTEZZA, near the stadium. Just follow directions to the "Stadio" (often symbolized by a sign with a soccer ball). If you decide to stay in Siena, make sure your accommodations are outside the city center and preferably have parking on the premises.

One more thing. You only have 2 days in Florence, so not sure you have a lot of time to take a day trip to Lucca.

Posted by
8077 posts

Even the big rental car companies often fail to "deliver" the automatic they promised.

You are covering a lot of ground, but I love Orvieto too. There is no substitute for Florence, but your stay there is very short. If your wife is not interested in Renaissance art, maybe you should go right to Siena or San G. I question the attractiveness of an Agriturismo in winter. How about a romantic luxury hotel or resort?

Posted by
52 posts

Don't worry about snow unless up in the mountains and it would not be a huge amount. We stayed in an agriculturismo in mid April outside of San G and it was fine; meals were outstanding. Orvieto is one of my favorite spots in Italy. A car is a must for the countryside and driving is not an issue - just beware of aggressive drivers not only in cars but motorcycles also. I would also stay in Greve and day trip into Siena which is more of a big village than a city. And quite often the rental car companies will give you a take it or leave it option only. Not real accomadating when it comes to flexability. Have a great trip!

Posted by
9 posts

Thanks for all the help. I'm leaning towards the 3 nights in Greve with just a day trip to Siena. Though is driving at night on the country roads okay, or is it better to avoid after dark?
What do you mean 'take it or leave it options' from car rental companies? I definitely want to rent a car, but my plans would get pretty screwed up if I was unable to get an automatic car, so I don't want to leave that to chance if it is likely that that limitation could cause problems..

Posted by
16235 posts

The airport locations may have the most choices, including auto transmission, which is not very popular among Europeans. I can't tell you for sure about it, because I don't have experience renting automatic cars in Europe. I only own manual transmission cars in America and rent manual transmission cars in Europe.

Check through a consolidator like:
www.autoeurope.com
www.kemwel.com
They work with the major companies (Europcar, Hertz, Avis-Budget, etc.)
Select the automatic option.

Regarding traveling at night, nights are dark like everywhere else, so it won't be any different from where you are.

Not sure what kind of roads you are used to, but the roads in the Chianti area are two lane highways that are curvy because the terrain is very hilly, but they aren't any worse than what I see near me in the Santa Cruz mountains south of San Francisco.

Posted by
32 posts

We only drive automatics and i booked from home our car through Avis in Florence

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