we will be in siena for 3 days march 28th, 29th , 30th friday-sunday. we would like to go to some of the other hill-towns sam g. volterra, etc... we would also like to use public transportation buses/trains to see these towns. i know by doing this we are at the mercy of the bus/trains schedules and possibly limted schedules with it being over the weekend. all of this being said, if we decide we would like to rent a car for a day say (saturday all day) can we do this when we get to siena or is this something that we should be booking in advance ???? will we get to see more with a car versus the buses/trains?? all ideas's are more than welcome thanks !!:):)
Posted by
Portlandia
3313 posts
One of my wistful memories of an early trip to Italy was looking out from the walls of Siena towards a hilltown in the distance and realizing I couldn't get there. Since then, I've reserved a car to be able to get out into the countryside. Since you know your schedule reserve in advance through Autoeurope. It's much more expensive to rent a car on the spot once you're there.
Posted by
Lake Forest Park, WA, USA
365 posts
Bruce, you haven't stated why you want to use public transportation. If it's because you don't want to drive in Italy, then you must resign yourself to the local public transportation systems. Or..it might be a financial issue. I've seen this question asked in these forums regularly and it never fails to puzzle me. If you've traveled all the way from MN to Tuscany, a few more bucks is not going to matter. At all. The scarcest commodity you have over there is time. You can use your time seeing cool stuff, or use your time fretting about the bus that is decidedly not arriving that day. Rent the car and go do your thing. I think you'll have more fun that way.
Posted by
Peoria, Illinois, USA
48 posts
Neil & Randy; The reason people are hesitant to rent a car in Italy is because of all the scary stories Kent keeps bringing up; crazy drivers (although I think I'd also stay away from Jarrod), no number/name roads, traffic tickets, GPS systems that cost as much as the car rental, etc. That said, I can't imagine not being able to get to that hilltown in the distance. I am planning to rent a car on our first trip to Europe. Because of what I've learned on this site, we will pick up in Orvieto, take two days to Siena, drop off car and bus to Florence.
Posted by
Washington, DC, Washington, USA
110 posts
Curious, I was thinking about renting a car for a day and the prices I got were crazy. They were something around $300 for the day. It this usual? Or is it because I only wanted the car for a day? I was going to rent the car out of Florence and Return the car in Florence, but as I said for a day rental the prices were just crazy.
Posted by
Powell Butte, Oregon, USA
11 posts
Gotta go with Neal on this Bruce. Time is precious on vacation and remember that like stop signs, bus schedules are merely a suggestion in Italy.
Posted by
Washington, DC, Washington, USA
110 posts
Yeah, that is just crazy. I'll stick with the bus and trains. A lot cheaper. I wish I could have gone to volterra and montepulciano, but there is always next time.
Posted by
Slidell, LA
570 posts
Brian
Consider a couple of days in the Cinque Terre. Inexpensive 1 1/2 hour train ride from Florence. Great place to relax, hike the trails and see spectacular vistas. If you ever watch Rick's programs, you'll recall that at the end he comes out of a red phone booth. The next pic is Vernazza in the CT. I made it my mission to get that shot, and after hiking nearly two miles and 600 feet up, I got it. Made up for ANY sites I missed anywhere else. Besides, as Rick says "assume you will return".
Posted by
Washington, DC, Washington, USA
110 posts
We will need to add the CT to our next trip also. We just won't have the time we are already doing Rome, Venice, Bologna, Florence, Sienna, Lucca, and Pisa before we go on our cruise to Sicily, Naples, Athens, Mykonos, Rhodes, Santorini and Ephesus.
Posted by
San Francisco
13 posts
Where on earth are you looking to get $300 for one day's car rental in Florence?
I just went on to AutoEurope.com and for next week in Florence, a 24-hour car rental is $97 for a 4-door Peugot 206 with A/C.
Of course, the longer you rent the car the better the daily rate becomes. But honestly... waiting for a bus (this is Italy -- they do not run on time) is not the best use of hard-earned vacation time.
Mathew