We want to go from Venice to Cinque Terra, but unsure whether to do this by car or train. From Cinque Terra, we want to travel through Tuscany, then on to Rome. That part we want to do by car. If we go to Cinque Terra by train, can I even get a car for the Tuscany part of the trip?
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Donna, first, you describe two places where a rental car in not permitted. Venice has no cars outside of the Piazzale Roma and Tronchetto parking lot. The Cinque Terre does not permit tourist cars except to drive to certain hotels and parking lots which are normally full during the tourist season. A rental car is great for Tuscany. I would suggest that you take the train from Venice to the CT. This will take about 6.0hrs. Once you have finished visiting the CT, you can rent a car in La Spezia or, you can take a train to Pisa or Siena and rent a car there. Tour Tuscany with the rental car. The, I suggest that you drive to Orvieto and drop the car off there. Then, take the 1hr train ride into Rome. You don't want a rental car in Rome either. They're permitted but try and find a place or lot to park.
Posted by
A tiny island in Puget Sound WA, USA
166 posts
Hi Donna,
I've rented a car in Venice (you pick it up at Tronchetto, the parking area at the Venice end of the causeway) and driven to the CT and Tuscany, so that is an option. Parking can be an issue in the CT, we stayed in Monterosso at Hotel Punta Mesco and they had a private parking area. Be sure to research that before planning to park a car in the CT. I've also taken a train from Venice to the CT, then train to Lucca and picked up a rental car there. That worked out well also. Dropping the car in Orvieto is a good suggestion, you can also find car rental places out by the ring road of Rome. We did this in reverse, leaving our Rome hotel by taxi, being dropped off at the rental car place out by the ring road to avoid driving in central Rome and we got right on the highway, which was very convenient. Have a great trip.