Hey! I'm having a bit of a dilemma in deciding the best way to get to Massa Martana from Venice.
Initially we considered getting the train to Perugia (via Florence/Bologna), and then getting a coach/taxi to Massa Martana, however after the potential 6 hour train journey leaving us arriving in Perugia fairly late - 1. We don't know if the coaches will still be running late in the evening and 2. We're not sure we fancy the additional 2 hour coach ride, especially if our initial train ends up running late. Unfortunately it seems a taxi from Perugia Railway Station would be about 100 Euros, which with us needing to do additional travelling during our trip, is too costly. We'd also have the issue of then getting back.
Our other option is a car rental. We've done lots of research on ZTL zones etc, but with it being a 6 hour drive, we're thinking maybe it would be better to get a train somewhere in between Venice and Massa Martana and then pick up our car rental from there so we're splitting it. We're travelling on a Saturday and a lot of the smaller cities rental offices shut around 1pm, which is annoying as we'd prefer not to pick up from Bologna or Florence (as we want to do our best to avoid ZTL), but maybe that would be best. Or maybe just driving from Venice and taking stops would be best. We're happy to pay the highway tolls if it ends up being an easier journey.
Our other issue is that our flight home is from Rome (Leonardo Da Vinci), so again getting a 100 euro taxi back to Perugia Railway Station (which takes about an hour) in addition to the train fare doesn't appeal when we could drive straight to Rome Airport in just under 2 hours from Massa Martana.
Our main thing is to make sure we can actually get to Massa Martana. Train overall seems the best option, but for the fact that we'll be leaving a cruise ship on the Saturday (which should dock at 9am), and so we're paranoid that if it arrives back late etc and we end up missing a train, then we'll be stuck in Venice. Provided we got off the ship by 12 midday, we could get a 1pm train that arrives at Perugia for 6pm, but if we miss that the train, the next one won't arrive until half past 8, and then by the time we've got the coach it could be past 11.
Sorry if I haven't expressed myself with absolute clarity. Any advice would really be welcome!