We have 5 days and are driving from Venice to Rome. We'd like to stop in Florence and Tuscany. I'd like town/hotel recommendations. We want to stay just outside the large cities (Venice, Florence, Rome) to avoid high costs, and use public transport to enter city. And what Tuscan town is recommended.
Posted by
Pa and Italy
4152 posts
You post is a little confusing. Do you mean you have 5 days for the entire trip or 5 days to drive from Venice to Rome? Is there any reason that you're driving instead of taking the train? Donna
Posted by
OP
long beach, ca, usa
5 posts
We have 5 days to drive from Venice to Rome and we want to drive rather than take the train for the experience and the ability to go off the main highways.
Posted by
Lake Forest, CA, USA
1633 posts
On the outskirts of Venice, we stayed at Villa Dolcetti. It's in the Rick Steves guide. The bus, which stops right across the street, will get you into Venice in 20 min. The rooms, with A/C, the proprietor and the buffet breakfast are wonderful. For outside of Florence, we stayed at the Hilton Metropole which has free parking and a free shuttle to the train station in the city. We stay at this location because it is right off of the autostrada and we know that we will not make a mistake and enter the dreaded ZTL zone where you will get a ticket for driving into. Look at your map and determine where else you want to go in Tuscany. Siena, Volterra, Pienza??? Send me a personal message to get lodging suggestions for these areas. Make sure you get your International Drivers Permit at your local AAA office. No test is required. Just $15 and two passport type photos. Also, pick up a Michelin, or similar, road map at a Barnes & Noble or such store. Familiarize yourself with the roads and road signs. We have stayed in Orvieto which is a bit over an hour train ride into Rome Termini. However, I don't know if you want to make that a daily commute. It's a lovely, quaint hilltown and is worth a visit. Maybe other posters can recommend a closer location for lodging outside of Rome.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
I would suggest that its really nice to have a rental car in Tuscany. On the reverse, it's the worst thing you can have in Florence. I like you idea of staying outside of the large part of the city. Just don't drive anywhere in the historical area. It's all in a restricted area. Expanding on your thought a bit, you could stay in nearby Chianti (i.e. Greve) or a small town in Tuscany and take the 1hr. bus or train ride into Florence as a day trip.