Is driving in Italy recommended

If those are your destinations why rent a car when they are all well served by trains? As RS says, cars are an expensive headache in those cities. You do not want to be driving a car in any larger city in Italy, plus if you browse thru this forum you'll see they're loaded with resident-only zones and you'll be receiving expensive traffic tickets by mail if you happen to drive into one.

Connie: Mike has already made the key point for you in choosing between train and rental car: Your destinations are all well-linked by rail, so there is no obvious reason why you would want to drive. It's easy and affordable in Italy.Many here have driven a lot in Italy, but then as they get more experienced at traveling in Italy some realize that a good rule of thumb, for Italy, is: If trains efficiently serve where you want to go, take the train. If trains don't efficiently serve where you want to go, then drive. In your case, where you want to go is efficiently served by trains.

Sit back and enjoy the trip on a train. Driving in Italy is a contact sport.

Driving in cities reminded me of driving in Mission Beach (San Diego) when I was a teen. Way too many cars on streets that weren't big enough to handle the traffic with every conceivable (and many inconceivable) parking spots full. Like the beach you need to pay attention to where you park. Car prowling is common - don't leave anything of value in plain sight.

The differences: When I was a teen in San Diego, I knew where I was going and people generally obeyed traffic laws as I had learned them. At a stop light in Italy for example, don't expect left turn lanes or a left turn signal. When the light turns green, work your way through opposing traffic rather than waiting for it to clear (which will never happen).

Streets don't have signs with street names. Buildings occasionally have a tile over the door (that you can't read as you're driving) with the address (usually number and street). A GPS really comes in handy.

Driving between cities can be on the Autostrada or on country roads. The country roads aren't any worse than country roads here (a little narrow and some who drive way too fast). The Autostrada is fine to drive on but the signage is different. You won't find a sign that says A30 West next exit. Instead it has an arrow and a few (seemingly) randomly selected town names along that route (rarely the big city we would expect). Without a GPS you are scrambling for your map to see if those towns are on your planned route.

It was actually a fun adventure and the car survived without a scratch. I'm glad I did it and I would gladly drive again but never again without a GPS.

The decision for me to drive is still economics. Leasing a car worked great for us because we were a family of five. Five train tickets are a lot more expensive than the price of the car. If I am traveling alone or with only my wife, the train makes a lot more sense.

One more vote for the trains. I can hardly imagine life without a car and worried about our decison not to rent while in Italy. However, the trains are easy, convenient and very user-friendly. Many people with whom we spoke once in Italy drove, but by comparison I think they arrived at their destinations a lot more stressed and tired than we did. If you choose to rent a car, read the posts concerning parking (or even driving) within the historic areas. And your insurance will likely be nil when abroad; that cost can double the rental fee.

Connie, if you enjoy driving then it will be no big deal to rent a car and travel the routes you describe. If in general you are not a big fan of driving and just see it as a necessary evil to get to places, perhaps the train is best for you. In my opinion, the answer to your question has little to do with WHERE the driving will take place. It has much to do with whether or not the driver is confident behind the wheel and enjoys the experience. European driving habits are a little different from country to country but there's not much difference overall. As for getting lost, you will. And when you notice this, you pull over and open the map and orient yourself. Just like at home. No big deal. If the thought of occasional confusion gives you great pause, this needs to figure in to your decision.

I like trains very much, but this type of travel can be like watching a Rick Steves video of a journey in that you can't pull over to see stuff that looks interesting. I don't see Tuscany as a "trainable" destination unless you just want to hit a few sights in Florence and call it good. The best memories I have while traveling in Europe are experiences in the hole-in-the wall cities not easily accessible by train.

I last drove in Italy 20 years ago when it was easy. I would not do it now. And most travelers will not recommend it because of the reasons listed in these other responses to your question.

Trains are more economical and convenient. If not more comfortable. You can enjoy the scenery and avoid the distraction of avoiding on-coming traffic while driving.

Because many people ask about driving in Italy, I thought recent readers of this board might find it entertaining to browse these two 2007 discussions, one of driving in Italy and the other of driving in Europe in general. You'll find a few epic tales along the lines of, "this never happened to me driving in the US": Rick says "driving in Italy is scary"Got a Europe driving story?

To answer your questiion: All of the locations you mention have excellent autostradas that link them together. They are what you would term easy highways. Just be advised: there will be tolls and Italy does have speeding cameras. Stay under the speed limit and you will be fine. Do plan on researching Driving in Italy- "Zona Traffico limitato" are areas in many cities where driving is absolutely forbidden without prior approval. These are all monitored by camera so don't even think about passing one of these signs. I have driven in Italy on more than one occasion, and I would be the first to admit that it is more stressful now than it used to be- mainly because of these ZTL zones and traffic cameras. However, it is still very doable. I think a more serious problem arises when you reach the cities. Venice: park you car in Mestre to save money. (the town right before Venice) Florence: I cannot recommend driving in Florence at all. We stayed up in Greve and took the bus in the days we wanted to explore Florence. Then we used the car to explore small towns in Tuscany. Pisa: Follow Rick's advice on where to park and walk to the tower. This will keep you out of the worst traffic and any ztl zones. Rome: Don't drive here. Really, if you have rented a car this might be a good time to drop it off and use public transportation. If you can't do that: leave your car at the free car park at the train station in Orvieto and take the train into Rome. I am unfamiliar with south of Rome. I know some people are completely against cars and only recommend trains. That's fine-but you requested useful information about driving and I hope this helps. Please feel free to pm me if you want more specific information. We last drove in Italy in October of 2008- We were 2 couples on a 5 week trip through multiple countries and that was what worked best for us.

Connie has given some great advice. Basically the same way I feel but she put it much better than I could have. We parked in Mestre also. We parked our car in Cortona and took the train into Rome and Florence. Would not attempt to drive in those places. A good and up to date gps would be a a worth while investment.

I did not find driving in Italy that difficult. I would have a different opinion had I driven in Rome or Florence I am sure but the Autostrada was fine for driving. The Italians do drive differently than other countries I have driven and you just have to be aware they will cut in front of you on the autostrada and only leave inches between you and their car. Once you learn that you can adjust your driving style and back off when they cut in front of you.
To me driving in Italy was not stressful and I rather enjoyed it but for others it just is not right for them. Below is a link that offers some good information about driving in Italy.

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/driving/index.htm

Driving and parking in cities is scary- don't do it. We did find that the parking garage in Venice was easy, though (but it was very quiet that day in December). It really depends on you. I wasn't a huge fan of driving in Italy but survived, but my husband was anxious the whole time I was driving there. They drive differently than here, and when you embrace the "anything goes" mentality, it's easier to deal with. (I am, however, not looking forward to seeing if I get any speeding tickets in the mail.) It takes some getting used to and a couple of times I almost had a panic attack, and I am a pretty proficient driver and used to driving in different parts of the US, as well as different scary roads in the mountains here (plus I eased into it by driving in Germany first).