Hello and thank you for so much useful info.
We are four people: husband, wife, 12 year old daughter and 80 year old grandma. We are staying in a farmhouse near Montepulciano during the last week of June 2014. The owner suggests we drive to the Chiusi CT station and take the train to SMN. Sounds OK but it will be a very long day. We need 1/2 hour to drive to station plus we need to arrive at the station early enough to park, pick up tickets, stamp tickets, board train, and have enough time to allow for something to go wrong and not miss the train. Then the ride is between 1 and a half to two hours depending on which train we catch and the summer schedule is still not posted. This already feels stressful.
Plus we will have to deal with the same logistics for the return ride. We don't know exactly where we will be when we need to head back to SMN and my mom walks slowly and will likely be tired by then. I would probably want to take a taxi back to SMN but will have to then deal with finding a taxi stand and worrying bout how long the drive will take given all the one way streets. More stress!
So we are thinking of driving and parking outside Florence. I have read your many posts about where to park and I am thinking about parking at the COOP by Scandicci. I thought about going to the pay lot in Sansvino but I would hate to arrive and find the lot is full. The COOP sounds like more of a sure thing.
I have looked at the tram website but don't know enough Italian to fully understand the info. How often do the trams run? Are they safe? Can we buy tickets for the rides into and out of Florence at Scandicci?
Driving would also mean that we can have a relaxing dinner before leaving Florence and not having to worry about getting back to SMN on time.
What do you think of this plan? Any other helpful pointers?
Molti grazie.
We are four people: husband, wife, 12 year old daughter and 80 year old grandma. We are staying in a farmhouse near Montepulciano during the last week of June 2014. The owner suggests we drive to the Chiusi CT station and take the train to SMN. Sounds OK but it will be a very long day. We need 1/2 hour to drive to station plus we need to arrive at the station early enough to park, pick up tickets, stamp tickets, board train, and have enough time to allow for something to go wrong and not miss the train. Then the ride is between 1 and a half to two hours depending on which train we catch and the summer schedule is still not posted. This already feels stressful.
Plus we will have to deal with the same logistics for the return ride. We don't know exactly where we will be when we need to head back to SMN and my mom walks slowly and will likely be tired by then. I would probably want to take a taxi back to SMN but will have to then deal with finding a taxi stand and worrying bout how long the drive will take given all the one way streets. More stress!
So we are thinking of driving and parking outside Florence. I have read your many posts about where to park and I am thinking about parking at the COOP by Scandicci. I thought about going to the pay lot in Sansvino but I would hate to arrive and find the lot is full. The COOP sounds like more of a sure thing.
I have looked at the tram website but don't know enough Italian to fully understand the info. How often do the trams run? Are they safe? Can we buy tickets for the rides into and out of Florence at Scandicci?
Driving would also mean that we can have a relaxing dinner before leaving Florence and not having to worry about getting back to SMN on time.
What do you think of this plan? Any other helpful pointers?
Molti grazie.