Tuscany and Umbria

rodney.wright3

New member
Hi Guys,

I wish I had found your site sooner. We will be in Tuscany and onto Rome in September. We are travelling the 1st part by train from France to La Spezzia for 4 nights on 29th August 09. Lucca 2 nights and Florence 3 nights. We would like to hire a car and travel south to Rome. We have 5 nights before we book into Rome. Any suggestions? I would not like to drive in the bigger cities hence can we collect a car on the outskirts of Florence or Sienna and maybe drop it back in a smaller town outside of Rome and catch the train in.

We have not made any accommodation bookings for these 5 nights. Do we need to book closer to the time or can we wing it as we go.

Regards, Rod

Note: Topic should spell Umbria.
 
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Ciao Rodney and welcome to our Forum!!

Your itinerary sounds really good. It isn't hard to get internet access while you are in Italy so you could wait to reserve for Rome. It depends on how comfortable you feel with waiting, you will likely not have problems in finding availability if you want to wing. It is easiest the smaller your traveling group.

I suggest you look into renting a car from the Pisa airport since it is really close to the A11 road which makes it much easier to get to and away from. An additional plus is that Florence has train service to the Pisa airport so you don't even have to worry on how to get there without a car. Then I recommend you drive down to Rome along the sea - it might take a bit longer than going down on the A1 highway but it is more scenic and offers more chances of stopping if you see something you like. The A1 is a toll road so it is harder to get off if you see something you'd like to visit.
You can drop off in Rome's Fiumicino airport as well and grab a taxi or the train service to Rome's central train station, Termini, to avoid driving in Rome.

Hope these ideas are useful!
 
Thanks Lourdes,

We are currentlly at L Spezia and travelling to Lucca and Florence over the next week. As it has been so hot we have enjoyed our time in the Cinque Terra beaches. What coastal villages would be good to visit if we have a car where we can get accomodation and have the ability to swim but not too big a town.

If we hire a car at Pisa what would be a good Tuscan place to visit for a couple of nights then a couple of coastal places to also stay a couple of nights at each before we drop the car of at Rome airport.

Regards Rod
 
stay in central Tuscany near Siena then in Maremma near Grosseto along the coast

Ciao Rodney,

Since you'll already have seen Lucca and Florence before your extra days in Tuscany, I'd suggest you go toward Chianti or Siena area for a few nights. Definitely visit Siena and drive through Chianti, do some wine tastings, visit either Volterra or San Gimignano.

If you are planning to drive down the Tuscan coast as you head toward Rome, I recommend stopping somewhere along the coast between Castiglione della Pescaia and Monte Argentario. This area, known as the Maremma, is beautiful and has great beaches. The towns are not big in this area, look for accommodation in Castiglione, Marina di Grosseto, Principina a Mare or further south in Orbetello or Porto Santo Stefano on the Argentario promontory.
The area is beautiful although very different from the Cinque Terre, you'll find more sandy beaches in this area.
 
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