Rome To Tuscany Day trip - need recommendations

Poornima

New member
Hi! We are travelling to Rome for about 5 days . One of the days we wanted to take a day-trip to Tuscany. This is our first time in Italy and really looking forward for some suggestions. We went through the Forum which had may many requests, sorry to post a new thread - but we are a little lost! There are so many awesome places here to visit.

  • Trip is end of this month. We are staying in Rome
  • We want to take a day-trip to see the country-side, vineyards and scenic landscapes
  • Read that combination of Train from Rome + car/drive would be ideal . We are ok with that.. either us driving or renting a car if possible.

Couple of ideas we came across. Please suggest any other ones/recommendations to these. Thanks for your help.


1. Train from Rome -> Chiusi . Drive from Chiusi -> Montalcino via Montepulciano, Pienza , San Quirico d Orcia
2. Would Rome to Chianti by possible?
3. Or should we look at southern Tuscany only?

We have one day for this trip. Would it be too ambitious to club in Pisa with this trip?

We are open to options of Train + Drive one way, direct train return back to Rome - if that works.

We however don't want to make it a rush day, please help.

Thanks for your time.

Cheers,
Poornima
 
Ciao Poornima,

Not to say it is impossible to do a day trip into Tuscany from Rome, but the logistics of it take time and that is what you will be short on.

Consider what time do rental agencies open? Usually at 8am. Let's say you're there when they open, then you need to get behind the car and drive out of Rome. Or take the train to Chiusi and rent from there... this second option is actually better, since you could optimize your day by "starting earlier" and take the 6am train out of Rome to be in Chiusi a little before 8am and rent from there at that time. That way you start the day in the area already and maximize it to its fullest. Then where?

Southern Tuscany for sure - it is what is closest and I normally suggest to anyone driving around Tuscany to take a full day to just explore that area, the Val d'Orcia. Visit Montepulciano, Pienza, San Quiricio and Montalcino. Enjoy the views including of the vineyards, do wine tastings, a great lunch, taste the amazing pecorino cheeses in Pienza. So this is your #1 above. You can then do the reverse, drop off the car in time to catch a train back to Rome. It will be a long day but doable..... consider cost of train and car rental together for the day.

Chianti is further away -it is different than the Val d'Orcia as far as views but both are wine regions. Pisa is definitely out of the question unless you spend the night: clubs open late so you need to be here late and there won't be trains back.

Another option you might not have considered: a guided tour! Ideally, you should give Tuscany a few days but when time is limited, then there are these as alternate options. As far as cost, it might turn out to be the same or less than the other option!
Consider a full day tour which is to this same exact area - the Val d'Orcia - but where you don't have to worry about car rental or driving: http://www.partner.viator.com/en/83...y-Sightseeing-Tour-from-Rome/d511-3731TUSCANY
or a food based tour which includes a part of Umbria (ignore the part that says you drive through Chianti to drive to Montepulciano, that's a bunch of crock as it is geographically impossible to do coming from Lake Trasimeno): http://www.partner.viator.com/en/83...ianti-and-Umbria-from-Rome/d511-2390GRET18/TR

If this is your first time in Italy ever, you really should consider visiting Florence - you can also do that as another day trip or instead of the one to Val d'Orcia:
http://www.partner.viator.com/en/8357/tours/Rome/Florence-Day-Trip-from-Rome/d511-2390GRET17

As a first time traveler to Italy, my first tip is to slow down. 5 days for Rome is great, with the 1 day trip to either Florence or Tuscany. But don't try to fit too much into that day trip - Italy is so packed and concentrated with things to see, admire and explore, you will be tired and need breaks. You won't want to be in the car at all times, if you decide to drive. Also consider you need an int'l driving license and driving in a foreign country takes some adjustment at first, so that also will likely slow down the day. Roads in Tuscany are to be enjoyed, so you won't be going at top speeds.... so, essentially, consider less is more as far as what you see and do in Italy to enjoy it better and soak in its wonderful romantic "la vita' e' bella" (life is beautiful) atmosphere ;-).
 
Hi Lourdes,
Thank you so much for your detailed inputs. You are right, we definitely don't want to keep running around during the 5 days..

Your response gives us some direction to plan for the trip :) The guided tours options are very interesting, we will explore that!

We were thinking Florence might need couple of days on it own and since we are short of that time, we were thinking of keeping that for our visit another time.

Thanks again for your time, Have a nice day.

Cheers,
Poornima
 
Oh yes, if you know you will be coming back, then definitely leave Florence for then!

It really and deserves a few days to really enjoy all its treasures :)

Glad to be of help when I can :D
 
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