How to travel to countryside without a car (taxi prices)

Hello, we have been searching through articles online and guidebooks. When we think we have made a decision we read something else that peaks our interest. We were originally planning on staying somewhere near Cortona but now we're thinking maybe more centrally located might be better? This is our first trip to Italy, this stop will be around 5 nights. We will be renting a car and would ideally like to take in the scenery, drive around and stumble upon great views and small towns, we will probably go to a winery but food and just taking in the Tuscany countryside is our goal. Any suggestions?

Hello, my husband and I (both fully vaccinated) will be in Switzerland for one month (Sept. 21-October 21). We are thinking of extending our trip for 1-2 weeks and visiting Italy because we end up in Lugano, and would be able to take the train to Italy. (We will need to return to Zurich for our flight home, so as to avoid change fees.)

We have been to Italy several times, but have never done anything other than the main cities and tourist areas. We did visit Cinque Terre from Florence on one trip, and did the hike from village to village, and we have visited Lake Como twice, but only on day trips. We also did a vacation in Italy one time that included the Dolomites, Verona and Sienna. We love nature, hiking, quaint villages, pretty beaches, biking. We have never done the countryside in Italy (Tuscany area), seen Portofino or Genoa. Based on when we'd be there (late October), and the fact that we will need to get back to Zurich for our flight home, we don't want to travel as far south as the Amalfi Coast, so we'd appreciate any suggestions for places to visit for 1-2 weeks that are more north. We prefer being able to use public transportation, but are open to car rental, if need be. Really appreciator any advice/suggestions!

Hello everyone,

We are planning to rent a car in Italy from Florence to Tuscany countryside, to the Dolomites and then drop off in Venice and it seems like a manual car is much cheaper. We can drive a manual but we don't know if it's difficult to drive in Italy. We don't want to drive a manual car if there's a lot of hills to get stuck on. Is it pretty easy? We don't mind driving over a hill but don't want to be stopped on a steep hill for a light or something.

TIA

Spending a couple weeks in Italy. Have a few days in Florence and I thought I would take the kids out into the countryside one day. Teenage boys and they love cars so thought even a vintage Fiat or some convertible. No destination in mind. Maybe leave about 10 or 11am drive an hour - 90 minutes out of town. Ideally a scenic drive. Not so much highways. Enjoy the scenery along the way. Stop for lunch around 1 or 2. Maybe hit a market or something ideally. Head back.

Any ideas? In addition to the scenery they like architecture. And history. Thought maybe San Gimignano. I know it’s often slagged in guidebooks as “touristy” but the distance is right. And obviously has some architectural appeal. But I don’t know if there is a scenic route there that is doable in half day?

Any other ideas? Thanks in advance

Hello!

We're headed on a month long trip to Italy mid July-August and could use any input / advice on the best places to stay. We're two musicians planning to do some music work and find an Airbnb to bunker down in for the month while we work on projects.

The current goal is to find a city near some water (lake or sea!), a small to medium sized city that doesn't feel overwhelmed by travelers or city bustle and has a small town more authentic feel to it. Since we'd be staying in and exploring the local area for a big part of our time, the local feeling is very important!

Ideally it'll be a place that we can get to from Rome without a car (we don't mind if its a long train ride) & it would be a place that could allow for little weekend trips to other cities and areas again without a car.

We've explored Como, Siena, Pisa, Bologna & Florence as possible options, but still having a bit of trouble sorting through the options. Hoping to get some advice from people with a bit more experience and knowledge than us!

Thanks so much !!

My husband and I are planning to vacation in italy for our 25th wedding anniversary next year.

i am so overwhelmed with decision making and he is no help as he is very go with the flow and says yes to everything. which doesn't help me decide. lol.

we want to go to rome, pisa, florence, tuscany, amalfi coast

is it better to rent a car and travel this way or is it better to travel via train with all our luggage as we move from city to city?

or

could we be based out of one city for the entire vacation and travel to each place for the day trips?

if so, which city do you recommend to be based out of?

is renting a car a good idea?

i am planning a 14 day vacation to Italy, what is the best time of year to go?

thank you so much in advance for all of your help in planning this trip.

After cancelling our 2020 Italy trip, I've just booked a trip for spring 2022. We fly into Venice in late April and will be in the country for 21 nights before leaving from Rome. I've booked accommodations online but everything is cancellable so I'd love to know you suggest any changes to my itinerary. And I have a few questions. Any input would be much appreciated as I've never been to Italy!

Here's what I've booked:

3 nights Venice - Wander, see Doge's palace & St. Mark's Square

3 nights in Sirmione, Lake Garda - explore Roman ruins, drive around lake, maybe boat trip to Isola del Garde

3 Nights in Florence - Museums & sights. Rent car when leaving & drive to Montepulciano via Chianti.

3 Nights in Montepulciano - Wine tasting, explore hill towns in Tuscany (& maybe hot springs?)

4 Nights in Sorrento (day trips to Capri & Amalfi Coast & maybe Pompeii, but that would be all the days and I want to just relax & wander in Sorrento too)

4 Nights in Rome - Colosseum, Vatican, and maybe day trip to Tivoli or Ninfa Gardens (though my husband won't be that excited about the latter so may skip it)

Does this look like a good number of days / nights in each place?

Also, I have a few other questions... From Venice to Sirmione - Would I be better off to simply take the train from Venice to Desenzano and rent a car there, meaning I could drop it at the end of my Sirmione stay and not pay one-way charge? Or rent a car in Venice and drive to Desenzano? And when we leave Montepulciano to go to Sorrento, am I better off dropping the car in Chiusi and taking train from there to Sorrento, or driving back to Florence & dropping it there, taking the high-speed traing?

Or should I re-order the whole trip, driving from Venice to Sirmione and then to Montepulciano, then take the car back to Florence, spend 3 nights there and then train to Sorrento?

I've noticed that a lot of accommodations are booking up already for next spring so if my itinerary isn't logical, I want to switch it around now while there's lots of options. I know there's plenty of time for booking cars & trains, but does the order make sense? Thanks in advance for any input!!

Hey everyone, I'm looking to stay in a small, quiet town / village in Tuscany for a couple of days. I like to kind of wander around on holiday.

It would ideally have a natural setting, but would still have a bit of shopping and a cafe or two.

It would also need to be accessible by train from both Rome and Florence.

Any suggestions?

Hi there!

I have traveled to Italy a few times, but have always stuck to the major touristy cities and relied heavily on the Italian train system to get me to and from the cities. I am planning a family trip to Italy and my family loves drinking wine and I would love to treat them to one or two nice tuscan vineyards.

I've been searching and trying to figure out the best vineyard itinerary and am unsure of how to get from vineyard to vineyard and where to stay / how to get to wherever we stay. The plan is to go from Milan >> Cinque Terre >> Florence (or a smaller city closer to vineyards, if I can figure out the optimal location).

If anyone could share their suggestions and if I need to rent a car, I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you in advance!!

I'm trying to not spend too much money. For example staying at Castello Banfi for the night, which is something I saw come up a few times is out of my budget.

My wife and I are seniors, and will be taking a bike trip in Italy this September We have been fortunate to have biked many times in Europe, and have typically opted to spend another week or ten days nearby in a more leisurely holiday after the bike portion of our trip. Ideally we would like a pleasant beach town where we could rent a small flat for a week, doing some touring by car in the region, and some lazing on the beach. Any suggestions, particularly from the Sicily experts, are very welcome. Thanks !