Need some tips- Renting Cars on Sunday

We are arriving at Florence on Sunday 9/22 and hope to take a bus to Siena that afternoon. We can't find a bus schedule and we understand that buses do not run very frequently on Sundays. Does anyone have information on bus schedules on Sunday afternoons.? Should we take a train instead of a bus and would you suggest that we reserve online our train ticket. We prefer a bus but are concerned since Sunday may be a problem with buses not running frequently.

Just a little tip for anyone looking at reasonably priced budget accompaniment in Florence ( *not easy!)

We booked into C Hotel diplomat for 5 days at around €50 euros per night with breakfast.

However, when we arrived we found it is closed at present, and there was a note on the door redirecting us to its sister hotel next door.

This is the ambasciatori hotel florence and it’s a much nicer hotel, where the rooms seem to go for well over double that.

I assume it’s temporary due to low numbers/ keeping costs down on running several hotels.

But it’s a nice little bonus for anyone on a lower budget and I can highly recommend it. Nice staff, great place, located right by the train station.

We also got a room upgrade to a larger room with a balcony view over the Duomo!

Thought I would share the luck for anyone looking at the meme to. Obviously can’t guarantee how long this will last.

Thanks again to all those who have helped with planning the trip so far :)

Hi there,

If anyone could help with the following, we would be hugely grateful!

My partner, our very active and walking/ climbing/ running 14 month old anc me need to spend a night in Rome in mid-July. We will be coming via train from Florence some time on aSunday and taking a flight out of Rome on Monday lunch time. We are looking for somewhere with easy access to the station, but also somewhere that might provide a little bit of luxury and a treat for the final night of our trip. We imagine it maybe too hot to see much of the city with our toddler (and we will only have the afternoon) so wondered if there was a hotel that was set up to receive families or couples with children - or if anyone has had a really good hotel experience in central Rome they can recommend!

We usually stay in Airbnb’s or camp, so this is new for us.

Our budget is around 200 euro of the one night, give or take.

Thanks in advance

(Oh, and we are up to date on all the necessary covid tests/ quarantines as well as being fully vaccinated)

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.

Greetings! Our younger 18 year old son will be studying in Florence for the year, and we'd like to visit him following a work trip to Monaco. I have a two part question.

Traveling with my husband and me will be our 21 year old special needs son. We are open to suggestions from experienced travelers as to our transportation and itinerary.

Our 21 year old is hyper-verbal and has an intellecutal disability along with autism, so visiting very quiet museums, churches, etc is something where his vocalizations may not be welcomed and also where the content isn't something that would interest him. He's sweet as can be but a bit loud.

I was thinking of taking a train to the Italian border and then perhaps renting a car. From reading other forum posts, I *think* there are two towns near the border where there are rental car agencis. That said, in the US where we are from, there is a major shortage of rental cars. I don't know whether that is so in Italy or Europe overall, but it seems like smaller cities might be more impacted than say Rome or Milan, etc.

We would enjoy spending a day or two in the Cinque Terre area. Our older boy enjoys easy hikes, walking along the beach, and perhaps a boat or ferry ride. Other than that area, I am entirely clueless as to what might be lovely spots to visit. I'm betting that there are many, but we again need to take into consideration our 21 year old's disabilities.

The conference in Monaco finishes on Thursday, October 21. Our younger boy will be out on a 10 day break through Sunday evening, October24th, so he can meet us.... somewhere.. for a couple of days, depending upon where he might be traveling with his college classmates. Or we can just meet up with him in Florence where we do plan to spend a few days.

Can you tell we are just at the very start of figuring this out?

Is renting a car and driving to Florence adviseable? Or is rail the way to go? My husband and special needs boy will likely fly back to the US from Florence after several days, but I may meet a gal pal there and extend the trip. Thank you for your patience in reading and for any ideas you may have to assist us. Grazie mille!

Hello! Flying into Rome (no other option) and trying to figure out a couple of challenges:

1. Do we stay in Sorrento and launch tours of Capri and the AC from there or do we stay in Positano? (We won’t have a car)

2. What’s the best way to get to either city from Rome? I’ve heard take a train to Naples but from there I have no clue. I’ve also heard to take the train to Salerno but they would require a connection in Naples and tbh I’m nervous about public transport from there.

Suggestions? TIA!

We're hoping to spend close at least three weeks in Tuscany this coming fall. We'd like to spend several days in Florence and also rent a car for two weeks to see Tuscany. What car rental companies can you recommend for both reasonable price and reliability at the airport? Would it be better and more affordable to rent a car in the city rather than the airport?Thanks much for any answers.

Hello again,

I am travelling to Varenna from Milan central train station. I have a choice to both milan airports(LIN and MXP). I know MXP has great connection directly to train station but takes longer since it is far. LIN is near from milan train station but I don't see direct train or shuttle to milan train station. Am I missing anything or for sure there is no direct train/shuttle from LIN to milan central station? Thanks in advance.

Hello! I am planning on taking a trip to Italy on February 2022. I plan to be in Venice for the Carnival. My question would be .... it’s RB&B a good option instead of hotels? Also is it better to use train to visit Rome and Florence or car rental ? And finally should I get a tour package for the carnival in order To see most of things ?

Thank you for your advice on my previous post. We have changed our travel plans a little bit and plan to spend 1 full day in Rome before heading down south and would love advice on how to perfect our first time in Rome. We will be arriving at Fiumicino at 5pm on July 28 and will get our rental car at the airport. We will be then driving to Rome and staying at a hotel about a minute away from the Colosseum and plan to leave the car at an overnight car park. Unfortunately, Colosseum will be fully closed on July 29, so we plan to visit on July 30 before leaving, hopefully. Here is what I have planned so far for the day of July 29 (hopefully everything is within a walking distance)

-Starting off our walk from our hotel near the Colosseum to the Piazza Venezia

-Trevi Fountain

-Pantheon, Piazza Navona

-Spanish Steps

-Castel Sant’Angelo

- Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel

-St. Peter’s Basilica

I have a few things we need advice on:

1) What is the best way to get around Rome, should we stick to walking? Should driving around with our rental car be avoided at all costs?

2) Please suggest any restaurants or cafes that you have beloved on Rome trips that we must absolutely visit.

3) Any other tips or places we should include on our itinerary.

We plan to leave Rome in the morning of July 30.

I am a bit lost to what we should do as my parents are not avid walkers but it is very difficult to decide what to do in the limited time we have there. Any advice would be appreciated.