You might remember that MrsMJonTravel and I are departing for Italy in late October. The ultimate goal of our trip is to arrive in Venice by November 4th, so we can board Celebrity Cruises latest beauty, Celebrity Reflection. But we have a few days to play with. We’ll spend one day in Rome, and then board a train for Florence. And from there….. we will explore as much of Tuscany as we can in the time we have. I really do not want to drive in Italy, but it looks like we may need to rent a car to really maximize our experience. On the other hand….the only reason to go is to drink wine. You get my drift? I’m considering hoteling in Florence and looking into a professional driver/tour guide (not cheap, but safer for all of us).
Now… to be sure, we wouldn’t be having this conversation if this trip were planned for the summer. I’d have the planning done already because there wouldn’t be anywhere to stay during the summer this late in the game (probably). Crowding won’t be such an issue in November. For those of you more versed in Italy, what would you do? Bite the bullet and rent a car? Or try to hub in Florence and set up a tour of some sort just to play it safe? I’ve been to Rome, Milan, and Naples, but not the Tuscan region, and with all the move logistics, I just haven’t had time to go camp out at Barnes and Noble (believe me, that’s coming soon) and do a little reading. I’d love to hear your ideas on how to take on Tuscany in a short amount of time.
@Andrea, Thanks so much for your reply. I have reviewed your website, and your hotel sounds and looks wonderful!
Hi all, I am the owner of Hotel Alessandra, mentioned in reply no. 3.
Car/no car! It’s a hard decision. Driving in Italy is notoriously difficult. In Florence, impossible! Crack downs on drink driving are inceasing – and this is the land of the golden nectar! However, that said, Tuscany is also home to hundreds of hilltop towns that are often unreachable if you don’t have a car.
Our advice? Don’t have a permanent rental – in November there should be good availability. Pick one up for 24 hours if you need it. Take a limo in Rome. Use the excellent frecciarossa (a ridiculously fast train – sort of a Ferrari on railtracks) between big cities.
We wish you a wonderful time – enjoy our country!
You gotta rent a car. So much scenery to see in the tuscan region. I took with me a Garmin Nuvi 1370 GPS that has english spesking Italian maps already pre-loaded. Not a problem navigating the countryside, even at night, with the GPS.
Hi MJ
If you decide on a visit to Lucca ,I can highly recommend this small family run bed and breakfast, not the W to be sure but a real taste of Italy!!
Liz
http://www.villaromantica.it/default.asp
I would also rent a car. The driving is not that bad. Just pay attention to the OVERHEAD CONTROL signs, who ding you for speeding and then send your credit card info to the Italian government. There are so many places along the way to see that you would miss out if you weren’t in a car. When you get to a city, find a place to park it and then go on foot.
Everybidy drive in Italy, like in US, but in US you have to do it because the public transportation is a nightmare. I’m not saying every city in Italy has good public trasportation, but some, especially in northern area, has it. Plus, the fast trains Frecciarossa by FS and the new Italo by NTV, connect the center of Naples, Rome, Florence, Bologna, Milan and Turin in few hours. Just think about it, cheaper, green and less “rich-American-tourist” looking for stereotyp things to do in Italy.
Oh, one additional thing. If you do decide to drive, you should probably avoid central Florence (especially around the market). In Lucca and Sienna you can’t drive into the walled parts of the city; you’re required to use one of the conveniently located parking lots.
Couple of thoughts:
.
Driving in Italy is not all that difficult, the drivers aren’t as bad as they’re made out to be. It’s very difficult to visit Tuscany without a car. My advice — rent. The only problem is that it is difficult to rent an automatic transmission car in Italy, and will increase your costs about three-fold over renting a manual transmission. Hopefully the availability and costs will be better because of the season (I’m assuming you don’t drive stick).
.
Florence is among my least favorite cities in Italy. There are fantastic museums (and I like the market and surrounding areas), but the city itself is architecturally uninteresting and the food isn’t that great. I would choose either Sienna or Lucca as cities to stay in over Florence but best of all is to find some converted castle or agroturismo in the countryside. I can personally recommend the Borgo Pretale as a beautiful and reasonably economical option outside Sienna but there are hundreds of places to choose from. Also, they have an outstanding restaurant.
.
If you’re going to the Uffizi, book online in advance.
.
Be prepared for some possible weather challenges in November. You should be aware that your trip may be more “Under the Tuscan Clouds” than “Under the Tuscan Sun”. And carry some warm clothes.
.
Finally, don’t overlook Venice, one of the most magical places on earth.
PS—they do all of Italy.
OMG hire Rome in Limo!! They are awesome! They’ll take you anywhere and are less expensive than shore excursions. They have big car options if you want to share costs with someone else…took the Mediterranean cruise last summer and Rome in Limo was a GREAT call….
We hubbed in a great hotel in Florence in October and then took the train to Luca and enjoyed the morning there. We also hubbed in Siena and took a bus to San Gimignano and spent the day there. Our friends rented a car and they always had to stay outside the city because of parking situation and driving through the big cities. For Florence, I would recommend Hotel Alessandra – no points needed here. An older hotel but very central to all that is happening.
I really think you should rent a car…. one of the nice things in Tuscany is the landscape and the scenery. You will miss out on that if you stick to the cities.
And for that wine drinking. Just take one glass with lunch and have dinner close to the hotel so you can walk or take a taxi. Florence is nice for a few days, but if you have the time it’s really nice to get away from it too. A driver will probably very expensive….
When I was there a few years ago the best locations where the hotels outside of the big cities and normally they have (or can recommend) great food (and wine).
We just came off a tour of Northern Italy and one place we really liked was Castello de Trebbio. I see on a brochure here (I really need to clean up my desk!) is a website, http://www.vinoturismo.it, or their Facebbook page is open to the public. They are good English speakers and I think they could be helpful with ideas in the Florence region. Have fun!
Ciao!