Who's been to Rome/ Siena/ Florence??

We are planning our summer trip. We plan to rent a car.

Re: Who's been to Rome/ Siena/ Florence??

I studied in Florence for a term--spent 3 weeks in Siena. You could drive bw the two easily 1.5 hrs.

DH and I are going this summer. We are flying into Venice , taking a train to Florence, train to Rome, flying to Taormina.

From Florence we are taking a Cite bus to Siena.

Personally for us we prefer train to driving in Italy. Unless you know the area it can be tricky, roads are different, different side of the road, fast drivers etc.

HTH feel free to ask any other questions

Re: Who's been to Rome/ Siena/ Florence??

You're brave to rent a car!!! They're crazy on the road!

Re: Who's been to Rome/ Siena/ Florence??

We went to Italy last summer & visited all 3 places.

We took the train to & from each. Having a car in those areas is not going to be easy. You won't be able to enter Siena with it unless you live there. The parking that is available on the outside is very limited.

Rome is like NYC rush hour on crack

Florence is just mobbed with tourists.

I would skip renting a car. The train & bus system is very easy to use.

Have a wonderful time - we LOVED Siena. Try & plan a trip to San Gimignano from there. You can hop onto a coach bus & take a beuatiful 2 hr ride through Tuscany.

Re: Who's been to Rome/ Siena/ Florence??

We drove all around Italy. Siena was not a problem. A car in Florence was annoying once you got near the center, but there are plenty of parking garages.

Re: Who's been to Rome/ Siena/ Florence??

I'd ditch the car idea and just take the trains. They run well, fast and are very safe. Much safer then driving me thinks!

Re: Who's been to Rome/ Siena/ Florence??

Re: Who's been to Rome/ Siena/ Florence??

we are having trouble planning the trip & not getting too carried away with spending $$
The car idea is out.
Trains seemed very expensive.

Re: Who's been to Rome/ Siena/ Florence??

We did a similar trip in August - Rome, Florence, a day trip to Siena and San Gimignano, Venice, Paris.

We walked EVERYWHERE, even in Rome, with the exception of cabbing it to the Vatican one morning when we overslept. really prepared us for moving to NYC and walking everywhere here too

I think they offer some kind of pass that includes admission to a lot of sites (and lets you cut the lines) and an unlimited bus pass. we didn't get this but I dont think it was that $$$ and might be worth it to you

we took the train to ostia antica and it was very reasonable. message me if you have more specific Qs. you will have a great time!

Re: Who's been to Rome/ Siena/ Florence??

We got a car on our last day in Rome and that was just to travel north up to Florence/Siena.

Even after livining in NYC my entire life I could NOT belive how insane driving was in ROME

i couldnt wait to get out of there. Def dont need the car when you are in Rome.

The ride to Florence is beautiful and we stayed at a Tuscan villa for one night before hitting Florence.

That drive was wonderful and we made stops along the way. I had one of the best sandwiches of my life (no joke) from a gas station on the ride up

Get navigation though!!

Re: Who's been to Rome/ Siena/ Florence??

Posted by EricaAlt

Posted by BunnyWife

I'd ditch the car idea and just take the trains. They run well, fast and are very safe. Much safer then driving me thinks!

ITA! BTW... they're Crazy drivers out there. We rented a car for the day to go out in Tuscany and see some wineries. The drivers there are nuts in their tiny smart cars. It's amusing to watch when you're a pedestrian, but on the road LOL