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Driving in Italy - Rome to Venice (for cruise) with stops in Florence, Pisa, & Milan


Travel R
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I am in the very beginning stages of researching a combo land-cruise vacation.

 

My thoughts were to begin in Rome. We had been there before a few years ago for a cruise, but there are still a few places we would like to visit (and revisit), Then I would like to rent a car and drive through Italy enjoying the country and visiting sites along the way (including Florence, Pompeii, Pisa, & Milan) [yes, I know these cities are all over the map, but that is fine - I'll figure out the best path to take as I get closer and finalize our plans].

 

I hope to end our drive in Venice, where we will enjoy this city for possibly two days before embarking on a cruise out of that city. [Yes, the pick-up and drop-off points for the car will be different, as will the arrival and departure cities for our flights.]

 

Although I enjoy driving in other countries (most recently in Iceland), and years of experience driving with all the crazy drivers in/around New York City - I wanted to get some opinions on driving and doing most of the country by car/DIY. [i know that this is a cruise website, but I also know that there are some experienced travelers on here as well]

 

Also - any suggestions on cruises out of Venice?

 

Thanks!

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The driving itself is quite easy, northern Italy has a well developed system of highways (autostrade), and driving in the countryside can be lovely.

 

That said, if you are only going from city to city, the trains do make more sense. You cannot drive in the center of any city in Italy due to ZTLs (limited traffic zones) so you'd be forced to either stay on the outskirts or leave your car and find another mode into town for more central accommodations.

 

Further, if your idea is to free yourself from luggage handling, leaving much of it in the car as your travel and taking only what you need for that stop, don't even consider this. Theft from vehicles is a real problem in Italy. It has been a problem for at least a decade but seems to be growing in recent years (I have no data to support this, just the increasing reports of incidents on sites like Trip Advisor).

 

On the other hand, if you'd prefer to stay outside of the cities and use public transit in and out, the car can be a pleasant and easy way to get around. It really depends on the destinations.

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I would look at trains as far less stressful.

Loads of cruses out of Venice and you could probably visit Pompeii and Florence on the cruise.try azamara

 

Sent from my ME371MG using Forums mobile app

 

Thanks.

 

I find driving less stressful and enjoy driving through new geographical locations.

 

Although I am a over-planner and scheduler, by renting a car I can vary my schedule as needed. For me, the most stressful part of renting a car overseas is dealing with the car rental places.

 

That being said, I have done some very brief research on train and private tour options - e.g., if we stay in Rome the first few days, Viator has a one day tour into Florence and Pisa, and another to Pompeii, then do the remainder of the cities by train They also have a Rome to Florence to Venice (but it skips Pisa and Pompeii).

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Just a Suggestion (as are the speed limits in Italy per one of our tour guides;p)

 

 

Use the train to get from city to city. To fully enjoy those cities it is recommended to stay in the centros where having a car is not worth the hassle of finding parking and avoiding those ZTLs,

 

To visit the countryside rent your vehicle pickup/return to Florence or Pisa airport, which are on the outskirts of those cities, to tour the Tuscany region, using taxi as transport to/from the rr station to the car rental agency. As eurocruiser stated, watch for those ZTLs in those charming Tuscan cities or they may not be so charming after all. Lucca is where we got nailed, but San Gimignano and Volterra have great parking areas just outside the ZTL.

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The driving itself is quite easy, northern Italy has a well developed system of highways (autostrade), and driving in the countryside can be lovely.

 

That said, if you are only going from city to city, the trains do make more sense. You cannot drive in the center of any city in Italy due to ZTLs (limited traffic zones) so you'd be forced to either stay on the outskirts or leave your car and find another mode into town for more central accommodations.

 

Further, if your idea is to free yourself from luggage handling, leaving much of it in the car as your travel and taking only what you need for that stop, don't even consider this. Theft from vehicles is a real problem in Italy. It has been a problem for at least a decade but seems to be growing in recent years (I have no data to support this, just the increasing reports of incidents on sites like Trip Advisor).

 

On the other hand, if you'd prefer to stay outside of the cities and use public transit in and out, the car can be a pleasant and easy way to get around. It really depends on the destinations.

 

Thanks - very helpful.

 

I read about the ZTLs. I would (what I have planned in my mind) is to spend two days in Rome after we arrive by taking a taxi into the city and getting the car after visiting the city. For Venice I would do the opposite - drop off the car before entering the city, then taking a taxi from the car rental to the hotel. It would be Florence and Milan where I would have to worry about the no drive zone. I'll keep your suggestion in mind about hotels and research ones that are car friendly.

 

Thanks for the warning about the car break-ins. For places such as Pisa and Pompeii, I was thinking about leaving my stuff in the car while visiting those sites. Although I have at least a year to plan - maybe I can do Pompeii as a one day excursion through a private company (so I can leave luggage in hotel room), and for Pisa we will be staying in Florence - so one again, we can leave our stuff in the hotel. [Although hotel security/safety is another concern.]

 

I guess I will have to either be careful (and/or hope for the best) if we make any other "let's go here, that looks cool" stops along the way.

 

Of course, I have to plan this so that it ends in Venice and allows us time to enjoy that city before leaving on a cruise.

 

Note: I am looking at cruises that venture to other countries since I have just toured Intaly -- and trying to keep it around 7 days, since we will probably spend at least a full week travelling already. Is there any port on cruises out of Venice that you would say is a "must."

 

Thanks again!

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We have made several long driving trips in Italy; a two week trip to the boot heel and another from Venice to Florence and into Tuscany. Driving is no better or no worse than in the urban US. Roads were well maintained and clearly marked. There is a problem with breakins just as it is in US cities, but we never had a problem. We never left anything in the car we could not afford to lose.

 

The big difference between Italy and the US is the "congestion zone" tax in major city centers. To avoid the tax we would park outside the congestion zone, leave our luggage in the trunk and put our valuables in carry on size bags. I would recommend paying for the collision damage waiver. We managed to put several scrapes on the bumpers and the side of a car navigating some narrow streets. In Florence we parked the car at long term parking at the airport and took a cab to our apartment. The Florence airport is close to the city center. In Venice we parked at the Maestre train station and took a 15 minute train ride into Venice.

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We have made several long driving trips in Italy; a two week trip to the boot heel and another from Venice to Florence and into Tuscany. Driving is no better or no worse than in the urban US. Roads were well maintained and clearly marked. There is a problem with breakins just as it is in US cities, but we never had a problem. We never left anything in the car we could not afford to lose.

 

The big difference between Italy and the US is the "congestion zone" tax in major city centers. To avoid the tax we would park outside the congestion zone, leave our luggage in the trunk and put our valuables in carry on size bags. I would recommend paying for the collision damage waiver. We managed to put several scrapes on the bumpers and the side of a car navigating some narrow streets. In Florence we parked the car at long term parking at the airport and took a cab to our apartment. The Florence airport is close to the city center. In Venice we parked at the Maestre train station and took a 15 minute train ride into Venice.

 

Thank you very much for this information.

 

I like your idea about parking at the Florence airport - very smart.

 

I'll also take the collision damage waiver under strong consideration - I know that some of the roadways in these European cities can be extremely tight.

 

Another question, if you do not mind - are automatic transmissions more readily available at the rental dealerships (It used to be very hard to get - they mostly offeredmanuals) - and even this year in Iceland, they had manuals, but they were about 50% more. [i learned how to drive an automatic tranny about 30 years ago, and probably have not driven one in at least 25 years.]

 

Also - dealers in some countries have strongly recommended 4x4s (Iceland, Aruba) - is there any need for a 4x4 if I am not specifically going to be doing any off-roading?

 

Thanks again!

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Based on the itinerary that you posted I would do the following to save time.

Fly into Milan for a stay and then take the train to Florence.

Rent the car when you are ready to leave Florence and go to Naples Pompeii via Pisa and the coastal towns. Return the car in Rome and visit the city before taking the train to Venice. You could also rent a car to drive to Venice if there's time and stops to see but I would rather spend the extra time in northern Italy.

I have driven in northern Italy from Venice to lake Garda via Verona and it's easier than driving in a major USA city. I will be driving from Florence to Civitavecchia next month for my cruise with a stop in sienna and hopefully I'll be just as easy.

I booked through Europcar and there's no one way drop off fee.

Edited by lamchops
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You can get automatic transmissions but they are, in general, about twice the cost. Part of this is supply vs. demand (the spring/summer/early fall months when Americans are traveling are the hardest) and part of the cost is that the cars they offer with automatic tend to be the more expensive categories.

 

For rentals of more than three days always check with the consolidators, autoeurope.com and kemwel.com. This is a rare category for me, I normally prefer to purchase directly from the supplier, but with car rentals I have found the consolidators better in two ways. First, the price and insurance packages offered are generally less expensive. Second, if you do have a problem and need to call them you can get an English speaking operator quickly (learned this the hard way).

 

There is absolutely no reason for a 4x4 unless, as you say, you are going off road. Ironically, although they rent these vehicles, many rental contracts prohibit off road driving anyway.

 

Regarding the luggage in the car, if you can separate your cruise bags from what you need for the land portion of the trip, there are luggage forwarding services you can use. They'll take your luggage in Rome and it will arrive to your hotel in Venice on whatever date you specify. It's not cheap, but it can alleviate much of the concern about leaving things in the car. I know that things can be replaced, but not easily or quickly in a foreign country right before a cruise. Theft is a real inconvenience.

Edited by euro cruiser
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Note: I am looking at cruises that venture to other countries since I have just toured Intaly -- and trying to keep it around 7 days, since we will probably spend at least a full week travelling already. Is there any port on cruises out of Venice that you would say is a "must."

 

Thanks again!

 

Consider Venice to Athens with stops in one or more Adriatic ports (Dubrovnik, Split, Kotor), maybe one in southern Italy (Brindisi to visit Alberobello), and maybe Santorini and/or Mykonos ending in Athens. Stay at least one night in Athens before you fly out so you can visit the city.

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That being said, I have done some very brief research on train and private tour options - e.g., if we stay in Rome the first few days, Viator has a one day tour into Florence and Pisa, and another to Pompeii, then do the remainder of the cities by train They also have a Rome to Florence to Venice (but it skips Pisa and Pompeii).

If you decide to go with some tours please come back and let us help you with that. Viator is just a reseller, they don't provide any product or service themselves other than the web site in English that links the customer with the supplier.

 

Pompei, for example, can be easily and far less expensively done on your own from Rome. It's a long day but quite possible, with lots of options. You could save a lot of money by taking the train to Naples and having a car service pick you up there if you don't want to deal with local transportation (vs. the cost of a car service all the way from/back to Rome).

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Based on the itinerary that you posted I would do the following to save time.

Fly into Milan for a stay and then take the train to Florence.

Rent the car when you are ready to leave Florence and go to Naples Pompeii via Pisa and the coastal towns. Return the car in Rome and visit the city before taking the train to Venice. You could also rent a car to drive to Venice if there's time and stops to see but I would rather spend the extra time in northern Italy.

I have driven in northern Italy from Venice to lake Garda via Verona and it's easier than driving in a major USA city. I will be driving from Florence to Civitavecchia next month for my cruise with a stop in sienna and hopefully I'll be just as easy.

I booked through Europcar and there's no one way drop off fee.

 

Thanks - another great response.

 

From what I have seen, flights from my area are about the same to either Rome or Milan, so that would work without a big difference in cost.

 

Are there any places to stop that are not on the radar of the usual tourist websites that you would recommend?

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You can get automatic transmissions but they are, in general, about twice the cost. Part of this is supply vs. demand (the spring/summer/early fall months when Americans are traveling are the hardest) and part of the cost is that the cars they offer with automatic tend to be the more expensive categories.

 

For rentals of more than three days always check with the consolidators, autoeurope.com and kemwel.com. This is a rare category for me, I normally prefer to purchase directly from the supplier, but with car rentals I have found the consolidators better in two ways. First, the price and insurance packages offered are generally less expensive. Second, if you do have a problem and need to call them you can get an English speaking operator quickly (learned this the hard way).

 

There is absolutely no reason for a 4x4 unless, as you say, you are going off road. Ironically, although they rent these vehicles, many rental contracts prohibit off road driving anyway.

 

Regarding the luggage in the car, if you can separate your cruise bags from what you need for the land portion of the trip, there are luggage forwarding services you can use. They'll take your luggage in Rome and it will arrive to your hotel in Venice on whatever date you specify. It's not cheap, but it can alleviate much of the concern about leaving things in the car. I know that things can be replaced, but not easily or quickly in a foreign country right before a cruise. Theft is a real inconvenience.

 

Thanks again for the great suggestions.

 

In Iceland, they have "F-Roads" - the rental places allow you to drive on them, but you have to have a 4x4. They also have multiple types of insurances for anything that can go wrong with the car due to damage caused by these roads. [i rented a 4x4, but had no time to go off-roading.] In Aruba, I did not see anything on the rental waiver about the hazard roads (which are in the national parks) - but there are multiple warnings about not driving on them without a 4x4 (you definitely need it).

 

Thanks for the suggestion about luggage forwarding - it will be something to consider.

 

Thanks again!

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Consider Venice to Athens with stops in one or more Adriatic ports (Dubrovnik, Split, Kotor), maybe one in southern Italy (Brindisi to visit Alberobello), and maybe Santorini and/or Mykonos ending in Athens. Stay at least one night in Athens before you fly out so you can visit the city.

 

Thank you.

 

You know, that is something I had not considered - a one way from Venice. Since I am not returning from my starting destination anyway, it does not matter. I like that idea.

 

I'll also see if any of the ports you mentioned are available during the dates we will be sailing (which is still fairly wide open since we will not be travelling with kids for this vacation).

 

Athens is somewhere I have never been, and is near the top of my bucket list -- spending a day in Athens post cruise would be fantastic.

 

You have given me a few things to think about - thanks again!

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If you decide to go with some tours please come back and let us help you with that. Viator is just a reseller, they don't provide any product or service themselves other than the web site in English that links the customer with the supplier.

 

Pompei, for example, can be easily and far less expensively done on your own from Rome. It's a long day but quite possible, with lots of options. You could save a lot of money by taking the train to Naples and having a car service pick you up there if you don't want to deal with local transportation (vs. the cost of a car service all the way from/back to Rome).

 

Thanks - I was just using them as a guide (they were the first ones to come up in a search) - I am still at the very beginning of my research - and I am the type of person that over-researches and over-plans. This vacation will not be until 2019 (which is why our travel dates are wide open), although I hope to have much of the trip booked by Mid-2018.

 

Once I gather all of the general information, I will consolidate it and give it to my DW, and we can go through all of the various options together to see what we would like to do. For instance, there is a 13 day tour of Italy from Globus that hits all of the places I want to visit in Italy (and then some) -- most of the tour stays in Italy (and a swing-by in Switzerland), and I do not have to worry about any of the travel arrangements -- however, that option leaves out a cruise on this vacation, the tour mates will be older than us (not really an issue for us), and the tour guide many times wants you on the bus before 7 am. [i have not looked at any other tour companies or similar agencies yet as well.]

 

We are flexible in how to travel, which in the case of planning is not a good thing - it makes it hard to quickly eliminate any travel options.

 

Trust me - I will be back asking a thousand questions.

 

Thanks again!

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Just a Suggestion (as are the speed limits in Italy per one of our tour guides;p)

 

 

Use the train to get from city to city. To fully enjoy those cities it is recommended to stay in the centros where having a car is not worth the hassle of finding parking and avoiding those ZTLs,

 

To visit the countryside rent your vehicle pickup/return to Florence or Pisa airport, which are on the outskirts of those cities, to tour the Tuscany region, using taxi as transport to/from the rr station to the car rental agency. As eurocruiser stated, watch for those ZTLs in those charming Tuscan cities or they may not be so charming after all. Lucca is where we got nailed, but San Gimignano and Volterra have great parking areas just outside the ZTL.

 

Thanks - the speed limit is a little hard to get used to -- especially when you are used to speed in MPH instead of KPH.

 

Thanks for the suggestions on parking. If we do drive, I'll try to map out where not to drive. I wonder if GPS systems provide any warning for this.

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I think you will find very few, if any, 7-day round trip cruises out of Venice. Two weeks, yes, but not one week. Go for Athens!

 

There are a few 7 & 8 day cruises with full loops out of Venice on NCL, Cunard, and X (I have only looked at a few of the cruise lines to get an idea - although I do know that RCI does not sail from Venice). But as you mentioned, most are 10+ days.

 

Although some of those longer cruises look awesome, we would not have time to do one of those longer cruises and still see Italy. I think the idea of this trip is to go back to Italy to see the sites in Rome we missed and to also see the other cities Italy has to offer. We threw our coins in the Trevi Fountain - so I know we will be returning to Rome. In fact, below is part of a post I made four years ago in my review of that cruise:

 

In retrospect, I would have spent another full day or two in Rome pre or post cruise. Although I threw a coin into the Trevi Fountain, I am not sure how long it will be before I ever get back to Rome, if ever. There was too much too see in the day and a half we had, but we did see most of what we wanted.

 

I still love the idea of ending the cruise in Athens!!

Edited by Travel R
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A lot of good suggestions here!

Be super aware of speed limits. Italian speeding fines are diabolical and the traffic cops seem to be on commission.

Automatic cars in Italy and mist if Europe are very expensive! You may not even be able to get the car category you want. Practise driving a manual!

If you do end up driving around the Florence area, you HAVE TO spend time in Siena. A magical town.

And near Venice, there us Verona.

Romeo and Juliet city. Perhaps you are there when a night time opera performance at the famous Roman arena is on?

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Thanks - the speed limit is a little hard to get used to -- especially when you are used to speed in MPH instead of KPH.

 

Thanks for the suggestions on parking. If we do drive, I'll try to map out where not to drive. I wonder if GPS systems provide any warning for this.

 

Certainly Garmin doesn't. The only warning is usually a small sign. Some towns, like Pisa, have the information on a website, but others do not.

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A lot of good suggestions here!

Be super aware of speed limits. Italian speeding fines are diabolical and the traffic cops seem to be on commission.

Automatic cars in Italy and mist if Europe are very expensive! You may not even be able to get the car category you want. Practise driving a manual!

If you do end up driving around the Florence area, you HAVE TO spend time in Siena. A magical town.

And near Venice, there us Verona.

Romeo and Juliet city. Perhaps you are there when a night time opera performance at the famous Roman arena is on?

 

Thanks -

 

Living in the NYC/NJ area, driving/owning a manual is not very common - I am not sure even if any of our friends have one (and if so, it is probably the converter on the steering wheel). The only reason I had even learned was because of a side-business I had back in college in the late 80's where we bought a cheap 1972 Ford F150. I know I'll be paying a premium for the automatic feature.

 

I did not think about Siena, but Verona is on my radar if we drove from Milan to Venice. In fact, last week I did a Google Street view walk through the center of Verona a week or two ago. One reason why I like the idea of driving is that we can stop off in places like these. [interesting note: the street view in Venice takes you on the canals]

 

As someone with a heavy foot, I will have to keep myself in check when it comes to the speed - although when vacationing, I do tend to take it easy on the gas.

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Certainly Garmin doesn't. The only warning is usually a small sign. Some towns, like Pisa, have the information on a website, but others do not.

 

Thanks.

 

I know my Garmin does not. I know I would have to be extra careful, and do my research.

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Even if a GPS had ZTL lines in it, I wouldn't rely on that. The lines can change and the hours vary, there's no way to know how up to date your system is.

 

Yes, I can see that. Even here in the US, there will be a posted speed limit, but the GPS will display a different speed limit for that same roadway.

 

Interesting, I did not know that the ZTL zones may be time sensitive. Although it does make sense - I remember reading (years ago) about a former mayor of LA proposing something like this, but it would only be in effect during the day.

 

Being pulled over by a cop in a foreign country would not be my idea of a great vacation memory, but I also do not want to keep a memory from occuring by playing it too safe.

 

Everyone thanks again for all the info and warnings. It gives me something to consider, and additional great information to provide to my wife.

 

Thanks again!

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