flights booked! in which order to do Rome & Tuscany

[colette123]

ok, flights are booked, flying into and out of Rome early may, (could have returned from Pisa or Florence but no direct flights back & super long layovers) So....next step. We have 14 days there, I guess take away two for the arrival and departure day. We were planning on spending at least six days in Rome, and the rest in the Tuscany region (thinking of basing Lucca) the thing is now we have to return to Rome for our early afternoon return flight. just wondering if you have any suggestions on which order to do this, Rome first, Tuscany, then return Rome? or would you head immediately to Chiusi by train, rent a car for Tuscany portion and just spend the LAST five-six days in Rome? Our flight lands in Rome on a saturday at 10:15am. hoping some of you that have already helped me out can respond with advice....

 

[Giulia da Urbino]

I'd stay in Rome for the first part of my stay to then unwind in the countryside, I need to relax a bit after the craze in Rome and it also allows you to avoid moving around when jetlagged.
Enjoy your trip!

 

[Mom83]

We have made similar trips to this often. When staying in Rome after our Tuscany stay, we always drive immediately up to Tuscany upon our arrival at FCO and end our trip in Rome for the final few days. That way our rental car is dropped off and we can simply taxi to FCO on our final day in Rome.
When we do not stay in Rome after our visit to Tuscany, we never take the chance of driving to the airport the day of our flight home...too many unexpected things can happen on the road or with trains that would delay our arrival at the airport. We drive down to FCO the day before and stay at the FCO Hilton.

 

[Pauline]

we have to return to Rome for our early afternoon return flight

We’ve driven straight to Rome airport from southern Tuscany a few times - but as posted above you are taking a chance. Or spend your last night on the seaside near the airport since you don’t have an early morning flight. I think @italian excursion (Cheryl) posted about a good place.

 

[Pauline]

The one problem about staying in Rome first is where to pickup your rental car to avoid driving in Rome. Train to Chiusi or even to Lucca, if you can pickup there, might work.

Same problem if going to Rome at the end, with same possible train solution.

 

[joe]

Have to agree with the travelers who say to be close to Fumicino on the day of the return flight. The last day of a holiday should not be stressful. Sleep closer to the airport on your last night, if your flight departs early afternoon.

 

[Alpinista]

I would get the rental car at FCO and then head to Tuscany. The drive from Rome to Lucca is doable and is not stressful. The jump from the airport to the autostrada is an easy one and then you have an open route to Florence and over to Lucca (we recommend the central route since the "coastal" route really shows you very little of the coast). As noted in another post, we break the trip up with a spa stop a couple of hours north of Rome which gives us both the chance to get over the jet lag and/or to absorb any flight delays (we fly United and they are pretty regular in failure to get us off the ground on time), but there were many years where we did the drive in one shot. We also stay at the FCO Hilton the night prior to departure since it is an easy transit via moving walkways from the car rental return to the hotel and then, the next day, to the terminals.

 

[colette123]

Thank you all for your advice, always appreciated! I think we will will stay in Rome for four days, then train out to Chiusi (where do I get the train schedule) where we will pick up our car for our Tuscany portion which will be about 9 days, then return to Rome for last two nights.

 

[Andrew]

Train schedule: www.trenitalia.com . The schedules probably aren't loaded yet for your dates, but you can search a date next week to get a general idea. You might as well go on a Regionale or Regionale Veloce rather than an Intercity, so you can board and choose any available seat at the place where the train originates, rather than locate your assigned seats for that relatively short trip.

 

[Alpinista]

Sounds like a very enjoyable trip. Apologies if you are used to train travel in/out of Rome, but please be very careful in the station. It is a fertile area for thefts and the guys who "volunteer" to help you with the schedules and ticket machines (unless wearing official insignia) are there to extort tips from you ;-(. Also, if using, check the Metro closings for work when planning your trip from lodging to train station. They were running extremely crowded shuttle buses on parts of the routes when we were there in early October.

 

[Ian Sutton]

Rome first - allows you to get over jet lag / the flight whilst walking around, though the artificial effect of the bright lights can hamper recovery from jetlag. If buying stuff (e.g. wines, olive oil etc.) AND dropping the car off at the departure airport, then this direction means you'll not have to lug heavy bags around.

Tuscany first - Get's the longest day's travel out of the way at the start, when you'll be more pre-disposed to accept it. If choosing Lucca, it allows a more relaxing opportunity for getting over jet lag, being a more naqtural environment. It also means when getting to the departure airport, the time stress will be massively reduced e.g. a taxi or bus from Rome, rather than a long drive with less certain timing / greater risk of an unexpected delay.

So pros and cons either way. However I'd lean towards Tuscany first.

 

[Allen]

Hi Colette,
If you decide that you only need one last night in Rome before your return to Canada, you might consider dropping your car back at the Rome airport car rental and spending the last day/night at the Rome airport Hilton. We do this routinely, making sure to check in with time to get settled before catching Hilton’s free shuttle into Rome for a nice last walk, drinks, and dinner - then taking the same free shuttle back to hotel for sleep, decent hotel breakfast buffet, and easy, low stress walk to terminal. Shuttles leave every other hour all day and evening.
Safe travels!