Italy in October

[artnbarb]

We've decided (well, 90%, anyway!) that we'll visit Italy in October this year. We've found another cheap transatlantic cruise that will take us from Rome to Tampa, so for the same price as a roundtrip airfare we can fly one way and cruise home - stretching our vacation out for another 2 weeks. The fact that we're taking a TA cruise TO Europe next month, and now one FROM Europe in the fall strikes me as a little weird, since neither one of us are into cruising in general, but once again, life is full of contradictions. We probably won't be there late enough to help our friends pick always - something that we truly enjoy! - but the new oil should be ready by the time we leave, so that's a nice fringe benefit.

Now to figure out our time in Italy. We'll be flying into Rome, and have considered spending our first few days there. Yes, we'll be jet-lagged, but we have spent much - any! - time in Rome since 2013, so we're overdue. I need a visit to the Borghese for sure, but I'm not sure what else we want to see and do. One year we did a mini-Caravaggio tour, visiting churches and the Pamphili Palace to see several of his paintings, and that was fun. Any ideas for something similar this year?

After Rome we were thinking of taking the train to Orvieto and picking up the car there, but Autoeurope no longer rents cars from Orvieto! Altho the AE rep didn't mention them by name, apparently they had quite a few problems with Hertz, since they're the agency AE used there. Anyway, that kind of threw me for a loop, so now I'm stuck! And no, I do NOT want to pick up a car in Rome, period. Taking the Leonardo Express back to the airport seems wrong on several levels: first of all we'd have to haul all our luggage back to the airport, secondly the LE isn't cheap, and lastly, airport rentals carry a hefty surcharge. So now maybe I have to consider dropping Rome.....and no, doing Rome at the end doesn't seem logical either, since we're going to Civitavecchia for the cruise.

For the rest of our time in Italy - about 3 weeks - we'll spend most of our time in Umbria, but we do want to spend a few nights in Urbino. After years of promising ourselves we'd get there, maybe we can finally make it happen this year. I'd also love a quick visit to Florence, if possible, but as you all know, 3 weeks goes quickly! From our base in Umbria a day trip to Florence is exhausting, so I'd want to at least spend one night.

Well, it's a start, and I do have time to figure it all out. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

 

[Anne]

What about picking up your car in Chiusi? It appears AE still rents from there, and it's only an extra 25 +/- minutes on the train.

 

[artnbarb]

Great idea! I'll check!

 

[artnbarb]

I'm shocked to report that picking up a car in Chiusi costs MORE than picking up at FCO! AE only had one supplier listed (I think it was Avis, but not 100% sure). I don't know if Chiusi has more than one car rental office, but I would think they do. Perhaps AE doesn't have prices from other agencies this early. I'll report back when I know more.

 

[Anne]

I'm shocked to report that picking up a car in Chiusi costs MORE than picking up at FCO! AE only had one supplier listed (I think it was Avis, but not 100% sure). I don't know if Chiusi has more than one car rental office, but I would think they do. Perhaps AE doesn't have prices from other agencies this early. I'll report back when I know more.

That's really strange. AE.ca lists several offices in Chiusi - Europcar, Hertz, Budget and Avis. For the location, did you choose "Chiusi, Italy - All Locations"? I found that returned better options than "Chiusi Railway Station".

I just searched for a 3 week rental in Oct, with pickup in Chiusi and return in Civitavecchia (thinking you might want the car until your cruise) - options included an economy car starting at Cdn$589 incl zero excess. The same dates, with pickup/return at FCO came up with economy starting at Cdn$650.

 

[artnbarb]

Yes, I did check "all locations", so perhaps the rates have changed - which of course they do all the time. If Art is willing to drive, and our friends in Orvieto have room, I think we're better off picking up in FCO, unless the price difference is more than, what? $100 USD? Considering the timing spent waiting for the trains - one to Termini, then another one to Chiusi, plus the cost of those 2 trains, driving might be the way to go, but I'll keep checking the prices, and let you know what the final outcome is.

Oh, does anyone know which location I should pick for returning to the port in Civitavecchia? Or perhaps a quick cab ride would justify returning to a city center location?

 

[Andrew]

I'm seeing four companies for Chiusi, including four for a Chiusi-Civitavechia one-way, for October dates, on the U.S. autoeurope.com site.

A Google Maps search for "car rental near Civitavecchia port" shows locations on a map.

 

[artnbarb]

Thanks, I had no idea Google maps would be so helpful!

 

[Anne]

Considering the timing spent waiting for the trains - one to Termini, then another one to Chiusi, plus the cost of those 2 trains, driving might be the way to go

I tend to agree...plus you wouldn't have to schlep your bags around 2 trains...which isn't terrible, I know, but can be quite a pain if the trains are crowded!

Also, I know you said you don't want to pick up right in Rome but...the rental offices on Via Sardegna near Villa Borghese might be worth checking out. The very first time I ever drove in Italy (or Europe, for that matter!), we picked up the car from Hertz there, and drove to Cetona. It wasn't anywhere near as stressful as I'd feared...a couple turns put us on via Pinciana, which merges into via Salaria, and then almost literally a straight run out to the A1. I probably wouldn't want to do it in rush hour, but in off-peak, it honestly wasn't bad at all.

 

[artnbarb]

Well, if we decide to spend a few days in Rome at the beginning, that's a possibility, altho the thought of driving in Rome still scares the crap out of me! But then we'd still have to schlep our luggage from FCO into Rome on the train. We usually take a car to FCO, I wonder why we've never considered having a car pick us up? It would probably be more expensive, since we usually share a car to FCO, but still, food for thought. I was just trying to save Art the drive from FCO to Orvieto immediately after our flight, altho we've done it many times before!

This itinerary is still very much a work in progress. I don't think we'll be able to do both Rome AND Florence, so I have some tough decisions to make.

 

[profpeabody]

I have driven out of Rome several times and it is a bit challenging but definitely not insane. I recommend looking at the route on Google Maps (street view) so that you are familiar with where you need to turn. Once you get on via Salaria (as Anne said) it is easy-peasy. i have used Rome Shuttle Limousine to get from FCO to Rome for the past several years and it is well worth the money. Their staff is wonderful and they provide a discount if you book a round trip transfer. The last thing we need after an overnight flight (I can't sleep on planes) is to schlep our luggage onto the train and then from the train to a taxi to the hotel.

 

[profpeabody]

PS - I love Italy in October! If you are in Rome, I had an incredible dish of fresh mushrooms at Piperno's one October. It lives in my memory as one of the best seasonal dishes I have ever had.
AS for the TA cruise, I love the Europe to US direction because you gradually time change gaining an hour every day or so. Getting from Rome to Civitavechhia is easy on the train and then the dock is easily walkable (depending on how much luggage you have). There are taxis outside the Civitavecchia train station if you need them.

 

[artnbarb]

PS - I love Italy in October! If you are in Rome, I had an incredible dish of fresh mushrooms at Piperno's one October. It lives in my memory as one of the best seasonal dishes I have ever had.
AS for the TA cruise, I love the Europe to US direction because you gradually time change gaining an hour every day or so. Getting from Rome to Civitavechhia is easy on the train and then the dock is easily walkable (depending on how much luggage you have). There are taxis outside the Civitavecchia train station if you need them.

Thanks for the restaurant recommendation! Regarding getting to the port, we've booked a car that we'll just drop off in Civitavecchia.