car tour venice

How to Visit Venice by Car (+Tips for Best Parking in Venice)

By Author Jurga

Posted on Last updated: October 18, 2023

Road-tripping in Italy and wondering if it’s possible to drive to Venice ? Or maybe you are looking for information about how to visit Venice by car and where to park ?

We visited Venice by car several times and it’s actually quite simple to drive to Venice. However, parking in Venice can be a bit tricky. In this article, I share our experience-based tips for your trip.

Below, you can find all the information on how to drive as close to the city center as possible, where to park your car, how to find cheap parking in Venice, where to stay if visiting Venice by car and also suggestions for renting a car in Venice or in Italy, in general.

READ ALSO: How to See the Best of Venice in 1 Day & Venice 3-day Itinerary

Can You Visit Venice by Car?

Venice is a car-free city, but yes, it is possible to drive to Venice by car . You’ll have to leave your car in one of the parking areas outside the historic city center and explore the city on foot or by boat.

Driving to Venice

Venice can easily be reached by car from any major city in northern Italy. It’s about 3 hours drive from Milan or 1.5 hrs from Verona (highway A4/ E70). Driving from Florence to Venice takes about 3 hours, Bologna to Venice – 1 hour 45 minutes (highway A13/ E53). If you are coming from the North, you’ll be arriving in Venice via highways A27 or A57.

The historic city center of Venice is located in the Venetian Lagoon and there is just one road connecting it to the mainland . So no matter where you are driving from, you’ll always arrive in Venice via the 3.5km long Ponte della Libertà (Liberty Bridge) over the lagoon.

Driving in Venice isn’t really stressful because you’re driving on big wide roads all the way until you reach the city. Even after you cross the bridge over the lagoon, getting to the car parking is quite straightforward. It might get a bit busy for the last 200-300 meters, but that’s it. There are big signs indicating parking garages, so really nothing to worry about.

Below, you can find all the information about where to park if driving to Venice via this bridge.

Alternative: If you are coming from the north/northeast, you can also easily reach Venice by car via the coastal route via Cavallino-Treporti (Punta Sabbioni) . This is a somewhat less-traveled route for tourists and parking is somewhat easier – and cheaper – here. From Punta Sabbioni, you can easily get straight to Venice city center by boat in about 30 minutes.

Our experience: We drove to Venice by car from Lake Garda , from Verona , and also once from Cortina d’Ampezzo in the Italian Dolomites . There are tolls on the highways, but it’s not very expensive and you can pay by credit card. The roads are very good and (at least in summer) not overly busy.

Car Parking in Venice

Once you cross the Liberty Bridge, you have several options for where to park your car. If you take the very first exit after the bridge, you’ll find yourself at Tronchetto Island . If you don’t turn to the right, you’ll drive straight to Piazzale Roma .

Tronchetto Island

The first exit to the right after the bridge takes you to Tronchetto Island. There are many car parking garages here (see map ). The biggest ones are Venice Tronchetto Parking and car parking at Venice Passenger Terminal . Don’t worry if the parking is full; just drive a bit further to the next one.

The biggest advantage of parking at Tronchetto Parking is that they have hourly rates for short stays. So if you are only planning to stay in Venice for 2-3 hours, this is a much cheaper option. However, if you are staying for 3 hours or more, you’ll pay the same 24-hr rate.

Good to know: This area is somewhat further away from the city center. But since it’s a place where cruise ships dock, it has very good public transport connections. So if you park here, it’s best to take a water bus ( vaporetto ) straight to St. Mark’s Square and start your sightseeing there.

Piazzale Roma

Based on our experience, we suggest driving just a little bit further to Piazzale Roma . This is the main bus station in Venice and the only town square in Venice that can be reached by bus or car. Just before the square, you’ll see a big white parking building on your right.

This is Parcheggio Comunale Venezia (see map ) – an indoor car parking spanning over 10 floors. In our opinion, this is the best car parking in Venice. You can reserve a spot at this car parking online in advance and drive to Venice without having to worry about where to park.

This is not the cheapest parking in Venice (you can find more info for budget parking in Venice below), but it’s the most convenient!

When we drive to Venice, we always park at Piazzale Roma because this parking is closest to the city center of Venice. Also, we drive a big 7-seater van and parking spaces on the upper floors of this parking garage are wide enough even for a very big car.

Next to Piazzale Roma, you’ll also find the Venice Railway Station (Santa Lucia). Just next to it is Ferrovia , the public water bus stop in this area. You can simply walk to all the major attractions in the city center from here. If you prefer, you can also take a water bus or a water taxi to either Rialto Bridge or St. Mark’s Square and Doge’s Palace , or anywhere else you have to be in the city.

TIP: If you are driving to Venice in the high season (and especially on the weekend), it might be wise to arrive early in the morning or reserve your car parking in advance. We never had a problem finding a parking spot, but if you want to be absolutely sure that you can use one or the other garage, you may want to book upfront. More information about this below.

How Expensive is Car Parking in Venice

As you can imagine, car parking in Venice isn’t cheap. However, it’s very reasonable compared to places like Paris or Amsterdam. We were also surprised to see that car parking rates in Venice haven’t changed in years.

Car parking in Venice costs about 25-35 EUR for 24 hours. In most cases, you pay the 24-hour fee, no matter whether you stay for an hour or for a day. Some parking garages have discounted rates in the evening and at night. The exact price depends on the parking garage and sometimes also on the size of your car.

Our experience: At Parcheggio Comunale Venezia (also known as Garage Comunale AVM or ASM Venezia car park) where we parked, car parking now costs +- 35 EUR for 24 hours. Bigger cars (over 185cm wide) pay a bit more. However, I have no idea how they measure that because our car is 220cm wide (measured with mirrors) and we had to pay a regular rate. This parking garage also has very clean bathrooms that can be accessed with your parking ticket. More info on their website .

TIP: You can reserve your car parking spot at this garage online . This will guarantee that you have a spot and it’s also cheaper (30 EUR for a regular car).

Good to know: Parking at Venice Tronchetto Parking is a little bit cheaper – 25 EUR for 24 hours. You can find their up-to-date rates and practical info here .

Cheap Car Parking in Venice

If you find car parking in Venice too expensive, you can also opt to leave your car in Mestre , just before the bridge to the lagoon. There are several big car parking areas just before the Liberty Bridge and there is also a car parking at Mestre railway station.

Car parking in Mestre costs 4-14 EUR for a day. Rates vary a lot depending on the parking. One of the best budget car parking options is Venice City Park SRL which costs just 5.50 EUR per day and is right next to a bus stop.

From Mestre, you can take a bus, a tram, or a train to Venice. You’ll also arrive at Piazzale Roma or at the Railway Station. The bus/tram/train ride from Mestre to Venice takes just 10-15 minutes. The bus ticket costs just 1 EUR per person. Tram or train tickets cost around 1.5 EUR.

Free Parking in Venice

Another option, as already mentioned earlier, is to drive to Venice via the coastal road from the north and park at Punta Sabbioni . From Punta Sabbioni, you can simply take a boat to the center.

Parking here is significantly cheaper here than at Piazzale Roma. Plus, many tours/boat transfers even offer free parking here.

For example, if you want to visit the landmarks in Venice city center, you can book this round-trip boat transfer to the city center . If you also want to visit the islands of Murano and Burano, as well as Venice, get this ticket . At the moment of the last update, they both include free parking at Punta Sabbioni.

Of course, this is not completely free since you are paying for the boat. But the boat drops you off right in the center, plus you get to see Venice from the water on your way there. And if you park at Piazzale Roma or at Tronchetto Island, you’ll probably also take a boat to the center, plus pay 25-35 euros for parking.

Where to Stay if Visiting Venice by Car

There are there best options on where to stay if visiting Venice by car – staying in Mestre or staying in Venice if you are coming from the south or from the west. The third option is to stay close to Punta Sabbioni (Cavallino-Treporti) if you are driving from the north. There are not many hotels in this area, mostly apartments, and agriturismos.

The cheapest option is to find a hotel with car parking in Mestre and take public transport to Venice city center from there. This will not only save you money on car parking in Venice, but hotels in Mestre are much cheaper too.

Some of the best options are Hotel Cris or Hotel Plaza which are located just near the train station and next to a bus stop. Hotel Venezia in the center of Mestre is also a good option.

If you don’t mind paying 25-30 EUR for car parking per day, you can also leave your car at one of the parking garages at Piazzale Roma or at Tranchetto Island and book a hotel in Venice .

If you don’t feel like carrying your luggage on a water bus, you can also opt for one of the hotels close to Piazzale Roma. That way, you can simply walk there from your car.

Here are some of the best hotels in Venice close to Piazzale Roma :

• Hotel Santa Chiara (100m from the car parking at Piazzale Roma and by the water).
• AC Hotel Venezia by Marriott (120m from the car parking at Piazzale Roma, but not at the water).
• Hotel Gardena (300m from Piazzale Roma or from the Railway Station – a beautiful hotel in a very good location).
• Hotel Carlton On The Grand Canal (700m from Piazzale Roma and just across the canal from the Railway Station).

Renting a Car

If you are flying to Venice, I recommend to only rent a car after you visit the city. The same when you’re flying out of Venice – return the car when you get to Venice. That will save you money on car hire but also on car parking.

When you are renting a car in Venice , you can either pick it up at the airport or in the city (Piazzale Roma area). From the airport, you can get to Venice by bus or by water taxi (recommended).

If you are looking to rent a car in Italy , I recommend this car booking search engine . It makes it very easy to compare the prices of different car rental companies and find the best deal for your trip. Furthermore, they also have very good insurance options (much cheaper than buying from the car hire company directly) and an excellent cancelation policy. When we rent a car abroad, we always book via this website.

So, this is our guide to driving and parking in Venice. If you have any additional questions, feel free to leave a reply below and I’ll try to help.

READ ALSO: Things to Know Before Going on Gondola Ride in Venice

FAQs for Visiting Venice by Car & Parking in Venice

Yes, you can easily visit Venice by car. While the city center is car-free, you can drive to one of the big parking areas outside the historic city, leave your car there, and explore the city on foot or by boat.

You can drive to Venice by car, but you cannot drive in Venice itself. The city center is a car-free area. When you see the little islands connected by tiny bridges, you will understand that Venice can only be visited by boat or on foot and not by car.

The most convenient car parking in Venice is at Piazzale Roma. There are several parking garages in this area and you can easily walk or take a boat to the city center from here. Alternatively, you can park at one of the large parking areas at Tronchetto Island, from where you can take a boat to the center.

Car parking in Venice costs about 20-35 EUR per day. In most cases, you pay the fixed 24-hour fee, even if you only stay for a few hours.

The best budget car parking options can be found in Mestre, 10-15 minutes drive by bus, tram, or by train from Venice. Car parking rates here start from 4-5 EUR per day, and up to 15 EUR, depending on the place. I haven’t heard of any options for free parking in Venice.

More travel guides & tips for visiting Italy:

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John cressy

Saturday 30th of September 2023

Hello Jurga, great information. We're driving to Venice from Florence and of course are looking where to park. We too thought of leaving our large luggage in the car and only bringing a small carry on into Venice for our 2 night stay. Two questions, do you know of any parking that has security (guards,cameras,etc) because we want to leave luggage. And our Italians friends said never to take the water bus that we should spend more and take a water taxi. (The buses are too crowded and not traveler with luggage friendly.) Your thoughts? Thanks,John

John Cressy

Monday 16th of October 2023

Jurga, We are back home in the United States and I want to give you an update on our trip to Venice. We ended up parking in the Troncetta Parking lot. We were concerned about leaving our suit cases in the car. We took all of our valuables with us in a smaller bag but did leave two large suit cases in the car. First of all, the parking garage is well lit with security cameras. We backed the car into the spot up against the outer wall. I thought I might have even seen a security guard walking around. Everything was just as we left it when we returned. If anybody is using an America credit card to pay, I suggest they go to the main office. We were having a heck of a time until the attendant told us to go to the office. Now as far as the water buses go, they really were a breeze. We only had a medium size bag and a backback but I did see people bringing on large suit cases. The fee for the water bus is 9.5 euros for each person and it's only good for 45 minutes unless you buy the 24 hour or multi-day plan. On the other hand, the fee for the water taxi is 60 euro but you can put multiple people in the boat for that price. It all depends upon where you are going, how people are with you and how many bags you have. For just the two of us, our water bus fees were 57 euro whereas if we used a water taxi each time it would have been 180 euro. We loved our Venice portion of our Italy trip. The city is surreal in that all local gettings around, all commerce, all construction, everything is done without cars, or trucks or even bicycles but it is all done via boat. Just watching the boat traffic is hypnotizing. Venice is a MUST SEE.

Monday 2nd of October 2023

Hi John, I'm not sure about the security at the parkings, but we personally never had any issues. I wouldn't leave any valuables and would make sure that your bags are not visible from the outside. You can always check on their websites or read reviews on Google Maps. As for the luggage, the less you have, the easier. Just simply getting to the boat (whether a vaporetto or a taxi boat) is not simple, and then, you still have to reach your hotel, etc. There are cobbled stones and bridges with stairs everywhere. Vaporetto (water buses) are indeed very crowded, so it's not easy with big bags, but you should be fine with small luggage. Of course, a water taxi is much more luxurious, but it's also very - very - expensive. The last time we took one was many years ago and it was like 50 euro for a 10-minute ride. I'm sure it's much more expensive nowadays. The advantage is that it can probably get you closer to your hotel (depending on its location, of course). If you decide to take a water taxi, be sure to ask/agree on what it will cost before you get on it. Hope this helps. Enjoy Venice!

Thursday 10th of August 2023

Try to use your tips but gondoliers were not at work on lunch time at Ponte San polo

Friday 11th of August 2023

:) There are gondolas literally everywhere in Venice, so why wouldn't you simply look for another one... I'm sure they are not all having lunch at the same time.

Monday 15th of May 2023

Greetings! Your article is wonderful! I am driving from Lake Como to Venice for a day trip in 2 weeks and wondered where to park. Thank you for your recommendation. When I go to the link to book my parking pass reservation online, it asks for the NAME on the card. For parking, did you just put the driver's name on the card? The site is confusing because it says one card, per person, which I understand for a city museum pass, for example, but not for parking. I just don't want to mess up. If you're unable to answer my question, no worries! Thanks, again!

Hi Andrea, if you mean the official site for the parking at Piazzale di Roma, then I honestly don't know. They like to make things unnecessarily complicated. We used GetYourGuide website the last time we traveled, and it was much more straightforward, but they don't offer that parking anymore. That said, I don't think it matters much which name you put on there. As long as that person is with you, it should be fine. Good luck!

Sunday 2nd of October 2022

Excellent guide, thanks for the comprehensive details. Helped guide us to a hotel with parking for visiting Venice

Monday 3rd of October 2022

Glad to help, Drew. Happy travels!

Eline Blondeel

Sunday 17th of July 2022

I was looking to book a parking spot at Piazzale Roma via GyG. If I use the link in the article I get to their website, but I can’t find anything about a parking ticket.

Could you maybe help me please?

Thanks in advance! Regards Eline

Hi Eline, I see that the option to book this parking via GetYourGuide is now not available. I’m not sure if it’s coming back, sometimes it happens that the local companies decide to only sell things directly. You could try the official website through the links we have in our article. It’s not as user-friendly but maybe you can figure it out. And otherwise just try once you get there. Good luck!

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How to get to Venice by car

Highways and where to park in venice, the main highways.

Getting to Venice by car is convenient because the city is well connected with the rest of Italy thanks to a good highway network.

The A4 Turin-Trieste highway cuts the northern Italy region from East to West and touches all the main cities, up until reaching near Venice; take the Venice exit, enter the Mestre ring road (A57) and take Ponte della Libertà which takes you directly to Piazzale Roma.

Depending on where you are coming from, the other highways are:

• from north the A22 Brennero - Modena (Verona exit from which you take the A4);
• from south the A13 Bologna - Padova (Padova exit);
• from Belluno the A27 Belluno - Venice.

Where to park in Venice

Piazzale roma.

For those planning to arrive in Venice by car, Piazzale Roma is the closest point to Venice center where you can park. From here you can walk anywhere, or you can choose to take a vaporetto. The municipal garage in Piazzale Roma contains about 2,000 parking spaces and 180 motorcycle spaces and is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. However, its convenience comes at a price, so we would recommend booking in advance to make sure you get a spot. Piazzale Roma also has the San Marco Garage , open all year round, which offers 900 parking spaces monitored 24/7. Here too you can book in advance and avoid queues.

An alternative to Piazzale Roma is the Tronchetto car park , which can accommodate up to about 4500 vehicles including motorcycles, cars, campers, minibuses, vans and buses. The car park is connected to Venice by vaporetto and there is also the Ferry Boat public transport service to the Lido of Venice.

Porto Marghera industrial area (before Ponte della Libertà)

There are many cheap car parks also in the industrial area of Porto Marghera, before Ponte della Libertà. The most convenient ones are in:

• Via dell'Elettrotecnica,
• Via dei Petroli,

Once you leave the car, take the bus and you’ll be in Venice in about 10 minutes .

Mestre is connected to Venice by bus, train and tram, so leaving your car in one of the many car parks in the city is definitely a good idea to save money but still reach Venice quickly. The most comfortable and cheapest are those in front of the station along Via Trento .

Terminal Fusina

You can also leave your car at the Fusina terminal , where there is a popular car park connected to Venice by the vaporetto , which leads directly to the Dorsoduro Zattere area. This is one of the cheapest options among all the car parks outside Venice.

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How to travel to Veneto

Thanks to the numerous connections with the rest of Italy and other countries, reaching Veneto and Venice is very simple: plane, train or your own car allow you to get here with no hassle!

How to get to Venice by train

Venice is connected via the national railway network to all major cities in Italy, from the North to the South: Trieste, Milan, Turin, Bologna, Florence, Rome and Naples. You can travel to Venice by train even from abroad : some lines connect it directly to important European cities, such as Paris, Vienna and Munich. The regional network is widespread and connects Venice both with the main cities of the Veneto region (Verona, Padua, Vicenza, Treviso…) and with the smaller towns. There are two types of regional trains at the same price: the 'Regionale' , which makes every stop and is quite slow, and the 'Regionale veloce’ , which makes fewer intermediate stops and connects Venice to the other capitals in good time. Pay attention to the type of regional train you get and try to get the ones marked Rv (Regionale Veloce) . All types of tickets can be purchased online or directly at the station, each station having a mix of automatic and staffed offices. You cannot purchase your ticket onboard .

How to get to Venice by plane

There are two main airports that connect Venice to the rest of the world:

• The main airport of Venice is Marco Polo Airport , the largest international airport in the region, which is only 12 km from Venice;
• The other airport, smaller in size but the airport most low-cost airlines fly to, is the A. Canova Airport of Treviso , often referred to as Venice Treviso Airport. It is about 40 km from Venice.

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Arriving in Venice by car

How to get to venice by car and where to park—since you certainly can't drive in venice.

No, you cannot drive in Venice —but you can drive to Venice, leave your car in a garage or lot, and proceed to enjoy the city of canals car-free.

Since parking costs €24–€29 per day, it's a good idea to return your rental car upon arrival in Venice.

Driving to Venice

Venice lies on the major A4 autostrada that runs east-west across Northern Italy though the Po Valley, from Turin past Milan, Brescia, Lake Garda, Verona, Vicenza, and Padova to Venice (and on to Trieste).

Exit the A4 at Venezia-Mestre, and follow signs for Venezia - Centro Storico (or simply ones that say "Venezia" with that little black-on-white bulls eye symbol, which is international for "city center").

You'll end up on Via della Libertà in Mestre . (Sometimes referred to as Venezia-Mestre, this sprawling, industrial, landlubbing suburb is technically a part of Venice but is as far from being what the tourist thinks of as "Venice" as Detroit is from being "Key West.") If you keep following signs for "Venezia" and centro storico, Via della Libertà becomes a causeway over the lagoon called Ponte della Libertà.

On the other side of the causeway, you'll arrive at a large square called Piazzale Roma , which serves as a bus terminus and turn-around spot, because this is the only bit of Venice accessible by car —crazy local artists like Sr. De Marchi, up on the left there in one of his floating wooden cars, notwithstanding.

Once you arrive in Venice, you'll have to park your car. At the risk of stating the obvious, there are no cars allowed in Venice at all. It's a bit hard to drive on all that water, see.

There are three main parking options in Venice:

• The public garage on Piazzale Roma (edge of historic center; on the vaporetto ): €23.40–€29 per day
• The private garage on Tronchetto (just beyond historic center; on the vaporetto ): €21 per day
• The public lot at S. Giuliano (in Mestre; short bus ride to Piazzale Roma, then vaporetto ): €12 per day

Parking in Venice on Piazzale Roma

Parking discounts You can save 5% low season, 10% high season —and guarantee yourself a spot—by booking 15 days ahead of time through the website. Pull into the first garage on your right (the cheapest of the bunch) and park your car for the duration of your stay. This is the official ASM Venezia car park ( tel . +39-041-272-7211, Avmspa.it ), with room for nearly 2,300 vehicles, open 24/7, and charging €23.40 to €29 per day, depending on size of car and whether you book ahead (see the box on the right).

If the ASM garage is full, there are a few other private lots and garages on Piazzale Roma, though they'll cost a bit more.

How to get to "downtown Venice" from Piazzale Roma

On Piazzale Roma there is a vaporetto (water bus) stop for the Grand Canal Lines 1 (commuter), 2 (express; the old Line 82) and N (night).

Cheaper options for when the Piazzale Roma lots are full

There are two cheaper options —or simply additional options, if the garages on Piazzale Roma are full (common in summertime):

• An artificial island just behind Piazzale Roma called Tronchetto.
• Back on the Mestre mainland in the S. Giuliano lots.

(Actually, there are a half-dozen other options—garages and lots—in and around Mestre and elsewhere rimming the lagoon, but those are by far the two best alternatives.)

Parking on Tronchetto

The first option is to backtrack around behind Piazzale Roma to an artificial island called Tronchetto.

The Tronchetto garage ( tel . +39-041-520-7555, Veniceparking.it ) has more than 4,800 parking spaces (plus an open lot for oversized campers) and charges €3–€5 per hour or €21 per day —though, if you'll be staying for more than three days and pay for the entire stay upon arrival, you will receive a 20% discount.

( If you're taking a cruise , there's a "Partenze Porto di Venezia" special that gives you 50% off for stays of 7 days or longer.)

There's a vaporetto stop on Tronchetto for the no. 2 line (and, in summer, a lot of touts trying lure you to their water taxis—unless you are made of money, just ignore them).

There's also now the Venice People Mover —a fancy name for a small shuttle train (picture one of those terminal-to-terminal connectors at a large airport). Buy the €1.30 ticket at a machine, stay on at the first stop (Marittima—the cruise terminal) and four minutes later get off at the end, Piazzale Roma. It runs every 10 minutes, Mon-Sat 7am–11pm, Sun 8am–10pm (Nov-Mar 8:30am–9pm).

You could also grab the no. 6/ bus to Piazzale Roma (just one stop).

Parking in Mestre at S. Giuliano

The second option for true penny-pinchers (€12 per day) are the lots of S. Giuliano back on the mainland in Mestre, by the shore to the left (north) of the causeway over to Venice proper. Though sadly, in late 2014, the cost skyrocketed from €5 to €12, this is still a bargain.

(There's a turn-off for these parking lots just before the flyover leading to the causeway; don't miss it, and do not pay any attention to the touts in hats who will try to wave you down to lead you to a lot. They'll stick you in what should be a free, open-air, unattended lot and charge you for the privilege.)

Just follow the "P" signs to the official S. Giuliano lots, which are operated by ASM Venezia ( tel . +39-041-532-2632, Avmspa.it ).

There are actually three lots at S. Giuliano. The one you want is Parcheggio Porta Gialla (yellow), which is open 24 hours a day (and can handle campers), which is free for up to three hours, then charging a mere €2 for four hours, €4.50 for five hours, €8 for six hours, then €12 per day, or €60 for a monthly pass (which is already cheaper than three days at the Piazzale Roma or Tronchetto lots).

The other two lots— Parcheggio Porta Rossa (red) and Parcheggio Porta Blu (blue)—are day-use lots only—no overnight parking—open from 6am to 2am and charging €2 for the first four hours, €4.50 for five hours, €8 for six hours, and €12 for a full day.

All three lots operate on a keen new system that doesn't involve tickets; a camera reads your license plate when you arrive, and then again as you go to leave, and charges you accordingly. Note: The automated payment machines take cash or credit cards, but do not give change, so when in doubt, use a credit card.

Astoundingly cheap, yes, but do note that you'll have to take a city bus (no. 5, 12, 12/, 19, or 24) from Parco S. Giuliano one stop to Piazzale Roma (7 minutes, €1.30).

Also, if the lots at Piazzale Roma and Tronchetto are both filled, then the city is probably bursting at the canals with tourists as well, so fair warning.

Tips & links

ASM Parcheggio Comunale garage Piazzale Roma Vaporetto : Piazzale Roma tel . +39-041-272-7211, Avmspa.it Tronchetto parking Piazzale Tronchetto Vaporetto : Tronchetto tel . +39-041-520-7555 Veniceparking.it S. Giuliano parking lot Cavalcavia S. Giuliano Mestre, Venezia Bus: to Piazzale Rome tel . +39-041-532-2632 Avmspa.it

• Driving/parking
• Asmvenezia.it (Piazzale Rome garage: most central, €23–29; S. Giuliano lot: farthest, €12)
• Veniceparking.it (Tronchetto garage: fairly central, €21)
• Autoeurope.com
• Momondo.com
• Priceline.com
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• Venice airports
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• Airport transfers: By sea (to downtown Venice)
• Alilaguna.it (public ferry: €15)
• Viator.com (shared boat: €30; private boat: from €34)
• Motoscafivenezia.it (water taxi: €100)
• Airport transfers: By land (to Piazzale Roma)
• Atvo.it (shuttle bus: €6)
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• AutoEurope.com
• CheapOair.com
• Cheapflights.com
• CheapTickets.com
• ItaliaRail.com
• Raileurope.com
• Trenitalia.com
• Venice rail station
• Venezia Santa Lucia: Grandistazioni.it , Fondamenta S. Lucia (in the NW corner of the city)
• Vaproetto to San Marco: 1, 2, N

Walks & Day tours

Longer tours.

• Intrepidtravel.com
• Gadventures.com
• Regional & long-distance bus (coach) info
• Orariautobus.it
• Italybus.it
• Oraribus.com
• Venice cruise terminal
• Transport Venice airport—cruise terminal
• Viator.com (shared boat: €30)
• Viator.com (private boat: from €34)
• Motoscafivenezia.it (water taxi: €110)
• Atvo.it (shuttle bus to Piazzale Roma: €6) 
• Actv.it (city bus to Piazzale Roma: €6)
• Transport Venice hotels—cruise terminal
• Actv.it (public vaporetto: €7)
• Alilaguna.it (public water shuttle: €8)
• Viator.com (private motorboat: €18–€35)
• Motoscafivenezia.it (water taxi: from €85)

Related pages

• Driving in Italy
• Road signs in Italy
• Renting a car in Italy
• Getting around Venice
• The vaporetto (water bus) system
• Venice layout
• Venice planning FAQ

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Venice Travel Tips

Driving in Venice

Venice Travel Guides Last Updated · Feb 28th, 2024 · Maddy [post_comments before=""] -->

When it comes to driving in Venice, how does it work?

As I suspect you will already know by now, Venice is a city built on more than 100 islands, connected by bridges and divided by a host of pretty impressive canals.

The Lagoon city is an intricate tangle of narrow alleys and small squares and the best way to move around is on foot, by vaporetto (water bus) or with a water taxi.

Anybody that has had the chance to see even just a picture or a short video of Venice at least once knows all the above, but many newcomers can’t seem to get their head around it, and repeatedly ask themselves: are there cars in Venice?

What's in this guide?

When it comes to visiting Venice this is one question I often get asked and it’s usually due to the misconception that cars don’t exist in Venice.

To kick off this guide I would like to start by answering the following question:

Are there cars in Venice?

Quick Answer: No, there are no cars moving around Venice but on arrival you can park your car/motorbike/camper van in Venice historic centre.

In other words, Venice is a car-free city, but it is possible to reach the city by car or motorbike. What you can’t do is move around by car or with a motorbike (because there are no roads) and the only ways to get around Venice (other than on foot) are by vaporetto (water bus) and water taxi . I hope this distinction makes sense.

This answer now leads me to another popular question worth answering:

Can you visit Venice by car?

Yes, you can visit Venice by car , but you can only get as far as the historic centre of Venice in your vehicle. This ultimately means that you’ll have to park your car in Piazzale Roma or Tronchetto , which are the two main car parking sites of the city.

Alternatively you can park in Mestre, Marghera or in the surrounding area (Punta Sabbioni or Fusina) where it’s cheaper and from there you can get public transport such as the train, water bus and land bus to get to Venice.

One having arrived in Venice you then have the freedom to move around on foot, by water bus, or by water taxi. For most visitors, walking is the most rewarding way to explore the city and this is why I usually suggest specific footwear, but you can see my guide on what to wear in Venice for more ideas on how to dress while here.

Renting a car in Venice

Whether Venice is the first stop of your road trip in Veneto or Italy or you simply like the freedom of driving a car during your trip, you can 100% rent a car in Venice.

You have 3 options when it comes to hiring a car in Venice:

• Renting a car from the airport . It can be from Venice Marco Polo airport or Treviso airport, depending on where your flight lands.
• Renting a car from Mestre , the closest city to Venice in the mainland and connected to Venice by public transportation (train, bus and tram).
• Renting a car in Venice Piazzale Roma where there are car rental offices like Europcar, Sixt, Maggiore, Budget and Hertz.

💡 Local Tip: for travellers who want to move around the best solution is to rent a car from the airport where prices are usually cheaper.

It is worth renting a car in Venice?

Yes, rent a car in Venice if you’re planning to visit more places in the Veneto region , other places in northern Italy or even other parts of the country!

For anyone on their way to Venice and thinking of renting a car while here…

This is what I recommend that you do:

• Be sure to rent the car BEFORE or AFTER you visit to the city.

Why do I suggest that you rent a car in Venice before or after your stay in the city?

Firstly, because you can’t actually move around Venice by car and secondly because parking in Venice is expensive when you weigh up all the costs.

Yes, you can save money by parking in Mestre or other locations of Venice mainland, but that means getting on the train or bus to reach Venice.

It simply makes much more sense to visit Venice first or after your road trip/holidays. Be sure to read this guide on how to get from Marco Polo airport to Venice and how to get from Treviso airport to Venice if you’ll be arriving to the Venice by air.

Where to park in Venice?

Take it from me, finding parking in Venice is not an easy task .

There are no free parking spaces and therefore you need to park your car or motorbike in one of the garages located near the train and bus station.

See the map below which illustrates where to park in Venice:

A positive side of parking in Venice is that you’re close to your car and can walk or get a vaporetto to reach more places in the city. The negative side is that it is pricey.

So let’s take a look now at where you can park in Venice historic centre and in the mainland. This way you’ll be able to make an informed decision based on your travel plans and ideally save yourself some money along the way.

That way, you can treat yourself to a gelato or some Venetian street food instead.

Tronchetto Parking

The Tronchetto car park is located in the Isola Nuova , a small artificial island in Venice at the ‘access point’ of the city.

The island is close to Piazzale Roma and here you can find:

• A tourist terminal
• Vaporetto connections

These are designed for you to reach the tourist attractions in Venice such as San Marco and Rialto (by water bus line 2 during the day and line N during the night).

From the Tronchetto island you can get to Piazzale Roma in just 4 minutes by People Mover , a rapid shuttle service via land funicular.

In addition, there are ferries that could transport your car or motorbike if you’re planning to visit the Venice Lido.

Like with all car parks in Venice, there are limited spaces so I highly recommend that you book your slot online and in as far in as advance as possible.

From the official website you can check the rates, save money by booking in advance and, more than anything, guarantee that you will find a spot upon your arrival.

Piazzale Roma

Piazzale Roma is the closest point where you can park to the city’s main attractions. Unfortunately, parking here it’s complicated and you can probably find a car park space in one of the few garages located near the bus station.

The largest car park is the Autorimessa Comunale , with its 2044 car spaces and 300 motorcycle spaces (distributed over 6 floors, with 10 parking rooms and 2 terraces).

Another city’s garage is the Garage San Marco , where you have an electric car you can charge it.

A few meters away from the garages, there are a few vaporetto stops that will allow you to easily get all around the city, as well as the islands of the lagoon.

The garages are open 24/7 and the daily rates depend on the vehicle size and type. Book your car parking spot in advance at the Autorimessa Comunale here .

You can save money by booking the ‘single 24h rate’ online (payment by credit card) by midnight of the day before the arrival date.

Book your car parking space in advance at the Garage San Marco here .

Venezia Mestre

Parking in Mestre is a valid alternative to parking in Venice and will make you save money too. Car parks in Mestre are not only affordable, but even well-connected via public transport to Venice city centre.

You can either get a train, bus or tram to get to the Lagoon city in a matter of minutes and at any time during the day.

There are several car parks near Venezia Mestre train station that don’t cost much and have a lot of space.

The most popular is the Parcheggio Saba Venezia Mestre , but you can find plenty of other options in the area.

You can walk to Venice Mestre station and get to Venice Santa Lucia, the terminal station of Venice, by train in under 10 minutes. Other car parking can be found in Corso del Popolo , Ca’ Marcello, via Torino and Piazzale Candiani.

Tips for driving in Venice

• Tip 1: If you travel in high season or during popular festivities like the Carnival, New Year’s Eve and Festa del Redentore, I highly recommend that you park in Mestre. This will avoid you the stress to queue in the car to get to Venice city centre. Expect to find packed buses and trains too!
• Tip 2: To save extra money you can also park near Parco San Giuliano in Marghera and get a bus to Venice city centre or at the Terminal Fusina or Punta Sabbioni, in Cavallino. In both cases, if you want to reach Venice, you’ll have to get a vaporetto.
• Tip 3: I suggest parking in Venice only for the day or for a two days stay considering the high prices. For longer stays, park in Mestre.
• Tip 4: If you’re thinking about booking your stay in Venice mainland, consider booking a place with a car park. Check out these hotels with car parking in Mestre .
• Tip 5: By booking online in advance you can save money in most car parking in Venice and Mestre.
• Tip 6: Some car parking sites may offer reduced rates for longer stays.
• Tip 7: By purchasing 30 days in advance car park at the Autorimessa Comunale in Venice, you would pay 30 euros instead of 35 euros. Check the Venezia Unica website for more information.

Driving in Venice FAQs

Parking the car in Venice is expensive, see the rates below:

• Tronchetto: 4 euros for up to 1 hour / 9 euros for up to 2 hours / 16 euros for up to 3 hours / 25 euros for 24 hours and every following 24 hours or less, it costs 25 euros.
• Autorimessa Comunale: 35 euros for 24 hours or 15 euros night rate (from 5 pm to 5 am). If you book 30 days before your arrival, you can pay 30 euros instead.
• Garage San Marco: 23 euros for up to 5 hours / 35 euros for up to 10 hours / 45 euros for 24 hours and 20 euros night rate (from 5 pm to 5 am).
• Parcheggio Saba Mestre station: 3 euros per hour. For stays longer than 24 hours, you can take advantage of discounted rates.

Before travelling to the Lagoon city, many tourists ask themselves if there are cars in Venice? And wonder if there are no cars, how do people move around?

In Venice, canals are like normal roads in any other city in the world.

Residents get around Venice mainly on foot, frequently by water bus and sometimes by water taxi. You can read more about getting around Venice here.

By reading this guide, you should know now that you can get to Venice by car and that there are a couple of dedicated car parking sites where you can leave your car.

All car parks are close to vaporetto stops so you can get on one at any time during the day and night to reach your hotel or attractions.

See my post on things to do in Venice to give you ideas on what to do while here.

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About Maddy

I love to share tips, advice and resources to help visitors explore Venice and the Veneto region like a local. Learn more about me here.

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Are there cars in Venice? How to visit Venice by car

As curious as it may sound, this question is one that many tourists ask before coming here: is it possible to drive a car in Venice?

In fact, for someone who has never been to Venice, it can feel very strange , and yet fascinating , to think of a city without a single car !

So how is that possible? How can a modern city function without all the services that are provided via car? Public transport, relocating, ambulance for emergencies and groceries, Venetians manage to do all these things without a single wheel .

There are many ways to answer this question, and in this article, we'll try to list them all!

Venice, the city where you have to leave your car at the parking garage before visiting it

Could you imagine a city where you cannot use your car to visit it ? A city where you have to leave your vehicle in the proper parking space?

You have to think about the city like a fish-shaped island in the middle of the Venetian lagoon. A city built on water and made of canals and bridges ( do you know them all ?). Of course there are no cars in its historic center.

However, Venice is not just its city center. There are many little islands in the lagoon that, together with the mainland , create the Venice Metropolitan area . In fact, Mestre, Lido, Murano are all separated from the central island, but they are known as Venice.

So to answer from an institutionally correct perspective, yes, there are cars in Venice.

Parking in Venice: let's see all the possibilities you have

Of course you cannot visit Venice by car. The access to the historic center is completely forbidden to cars .

However, you can reach the city using your private vehicle .

We will now see three different solutions for visiting Venice with your car. Additionally, we will see the most important car parking areas of the city.

1. You can cross Ponte della Libertà by car and then reach Piazzale Roma

You might arrive in Venice by car, train, bus and also by bike or on foot (see the related article! ).

The Ponte della Libertà (Liberty bridge) is a very long bridge connecting the mainland to Piazzale Roma . Santa Lucia train station is just beyond the Constitution Bridge (also called Calatrava bridge).

You can leave your car at the local parking garage and then walk to the center, or maybe take a water bus and tour the whole length of the Grand Canal.

Car parking in Piazzale Roma: not cheap but the closest to the city center

Piazzale Roma is used as a bus, tram and taxi hub for workers and visitors. It also hosts the offices of some car rental companies and also the Garage San Marco , enabling Venetians and visitors to park their cars there.

Parking your car in Piazzale Roma is not so cheap , but it is very comfortable if you are planning a one night trip. Please consider reserving your parking ticket in advance!

2. Cross Ponte della Libertà and then go to Tronchetto parking spaces

Instead of going straight to Piazzale Roma, you could take the chance to park your car in Tronchetto .

Parking here is perfect for people who want to take the ferry boat to the islands (like Lido) , because the larger boats all depart here.

The parking areas in Tronchetto: cheaper than Piazzale Roma area

Tronchetto island is an artificial island designed specifically to manage the vehicles reaching Venice.

Here you will find lot of parking spaces , the cruise and the ferry boat terminals.

It's a perfect place to park your car and then you can reach the city in less than 5 minutes with the People Mover . It is an automated elevated shuttle train which connects Tronchetto island to Piazzale Roma.

In this way you can visit Venice without even thinking about your car.

3. You can leave your car in Mestre parking space

Instead of going directly to Venice, if you are planning a longer stay , you may consider leaving your car in the mainland .

You may find free parking or cheaper parking spaces than the ones that you would find in Venice. Then you can reach Venice using local transports or a taxi.

Car parking in Mestre: 15 minutes away from Venice but cheaper

In the mainland you would find many places to park your car. You can leave it in the parking space of your hotel , for example. Otherwise, you could leave it close to Mestre railway station and then take your train or bus to the city.

Crossing the Liberty Bridge by public transport , in fact, will save you a lot of money . Money you could use for your gondola ride , for example!

All these things considered, how should you visit Venice without a car?

How to visit Venice without using your car

Apart from the abovementioned marginal areas, the city center has nothing but the pedestrian bridges, canals and calli (streets) in which cars are not allowed. That is why Venice is also known as the canal city, a car-free place that is different from all the other cities.

Here, under the Rialto bridge, gondolas and water buses bring people from one part of the city to another. There are lots of Vaporetto stops and gondola hubs all around the city. If you are in a hurry, a water taxi can quickly bring around the visitors.

Visit Venice like a local does!

Locals themselves have their personal boats to go around, do groceries, transport etc. Each boat has (or should have, to be honest) its personal parking lot in the canals of the city. Water taxis and water buses have similarly specific parking lots.

Of course, locals do not travel just with their boats but there is also a lot of walking going on.

Taxis and Vaporettos can bring you to the furthest places of the lagoon, from San Marco square to Burano and other islands of the lagoon.

How would you visit Venice next time you come here?

As we saw, there are no vehicles allowed in Venice .

However, taking a water bus in Piazzale Roma or exploring the city with a gondola , is one of the best ways to appreciate and visit Venice .

So, after parking your car, take your chance to explore the city like Venetians would do. A completely new world will be open to your amazed eyes .

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Full day luxury trip to Venice with private car and driver from Milan

• Air-conditioned vehicle
• WiFi on board
• Provide the exact address of the hotel, apartment, Bed and breakfast, etc. (within the Aurelian walls) .24H before the tour date, call or send a WhatsApp message to the agency to confirm the pick-up time.
• Not wheelchair accessible
• Infant seats available
• Confirmation will be received at time of booking
• No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
• Please specify in your reservation if you want to add a booster seat extra cost € 10.00
• 24H before the tour date, call or send a Whatsapp message to the agency to confirm the pick up time.
• Provide the exact address of the Hotel, apartment, Bed and breakfast, etc. (Within the Aurelian walls) 24H before the tour date, call or send a Whatsapp message to the agency to confirm the pick up time.
• In the absence of the requested data, the tour will not be guaranteed
• Dress code is required for entry into churches and religious sites
• Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
• This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
• This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
• For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.

Similar experiences

• You'll get picked up See departure details
• 1 Milan Stop: 3 hours See details
• 2 City of Venice Stop: 6 hours See details
• 3 Milan Stop: 3 hours See details
• You'll return to the starting point

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• 648andrewp 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Private hire from Fiumicino to Civitavecchia Excellent service. Met at the airport arrivals and escorted to our luxury mini van. AC on and water is provided. We soon arrived at our accommodation in Civitavecchia. Our driver spoke excellent English and was polite and accommodating. Hassle-free, would definitely use again. Read more Written July 31, 2023
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• Q9757APdiannes 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Happy with the service We will be traveling to Rome in July 2023 & I have booked 5 rides to and from the airport - all done via email from Australia. The service has been prompt and efficient. The cost is very reasonable. When you are looking for private transferes, I highly recommend for you to check out Decus Italia for your transfers Read more Written April 7, 2023
• S7982QHemiliad 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Herculaneum and the Magic of Naples Herculaneum a city that was buried by the lapilli and lava of the volcano Vesuvius. The story that you can touch live, breathe. especially when you see all the skeletons together you can get a perception of the tragedy they have experienced Our guide made us experience this journey in full charm and continuous surprise. Later in the afternoon we finally visited Naples. Our biggest dream. The magic of Naples has completely fascinated us. Its typical streets that we are used to seeing in movies. the piazza Plebiscito and the breathtaking view of the gulf. an experience that I would absolutely do again Read more Written January 28, 2022
• filippodU6592DJ 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles The beauty of the 5 Terre We were completely in love with these medieval villages overlooking the sea. It seems like an earthly paradise. Walk their streets, with the typical local shops we did not want to leave. But above all the day that we spent in serenity and relaxed with our driver who was always waiting for us. Important thing NO STRESS TRAFIC.ù Congratulations to Decus for the excellent organization Read more Written January 20, 2022
• peterp956 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Extraordinary. the earthly paradise The best tour ever we have done so far. The beauty of the coast has literally won us over. we didn't want to go away and stay there forever. Sorrento with its Limocello, the best I've ever tasted, Positano with all its small streets full of shops with typical products. Our guide recommended a restaurant in front of the sea giving us an unforgettable moment. Thanks to our guide, we were able to take a ferry from Positano to get to Amalfi. admiring the coast from the sea is a sensation that remains in your heart. Read more Written January 20, 2022
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• Jennie F 0 contributions 4.0 of 5 bubbles An Insightful Tour of Florence with a Touch of Siena Overall, this tour was fantastic! We didn't know we would have a second tour guide in Florence. I think the Viator description should inform you how many guides you will have so you can plan your tips accurately. Our driver was excellent. At the end of the tour, he was willing to drive by the Colosseum because our tour the day before neglected to take us there. Our guide told us as soon as we got into the car that if we were vaccinated, we could remove our masks-ugh, no way! We kept our masks on, but he kept his off. I didn't like that at all. Plus, he smoked. He would walk away from us, but you could still smell it lingering. Our guide in Florence was superb! He was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. I wish I had him all day. Read more Written December 9, 2021
• Soltera 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles You cannot go wrong with this company,., truly the best! I cannot even begin to express my gratitude to Patricia. She dealt with me for a month before we even got there. So many moving parts to this tour which ended up being over 8 hours. She personally met us at the Colosseum to make sure everything was going well. Not only did she select great drivers who got us everywhere on time and found us the best coffee right off the cruise but she found us the best tour guide around. Mohammed is so well versed in the history and culture of Rome. He was able to meet the needs of 9 different personalities who were interested in history, culture, culinary and the arts. He is an expert at "herding cats" as he managed to keep us all together and on time while guiding us from St. Peter's Basilica through the streets of Rome to an amazing restaurant which was able to meet our gluten free needs. That will be another review but amazing. We saw Piazza Navarra with it's fountains, walked through so many shops, and then made it to the Colosseum in time for our tour. After the Colosseum, we made it through Palatine Hill and the Forum. Then we visited the Pantheon and finally finished with Trevi Fountain. I can't even remember everything we saw. This is our third time to Rome and he is the best guide I have ever had in any country. He is the only guide who has offered us the chance to pray at the Basilica. I will be contacting Patricia every time we head to Rome and will definitely use her again. Truly an amazing experience even adhering to the Italian government's ever changing Covid protocols. They were simply the best. Read more Written October 8, 2021
• 614allb 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Excellent service All is great, it was amazing. Nice car , all in time without delay , we was contacted by driver in airport , so found him easily. On the way back driver was near door before arranged time. Highly recommend this service. Read more Written November 17, 2019
• Illini94 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Excellent Service and rates for large families Our family of 7 booked them to go from FCO to a local hotel, Holiday Inn at Meridici Park area. The transport is cheaper and more direct than the regional hotel shuttles (e.g. Marriott and IHG). They are responsive and communicate using WhatsApp too. I will definitely use them again while in Rome Read more Written July 18, 2019

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Our Italy Road trip Itinerary – Self drive in Italy

Table of Contents

Our Italy itinerary is what pushed us into taking a major decision that we would be doing a self-drive Road trip in Italy. Our Italy driving holiday itinerary had an equal share of big and famous cities and the less visited yet well-known places. Though Italy has a good network of trains – It would have been difficult to travel by train to all the places marked in our Italy Road trip Itinerary.

Italy Road Trip Planner:

After I wrote this post about ‘ Things to know before you self-drive in Italy ’ , I got a lot of questions about places we traveled across Italy on our road trip. So, I decided to write this post which help your road trip through Italy. Be it 1 week or 10 days, this itinerary will help you while driving around Italy. This itinerary covers most of the beautiful and famous spots in Italy making it one of the best road trips in Italy.

We didn’t always hire a car for all the days we were in Italy, but did it strategically, which we will explain in the due course of this article. While exploring cities, we used local transport like Metro, trams and bus. When feasible, we took intercity trains. We hired a car only when we felt an absolute need of doing so.

And being avid road trippers, we enjoyed taking on Italian roads – sometimes driving in between choppy cliffs and deep blue ocean, sometimes cruising along state-of-the-art highway, sometimes creeping under tunnels that don’t seem to end, sometimes stuck in weekend highway jam, sometimes slowing down in countryside roads to see the hay bales neatly rolled up, sometimes driving along the coast for hundreds of miles but never to drive for the sake of it!

With such a pleasing experience , I would recommend that everyone should go road trippin in Italy at least once in a lifetime! Assisting you in your road trip adventure is your travel buddy – Hopping Miles. So, here it is – Road trip in Italy.

Road trip preparation for self drive holiday:

Well, for a good road trip, what do we need? A reliable and cost effective car and a comfortable place to rest for the day after a long day on the road. Right? I know you are nodding your head there. Let me ease this process for you by listing a couple of websites which we always use on our travels.

We booked the car from this website which compares different vendors , so that we can select the car that matches our taste and budget. Check prices now by entering the place in the search box below.

Accomodation

With so many booking sites and hundreds of hotels and apartments, its indeed difficult to choose the place which suits our taste. That is where this site comes into picture. We always check the prices of hotels/apartment from this website and compare prices offered by different booking sites and book the accommodation from the one that offers the best price. Compare hotels by checking in this search box below !

Self drive Italy itinerary

I will list some places you can visit on your self drive holiday in Italy. And for our exact itinerary, you can check the next section.

• Amalfi coast
• Alberobello
• Cinque Terre

Our Italian Road trip Itinerary

In the first leg of the journey, we did Rome – Vatican City – Caserta – Sorrento – Capri – Amalfi Coast – Alberobello – Bari

Lets look at each stop and see what we did there!

We flew into Rome and flew out of Rome to Bangalore, India. We spent 3 days in Rome – roaming around the city in hop-on hop-off bus and explored the World’s smallest country – Vatican city too!

Hop-on Hop-off bus  is the absolute best way to explore Rome. We get a bus pass which we can flash to the driver and hop onto the bus and hop off at any stop and this cycle continues. We did this and loved the convenience and frequency of  buses available. We bought our tickets from this link here:  Rome Hop-on Hop-off Bus Ticket. 

You can also buy a Roma Pass which covers entrance fee to major tourist attractions in Rome:  Roma Pass: 48-Hour City Card

After blissful 3 days of roaming in Rome, we hopped onto Vatican city for a day, which was just next door to Rome.

Vatican City:

Often known as the World’s smallest country, Vatican city is just a road away from Rome. There is no passport stamping required to enter and exit Vatican city. Vatican is known for its rich art collection and one whole day is needed to explore this gem. Have a look at this post to know how to ‘Explore Vatican City in a Day’

After exploring Rome and Vatican City, we picked up a pre-booked rental car, thus flagging off our Italian road trip! We got the best deal for our car rental from this website here. Our initial plan was to drive down to Pompeii and Naples before checking into our lovely room in Sorrento in Amalfi Coast. As luck would have it, we had a delay due to a situation and could start from Rome only in the second half of the day, so we changed our plan and drove to Sorrento with a small detour at Caserta.

The highlight of Caserta is definitely the ‘ Palace of Caserta ’. This UNESCO Heritage site sprawls over 60 acres with a 5 floors and 1200 rooms!!! Apart from the place itself which is impressive, vast gardens take away all the credit of being stunning with beautifully curated plants and water fountains at regular intervals. Though Palace of Caserta was under renovation at that time we had been there – it didn’t fail to amaze us!

Traffic jam on the way to Sorrento. We were stuck in jam inside the city too!

After a mesmerizing evening drive along the plunging Amalfi coastline as the sun retired for the day, we got stuck in the narrow lanes of Sorrento city. Traffic pile up due to road restrictions come into effect after sundown, this resulted in us getting struck in a traffic jam inside the city. We got lost at many places and google maps weren’t of any help but the locals were really helpful and guided us very well in spite of  having the language barrier.

Next morning, we strolled around Sorrento town and decided to hop on to Capri Island and indulge in the unique experience of Blue Grotto! So, off we were to Capri in a high-speed ferry from Sorrento!

Book a tour –  From Sorrento: Full-Day Capri and Anacapri Boat Tour

Surreal waters of Blue Grotto, Capri

Capri was a pleasant surprise. From the time the ferry approached the island, until our way back to Sorrento – Capri captivated us! Jagged cliffs rising high from the deep blue Tyrrhenian Sea underneath – in this small island off Italy’s Eastern Coast. In spite of thousands of tourist inflow every day, much of Capri’s natural beauty is preserved to retain its charm. The proof of which are the narrow roads just enough to pass only 1 vehicle on either side. Nature’s bounty has been preserved and not given way to modernisation!

More on Capri and things to do here: Things to do in Capri

Amalfi Coast:

After a refreshing day in Capri, we were back on the road. How eager were we to drive in this piece of land! We took it easy while driving the Amalfi Coast by not rushing it. We rolled down the windows and breathed the fresh air of Amalfi Coast – sinking it all into the skin. The warm air rising from the sea blends with the fragrance of flowers slopped in every corner together with the scent of Citrus which grows here in abundance. Roads that snake all the way along the plunging coastline coupled with stunning views makes Amalfi Coast one of the scenic routes to drive in the world!

In case you aren’t doing a self guided driving trip and still want to experience the thrill of a road trip then try this tour or this one .

Check out my Amalfi coast video below: 

Alberobello:

After Italy surprised us with Amalfi coast drive, we had another visual treat waiting for us in Alberobello. Entire town with whitewashed houses called Trulli awaited us in Alberobello. The Trulli of Alberobello is a hut made of traditional Apulian drystone mainly consisting of hard limestone. The roof of Trullo is conical shape with stones stacked tightly on each other. If you fancy staying in a Trullo – you can as well do it. There are many BnBs and boutique Trullo stays in Alberobello. Check the prices now by entering your dates below.

We stayed in a small town called Eboli before traveling to Alberobello. Pizzas here are yumm!

The drive from Alberobello to Bari was all along Italy’s southern coastline. The main reason for us to drive to Bari was to return our rental car which we hired in Rome. That said, DON’T be fooled into thinking that our Italian road trip is over!

Rental cars which we returned in Bari. We were a family of 12. So we hired 3 cars!!

Back to Italy again for yet another road trip!

We returned the car in Bari  and took an overnight ferry to Croatia.  Read about our experience in Jadrolinija ferry from Bari to Dubrovnik in this article here . We explored Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Slovenia.  We returned to Italy through Slovenia via road and settled down in Venice for the day!

Some pics of our road trip in Croatia and Slovenia.

Plitvice Lakes Croatia

Lake Bled, Slovenia

You might want to read:

Heavenly Plitvice Lakes, Croatia

Fairytale town – Lake Bled, Slovenia

We roamed around Venice , hopping numerous bridges in the Venice Water bus or the ‘Vaporetto’ with a day pass. Watching gondolas pass by, hearing barcaroles sung by gondoliers who sway the gondola from under one bridge to another – Venice was all about life and history in a water land. If you are in Venice, do not miss the Gondola ride!

Book now –  Venice  Gondola Ride

Also, a must visit is the next door, Burano and Murano islands. Check out this tour here, this is such a bargain for money –  Boat Trip: Glimpse of Murano, Torcello & Burano Islands

After spending time to our heart’s content in Venice – It was time to move on. This time around, we did not hire a car. Remember what I had told earlier, rent a car only when necessary. As we were to stay in Milan for the next couple of days – we didn’t really need a car to go around – so, we took an intercity train from Venice to Milan – Italy’s fashion destination!

We went to see the ‘Duomo di Milan’ but ended up attending a concert!

Wandering in the streets of Milan, getting in and getting out of several metro trains – I wondered about one thing – How women are dressed up so beautifully with full makeup even at 5.30 AM! 😀

You can also do a day trip from Milan to Lake Como – Details here.

This wouldn’t be any ordinary morning – this would be a special one. A morning that showed us a light of day like no other morning. Sun rays piercing through the plump mountains, gliding though Lake Como before hitting the glass window of the train from Milan to Tirano.

The day could be called a Train day. Our train journey started in Milan at 5.30AM in the morning and ended at 9PM the same day in Milan. Why do I call it the train day? That’s because we spent the major chunk of the day in train. From Tirano, we ascended the legendary Bernina express. The rest was sequences just like dream.

Tirano town

You can save the hassle we had of booking several train tickets by simply going this tour, where they take care of all the round trip transfers to and fro Milan and also the Bernina Express tickets –  Bernina Express & St.Moritz Day Tour from Milan

Bernina Express:

Was I dreaming? Maybe, Yes – but certainly, No! As the train chugged away from Tirano, we scaled altitude by slowly climbing various bridges and passing through gloomy tunnels. Scenes distinctly vary from tiny villages puddled in lush green valley down below to glaciers melting to form electric blue lake. We alighted in St.Moritz town in Switzerland – spent 2-3 hours before getting back to Bernina Express to return to our temporary home in Milan.

It was time to get back on the road. We hired a car from Milan and drove to the land of Ferrari – Maranello!

As we curved into Maranello, roaring horses welcomed us into the world of Ferrari. Rest of the day was spent in gawking at these mean machines and lusting to own one! Read more about Maranello – Ferrari land Maranello, Italy

We drove from Maranello to Pisa through Florence with vineyards for company. Driving in the Tuscany region was another dream come true.

The entire region is sprinkled with acres of vineyards brimming with grape-bearing vines. Roads rise and fall at changing intervals – giving us elated views of the landscapes filled with different coloured flowers at each interval! See the colours of views we saw from the highway – here in this post!

Standing tall , leaning for centuries is the ‘Leaning tower of Pisa’. There is something charming about Pisa. That white tall leaning structure, the green grass around it, the blue skies – everything makes it photogenic! This wonder of the world and UNESCO Heritage site had to be visited and thus was!

While in Pisa, a must thing do is to go inside the ‘Leaning Tower of Pisa’ and climb all the way up and get a bird’s eye view from the top! It is sure inundating but is very exciting at the same time. We were running short of time as we had to drive to Rome and return the car, but wanted to go to the top of Leaning tower too. The lines for the ticket was long and we gave it a chance and finally did it. So, its a wise thing to book tickets in advance.

Book your  Timed Entrance Ticket to Leaning Tower of Pisa & Cathedral

We drove back to ‘Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport’ in Rome and returned our rental car that showed us some surreal sights for over 2 days.

I know we have left out many other beautiful spots and cities in Italy. We knew about some but couldn’t manage to do it – Florence, Siena, Naples, Pompeii, Sicily, San Marino, Gradara . Some we regret not knowing about, during the planning stage like the ‘The Great Dolomite Road’. But, there’s always a next time!

Our Italy Road trip Map:

Italy self drive road trip – leg 1.

Rome – Vatican City – Caserta – Sorrento – Capri – Amalfi Coast – Alberobello – Bari

Italy Self drive road trip – Leg 2

Venice – Milan – Tirano – Milan – Maranello – Florence – Pisa – Rome

You might also want to read :

17 cities and towns not to miss in Italy!

14 things to know before you self drive in Italy

Hope you have liked our itinerary and all geared up to prepare yours!

Let us know in the comment box below if you have been to the places we have been and share your experiences about that place with our readers!

If you have liked this post, show us some love and pat us on our backs! Like us on Facebook , follow us on Twitter  and Instagram  and subscribe to our Youtube channel !

45 comments

Beautiful photographs and interesting narration!

Great.. useful info

Nice inspiration! Thanks for a great road trip itinerary 🙂 we are planning to do one in the North of Italy soon with my husband

Nice to know that Lisa! Have a great trip!! 🙂

Hi, Great trip and great photos. I would like to ask can you plz tell hidden gems, non touristic places in italy, moreover budget living in italy. Thanks. Ss

Thanks Sumira. I shall write a post on that soon 🙂

Good one guys.. It is very helpful for planning our road trip.. Cheers and thanks for putting this up!!

Thanks Dilip! 🙂

Great info and pic! I’m planning on a roadtrip to Italy too, so wondering how long did it take for your first and second leg and Croatia?

Thanks Elly. Our trip was for 17 days in total 🙂

I really enjoyed the post you shared with us, last Year visited Bari, next holiday to visit Italy

This is a amazing article (along with the other one – things to know before self drive in Italy). Can you please share few more details (if possible) on the places (hotels/B&Bs/Lodges etc) where you stayed for the night. Thanks.

Sure Kiran. Doing that post was on my mind from a long time. Now that you asked for it, I shall write it soon 🙂 And I’m glad that you found my articles helpful 🙂

Glad to see your article, the journey & itinerary looks fantastic as well great collection of pictures.

Thank you 🙂

Hey amazing itinerary. I wanted to know if you needed international driving licence or just the indian driving licence worked? Also which company did you hire the self-drive car from?

Thanks. For Italy, International driving license is mandatory but you need to carry the original Indian driving license with you too. We booked the company which offered the best price from rentalcars.com

WOW, This is a really great post. I like your post information because I love to travel. When I read your article I get more information about Italy. Thank you for sharing a very helpful and tips post.

Hey great read..i am off to a roadtrip from venice to south italy from 19 march for over a month long..I was wondering if i should hire a care throughout? is that a good idea..venice, florence, pompeii, matera, calabria,and then sicily. IS preebooking necessary or should i just land and book one? i will fly from catania (sicily to rome) as i fly out from rome to mumbai.

Also wanted to check how expensive does it get fuel wise? we are 2 people with 2 bags.

A car isn’t required to travel inside the cities and it is best to use local transport when exploring the cities. I’d recommend self drive after you get out of cities. Maybe you can do Venice-Florence in train and hire a car from Florence and drive down to Rome and Pompeii. Do not miss the Amalfi coast drive – its heavenly 🙂 Prebooking saves last minute hassle and we get time to book the cheap and best car rental.

Hi , Awesome blog on travel. Great pics. We are traveling to Italy in April end and planning to self drive around Tuscany for two days. We will be arriving in Florence from Rome by train and will be there for three days. We hope to spend two days in Tuscany country-side and want to hire a self drive car for the same. It will be great if you can suggest some thing. Since its a Sunday when we arrive in Florence, not sure if we can find an agency open on that day.

Thanks Anmol. Renting a car and driving through Tuscany is a really good idea. I’m sure you will love it, just like we did. Check this website for comparision between different rental cars and choose the one that suits you. We too booked from this site:)

http://www.rentalcars.com/CityLandingPage.do?countryCode=it&place=florence&affiliateCode=hoppingmi&preflang=en&adcamp=Florence&adplat=Comment

This is a brilliant find ! Love the information shared here and will definitely redefine my itinerary as I plan 🙂 Thanks for sharing your experience with the cool photos .

Thanks Dora 🙂

I love road trips. For me it is the best way to travel. And Italy looks more perfect by a drive-off. There is the Lake Como and Amalfi Coast is like my dream location to see. Plus these pictures looks so good. Look like you had fun in your vacation.

Yes Moumita. We did. Thanks 🙂

So glad I stumbled upon this post, very useful. If I may ask you which were your fav top 3 places that are an absolute must visits. Also, which self drive would suggest – Amalfi coast or Tuscany? Thanks in advance.

My Top 3 in Italy: Amalfi Coast, Capri and Alberobello 🙂

If given a choice between the two, I’d choose Amalfi. That said, at some stretches in Amalfi coast is narrow and winding – attempt this if the driver is confident enough 🙂 We could do it though it was our first self drive experience abroad. Choice is yours. We booked our car from this website. It has good choices and pricing options.

Thanks for the list of suggested road trips.

I’ll be traveling soon, so this is going to help me a great deal.

Thanks 🙂 Glad it helped you 🙂

Hi! Thanks for this share. What about parking in amalfi / and around? Was it pricey? I’m planning Como to Amalfi (1 day in Capri) and Milan and Naples on the way to Italy and when leaving. Debating getting a car or just train and ferry?

We drove by Amalfi and stopped by parking lay byes to soak in some lovely views. And as for choosing the mode of transport, see what works out for you the best. We are always inclined towards road trips, so it was natural for us to choose the self drive option 🙂

Realy some awesome trip in Italy, I used to live here, and my family was return after three weeks in this summer.

wow this is awesome stuff lots of value . i never visited italy bt your article eager to go there. thanks ASHWINI for sharing with us.

Hi, It is a nice explanation of the trip. I am planning as well but just planning to do a self drive in Tuscany region, but bit scared that as how easy or difficult will it be do drive left side of the care. Please do let me know if it was fine. Another query, how difficult was the parking in different places like Pisa, Florence, etc

Thanks, Sumit

Tuscany has good roads and amazing landscapes. So, self drive is safe there 🙂

We didn’t enter Florence with our rental car but Pisa was not difficult for parking.

What would be your suggestion for a main town to fly into and out of in Italy? we want to fly in hire a car do the road trip and then fly out of a different city without having to retrace any of our travels.

Start with Rome and do an anticlockwise trip and end it in Florence or vice versa

Hi! This was perfect information for us. We are planning our honeymoon and want to cruise around Italy. We are thinking to fly into Naples and self drive up through Rome, Florence and Tuscany, then to Venice and end our trip with a new nights down in Amalfi. Do you suggest we drive the whole time? Or should we drive up and fly back down to be in Amalfi? We didn’t feel we needed a car in Amalfi, so we were thinking to use public transportation there. We are looking to explore and take our time along with stay at AirBnbs along the way.

Good idea Heather. You don’t need a car in Amalfi unless you have plans to drive along without any stops. As you are staying for 2 days in Amalfi, car isn’t a good idea because towns are small and parking is a hassle.

Hey nicely described, well informed and amazing instructions!! Just one thing i wanted to know was how many days did it take you to complete leg 1 and leg 2 separately?

4 and 5 days respectively

So how many days was this entire trip? And would you recommend this type of travel with a 2 year old?

The trip was for 17 days and easily doable with a 2 year old

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Envoking scenes from Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’, the Northern Italian city of Verona is one of the best places to travel to in the country. Packed with centuries of history, today the city is visited by thousands each year with many opting for a Venice to Verona day trip.

Many people visiting Venice focus solely on the city itself, rather than the surrounding Veneto region of Northern Italy in general. While Venice is a truly astonishing place to visit, it is definitely worth considering exploring the Veneto region.

My partner and I never planned to head to Verona originally. The reason we decided to leave Venice and visit Verona was that the city was suffering its highest Acqua Alta in fifty years . After being recommended to refrain from our planned day trip to Venice’s outer islands, we decided to opt for Verona instead…and I am so glad we did!

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Getting from Venice to Verona

How far is Verona from Venice? The good news is that Verona is only approximately an hour away from Venice and can be reached by car, bus, train, or through organised tours.

By Organised Tour

If all the independent planning is not for you, or you are looking for a more immersive experience, then a Verona tour from Venice might be something for you. These tours do not only offer organised transport but also include several extra pitstops so that you can really soak in the sights of Northern Italy.

Tours often are still run with small groups of people, which is especially great if you are a solo traveller looking to share your experience of one day in Verona with some people.

This full-day tour of Verona, the countryside, and Lake Garda Tour gives you the chance to explore Verona city centre at your leisure as well as enjoy stops at Lake Garda, Sirmione and a winery in Amarone. It’s also possible to book a similar private tour if you prefer to have your own transport.

If you are looking for a more wine-based experience, this organised day trip lets you wander the streets of Verona as well as allowing you to explore a Valpolicella winery and sample a selection of the famous, local Amarone red wine.

Venice’s Santa Lucia train station is in the area of Santa Croce (next to Cannaregio) and beside the Grand Canal. Even from neighbourhoods further away such as San Marco, you can walk to the train station within about half an hour. Otherwise, some vaporettos will go along the Grand Canal.

Several train companies and lines run between the two cities and trains are as frequent as five times per hour. The journey from Venice to Verona by train is very pleasant. Some of the trains take longer than others, but the average journey time is about one hour. Ticket prices can vary but are typically less expensive if booked in advance. View the latest schedules here .

The best thing is to check beforehand what time you are thinking of going and then check which provider offers the cheapest journey or – if money is not the issue – the best travel times for your day trip from Venice to Verona.

One thing to remember is that your train needs to be validated at one of the designated machines before you board the train. Otherwise, even if you purchased a ticket, you could be subject to a fine. Some tickets purchased online, however, are pre-validated. Just be sure to check the terms and conditions.

Once in Verona, you can either walk the 20 to 30 minutes needed from the train station to the centre, or you can take a bus. These buses leave just outside the main entrance of the train station and tickets can be purchased from the driver.

Buses offer a great (and cheap) way to get from one city to the other on your Venice to Verona day trip. FlixBus provides bus tickets and there are several other bus companies to choose from, as well. Buses run very frequently – often more than 10 times a day. View schedules here .

However, be sure to check where your bus is leaving from. Some of the coaches leave from Venice Tronchetto (an artificial island in the Venetian lagoon that is situated behind Venice’s train station) while others go from Venice Mestre (which is outside the main city of Venice and the main lagoon). 

The distance from Venice to Verona is only approximately 120km. It is therefore definitely possible to do your Verona day trip from Venice by car quite easily.

The drive can take about 60 to 90 minutes depending on traffic. However, if you are going by car, it is essential to remember that Italy’s roads have tolls. Likely you will have to plan an additional 10€ for tolls and around 5€ for an all-day parking ticket in Verona.

Verona’s inner city has a pedestrianised area through which only license holders can drive, so ensure to park beforehand to avoid fines!

If you’re planning on renting a car in Venice, there are plenty of options on Rentalcars.com which aggregates deals from many different providers.

Venice to Verona Day Trip Itinerary

There are plenty of things to do in Verona that can easily be accessed withing the confines of one day. The good news is that the inner city of Verona is very compact and most sights are within walking distance from one another.

There is the option to partake in a free walking tour should you be looking for a guided experience. There are also paid walking tours available if the timing of the free tours doesn’t work for you. However, should you want to discover the city at your own pace, here are some suggestions for stops to take.

Before I continue, I do want to mention that if you are a fan of cultural sites and museums, it is worth looking into a Verona Card – especially if you are planning to stay longer than one day.

The card offers free or reduced entry to the city leading museums, monuments and churches as well as letting you travel on the ATV city bus which is great if trying to reduce your overall Venice trip cost.

Roman Arena

You will be standing in Verona’s largest piazza – Piazza Bra. The Roman Arena is right in the centre of the piazza and is surrounded by several cafes, restaurants and museums. Stroll along the piazza and take in the city’s first charming vibes before visiting the Roman Arena.

The amphitheatre used to be outside the city’s walls in Roman times and has lasted for centuries as the city expanded around it. While the entertainment program is very different from that of the Roman era, the arena still functions as an entertainment venue today, and it is possible to see operas and plays there.

There is an entry fee for the arena, but it is worth it! Once you are inside, you will notice how well-preserved the arena is so that spending the entry fee feels worth it. The views from up top are pretty amazing, too. Standing in the arena, it is easy to imagine the role it played in the past.

The Verona Card gives you skip-the-line entry to the Roman Arena and it is also possible to take a guided tour which includes a skip-the-line ticket.

Casa di Giulietta & Casa di Romeo

Next to the Roman Arena, you will find signposts leading you towards the town centre and Romeo and Juliet’s house – or rather the houses that are said to have inspired the play.

We heard that one of the houses was actually built after the play was written, but nonetheless, if you are a fan of the tale, both houses are worth the stop.

What you will notice is that these places are very popular with tourists. We visited Verona off-season in November and Juliet’s house was still packed. It is noticeable that the sight has significance for lovers.

The walls are filled with names of loved ones – spread across the paper, on locks and lockets and anything else that enshrines the permanent gesture. Also, rumour has it that rubbing the breast of the statue of Juliet in front of ‘Juliet’s house’ brings good luck.

Should this not be something you fancy, or should you want to just explore a little more of the city, you are in luck in Verona. The city centre has plenty of beautiful hidden alleyways with some great places to eat, drink and shop. Our favourite spot was a rustic-looking bar/ restaurant near the Roman Arena called La Tradision , which served up some excellent local cuisine!

Explore the Historic Centre

The Piazza Delle Erbe is not far from Juliet’s house in the centre of Verona. This piazza is bustling, and it again is surrounded by some great bars and restaurants. Depending on when you plan to make your day trip to Verona, you might even see a Christmas market here!

Near the Piazza Delle Erbe, you will find some great architecture including the Torre dei Lamberti or the beautiful little church Chiesa di Santa Maria Antica. Walk along, and you will find more piazzas (albeit smaller than Piazza Delle Erbe) but just as impressive. One of the smaller piazzas houses a statue of the famous, Italian poet Dante.

We had no set plans as to how and where to walk around the inner city and just strolled along. Verona has a magical feel to it, and I am sure if you stroll along yourself from the main piazza, you will not be disappointed.

Teatro Romano & Castel San Pietro

Walking along the Adige River, you can gaze across the banks and get a glimpse of some of the great architecture that awaits on the other side. Cross over the Ponte Pietra, and you will be able to directly immerse yourself. You already got a glimpse of Verona’s Roman history when you visited the Roman Arena at the start of your trip.

The Roman theatre was built in Verona at about the same time as the Roman arena. If you walk up the steps, you will also find the archaeological museum, which is a great way to educate yourself about the city’s history. Do note that an entry fee is applicable again.

Behind the theatre, you will also find the Castel San Pietro. There is also the option to take the Funicolare di Castel San Pietro –  a short gondola ride –  up the mountain. Once you are on top of the hill, you will be rewarded with some absolutely breathtaking views of Verona – especially at sunset. Can you ask for a better end to your day trip?

Verona’s Culinary Scene

Okay, I already mentioned restaurants quite frequently in the other pitstops, but seriously: Do not end your time in Verona without eating some of its cuisine. Everything I ate in Verona was 100% delicious, and I wish I had known about all the local delights I could have tried beforehand.

A sweet dish I was recommended to try after our visit to Verona was Baci di Giulietta (Juliet’s Kiss) which are small cakes with chocolate filling, and they sound heavenly!

If you did eat along the way, why not kick back and sip an aperitivo or two at the Piazza Delle Erbe or the Piazza Bra before making your way back to Venice?

Have more time in Verona?

If you have 2 or 3 days in Verona or plan to see more of the region after your day trip, then there are definitely plenty of options to choose from. Here are some of my personal suggestions:

Watch a show at the Teatro Romana or the Roman Arena

Both these amazing places actually offer an extensive program of theatre plays, musicals and concerts. You can find more information about shows in the Roman Arena here.

Camp at Castel San Pietro

If you liked what you saw after taking a gondola ride up the mountain, it is possible to camp at this beautiful location. The Camping Castel San Pietro offers some fantastic views for when you wake up in the morning to explore Verona some more. 

Visit Lake Garda

Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy and is known for its beautiful lakeside towns and stunning scenery. The lake is only approximately 50km away from Verona and therefore provides an excellent chance for an additional day trip if you haven’t already visited it through the tour mentioned above.

This full-day tour from Verona is a great way to explore Lake Garda if you prefer not to go independently.

Visit Milan, Bologna or Padua

Verona’s location provides an excellent stepping stone to visit other cities in Northern Italy. Padua actually is an excellent option for an additional city to visit on or after your day trip as it is right between the two cities.

Other cities you could visit include Bologna , the seventh most populous city in Italy. It is only approximately 150km from Verona and can be reached by several forms of transport.

The famous city of Milan can also be reached by train within about an hour as it is about 160km away from Verona.  

Where to Stay in Venice

Riva del Vin Boutique Hotel – This boutique hotel is situated within a couple hundred metres of the iconic Rialto Bridge and it is the perfect place to stay for those looking for a bit of luxury and romance on their trip to Venice. They have a number of plush rooms available and a great breakfast included in the room rate.

Ca’ Angeli – This small hotel centrally located in the San Polo neighbourhood is a great option if your budget allows for a bit more than a hostel. There are a handful of clean and cosy rooms available, it’s within walking distance of most of Venice’s main attractions and there is breakfast included in the nightly rate.

Combo Venezia – This small hostel located in the Cannaregio neighbourhood is the ideal place to stay for budget and solo travellers. Locally owned and operated, they have both dorm beds and private rooms available and it is one of the highest-rated hostels in the city.

Not quite what you’re looking for? Click here to browse more Venice hotels!

Hopefully, this itinerary has inspired you to spend one day in Verona (or maybe even more). I will definitely be returning again to try out all that food I missed out on and to top up on some Amarone wine.

Are you wondering what to do in Verona in one day? Have any questions? Let us know in the comments!

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About Daniella Lynn Theis

Daniella is a writer for The World Was Here First. Based in in Glasgow, Scotland, she has lived in several different countries and is always on the hunt for adventures, trying to find even the most hidden secrets for any destination. In her spare time, she loves photography and finding new eateries and things to do in or around Glasgow.

this is soooo helpful thanks

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How to get to Venice

Venice is one of the most popular destinations in Italy, so there are many ways of getting to the City of Canals, including by car, train, coach & plane.

Although Venice is a small island, it is very well connected to the mainland and the rest of the world thanks to its important tourism industry . These are the easiest ways of getting to Venice:

Venice’s main international airport Marco Polo is one of the busiest in Italy. It is also possible to get to the “Queen of the Adriatic” from Treviso Airport , which is situated to the north of Venice, approximately an hour away.

Traveling from the U.S.

There are several airlines that fly directly to Venice’s Marco Polo Airport from the United States, but most of these just fly during the high season (spring, summer and autumn) like Delta Airlines and US Airways :

• Delta Airlines : non-stop flights from JFK Airport in New York.
• US Airways : non-stop flights from Philadelphia.
• Alitalia : offers connecting flights from New York, Boston and Miami.

Traveling from Canada

Air Canada offers non-stop flights between Toronto and Venice (Marco Polo Airport) and other airlines like Lufthansa connect several cities in Canada with Venice. The most popular flights are from Montreal (usually 2 stops – 14 hours), Toronto and Vancouver (usually 2 stops – 17 hours).

Traveling from Australia

No airlines fly directly from Australia to Venice or Italy. Nevertheless, there are several companies that offer flights with just one stop:

• Adelaide : Emirates and Etihad Airways offer flights with 1 or 2 stops (the journey lasts approximately 24 hours)
• Brisbane : Emirates and Etihad Airways offer flights with 1 to 3 stops (the journey lasts about 30 hours)
• Melbourne : Qatar Airways , Emirates and KLM offer flights with 2 or 3 stops (takes about 30 hours)
• Perth: Emirates , Qatar Airways , Air France and KLM offer flights with 1 or 2 stops (takes approximately 25 hours).  
• Sydney : Alitalia , Emirates , KLM and Air France offer flights with 1 to 3 stops (approximately 30 hours).

Traveling from Europe

If you live in the United Kingdom, there are several airlines that fly directly to Venice from several cities in the country. The flight takes approximately two hours from the southern England.  

The main low-cost airlines flying to Venice are:

• Ryanair : offers direct flights from Bristol, East Midlands, Leeds Bradford and London Stansted .
• EasyJet : offers direct flights from Bristol, Edinburgh, London Gatwick, London Luton, and Manchester .  
• British Airways :connects London Heathrow, London Gatwick, London City with Venice Marco Polo Airport.

Once you have booked your flight and know which airport you land in, find out how to get to the city center from Marco Polo Airport or Treviso Airport:

Venice Marco Polo Airport

Treviso airport.

Another way of getting to the “Serenissima” is by train. Venice’s central train station, Venezia Santa Lucia railway station , connects the city with numerous countries and other Italian towns. It is an interesting option since you can take a low-cost flight to Milan  and from there, take the train to Venice. 

The train is also the easiest and most comfortable way of getting to Rome or Florence , and thus a great option for travelers exploring the country.

Venezia Santa Lucia Railway Station

Venice isn’t the best place to drive to, since only a small part of the island is accessible to motor vehicles . Thus, you will have to leave your car in one of the following parking lots :

• Garage San Marco ( € 30 ( US$ 32.40) per day), in Piazzale Roma .
• Garage Autorimessa Comunale ( € 23.40 ( US$ 25.30) per day), in Piazzale Roma .
• Garage Tronchetto , located in the island of Tronchetto. If you purchase the Rolling Venice Card you can get a discount. It costs € 21 ( US$ 22.70) per day.

There are cheaper car lots before crossing the Ponte della Libertà (in the industrial park, to the right) which cost less than € 10 ( US$ 10.80) per day. This option is particularly popular among locals and Italians. You can purchase a bus ticket to the city center directly from these parking lots. All the buses stop at Piazzale Roma , from where you will have to take a vaporetto to your hotel.

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Marco Polo Airport

The Venice Marco Polo Airport is located 4.3 miles (8 km) to the north of Venice. It is Venice’s international airport with the largest number of passengers.

The Perfect Tuscany Road Trip Itinerary (+ Driving Tips!)

Planning the perfect Tuscany road trip itinerary is no easy feat–but it’s well worth getting right.

If you’re dreaming of delicious Italian food, of romantic sunsets and Tuscan wines, of rolling hills peppered with vineyards as far as the eye can see, of hilltop villages and of Renaissance art, this Tuscany itinerary has you covered.

We’ve put this ultimate guide to planning a Tuscany road trip after spending several months traveling in the region over a period of years, often on road trips.

We’ve explored Tuscany by car, train, and tour, in large multigenerational family groups and as a couple, in tiny towns and in the fabulous cities of Florence and Siena.

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We’ve visited museums, gone horseback riding, zipped along countryside roads on a Vespa, and taken quiet strolls down deserted country lanes. We’ve taken food tours and wine tours, and stopped at more than our fair share of vineyards and restaurants independently, too.

Suffice it to say, we absolutely adore traveling in Tuscany, and this Tuscany itinerary is put together based on our detailed experiences traveling in the region as well as additional research.

We want to help you plan your perfect Tuscany road trip itinerary, especially if it’s your first time in the region.

Here’s what we suggest.

Table of Contents

How We Structured This Tuscany Road Trip Itinerary

How long will this tuscany itinerary take, getting around during your tuscany road trip, will this tuscany itinerary work without a car, the ultimate tuscany road trip itinerary, other destinations to add to your tuscany road trip itinerary, tuscany road trip itinerary map, the best time to visit tuscany, useful travel tips for driving in tuscany, what to pack for your tuscany road trip.

We structured this Tuscany road trip itinerary as a loop beginning and ending in Florence.

It’s designed primarily for first-time visitors to the region who want to soak up the classic Tuscany experience: think rolling hills, golden light, scrumptious wine, picturesque hilltop villages, and some of the best food you’ve ever eaten in your life.

… But that being said, even longtime lovers of Tuscany will find something for them here (just ask our extended family).

With this Tuscany itinerary, you’ll visit some of the most iconic places in the region, while also peppering in stops at smaller towns and attractions that would likely go unnoticed if you stuck to exploring via train.

Is it a cop-out to say that this Tuscany road trip will take as long as you have?

Perhaps, but whether you have 5 days in Tuscany, a week in Tuscany, or a month in Tuscany, this circular route will provide an excellent backbone to your Tuscany road trip.

If your trip is short–say 5 days in Tuscany or less–you’ll be able to shorten your stays in some towns (in a pinch, for example, Pisa and Lucca can be combined into one day), and with a longer trip to Tuscany, you’ll have a chance to adopt a leisurely pace and add in more excursions like wine tasting or days spent at one of Tuscany’s saunas.

Ideally, I would say that this Tuscany road trip would be spread across roughly 10 days to 2 weeks in Tuscany, but of course, that won’t always be possible–especially if you want to see more regions of Italy during your trip!

If you do have a longer trip to Tuscany planned, we recommend taking a look at some of the additional Tuscany road trip destinations that we’ve outlined below the main itinerary and seeing what other spots catch your eye.

For most people, of course, taking a Tuscany road trip will require renting a car.

We’ll cover some tips and tricks for renting a car here below the Tuscany itinerary (or you can use the table of contents section at the bottom of the introduction to this Tuscany travel blog post to navigate there!), but here’s the short version: we recommend renting a small car in Tuscany through Discover Cars , which will allow you to compare prices and inclusions of multiple companies at the same time and choose the best car for you from there.

We also recommend renting your car only after you leave Florence, which we’ll cover a bit more below, so you likely won’t need one for every day of your trip to Tuscany!

Check rates & book your rental car with Discover Cars today!

Short answer? Yes, it can.

Through a combination of trains, buses, and carefully selected guided tours (we recommend several reputable ones in our Things to Do in Florence post ), this Tuscany itinerary can be completed without a car, though the logistics will be challenging in certain places.

That being said, there’s something very special about taking a Tuscany road trip, and by not driving, you will lose out on the charm of seeing some of the smaller towns at night, miss some of the prettiest vistas, and have a little less freedom in planning your trip.

However, we completely understand that not everyone planning a Tuscany itinerary can or would like to drive, and we fully believe you can have a deeply fulfilling trip to Tuscany without a car–we’ve done it several times ourselves.

And, while you will lose some freedom, you’ll also gain a bit of peace of mind, as driving in Tuscany is certainly not the most carefree driving in the world!

Start your Tuscany itinerary in Florence.

As the capital of Tuscany, Cradle of the Renaissance, and home to the biggest airport (and train station) in the region, there’s no better place to start your Tuscany itinerary than in Florence.

Ideally, we recommend a minimum of two full days here, which will give you enough time to explore all of the major sights.

Marvel at the art in the Uffizi Gallery, soak in the views from Piazzale Michelangelo and more, (window)shop for gold jewelry on the Ponte Vecchio, eat your way through Mercato Centrale, stand in awe of the Duomo, and visit Michelangelo’s masterpiece David in the Galleria dell’Accademia.

We’ve created several guides to Florence based on our six weeks or so spent exploring the city, including a one-day itinerary and a two-day itinerary , so be sure to check those out for more detail.

For this Tuscany road trip itinerary in particular, though, we have a crucial piece of advice regarding driving: don’t pick up your rental car until the morning you leave Florence.

Having a rental car while in the city is not only unnecessary, it’s an absolute burden. Driving in Florence’s historic city center is extremely limited, and you’ll save both money and headaches by ditching the car until you’re ready to hit the countryside.

Where to Stay in Florence

B&B Le Stanze del Duomo  — Though Florence hotels can be a bit pricey and stretch the definition of “budget”, B&B Le Stanze’s beautiful rooms and impeccable location in Florence will be sure to have you swooning!

Check rates & book your stay at B&B Le Stanze del Duomo!

Bargello Guest House  — Located in the heart of Florence, this property is only a short (read: less than 5-minute) walk away from some of Florence’s highlights like the Palazzo Vecchio. Staying here, you’ll be within easy walking distance of the best of what Florence has to offer.

Check rates & book your stay at Bargello Guest House!

Hotel Lungarno  — Nestled right against the Arno River and home to one of the best views of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence (not to mention some of the best views of the rest of Florence from their top deck), Hotel Lungarno is our personal “if we ever  really  want to splurge” hotel in Florence. You can’t go wrong using Hotel Lungarno as your base for one day in Florence!

Check rates & book your stay at Hotel Lungarno!

Start your Tuscany road trip and drive to Lucca.

Laidback and charming, colorful Lucca is the perfect first stop on your Tuscany road trip and an excellent place to grow accustomed to the ins and outs of driving and parking in Tuscan towns.

Lucca is not too big, not too small, and parking is fairly easy to find right outside the city walls.

It also happens to be a gorgeous, relaxing city that is a fantastic place to soak up the ambiance of Tuscany.

While you’re there, be sure to check out the beautiful Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, which, like Siena’s main piazza, is actually an oval rather than a traditional square, and to stroll along the tops of the city’s 16th-century fortifying walls, which are completely accessible to the public.

Don’t miss a climb up Torre Guinigi, either–not only does it boast incredible views of Lucca, but it’s home to several oak trees that are growing in the sky!

Stop by Pisa.

I’ll be perfectly honest: of all the places we recommend or mention in this Tuscany itinerary, Pisa is the one I’m least in a hurry to get back to.

It’s generally far more crowded than most of these other destinations–even the very touristy ones–and outside of Pisa’s famous tower and surrounding historic complex, the town is not exactly known as one of the most beautiful or interesting Tuscan villages.

It is, however, incredibly famous, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa itself more than lives up to expectations. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is truly stunning, and far more opulent and beautiful in person than I expected before laying eyes on it for the first time.

If you’d like to see it, we recommend stopping by for half a day on your Tuscan road trip, checking out the tower itself as well as the nearby Duomo and baptistery, and then moving on.

If you’d like to tour the interior of any of the structures, including climbing to the top of the leaning tower, we absolutely recommend booking skip-the-line tickets in advance .

Book your skip-the-line tickets to visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa now!

Make your way to San Gimignano.

Known for its stunning towers (14 of an original 72 remain), long history of wealth due to its prime location along a Roman trading route, gorgeous city center, beautiful views, and convenient location that is roughly equidistant from Siena and Florence, it’s safe to say that San Gimignano is both incredibly popular and well worth visiting.

We adore this beautiful hilltop town, and highly recommend spending at least one night either in town or nearby if you can, in order to enjoy the city without the crowds of day-trippers that tend to take over the streets during the day.

Don’t forget to make time in your schedule for a scoop (or several scoops, let’s be real) of gelato from the world-famous Gelateria Dondoli: as one of the best-known and most acclaimed gelato shops in Italy, it’s a safe bet that whatever you order is bound to impress.

Head to Siena.

While today Florence is significantly better-known than Siena, that was not always the case: beautiful Siena was once the military rival of Florence, and the history of the Middle Ages in the region is dotted with stories of their back-and-forth battles.

Today, Siena is known for its Palio di Siena horse race that takes place bi-annually in the oval-shaped Piazza del Campo–when you stand in the middle of the piazza, be sure to picture 20 horses running at full-speed around a packed crowd–it’s truly impressive.

Siena is packed full of interesting things to do: it’s home to arguably the most beautiful Duomo in Tuscany (don’t forget to check out the Piccolomini Library while you’re in there!), and we absolutely recommend taking the Porta di Cielo, aka Gate to Heaven, tour of the cathedral’s roof if you can–it’s magnificent.

At least once during your trip, climb to the top of one of Siena’s monuments for an epic view–the Torre del Mangia in Piazza del Campo is a popular choice, but personally, we love that the view from the top of the Opera della Metropolitana includes stunning views of the Piazza del Campo from a bit of a distance.

Spend some time in Val d’Orcia and soak up the Tuscan countryside.

Of all the scenic places in Tuscany, Val d’Orcia might just be the most beautiful of them all.

This UNESCO-recognized valley is home to the Tuscan road trip views of your fantasies, and it truly has to be seen to be believed.

If you have the time in your Tuscany itinerary, we recommend booking at least a couple of nights in a nearby country villa or agriturismo in order to slowly savor the beauty of the region, but if not, even an afternoon drive here is well worth the trip out.

Marvel at the beauty of Montepulciano.

Tiny, gorgeous, and home to arguably some of the best countryside views of all the villages in Tuscany, it’s impossible not to be charmed by stunning Montepulciano–and that’s even before you start sipping its world-famous wine.

While it doesn’t take terribly long to explore a village this size on your Tuscany road trip, Montepulciano has one of those peaceful atmospheres that you just want to savor.

While you’re there, be sure to stop by the beautiful Piazza Grande, admire views of the nearby Church of San Biagio that is located just outside of town, and to taste the local wine, vino nobile di Montepulciano .

Pay a visit to Arezzo.

As you turn back north toward Florence to start to wind down your Tuscany road trip, be sure to check out the beautiful city of Arezzo.

Often overlooked on Tuscany road trips, Arezzo is a delightful city that is well worth the time it takes to visit.

Home to Roman ruins (including the remains of Arezzo’s very own Colosseum), sweeping views of the countryside from the Medici fortress, some impressively well-preserved fifteenth-century frescoes, and a large number of antique shops just waiting to be perused, Arezzo is an excellent addition to any Tuscany itinerary.

Be sure not to miss a chance to climb the clock tower at Palazzo della Fraternita dei Laici right off the main square (Piazza Grande)–the views from the top are absolutely sublime, and it is our personal favorite spot in Arezzo.

Drive back to Florence & say goodbye to Tuscany.

As your Tuscany road trip winds to a close, head back to Florence to drop off your car, say goodbye, and–depending on time–perhaps visit one or two more sights in the Cradle of the Renaissance as well.

While we’ve set up this Tuscany itinerary to act as a loop, if you’re going to be flying out of Italy (or continuing your Italy travels outside of Tuscany) in a different location, you can also consider dropping off your car in Rome, Milan, Bologna, or even Venice–but keep in mind that you will likely incur a one-way drop-off fee for doing so, so be sure to budget for that if needed!

While this Tuscany road trip itinerary gives a solid outline of the region and is a delightful trip all on its own, for those with a bit of extra time in the area (or those who like to move at a very fast pace), there is an unlimited number of additional destinations you could add to your trip, both in Tuscany and in its surrounding regions of Umbria, Emilia-Romagna, and Liguria.

We’ve outlined a few of each here to give you some ideas as you plan your trip to Tuscany!

Within Tuscany

The most famous of all of Tuscany’s hot springs has emerged from comparative obscurity into being a full-blown famous photography location in recent years, but there’s no doubt that it’s still a dream to visit–if you have time during your Tuscany road trip to make the trek out there and you’re a fan of hot springs, it’s definitely worth a visit.

Dating back to the Etruscan period and nestled on a hill high above the sweeping Tuscan landscapes it overlooks, the walled city of Volterra is absolutely worth visiting as part of your Tuscan road trip itinerary.

The ease of accessing it paired with its beauty make this one of the first towns we would recommend if you are looking for additional stops along your road trip in Tuscany.

Cortona is perhaps best known for the famous book/movie that is based there, but even without the fame brought by Under the Tuscan Sun , this tiny Tuscan town is still a fabulous place to visit!

I’ll be honest: a trip to Elba is a bit of a stretch for all but the longest trips to Tuscany, but it bears mentioning simply for the fact that Elba is Tuscany’s very own island–and “Mediterranean island” is just not what you normally associate with a trip to Tuscany.

Whether you want to scuba dive, enjoy delicious seafood, lounge on the beach, or chase down the island’s interesting history (Elba was the first place Napoleon was exiled to, though he escaped a little under a year later), there’s no doubt that Elba makes a unique addition to any Tuscany itinerary.

Easier to access than Elba but equally focused on all things coastal, the seaside city of Livorno is the perfect Tuscany road trip destination for anyone looking to enjoy a little sea and sun as part of their trip to Tuscany.

Best known for its delicious Brunello di Montalcino wine, the hilltop town of Montalcino is a delightful slice of Tuscany that is easy to access from Siena and Val d’Orcia.

Outside of Tuscany

Cinque terre.

Of all destinations outside of Tuscany that people tend to be eager to add onto their Tuscany trip, Cinque Terre almost always falls near the top.

We’ve visited this sensational collection of Ligurian fishing villages twice as part of a Tuscany road trip, as well as on a standalone visit, and we can attest that they are well worth the trouble if you have time in your itinerary.

We absolutely do not recommend driving into the villages, however–instead, drive to the train station at La Spezia or Levanto, park your car, and then take the train into the villages from there.

Known, above all else, for its food, Bologna is the perfect location for foodies to flock to if they’re looking for some truly epic cuisine during their road trip.

Bologna is the capital of Emilia-Romagna, the region that is home to so many of the things us foreigners tend to associate with Italian food: tagliatelle al ragu (aka spaghetti bolognese), mortadella (aka bologna), parmigiano-reggiano , traditional balsamic vinegar, and more.

Once you get done eating, Bologna has plenty of other sights to explore, as well–but the food alone is worth visiting for.

Set on a hilltop overlooking sweeping views of the Umbrian countryside, Orvieto is as historical as it is picturesque: dating back to the Etruscans and once (briefly) the home of the pope, whether you’re looking to dive deep into the history, enjoy the tasty Orvieto Classico wine, or simply admire the magnificent vistas, Orvieto has something to offer.

We adore this little village–be sure to check out the Duomo, the views from the Torre del Moro, and the underground while you’re there, among plenty of other fun things to do.

As the location of the birth, work, and death of St. Francis, Assisi is an enormously popular pilgrim destination among Catholic travelers–but even if you’re not Catholic, this small Umbrian town has plenty of history and beauty to offer.

St. Francis was the founder of the Franciscan Order–a name you’ll see pop up a lot in Italy–and is also one of the patron saints of the country.

In Assisi, you can tour the enormously impressive Basilica of St. Francis while learning about the life and history of the saint.

Take This Map With You! Click each highlight to pull up the name of the destination. To save this map to “Your Places” on Google Maps, click the star to the right of the title. You’ll then be able to find it under the Maps tab of your Google Maps account! To open the map in a new window, click the button on the top right of the map.

Ultimately, Tuscany is a beautiful destination year-round, and you can never go wrong with a visit.

Spring in Tuscany brings beautiful flowers but plenty of rain, summer brings lots of tourists but also long days and sunshine.

Fall brings the harvest and temperamental weather, and winter brings cold, gray weather but also low prices and a distinct lack of crowds.

If you ask us, though, our favorite time to take a Tuscany road trip will always be in the fall, particularly late September through mid-October.

True, it’s hardly offseason (in other words, there will be plenty of other tourists around), and there’s a good chance of experiencing a cold and/or rainy day or two–but the changing colors across the countryside, the incredible food that is freshly harvested, and the crisp chill that sweeps through the air each evening as the heat dies down for the year give the region a magical quality that we will never tire of experiencing.

We’ve spent at least part of the last few autumns in Tuscany, and we see no reason to stop that tradition anytime soon.

While driving in Tuscany is not the most difficult driving you’ll encounter in Italy (looking at you, Rome and Sicily), it definitely has its quirks!

Here are a few tips we recommend keeping in mind as you plan your Tuscany road trip itinerary.

Make sure you have access to a GPS for your Tuscany road trip.

This is absolutely imperative, in our opinion, and can make the difference between an insanely stressful Tuscany road trip and a fairly laid-back one: whether you purchase an international cell phone plan through your carrier before leaving for Tuscany or you purchase an Italian SIM card on the ground, you’ll 100% want to make sure you have cell phone data–and therefore GPS–with you as you drive.

Shop around for your rental car.

I’m almost 100% certain that we’ve used a different rental car company every time we’ve rented a car in Italy–that’s how much the prices can vary depending on your time of travel, pickup and dropoff locations, size of the vehicle, and more.

We recommend searching for your car via Discover Car Hire , which will allow you to check out the rates of several different rental car agencies in Tuscany at once and compare prices and inclusions side-by-side.

Shop for your Tuscnay rental car with Discover Car Hire today!

Buy the insurance–you won’t regret it.

Ultimately, this is up to you–I know some people prefer not to buy additional CDW insurance (aka the insurance that covers damages to the actual car you’re driving, as opposed to your liability to anyone else) on trips–but we buy it every. single. time. in Tuscany and have no regrets.

I don’t want to overstate things, because driving in Tuscany isn’t exactly like driving in the Wild West–but let’s just say that the roads are often tiny, the buildings very close, the parking lots cramped, and the other tourists’ rental cars parked nearby are frequently scratched and dinged in a way that while not horrendously damaging, is definitely something a car rental company would love to charge you for if it happened on your watch.

The peace of mind is absolutely worth it to us–you can price it for yourself when shopping on Discover Car Hire , or purchase a travel insurance policy through that includes car rental insurance (but be sure to double-check the policy, because only some policies cover it).

You need an international driving permit to rent a car in Tuscany.

Technically, you always need an international driving permit to rent a car in Italy, and that includes in Tuscany.

You can pick this up before you leave home from AAA, and it’s very easy and cheap to do–just a bit annoying, as it’s one more thing to add to your to-do list before leaving for your Tuscany road trip.

Now, that being said–will your rental agency always ask for it? No. Will the police always ask for it? No.

Is it worth the risk of being refused a rental car or getting a ticket over $25 USD and a bit of hassle? Not in my opinion.

Rent the smallest car possible.

Not only is it cheaper, which is always excellent, but a smaller car in Tuscany is also much easier to drive.

While the highways in Tuscany are pretty standard, this-could-be-anywhere highways, the small country roads, parking lots near villages, and dirt roads leading to vineyards and villas can be incredibly narrow–which, naturally, does not stop them from being used for two-way traffic (you’ll probably end up pulling over to let someone maneuver past you at least a couple of times during your Tuscany road trip).

Be sure to account for how much space you’ll need for luggage, especially if you have three or more people in your group, but other than that–the smaller, the better.

If you get a ticket, you probably won’t know it right away.

Traffic citations in Tuscany are generally captured via camera, so if you get one, you probably won’t know it right away.

Instead, your license plate will be captured, the ticket will be sent to the owner of the car (ie, your rental company), and then your rental company will forward it onto you.

Unfortunately, that means you won’t be 100% sure you didn’t have any infractions during your Tuscany road trip until several weeks after you get home.

You will encounter toll roads in Tuscany–so carry cash.

Most toll roads in Tuscany will accept credit cards, but it’s always best to have small bills/coins of cash on you–just in case you run into a cash-only booth (or you need a last-minute coffee and/or gelato, which are also very important parts of any Tuscany road trip itinerary).

Be prepared to park and then climb up to towns.

Tuscany is known for its delightful hilltop towns, full of winding, narrow streets and plenty of foot traffic.

Combine the above description of Tuscany that we all know and love with the very concept of a Tuscany road trip, and an obvious question emerges: where are the cars?

Usually, they’re in parking garages built literally under the hilltop towns or on the outskirts of historical centers… which means you often have to walk up steep hills in order to reach the center.

Some cities, like Siena, have escalators installed to help alleviate this problem–but in general, be prepared for a little bit of a leg workout when visiting small towns in Tuscany!

Avoid ZTL zones like the plague.

Essentially, ZTL zones are restricted access zones that dot most of Italy’s historic city centers, including in Tuscany.

If you drive into one, even accidentally, you’re risking a big ticket (and we’ve definitely had to call tiny Tuscan police stations to help some of our family members pay them off months after the fact).

Avoid them by parking on the outskirts of historical centers and by doing your research ahead of time, which leads me to…

Whenever possible, figure out where you’re going to park next before leaving.

This is one of our favorite tricks to keeping stress levels down when driving into a new town in Tuscany: know where the public parking lots are and, when heading out for the day, put your directions on for that particular spot rather than just the town.

This will absolutely cut down on the risk of accidentally driving into a ZTL zone (and therefore getting a ticket), and also make the trip into town much less stressful.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, this doesn’t always work–occasionally the parking lot you have picked out will be full, or you’ll luck out and find street parking along the way–but in general, it will definitely make your life easier during your Tuscany road trip.

Travel Insurance  — We don’t ever suggest traveling without travel insurance–anything can happen, and this is definitely a case of better safe than sorry. We use and recommend  Safety Wing for trips to Tuscany.

International Driving Permit — If you’re coming from outside the EU and plan to rent a car in Tuscany, you’ll need to make sure to acquire an International Driving Permit in your home country, before  coming to Italy.

It is required for all car rentals in Italy, and while the rental company may not ask, it’s not worth the risk of being refused a car once you arrive or getting a fine if you’re pulled over to be without one. Play it safe and if you plan to drive during your trip, add getting an International Driving Permit to your pre-Tuscany planning!

About Kate Storm

In May 2016, I left my suburban life in the USA and became a full-time traveler. Since then, I have visited 50+ countries on 5 continents and lived in Portugal, developing a special love of traveling in Europe (especially Italy) along the way. Today, along with my husband Jeremy and dog Ranger, I’m working toward my eventual goal of splitting my life between Europe and the USA.

67 thoughts on “The Perfect Tuscany Road Trip Itinerary (+ Driving Tips!)”

I love this website It has convinced my husband and me to go on a driving tour of italy! I actually have a question. How do you know or find out where is the ZTL zones so you can avoid them? Thanks! Ilene

So glad to hear that, Ilene! Hope you guys have a great time!

Your GPS can help you avoid the ZTL zones, but the biggest thing is paying very close attention to the signs, as they’ll be marked there. As a general rule, historic centers of cities are ZTL zones, so it’s safest to avoid those entirely and park outside the center before walking into the town!

Hi Kate, Do you have any recommendations for accommodations on the Tuscan itinerary? We would be going in Sept 2022.

Hi Sabrina!

Yes, absolutely. We have several properties linked in this post, but if you’re looking for specific towns/cities, we also have recommendations in each of our independent city guides.

Hello, You guys look like you have a great life! My husband and I are older than you but have retired a bit early so we can travel while we are still able to move about. We have traveled quite a bit independently throughout the years so we are comfortable going to new places. Your blog is great and has so much useful information. Thank you for putting all of your knowledge out there. I know it’s a lot of work to do so. If you don’t mind me asking…we were told you have to have a permanent address at least 6 months out of the year for tax purposes. How do you get around that? Don’t mean to overstep. Thanks!

Thank you so much, Joanne! We really appreciate it. 🙂 Residency requirements vary by state, but we maintain a technical permanent address in our home state of Oklahoma where we pay our taxes, maintain our businesses, keep our driver’s licenses up to date, etc. Most nomadic travelers have a similar setup for logistical purposes!

Hello, thanks so much for this post. It’s so helpful! My partner and I are going to copy this for our holiday in June this year. I was just wondering if you could tell me which towns you stayed overnight in? Grazie, Olivia

So glad it was helpful, Olivia! Where to spend the night really depends on your specific taste, but from this itinerary, we’ve stayed overnight in Florence, Siena, and Arezzo. We’ve also stayed in countryside villas near the Val d’Orcia and Lucca.

Since you’ll be driving, we 100% recommend staying in the country at least once–Tuscan villas and agriturismos are absolutely amazing. For staying in the towns themselves, make sure your hotels have parking, but other than that, any and all of them make a great place to spend the night.

My daughter and I just booked a rental car for our trip to Tuscany this summer thanks to your post. I was nervous about driving but you laid it all out perfectly, thank you. We’re going for her graduation present and it’ll be the first time in Italy for us both. Bookmarking your site now for when the trip gets closer. Thanks again!

That’s amazing to hear, thank you Susan! Comments like this never fail to make my day, we are ALL about making sure your trip goes perfectly! Hope you guys have a fantastic time, and congratulations to your daughter on her graduation!

Hey, this has been quite useful. Im planning my road trip, but im going clockwise on this route. Since i live in The Netherlands, i will drive in from the north, Florence and start here and after Pisa-Lucca, the last stop instead of heading back to Florence is Cinque Terre, to enjoy a bit of the coast. I will take the advice of leaving the car in La Spezia, but if you had to choose to spend a night in Cinque Terre, which woudl you guys recommend, Vernazza or Manarola?

Glad to hear it, thanks Rodolfo!

Which village is best for spending the night in Cinque Terre is definitely a matter of preference, and Vernazza and Manarola happen to be two of my top 3 favorites (the other is Riomaggiore). You can’t go wrong with either, but I’d recommend Vernazza if you’re looking for something smaller, and Manarola if you want to have access to a wider variety of shops and restaurants. Manarola is a more popular (read: crowded) sunset spot, but both places will quiet down considerably once the day trippers head home.

Wonderful, informative article! I am so glad I found your website. We are hoping to be able to visit Tuscany in summer 2022. Italy is our favourite country, but we haven’t been to Tuscany or Cinque Terre, so I really appreciate the wealth of information on your website!

Thank you so much, Cheryl! So glad to hear that. 🙂 Hope you guys have an amazing trip to Tuscany and Cinque Terre!

Hi! I just came upon your site when doing a search for info on an upcoming trip. My husband and I are planning a trip for the end of Oct. We will be renting a car in Florence, spending about two days driving through Tuscany and returning the rental in Rome. I know that’s way too short to do Tuscany justice, but we have a commitment in Venice prior to Florence, and are bookended with a fixed return date from Rome. Where in Florence would be our best choice to rent a car so we can get on the road to Tuscany easily? Same question for returning rental in Rome without having to deal with city driving. Lastly, we are doing some basic research in Tuscany in order to maybe get a place there down the road. Should we consider spending our two nights there in Lucca? Thanks so much and I will definitely be following your adventures!

Hi Rohini! There are so many places to rent cars in both cities it’s really impossible to say–I’d keep an eye out for the best deal and then look carefully at the directions. Unfortunately, some city driving is probably unavoidable if you want to make it all the way from Florence to Rome, but you can limit it based on your schedule.

If you’re just going to relax, Lucca is a great choice! If you want to compare possible areas to own a property in Tuscany though, I’d probably recommend one night there and one night in the Val d’Orcia area. You may also want to consider a look at Siena, depending on whether you want to be close to a city or not.

Hi Kate. Thanks for your quick response! This is very helpful info. I had read somewhere that Tiburtina station in Rome is a good spot for rental return since it would not involve going into the city to return. Would you say that is the case? Once again, thank you for your help!

Hi guys, I imagine you’ve had some ups and downs in your travel in the last 2 years because of Covid. I really hope you’ve been able to stay safe and still continue some of your adventures. I found your site and am really keen to follow your path around Tuscany when my husband and I go this year. I looked up your destinations and would really encourage you to look into coming to Australia and New Zealand some time if you can. Down Under is a wonderful place and New Zealand has just about everything you could ever want to see in a really small country! Thank you for your really helpful and informative site. Take care.

Yes, there have been many ups and downs over the last couple of years for sure, but luckily things are mostly up right now! We’ve decided to base ourselves in Portugal for the next little bit to enjoy lots of Europe throughout 2022. 🙂 Knock on wood, but hopefully our next Tuscan road trip is just around the corner!

We’d love to head down to Aus and New Zealand one day! No plans at the moment, but you never know. 🙂

Hope you guys have a wonderful trip!

Such a great and helpful Itinerary, thank you!

We’re planning to visit late September and I am nervous about the driving portion – what location would you recommend for pick up, outside of Florence? We’re hoping to get a drive to our first destination (open to anywhere) and then pick up a car – appreciate any extra tips you might have! I was surprised to not see any mention of Greve as a stop, have you been? This was what I thought was my main stop in Tuscany but I am now rethinking everything! 😀 We have 5 nights in Tuscany (counted Florence separately as a stop when we head North) and prefer to not spend too much time in the city and want to visit many wineries and enjoy the local food! If you have any very specific favorite wineries to stay at or places to dine, I would love to hear about them!

Thanks again for such a detailed post! I have a lot to consider 🙂

Thanks so much, Cait!

There’s never enough time for all the towns, lol, but if you want to swap in Greve you absolutely can! We haven’t been ourselves yet but generally speaking there’s no such thing as a “wrong” Tuscan town to visit. 😉

If you want to pick up a car outside of Florence, I’d recommend taking a look at Siena. By the time you get into the very small hilltop towns like San Gimignano, etc, there may not be car rental agencies available (or if they are, it’ll just be an office and they’ll need to drive the car itself to you from a bigger city–which often comes with a fee).

Have an amazing trip!

Hi, I am planning a vacation trip to Rome (5 days) and from there a road trip (5 days) to the Tuscan area. I’ve been already to Florence and Pisa. I will like to know cities or towns with good food and scenery off the beaten path. Thanks so much for your time and sharing your knowledge.

It depends on how you define off the beaten path, but just about everywhere in Tuscany is further off the path than Florence and Pisa! And virtually everywhere in Tuscany has great food. 🙂

Arezzo, Volterra, Pienza, Montepulciano are all delightful, some more commonly visited than others. Montalcino is tiny but beautiful.

We also love Lucca, it’s much quieter in many ways than Florence or Siena.

A common theme is that if you spend the night in any of these places, they will get much more peaceful and quiet if you spend the night, as the day-trippers will head home.

Some of the spa towns other than Saturnia can feel off the beaten path, such as Bagno Vignoni. They’re popular, but more catered to tourists from nearby.

Wonderful article – thanks!

Planning Sept trip – 4 days Rome, 2 days Florence, 3 days Venice (as of now)

Considering adding a Tuscany component but limited to time. Any suggestions to condensing to 2-3 days as a loop or feasibility of starting in Florence and ending in Venice?

Any input greatly appreciated.

Happy to help, Richard!

With a 2-3 day driving loop from Florence, I’d recommend driving to either the Val d’Orcia (so towns like Montalcino and Pienza) or a nearby base like Montepulciano, and then basing yourself there for a couple of days. You can drive between a handful of close-together towns, see the landscape, enjoy an agriturismo, do some wine tastings, etc, all within a close distance.

Driving from Florence to Venice isn’t a go-to suggestion of mine since you don’t need a car in either city, but we’ve actually made the drive ourselves as part of a family trip and it was lovely! Bologna, Ferrara, and/or Padua are easy stops right along the route.

If you wanted to take a couple of days between the two cities, a loop through Parma, Modena, Reggio-Emilio and Bologna would put you in the heart of Emilia-Romagna, which is the origin of some of the most beloved Italian foods (traditional balsamic, parmigiano-reggiano, etc).

It’s not the most efficient way to get from Florence to Venice of course (that’d be the high-speed train), but if you want to make a trip of it, you’ll have fun!

If you do want to consider renting a car in Florence and dropping it off in Venice, though, be sure to ask your rental company if they allow it and what fees they would charge before making any plans.

One of my stops is in Luca and the hotel and parking garage are in the Atlantic. How do I get a permit to drive through it.

I think you may have a typo in there, but I’m assuming you mean you have a hotel booked in the historic center of Lucca? If the hotel offers private parking on-site, you can give them your license plate number and they’ll be able to make arrangements for you.

If they don’t have parking, you’ll likely need to park outside the walls and walk into the center to reach your hotel.

Hope that helps!

The parking os not on-site but within the walls.

So you are saying that all I need to do is call either the garage or hotel with my rental car license number and they would be able to get me a permit to drive inside the walled city to get to the hotel and garage?

In your case, I’d contact the hotel and ask where they recommend you park, and then if you head to the garage inside the walls, look at the map to confirm the directions to access it.

Essentially, your goal is to avoid the ZTL zones, which trigger an automatic ticket (and technically two–one for entering the zone and one for leaving it). Unfortunately, since all of the traffic controls are done by camera, you’ll have no sure way of knowing at the time you park if you’ve crossed the boundary.

The public parking within the walls should have a way to access it without passing through a ZTL zone, the concern is taking a wrong turn, etc. If you do need to pass through a ZTL zone (generally speaking in Italy), hotels within the walls can get access for their guests but I’m not sure if yours can since they don’t have on-site parking. These rules also vary from city to city in Italy.

Generally speaking, in the case that you do get access to a ZTL zone to access hotel parking (I know yours doesn’t have it, but just generally), you won’t get a paper permit or anything like that. It’s all done by license plate and camera.

Hi Kate! What an insightful article. I am planning a trip to Itlay in August for 12 days with a girlfriend who has never been to Italy. We are landing in Rome, spending 3 days there, and making our way to Florence by train. We will have 6 days in the Tuscany region and plan to rent a car after reading your article. This is what I am planning for our road trip and what your feedback. Would love to know if you can recommend an amazing winery with meals and wine tasting at one of our stops. I have taken suggestions from your blog on places to see and things to do at each stop:) Am I packing in too much? Day 1 – Florence to Lucca to San Gimignano spend the night here Day 2 – San Gimignano to Siena to Val D’Orcia spend 1 or 2 nights here Day 3 or 4 – Val d’orcia to Montepulciano to Montalcino (not sure about Montalcino) Day 4 – Drive to Saturnia from the last destination and head back to Florence

Hi Gira! All of the places you have mentioned are wonderful, but yes, I’d highly recommend cutting a few places from your list in order to savor the others more!

Driving, parking, walking into historic centers, etc, all eat up quite a bit of time.

I’m assuming you’re planning a couple of days in Florence on days 5-6. Ideally, I’d recommend only changing your “base” one other time. Montepulciano is a convenient spot as you can reach the Val d’Orcia, Montalcino, etc, from there. Siena is another fantastic option, but it’s definitely a small city, not a tiny town.

Saturnia is pretty far out of the way from everything else on your list, so unless it’s your dream destination in Florence, I’d consider trimming that. 🙂

Hi, Your article is very informative. Thanks. One question, I understand that leaving anything in the car in Italy is not a good idea as it can be stolen. What about these small towns in Tuscany? Is it risky to leave luggage in the trunk when parking there, too? Thanks

That’s essentially down to your personal risk tolerance. Many people leave luggage in the car when they have no other good option if it is kept out of sight in a locked trunk.

Obviously, there’s always a small risk with that, but it’s a fairly common practice.

The most important thing is to make sure nothing visible is left behind.

Thank you for such a insightful article, it has definitely helped to make a road trip through Tuscany feel less daunting!

Are there are places on your list that are more or less English friendly? We will obviously try to learn what we can in Italian, but it is always helpful to know 🙂

My husband and I previously visited Florence and did a day trip to Pisa, Siena, and San Gimignano. The scenery was so breathtaking it quickly made a road trip through Tuscany a MUST on our bucket list! Having already visited those places (wouldn’t mind visiting San Gimignano again!), what would be your top picks for 5-6 nights (not including Florence but starting from there)? I would love to make a stop at Saturnia if time allowed. Thank you SO much for your suggestions!

Hi Samantha,

Thank you so much! Glad we can help. 🙂

Unless you go exceptionally off the beaten path, you won’t have any problem using English (plus body language/hand signs/etc) in Tuscany, so don’t worry! Definitely learn what Italian you can, but Tuscans are very friendly and exceptionally used to foreigners.

Since you guys have already done quite a bit in the northern part of Tuscany, I recommend heading to the southern part! Montepulciano, the Val d’Orcia (including towns like Pienza and Montalcino), Cortona, and Saturnia, make a great loop.

You might also look at taking a day trip to Civita di Bagnoregio, Orvieto, Perugia, or Assisi. Those places aren’t in Tuscany but are wonderful, and depending on your itinerary might make fun additions.

This is so helpful Kate, THANK YOU!!!! This will be my first time in Italy, I’m traveling solo, and I’ve never driven outside of the U.S. before, so I’m thinking I’ll stick to trains to get around this time (which I know will limit how much flexibility I have). Are any of these towns easily accessible by train from Florence (and/or each other)?

Happy to help, Tara!

Yes, Lucca, Pisa, Arezzo, and Siena are all easy to get to by train.

The smaller hilltop towns are generally harder to access without a car, and many don’t have train stations. You can technically get to Montepulciano by train, but the station is outside of town and you’ll need to catch a bus or taxi to get all the way there.

If you want to visit a few of the tiny hilltop towns, I’d recommend signing up for a day trip one day–we link a some popular ones in this post: https://www.ourescapeclause.com/best-day-trips-from-florence-italy/

Generally from Florence, you can find either day trips that focus on the north (San Gimignano is a common stop) or the southern Val d’Orcia towns. They’re a great way to see harder-to-access spots while letting someone else deal with the driving and parking!

Thanks so much for responding and for the additional tips! <3

Hi Kate! Thank you, thank you, thank you for the wealth of information. Very helpful for our upcoming visit!

Any possibility of emailing you directly with a few more questions?

Thanks, Lori and Steve, USA, coming in October for our 60th birthday’s!!!!

Yes, of course!

We’re not travel agents and don’t plan/book trips for people, but we’re always happy to answer a few questions and point travelers in the right direction. 🙂

Happy early birthdays!

Hello again, We will only have about 4 (3 full) days and nights to explore Florence and Tuscany. We hear that Florence is not terribly large and is very walkable? Would it be practical and safe to utilize motor scooters to do so? The countryside is a PRIORITY, but we are considering not venturing too far from the city to limit travel time. We’d like to spend at least one night in the city, and at least one in the country. And we very much want to explore a couple of very small villages. Suggestions?

Would you recommend purchasing train tickets in advance, or is it really not necessary? Likewise for renting a car, and making hotel reservations (First week of October).

For the train tickets–it depends. For high-speed trains across long distances, like from Florence to Venice, yes, absolutely book in advance. The prices increase dramatically as you get closer to your dates.

For regional/slow trains, like taking a day trip from Florence to Lucca, there’s no need to book in advance.

What gets a bit confusing is that some lines, like between Rome and Florence, have both high-speed trains (essential if you’re making a day trip, as it takes under 2 hours), and regional/slow trains, which depending on the exact timetable can take anywhere from 3-5 hours or so.

If you want an overview of what’s available, we recommend using Omio to search for tickets and compare prices/timetables.

For hotels and a rental car, yes, you’ll want to book in advance. It’s not as urgent as in, say, July, but to get maximum availability it’s best to be prepared, especially if you have special requirements for your rental car such as wanting to rent an automatic.

I hope that helps and that you guys have a great time! October is our favorite month to be in Tuscany. 🙂

My daughter & I will have 5 days in Tuscany, have a rental car & want to visit mostly hill towns. Our hotel is outside Florence. We’d like to drive to Cortona then to for wine tasting, then to Monticchiello for a 7:30 dinner at Daria & spend night. Is this possible? Where do I find city maps?

I think you mean you plan to spend the night in Monticchiello? If so, yes, that will probably work well. Cortona is a bit out of the way as far as Tuscan hill towns go, but it’s very popular!

For city maps, your hotel will usually offer one, especially if you ask. For towns that you just take a day trip to, the easiest way to find them is to head to the tourism office (there’s virtually always a well-marked office in the town center).

Some tourism offices do charge a nominal fee for maps, so it’s a good idea to have a few Euros in small coins/bills on you when you go.

Totally loved it!!! Would you recommend doing this roadtrip with a child? I really want my 5year old daughter to witness new cultures and enjoy some holidays with mum and dad!

Of course it depends on the child, etc, but it’s definitely possible! Italy is considered to be very kid-friendly, and kids are adored and welcome just about everywhere.

The distances in this road trip are also fairly short, so no extremely long car days to contend with.

I don’t see your 2 night Tuscany itinerary?

Hi Lorraine,

I’m not sure what you mean–maybe you’re looking for our 2 day Florence itinerary? Here it is: https://www.ourescapeclause.com/2-days-in-florence-itinerary/

I don’t have anything on spending 3 days/2 nights in Tuscany specifically, but for most visitors, I’d recommend spending 2 days in Florence and then taking a day trip to the countryside on the 3rd day.

Hope that answers your question!

Thank you very much for your article, it was very helpful to consider the cities/town to visit in La Toscana. What would you recommend me for a 10-day trip (honeymoon 🙂 ) by arriving to Rome? For sure, I want to rent a car and do all by car. Would it be better to take a train all over to Florence and from there do the trip all over to Rome? Is it a big deal if I do not have an international license? Thank you for your help.

You can definitely structure this trip as a road trip from Rome to Florence, touring Tuscany by road trip along the way instead if you prefer. For that version, you’ll likely want to start at Montepulciano and then make sort of a “V” shape ending in Florence. Keep in mind that you’ll probably have a one-way car rental fee if you do it this way.

In that case, you may want to add on a stop in Orvieto along the way as well–it’s in Umbria, and a beautiful place: https://www.ourescapeclause.com/things-to-do-in-orvieto-italy/

Having an international driving permit is required for non-EU drivers in Italy. It’s not often asked for, so you can choose to take the risk, but your rental company can refuse to rent to you and of course, you can have issues if you get into an accident, etc, if you don’t have one as well. They’re not complicated to get, so it’s much better to acquire one before going to Italy!

Hi! Thank you so much for this wonderful site – it is so informative!! We are planning 2-3 days traveling from Florence to Rome and wonder if there are private drivers for hire in Tuscany. Is that an option? And, if so, do you have a sense of how we would locate good drivers? Our concept is that it may be easier on us if we just left the driving to a trained professional local… your thoughts? Thanks again! Paul

We’ve never hired a private driver in Tuscany, so I can’t speak to that personally! I know that some private drivers and tours advertise through Get Your Guide. Other than that, I’d recommend asking your hotel concierge, they’ll no doubt know of someone.

However, if your goal is to travel between Rome and Florence, you could also easily take the train. If you’d rather take 2-3 days to do the journey and sightsee along the way, Orvieto and Siena are both stops to consider on the way.

If you’re confident drivers, though, that route is fairly simple–lots of highway driving, etc. If you’re considering the option of driving yourselves, I’d say there’s no real reason not to.

Hi Thank you for putting together all this info, it has filled me with excitement thinking about our trip this year. My husband and I are hoping to fulfil my dream of travelling to Tuscany this year at the start of April. We will be driving from the UK and stopping off in Normandy then driving across to Italy and Tuscany. The first large city we will enter is Turin before moving towards Tuscany. We have 7 days in Italy but we thought a circular road trip would be great made up of countryside, wine, food and wandering around towns and markets. I love the road trip based around Florence but given our route and our starting point, would you be able to recommend anywhere we should visit/stay/avoid that starts further north and drops into Tuscany. I don’t want to disappoint myself by making poor choices in destinations so any help would be much appreciated. Thank you

Sounds like a wonderful trip! We’ve driven from Portugal to Italy and/or France (and back) several times ourselves, so we’re very familiar with the breadth of the drive you’re taking on.

The Langhe region of Piedmont, located close-ish to Turin, is fantastic: think small towns, gorgeous views, delicious wine, and fewer crowds than Tuscany. You may want to consider a stop there before heading further south! We loved La Morra in particular, but there is lots to see around there, including Alba, Barolo, etc.

Depending on what route you take in, you may pass through Emilia-Romagna as well, one of our favorite foodie regions in Italy. There are a million places to fall in love with there, but Parma might be right along your drive: https://www.ourescapeclause.com/best-things-to-do-in-parma-italy/

Hope you guys have a fantastic trip!

Hi, I loved your article. My husband and I are planning to head to Tuscany in September. My thought is to arrive in Florence from the states and stay for 3 nights. Originally I was planning to head to Greve and stay at Borgo de Cabrea. for 5 nights and just do day trips from there. (The pictures of the hotel views blew me away). However after doing some more research, I’m thinking that I would leave Florence and head down to the Val d’ Orcia region for two nights, do some day trips from there, then head back up to the hotel in Greve for my remaining 3 nights. I don’t want to short change my experience in southern Tuscany. Looking for advice on where to stop on the way down, and the way up versus day trips from where we are staying. I’m thinking of stopping in Sienna on our way back up since it’s closer to Greve then we can avoid a day trip back down. Where do you think is good place to stop on the way down vs. places that would be better as day trips? Also any advise on where to stay in Val d’ Orcia region? Thanks for the advise on the cars. The site you suggested is much cheaper than the one I was originally looking at.

Those hotel views do look incredible!

With the caveat that you can’t make a very wrong decision in Tuscany, I’d recommend spending 3 nights in the Val d’Orcia area and 2 around Greve. Definitely check out the tiny town of Montefioralle when you’re in the Greve area, too: https://www.ourescapeclause.com/montefioralle-italy/

Siena is a decent-sized city rather than a hilltop town, so I’d spend more time there than you can–but if a couple of hours is all you can spare, visiting the Piazza del Campo + the Duomo + visiting one of the viewpoints to see the city from above will make for a memorable stop.

As for where to stay in the Val d’Orcia, we’re partial to Montepulciano as a base. It’s not in the Val d’Orcia, but nearby, well-connected, and beautiful. Pienza also makes an excellent base and has some hotels whose views I think you’ll also love: https://www.ourescapeclause.com/pienza-italy/

Depending on which route you take down from Florence, you may pass Monteriggioni, if so, that’d be a lovely stop during your drive.

Thank You so much for your response. After doing some of my own research and keeping your advise in mind, we booked a hotel in Montepulciano. I have another question for you. We are renting a car and tried discover cars. The prices for renting a compact car through Noleggiare are significantly cheaper than any other company. We need an automatic so it can get pricey. The reviews are mediocre and I was wondering if you had any experience with them. Thanks!

I don’t think we’ve ever used them in particular, but in general, we’ve never had any issues with a car rental in Italy and have zero brand loyalty with rental cars there. We tend to go with whoever is most affordable, as the prices can vary so much. We do buy rental insurance, though–for us, it’s worth the peace of mind.

Hi Planning on driving from Rome to Florence, taking our time. Where would you rent the car? And can you drop off a car in Florence if you rent in Rome. Thanks

Hi Sebastiano,

Personally, we’d rent the car in Rome wherever we could find the best deal–we’re not particularly loyal to any one car rental company.

You can definitely rent a car in Rome and drop it off in Florence, however, you’ll likely incur a one-way rental fee. These can vary dramatically, but are usually pretty reasonable if you’re picking up and dropping off the car in the same country (driving from Italy to Switzerland, for example, would be a different story).

Hi! I liked your insights very much, I hope to go visit Tuscany soon with my family. Though you didn’t really mention seaside areas – I guess it’s because people don’t tend to visit Tuscany region because of beaches, but still, there IS some seaside (judging from map sorry), and I would like to know more, either if you had any experience, or from locals or friends. I clinged to the one photo of a beach at Livorno. I was wondering, if it is worth seeing the seaside as well, if there are any beaches, maybe areas where swimming is not recommended, dangerous tides, sharks… or are there nice places as well, worth visiting. Is the shore easily accessible? The shoreline area is more flat I guess, less hills there as I assume again, from maps…

You’re right, I didn’t include seaside areas because typically, that’s not what non-Italian travelers are looking for from the Tuscany region. You’re right that it has a lovely coastline, though!

A few popular beach towns in Tuscany include Viareggio and Forte dei Marmi. Livorno is a popular cruise ship stop, and has a historic fort right on the water. Don’t miss the view from Terrazza Mascagni if you go!

If you want to go further off the beaten path, the Tuscan island of Elba (where Napoleon was once banished to) is beautiful.

If you’re in a beach town, you’ll definitely have access to the sea!

Will be in Tuscany for four days and thinking one day each in Pisa, Florence and Montepulciano (or combine a couple (like Pisa/Florence). Can you suggest a good home base area? We will have a car – any suggestions for a couple of one day road trips (if we can combine P, F or M) to visit wineries, different towns, etc? So many things to see it’s hard to decide and are hoping you can help us out. Thank you so much!!!

Hi Collette,

If you plan to have a car, I’d recommend staying outside a city center and enjoying the countryside a bit. That’s the advantage of having a car in Tuscany!

I’d also recommend combining Lucca with Pisa–Pisa doesn’t take long to see, but Florence definitely takes a full day at a minimum assuming you want to go inside a museum, up a viewpoint, etc.

On the route from Florence to Montepulciano, Monteriggioni and Siena are great options (depending on which route you take). The Chianti area is also between the two, though it’s a bit more out of the way to access!

San Gimignano and/or Volterra would also make a great day, and would be enhanced by having a car.

Deciding where to stay can be fairly flexible, as all of those places can be visited as a day-trip from the others, but I’d choose based on your priorities, as you’ll have some long drives round-trip. The Siena area makes a great base if your priority is Montepulciano and towns like the Val d’Orcia. The Lucca area or Chianti area is lovely for accessing northern Tuscany (Florence, Pisa, San Gimignano, etc).

Ciao! Thank you so much for writing so much about Italy! It’s been very helpful while planning our upcoming Tuscany road trip. We’re planning to rent a car from Florence and are seeing a lot of negative reviews on all the cheaper Discover Cars rental companies. What rental companies have you used in the past and would you recommend them? Also, are there any we should stay away from? Trying to be budget friendly but also do not want hit with a bunch of fees after the fact. Thank you so much for your help!

Hi Natalie,

Happy to help!

Honestly, I could not even remember all the rental companies we’ve used in Italy, let alone in Europe. We’re not picky–we’ve used everything from big brands like Hertz and Sixt all the way to tiny local outfits that we spot on the ground. We’ve never been charged for damage, but we do take precautions.

Specifically, we ALWAYS thoroughly photograph and video (a full 360 video) the vehicle when picking it up, and we tend to buy the additional insurance as well. If you want to ensure there’s a 0% chance of being charged for anything, most companies offer a $0 deductible (in Europe, a deductible is called excess) policy. It’s an increase in the upfront budget, but offers a lot of peace of mind if it’s something you’re worried about!

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Georgia native Steven Fisk wins Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club

Daily Wrap Up

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SAVANNAH, Ga. – Steven Fisk is Georgia through and through. He was born in Atlanta and grew up on a par-3 course and driving range his father built (and still operates) in his childhood hometown of Stockbridge. He played college golf for Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, a little under 200 miles from home. He and his wife, Edith, wed last month in Augusta. And Sunday evening in Savannah, roughly an hour drive from Georgia Southern, the 26-year-old Fisk earned his first Korn Ferry Tour win.

Fisk birdied three of the final four holes of regulation and defeated Rob Oppenheim in a sudden-death playoff, capturing the 2024 Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club with a two-putt par on the Deer Creek Course’s par-5 18th hole.

“Such a long day that somehow went by really fast at the same time,” Fisk said. “To get my first win right here in Savannah, so close to where I went to school, is kind of crazy. I haven’t had much success here in the past, but to get it done today is extra special to be this close to what’s kind of my adopted home.”

Fisk began the final round one stroke off the lead but trailed Oppenheim by three strokes with four holes to play. Back-to-back birdies at the par-4 15th and 16th, followed by a clutch par save at the par-3 17th, opened the door for a tying birdie at No. 18. Fisk came within inches of a hole-out eagle from the greenside bunker, but tapped in for a bogey-free 4-under 68 and matched Oppenheim at 14-under 274.

Steven Fisk nearly holes bunker shot at Club Car Championship

For the fourth consecutive event, the winner would be determined via a playoff, tying the Korn Ferry Tour record for consecutive events with a playoff. The previous instances occurred in 2004 and 2019.

In the playoff, Fisk found the right side of the fairway, while Oppenheim drove it into a fairway bunker up the same side. Both had chip shots from behind the green, with Fisk’s rolling out to roughly 12 feet. After Fisk’s two-putt par, Oppenheim had a 7-footer for par which would have extended the playoff. It grazed the left edge of the cup but never fell, sealing the win for Fisk.

“Definitely could feel the crowd on my side,” said Fisk, whose gallery included his wife, parents, as well as his former head coach and several members of the Georgia Southern golf program. “I had a great group of people following me all week, and for them to come out and continue to support me is so special.”

Fisk’s victory in his home state was more than two decades in the making.

When Fisk was 4 or 5 years old, his father, Christopher, built Rum Creek Golf, a nine-hole par-3 course with a driving range and putting green. Even in its infancy, when there was more dirt than sod laid, young Fisk had a club in his hand. By the time he turned 8 years old, Christopher said his son’s hands looked as though they belonged to a bricklayer. As he grew up, Fisk played the par-3 course four or five, maybe even six times a day.

Fisk developed a strong iron game and a unique grip, with the latter eliciting a wide range of critiques through the years.

“If you ask anybody else, my grip probably sucks,” Fisk said. “But I’ve always done it this way. I’ve tried to tinker with it over the years with my coach. It’s just not something I’ve ever been able to get comfortable with. I figured if I’m going to have success in this game, I’m going to do it my way and be stubborn, and do everything I can to make myself the best player I can be and rely on some of my natural instincts.”

Steven Fisk holes lengthy putt for birdie at Club Car Championship

Unique grip and all, Fisk racked up nine career wins in four seasons at Georgia Southern, including six as a senior in the 2018-19 season. Fisk capped his collegiate career with a runner-up finish at the 2019 NCAA Championship and turned professional.

After an undistinguished 2021 season on the Forme Tour (a one-year substitute for PGA TOUR Canada amid the COVID-19 pandemic), Fisk earned Korn Ferry Tour membership and guaranteed starts with a T19 finish at Q-School. A year later, Fisk was right back at Final Stage of Q-School, as he finished No. 119 on the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Points List with 13 missed cuts in 21 starts.

The second time around was much different for Fisk, who spent nearly the entire 2023 season inside the top 75 and finished No. 64 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List, earning fully exempt status for the 2024 season.

The flexibility of fully exempt status was a blessing for Fisk, as the Korn Ferry Tour events in Argentina and Chile bumped up against his and Edith’s wedding plans. Without fear of reshuffles or a significant setback on the Points List, Fisk skipped the two events and hardly worried about the results.

Although the newlyweds were only able to vacation for a few days in Florida following the wedding, they discussed a proper honeymoon. Edith had her heart set on Cabo San Lucas.

“I told her we’d see how the year went,” Fisk said. “I think she’s looking pretty good right now.”

Final-Round Notes

• At 14-under 274, Fisk (first, 14-under) totaled the highest 72-hole score by a champion of the Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club (previous: Dan McCarthy/272/2019).
• Korn Ferry Tour winner Oppenheim (second, 14-under) records his third career runner-up finish on the Korn Ferry Tour (2017 Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank, 2017 DAP Championship); he also posts his first top-10 on Tour since May 2022 (T6/Visit Knoxville Open).
• Pak, who finished No. 1 in the inaugural PGA TOUR University Class of 2021, entered the week with one career top-25 (T17/2022 LECOM Suncoast Classic).
• Korn Ferry Tour winner Max McGreevy (T3, 12 under) records his third top-10 of the season (sixth/The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay; T8/Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard) and has not finished lower than T15 in his three starts at the Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club (T15, 2020; second, 2021).
• Kang, who earned guaranteed starts for the first eight events of the season as a Second Stage medalist from 2023 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry, entered the week without a top-10 in his previous 12 career starts on the Korn Ferry Tour, with his career-high finish being T20, 2024 Astara Chile Classic presented by Scotiabank
• Philip Knowles (T3, 12-under), who shared the 54-hole lead with Kevin Roy (T6, 11 under), posts his third career top-10 and his highest finish since a T2 at the 2022 Albertsons Boise Open, which earned him a PGA TOUR card in the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Finals.
• Open qualifier Mason Williams (T9, 10-under), who played five seasons at Georgia Southern University (2018-23) and entered the week with one previous start in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event (2019 Military Tribute at The Greenbrier as sponsor exemption/MC), earns a spot in the LECOM Suncoast Classic with his top-25 finish this week
• Sponsor exemption Dalton Ward (T25 , 8-under) earns an spot in the LECOM Suncoast Classic with his second top-25 in three starts this season (T3 as open qualifier at 117th Visa Argentina Open presented by Macro).