Train vs. Driving from Florence to Liguria

My wife and I are planning a trip to Italy this summer. Rough/initial itinerary:
*Fly into MXP
*1 night in Milan given evening arrival time
*train from Milan to Florence
*3 nights in Florence (likely one day trip/wine tour in Tuscany)
*3 nights in Santa Margherita Ligure
*Commute to Pisa for half-day before evening flight out (unsure of arranged transfer vs. train for this yet)
*Fly out of PSA (taking BA on the return through LHR)

The travel between FLR and SML has me torn…on the one hand, it seems easy to take a train (~3 hours) to the Santa Margherita-Portofino station, which is less than 2km from our hotel. However, I’ve always heard there is nothing like driving oneself through the Tuscan countryside (200km) so I’m strongly considering renting a car and spending the day taking the scenic route/getting lost in small medieval villages along the way.

Have to admit, driving in Italy feels a bit intimidating - I’ve had friends advise against any driving within the City of Florence because of road restrictions and massive fines in the mail upon return. I know very little, however, about country driving outside of the big cities, nor am I sure renting a car near the outskirts of Florence and dropping off in SML is even a possibility.

So, throwing this out there to see if anyone has previous similar experience and/or tips to share. Thanks in advance

We spent 3 weeks in Italy without a car a few months ago, flying in and out of MXP. I too had been intimidated by the reputation of Italian drivers. We did a tour out of Siena for a day in Chianti, and once we got out of Siena, I didn’t see any problems and would have felt perfectly comfortable driving. I would say go for it. I regret not having wheels in Tuscany, and will definitely get a car on our next visit.

I drove through Italy in the before times, Genova to Firenza to San Gimignano to Roma. They are much better drivers than the French, or Mexicans. Plus you need a car if you want to enjoy a snack or a coffee on the autostrade. Go for it.

Last drive in Italy was summer before covid. I drove with the fam from Rome to Montalcino and over to Grossetto and back to Rome over 3 days. No problem at all.
Rome was not unlike driving in any big city, with decent drivers, and driving around Tuscany was kind of magical and allowed us to be on our schedule for stops and stuff as Todd said.
That being said, it is advised by many to not drive around Florence.

Agreed. In general Italian drivers are much more skilled than UK drivers, they hate being held up, but conversely avoid holding others up. Their judgement is so good that it can be a shock that someone has such confident judgement. A good point about the ZTLs in cities, which are punitive in their charging

Trains should be good on those routes, but if you prefer having a car then go for it, and especially if you like fitting in a winery visit or other diversion along the route. We love taking Italian trains.

re:Pisa. Be aware that Pisa (or rather the field of miracles) is a common half day trip for mass-tourism. You may come away from it thinking the field of miracles is brilliant, but Pisa is a shithole. That would be wrong as you wouldn’t have seen Pisa, just the destruction that mass tourism brings to the area immediately surrounding the field of miracles and between there and the two train stations. Take the 10 minute walk that few do, to the city itself, and you’ll find somewhere much more pleasing and remarkably unspoilt by tourism. Thus if arriving by train, get off at the main station and avoid the direct route, instead heading for (iirc) via Roma, and follow that northwards, only swinging westwards when virtually level with the field of miracles. If you want to eat, do so in the city, not at the tourist traps near the field of miracles.

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In terms of logistics, I like the idea of train from MXP to Firenze, as you’ll be jet-lagged, which can make driving iffy. 4 days without a car should have you ready for driving. One option we’ve used before, is to hire a car from the local airport. Logic is that there are usually good transport options to the airport, plus the roads around the airport often quiet enough to get used to the car / signs / driving.

As an alternative, consider staying outside Firenze, so you drive from MXP to your country retreat. This can work well if the country retreat is near good travel links to the city (in this case Firenze). This can be a bus / coach (‘pullman’!) route into the centre of the city, or a local train station with parking, that’s connected to the city, though be aware that many Italian train stations aren’t in the centre of the city (I don’t know what Firenze’s layout is). This is great if you’re happy with (say) 2 full days in the city, mixed up with a day trip somewhere else, plus a day touring chiantishire.

Stay out of City Centers to avoid tickets.

Don’t speed on the highways. There are cameras that are always looking over your shoulders.

Manual (a stick) transmission is half the cost of an automatic.

If renting a car, rent up a size or two. You’ll have more luggage than you think, and a large car in Europe holds diddly squat.

The drive from the outskits of Florence to Siena and other Tuscan Hill towns will take your breath away. P.S. Stay out of City Centers.

dh

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Are you checking the route?

The drive from Florence to Pisa on the autostrada is not the scenery you desire.

If you want the countryside, there is a great spot that is part of the Marriott chain, Il Ciocco in Barga. Really stunning area and cheap area relative to Florence. About an hour north of Pisa.

To the extent you are on the autostrada Florence to Pisa, it’s quick but the reason for the car has to be scenery elsewhere, or convenience.
I have done similar drives, but last time just did Pisa as a day stop from the Train. Taxi less of a hassle than parking. 3-4 hour break should be enough for the major sites and a quick lunch.

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Yup, driven Florence to Pisa before, using the quickest way, and the autostrada at many stages reminded me of I-95 here in the northeast USA…

Good recommendations here. If looking for a day-night stop, I’d add Lucca which is definitely along the way for a quaint but lively Tuscan town with many surrounding wineries.

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Barry - my question is in reference to the ride from Florence to SML; from SML to Pisa I am planning on a train or arranged car service as that is merely an airport transfer with time to kill

Everyone here is spot on. I’d say go for it, with the added caveat that my (American) wife always says that driving in Italy feels like a huge game of “chicken”. You gotta go for it :grinning:

Driving in Tuscany is the way to go, although if you are driving NW you’ll be missing the best parts! If you still can, I’d rework your itinerary to spend at least one extra day driving around some of the more beautiful areas of Tuscany (e.g. Montalcino, Montepulciano, etc.).

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Lucca is a pretty cool town on our list of “investigate more later”.

Barry and Ramon have it right. There are places in Italy where it is romantic to drive, but the road from Florence to the coast is not one of them. I would definitely train.

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What James said.

That said, it would be nice to have a car to explore The Ligurian coast, if that interests you

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Agree for SML, but when I stay in the Cinque Terre, I am never in my car.

Also agree on lunch in Lucca being a good reason.

On our first trip in 2019 I used car service from Florence to SML. It’s an easy drive and mostly highway. We took the most direct route and it was easily something I could have done. On our recent trip last Sept I drove from Rome to Montalcino, Siena and then into Florence. It was an easy drive and great to have a car.

There is a good chance in the future we’ll be traveling from Florence to SML and based on the prior 2 experiences will definitely rent a car to make that drive. The only caveat is it’s tricky to find the airport rental car location in Florence if that’s where your going to pick up the car. Google Maps points you in the general direction but doesn’t take you directly there. The airport signage for rental cars is not good so you really have to be looking for it.

I posted on our trip back in 2019 with some thoughts about SML if your looking for restaurant suggestions. We loved it. Very different experience from Amalfi coast. Can’t say I prefer one over the other but did enjoy the slower pace and less crowds.

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Thanks - will definitely seek out that post

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When driving, be very very wary of ZTLs in towns large and small. I recommend looking up, beforehand, the full extent of the ZTL of any town you plan to visit. Also some of the highways have averaging speed cameras, which calculate the average speed you’ve traveled at from the last gantry. Driving a large car (we had a Volkswagen T-Roc) is not as much of an issue as you might think, even in small towns. The drivers themselves are pretty good, and I like how they keep out of the left lane (unlike American drivers)