Expert: Lisa - 9/4/2009

Question
I am going to be staying in Venice for only a few days and wish to take a day trip to Florence.  The rail tickets are a bit pricey and I thought I'd rent a car.  How long would it take to drive from Venice to Florence?  Which would you recommend, car or train?  I would also consider bus travel if it was a direct trip. I appreciate your input on this.  Thank you, Renee

Answer
Hi Renee. Check out the train schedule at this site: www.raileurope.com/index.html. It's only about $33 one way from Venice to Florence. I think a car rental, gas and tolls will cost a lot more than a round trip by train.

The bus will probably be cheaper than the train. It's hard to find bus information in English online, so my recommendation is to check out the bus situation once you arrive in Venice at Piazzale Roma as you enter the city.

It's a 2 and a half hour drive from Venice to Florence (159 miles). Here are the directions: http://europe.mapquest.com/directions/europe.adp?go=1&do=nw&rmm=1&un=m&cl=EN&qq=...

Here's the scenic route, which takes 5 hours 15 minutes and is 176 miles: http://europe.mapquest.com/directions/europe.adp?mo=ma&2si=gaz_nt&1gi=0&un=m&go=...

If you want to rent a car, check out Kemwel.com. It's a European car rental company and pretty reasonable. You might consider driving the scenic route and taking the train back. That could be fun. But leave really early in the morning.

Best wishes,
Lisa