Planes, trains and automobiles (travelling to and around Italy)
Planes (getting to Italy)
Flying to Italy from the UK is very straightforward and relatively cheap. Pisa is by far the most popular airport for travel from the UK and is served by the following scheduled airlines:
Ryanair
British Airways
Jet2
Thomson
Easyjet
Florence has a small airport served by only
one (expensive) airline from Gatwick:
Meridiana
Other airports that could also be considered
viable options for Florence include:
Parma
Bologna (Forli)
Rome (Ciampino or Fiumicino)
Genoa
Trains (getting around Italy - part 1)
Travelling around Italy on trains is easy and very cheap.
It is very easy to reach Florence from Pisa, in fact there is a train station at Pisa airport (Pisa aeroporto) which links to the mainline for Florence. Similarly if you arrive at any of the other airports you can always find a train to reach Florence.
The easiest way of finding train timetables and booking tickets for Italy from the UK is through: Italia Rail
Failing that you could go directly to the official Italian rail website: Treni Italia
Hints and Tips:
- If you are catching a train into Florence, make sure you go to the central station (Santa Maria Novella).
- Just remember to stamp (validate) your ticket just before starting your train journey – to do this look out for the small yellow boxes on each platform. If you do not stamp your ticket then it will be considered void!
Automobiles (getting around Italy – part 2)
Naturally all Italian airports have the usual suspects when it comes to car hire (Avis, Hertz, Europe Car, Thrifty, etc…). We also recommend considering the car hire company:
Auto-Europa/Sicily by car
This company offers some of the best car rental rates in Italy. It is a small company and is often more flexible than the big multinationals. In addition (especially at Pisa airport) you probably will not have to queue for a car as long as at the larger car hire companies. They have offices throughout Italy and can be found in all the airports. Booking is online.
Hints and Tips:
- Driving in Italy is not as scary or dangerous as many make it out to be, so no need to panic. Driving in cities can be an ‘interesting’ experience and you may want to avoid it if possible – then again this applies to most European cities!
- Driving in central Florence is worth avoiding as it has a congestion charge and a diabolical one way system… the best way to get around it is on foot, taxis or using the very good bus system.
- You have to pay on Italian Motorways (Autostrada) – cash or credit cards are accepted.
- If and when you drive on the autostrada you must always have your lights on – you will be stopped and fined if caught with them off.