Planes, buses and cars - getting there and getting around

Less than 60 days away from travel and we’ve made great progress at finalizing some elements of the trip. So far:

London to Italy: Both our flights have been locked down. We will travel from London to Pisa together on Ryanair. This small, regional carrier pops up consistently with best fares and an easy to navigate online site and good communications. Know that this is a very ala carte airline – even down to sending you text message updates. These boarding passes can be printed much further in advance than US airline policies. I will check us in ASAP when the dates open and these documents will go with our other travel documents.

Pisa to Florence: We will have some time to poke around Pisa, then will take about an hour-long motor coach ride to City Center in Florence. I was given the option to book this as I exited the Ryanair ticket purchase. It’s definitely a bargain at about $13 US for both of us. Buses leave Pisa airport every few minutes. A ticket is delivered via e-mail – so it will be printed and go along with airline boarding passes.

Florence to Savannah: TJ will be leaving Florence VERY early in the morning, a few days in advance of my departure. Her flight is confirmed. I will depart Florence a few days later on a Vueling flight to London-Gatwick – to catch my flight home the next day. Ryanair flights – except one very late at night – were booked up – I’m glad I didn’t wait any longer to secure this flight. I still need to book a hotel night in London --- probably something close to my departure airport of Heathrow.

Florence lodging: Our first three nights in Florence have been secured – as you can read below. I still need to secure lodging for the three nights on the tail end of the trip. Our host at the VRBO below has offered to help me find a hotel while we’re there – but based on how things appear to be filling up – I don’t know if I should wait.

Riotorto: Our seven nights at Brancatelli Agritourismo are confirmed – a pleasant efficiency apartment on the working vineyard of Giuseppe and Catherine Brancatelli. I met Giuseppe when he and his daughter visited the US last year to help market their wines. 650 Euro is doable – especially for a property that features an on-site restaurant and easy day trips to surrounding sites in Tuscany. My bank arranged, at the request of the agritourismo, an international transfer to pay the 30 percent deposit. I wouldn’t want to do many of these – the bank charged $45 for the “experience.”

Rental car: Every guide book suggests securing the rental before leaving the US. I did, through the edreams.com website. We aren’t going to be spending lengthy periods in a car – just hops from one place

to another – so I rented a Smart Car. With the additional Claims Damage Waiver refund (to protect against a hefty deductible) and adding TJ as an additional driver, the car is about $65 a day with unlimited mileage. That seems steep compared to renting a car in the US – but the additional coverage and extra driver added about $20 a day. My US auto insurance carrier (GEICO) offers no coverage of a rental in Italy. I shopped several sites – including using my “member” code on the sites for Avis, Hertz and Thrifty – and found the best pricing on edreams.com.

We just have a few gaps left to fill in – then we need to get hopping on specific tasks: downloading maps for the GPS, printing, when available, travel documents like boarding passes and tickets and considering the critical decisions we will need to make for packing light.