Getting There

By Plane

From North America

Only one carrier, Delta, flies directly from the United States (New York) to an airport in Tuscany (Pisa). Still, most airlines and their affiliates connect through a handful of European cities to the small international airports at Pisa or Florence. Aside from the new Delta route, though, usually the most convenient way to get to Tuscany is to fly to Rome and connect to Florence by plane (a bit over 1 hr.) or by train (close to 3 hr.).

The Major Airlines -- Italy's national airline, Alitalia (tel. 800/223-5730; www.alitalia.it), offers more flights daily to Italy than any other airline. It flies direct to both Rome-Fiumicino (FCO) and Milan-Malpensa (MXP) from New York, Newark, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Miami. You can connect in Rome or Milan to any other Italian destination, including Pisa (PSA) or Florence (FLR). If you're flying from the New York City area and planning to connect directly to Florence, note that itineraries that route you through Milan often have a layover that's 3 hours shorter than one that routes you through Rome's airport.

Delta (tel. 800/241-4141; www.delta.com) now flies four times a week from New York JFK nonstop to Pisa -- the only direct U.S.-to-Tuscany flight available. It also flies daily out of JFK to Rome and Milan, where it's possible to change to one of Delta's local partner airlines (Lufthansa, Iberia, and so on) for the last leg to Tuscany. From either city you can take a train to Tuscany, or from Rome you can connect to an Alitalia flight to Florence or Pisa.

British Airways (tel. 800/247-9297; www.ba.com) flies direct from dozens of U.S. and Canadian cities to London, where you can get connecting flights to Pisa, Rome, or Milan. Air Canada (tel. 888/247-2262 or 800/361-8071; www.aircanada.ca) flies daily from Toronto and Vancouver to Rome. Continental (tel. 800/231-0856; www.continental.com) doesn't fly to Italy itself, but it's partnered with Alitalia for the Newark-to-Rome and New York JFK-to-Milan flights, so if you're a Continental Frequent Flyer you can reserve through Continental and rack up the miles.

Possibly less convenient alternatives are American Airlines (tel. 800/433-7300; www.aa.com), whose flights from the United States to Milan and Rome usually go through Chicago, but they do offer seasonal daily nonstops between New York and Rome April to October; United (tel. 800/528-2929; www.ual.com), which flies once daily to Milan out of New York, Newark, and Washington, D.C., Dulles; or US Airways (tel. 800/622-1015; www.usairways.com), which offers one flight daily to Rome out of Philadelphia. (You can connect through Philly from most major U.S. cities.) Discount carrier Eurolfy (tel. 800/459-0581; www.euroflyusa.com) offers nonstop, thrice-weekly seasonal (June-Sept) service between New York and Bologna.

From Great Britain & Ireland

British Airways (tel. 0845/773-3377; www.ba.com) flies twice daily from London's Gatwick to Pisa. Alitalia (020/8745-8200; www.alitalia.it) has four daily flights from London to both Rome and Milan and three daily from London Gatwick into Florence. KLM UK (formerly Air UK; tel. 08705/074-074; www.klm.com) flies several times per week from London Heathrow to Milan (both airports) and Rome. In each case, there's a layover in Amsterdam. No-frills Ryanair (tel. 0871/246-0000 in the U.K.; www.ryanair.com) has hubs in the U.K. and on the Continent; you can fly from London to Pisa (as well as to Rome, Milan, Bologna, Ancona, Turin, and other Italian destinations); its competitor EasyJet (tel. 0871/244-2386 in the U.K.; www.easyjet.com) flies from many locations in the U.K. (as well as from a few hubs on the Continent) to Italy, including London to Milan, Bologna, Turin, Venice, and Rome and Bristol to Pisa. Another U.K.-based, low-cost carrier, BMI (tel. 0871/246-0000 in the U.K., or 800/788-0555 from the U.S.; www.flybmi.com), flies from London to Venice and Milan.

From Australia & New Zealand

Alitalia (tel. 02-9922-1555; www.alitalia.it) has a flight from Sydney to Rome every Thursday and Saturday. Qantas (tel. 13-13-13 in Australia, or 0649/357-8900 in Auckland, NZ; www.qantas.com) flies three times daily to Rome via Bangkok, leaving Australia from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, or Cairns. Qantas will also book you through one of these Australian cities from Auckland, Wellington, or Christchurch in New Zealand. You can also look into flying first into London and connecting to Italy from there. (There are more flights, and it may work out to be cheaper.)

Getting to Tuscany or Umbria from Rome's Airports

Most international flights to Rome will arrive at Fiumicino Airport (officially named Leonardo da Vinci International Airport, but few, including the airlines themselves, call it that). Some inter-European and transatlantic charter flights may land at Ciampino Airport, which is closer to the center, but not connected by an express train. You can connect to a plane at either to take you to Pisa's or Florence's airport, but it's often simpler, almost as fast in the long run, and cheaper to take the train.

Fiumicino (tel. 06-659-51; www.adr.it) is 30km (19 miles) from Rome's center. You can take the express train (9.50€/$13) from Fiumicino to Rome's central train station, Termini. A taxi to the station costs about 40€ ($52). From Termini, you can grab one of many daily trains to Florence, Pisa, and most other destinations. If you happen to fly into Ciampino Airport (tel. 06-7934-0297), 15km (9 miles) south of the city, a none-too-frequent COTRAL bus will take you to the Anagnina Metro station, where you can take the Metro to Termini, the whole trip costing around 3€ ($3.90). A taxi to Rome's center from Ciampino is 30€ ($39).

Information on getting to most major Tuscan and Umbrian cities and towns from Rome by train is included under each destination throughout this guide.

Getting to Tuscany or Umbria from Milan's Airport

Your flight may land at either Linate Airport (tel. 02-7485-2200; www.sea-aeroportimilano.it), about 8km (5 miles) southeast of the city, or Malpensa Airport (tel. 02-2680-0613), 45km (28 miles) from downtown -- closer to Como than to Milan itself.

From Malpensa, a 40-minute express train heads half-hourly to Cadorna train station in western Milan rather than to the larger and more central Stazione Centrale from which most trains onward to Tuscany will leave (you'll have to take the Metro to get there). The Malpensa Express train costs 11€ ($14). To grab a bus instead, which will take you directly to the central downtown rail station, take the Malpensa Shuttle (tel. 02-5858-3185) for 5€ ($6.50), which leaves two or three times per hour for the 50-minute ride to the east side of Milan's Stazione Centrale. A taxi to the city center runs about 70€ ($91).

From Linate, STAM buses (tel. 02-717-100) make the 25-minute trip to Milan's Stazione Centrale, every 20 to 30 minutes daily from 7am to 11pm, and cost 2€ ($2.60; buy on bus). The slightly slower city bus no. 73 leaves hourly for the S. Babila Metro stop downtown (1€/$1.30 for a regular bus ticket bought from any newsagent inside the airport, but not onboard).

From Milan's Stazione Centrale, you can get trains to Florence.

The Milan Connection -- Note that if you find yourself flying into Milan, the domestic airport (Linate) is separate from the international one (Malpensa), and transferring planes to a connecting flight to Florence or Pisa requires switching airports (a 9€/$12 bus connects the two airports), sometimes changing airlines, and an innate trust in the gods of luggage transfer. If you fly into Milan, a train to Tuscany is probably your best bet. This isn't a problem for flights on Alitalia, however, which uses Milan's Malpensa airport for both international arrivals and domestic departures -- a blatantly nationalistic protectionist scheme which has all other major airlines, European and American, up in arms.

By Car

You'll get the best rental rate if you book your car from home instead of renting direct in Italy -- in fact, if you decide to rent once you're over there, it's worth it to call home to have someone arrange it all from there. You must be older than 25 to rent from most agencies (although some accept ages 21 and up).

Though it once was smart shopping to see what rates Italian companies were offering, they're all now allied with the big agents in the States: Avis (tel. 800/230-4898, in Italy toll-free 199-100-133; www.avis.com), Budget (tel. 800/527-0700; www.budget.com), Hertz (tel. 800/654-3131 or 800/654-3001; www.hertz.com), and National (tel. 800/227-7368; www.nationalcar.com).

You can usually get a better rate by going through one of the rental companies specializing in Europe: Auto Europe (tel. 888/223-5555; www.autoeurope.com), Europe by Car (tel. 800/223-1516 or 212/581-3040; www.europebycar.com), Kemwell (tel. 800/678-0678; www.kemwell.com), and Maiellano (tel. 800/223-1616 or 718/727-0044). With constant price wars and special packages, it always pays to shop around among all of the above. Also, if you're planning to rent a car in Italy during high season, you really should book well in advance: It's not at all unusual to arrive at the airport in Milan or the train station in Rome in June and July to find that every last agent is all out of cars, perhaps for a week.

When offered the choice between a compact car and a larger one, always choose the smaller car (unless you have a large group) -- you'll need it for maneuvering the winding, steeply graded Italian roads and the impossibly narrow alleyways of towns and cities. Likewise, if you can drive a stick shift, order one; it'll help you better navigate the hilly terrain. It's also a good idea to opt for the Collision Damage Wavier (CDW) that for only $10 to $20 a day gives you the peace of mind and nerves of steel that driving in Italy requires; you can pay only $7 per day for this service if you buy it through a third-party insurer such as Travel Guard (www.travelguard.com). Although the 19% IVA value-added tax is unavoidable, you can do away with the government airport pickup tax of 10% by picking up your car at an office in town.

By Train

Every day, up to 14 Eurostar trains (reservations in London tel. 0875/186-186; www.eurostar.com) zip from London to Paris's Gare du Nord via the Chunnel (Eurotunnel) in a bit over 4 hours. In Paris, you can transfer to the Paris Gare de Lyon station or Paris Bercy for one of three daily direct trains to Milan (from which you can transfer to Florence), two to Pisa, or two to Florence. Some of the Milan runs are high-speed TGV trains, a 6 1/2-hour ride requiring a seat reservation. At least one will be an overnight Euronight (EN) train, with reservable sleeping couchettes; the Euronight leaves Paris around 10pm and gets into Milan around 8:45am. The two Euronight trains going directly from Paris to Pisa take about 10 hours; to Florence, it takes 12 1/2 hours.

The definitive 500-page book listing all official European train routes and schedules is the Thomas Cook European Timetable, available in the United States for $28 (plus $4.50 shipping and handling) from Forsyth Travel Library, P.O. Box 2975, Shawnee Mission, KS 66201 (tel. 800/367-7984) or at travel specialty stores. You can also order the schedule online at www.thomascooktimetables.com.

Europe-Wide Rail Passes -- If Tuscany and Umbria are only part of a larger European tour for you, the famous Eurail pass or new Eurail Select Pass may be useful . The granddaddy of passes is the Eurail pass, covering 17 countries (most of western Europe except England). It has recently been joined by the more modest but flexible Eurail Select Pass (an improvement on the old Europass), which can be customized to cover three to five contiguous countries.

If, however, you're traveling only in the regions covered by this guide or just in Italy, these passes will be a waste of money. Similarly, if you're merely coming straight to Italy by train from another point within Europe, it'll be cheaper to buy just a regular one-way ticket. If this is the case and you're under 26, get a BIJ (Billet International de Jeunesse, or youth ticket, known as BIGE in Italy), which gets you a 30% to 50% discount on the second-class one-way fare. It also allows you a full month to get to your destination, during which time you can hop on and off the trains as often as you wish so long as you stay headed in the direction of your final destination. BIJ tickets are sold only in Europe, under the names of Wasteels and Eurotrain, but you can get further information on them at Wasteels Travel (www.wasteels.ro). In London, you can get the tickets at the Wasteels office at Victoria Station (tel. 020/7834-7066).

For the Eurail pass and Eurorail Select Pass, you need to scribble the date on the pass as you hop on the train; you don't need to wait in line at the ticket window. However, you will need to go to the ticket window if the train you want to take requires you to reserve a seat (such as the Pendolino, which, as a first-class train, doesn't accept the second-class youth passes) or if you want a spot in a sleeping couchette. The Eurail pass gets you only a 33% discount on the TGV train through the Chunnel from London to Paris. The passes are available in the United States through Rail Europe (tel. 877/257-2887; www.raileurope.com). No matter what everyone tells you, they can be bought in Europe as well (at the major train stations) but are more expensive. Rail Europe can also give you information on the rail-and-drive versions of the passes.

Railpasses are available in either consecutive-day or flexipass versions (you have, say, 2 months in which to use 10 days of train travel of your choosing as you go along). Consecutive-day passes are best for those taking the train very frequently (every few days), covering a lot of ground, and making many short train hops. Flexipasses are for folks who want to range far and wide but plan on taking their time over a long trip and intend to stay in each city for a while.

If you're under age 26, you can opt to buy a regular first-class pass or a second-class youth pass; if you're 26 or over, you're stuck with the first-class pass. Passes for kids 4 to 11 are half price, and kids under 4 travel free.

Countries Honoring Eurail Passes -- The following countries accept Eurail passes: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Note: Great Britain isn't included in any pass.