First Trip to Italy- Help!

Old May 23rd, 2017, 06:17 AM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
First Trip to Italy- Help!

Hi everyone!
New to Fodor's but after reading some of this forum's postings, this seems like an awesome community to be a part of! My husband and I are planning our first trip to Italy for May 2018. We would like to start in Venice, train to Rome, train to Positano, fly home from Naples. I have never planned a trip with multiple stops like this so it's stressing me out. To complicate matters, we need to fly into Frankfurt first to visit family. I have a bunch of questions and would like to present our sample itinerary. I know we should be spending more time in Venice and Rome but due to work constraints my husband can only take 2 weeks off.

Is it easy to figure out trains from Venice to Rome and Rome to Positano? Should we book these in advance?

What I have read from this website makes me think we should stay in Naples the evening before our flight home as everyone says traffic and airport chaos can be problematic. Am I understanding this correctly?

We plan on using AirBnBs so this might not be easily answered but how far in advance should I be looking to book accommodations?

On the ride from Rome to Positano we were hoping to stop at Pompeii. We would unfortunately have our checked luggage and carry-ons at this point. Is that too much to store at the site or train station?

I have read that for Venice, it doesn't really matter where you stay since the city is very small. We are used to walking when visiting other cities, we feel like it's the best way to get the vibe of the place (just spent 7+ hours a day walking Barcelona!). Is Venice really that walkable?

I was thinking of booking main flights from DC to Frankfurt round trip and taking small regional airlines to Venice and from Naples. Does this make sense? I have never coordinated this much travel for one trip so I am not sure the best way to do it.

Here's what we're thinking for an itinerary. I know it's some running around but neither of us mind that and we would like to end in Positano to relax (we are making this a "babymoon" of sorts so the relaxing part is non-negotiable haha). I didn't list museums as we are more architecture/history buffs so the buildings and landscapes are the big draw for us. Like I said, we would have loved more time in Rome and Venice but it's not feasible with his work schedule. Likewise, Florence is getting missed but we just don't have the time this trip. It won't be our last visit so there's always next time! Suggestions for changes, must sees and/or restaurants are welcome!

Day 1- Arrive in Venice from Germany
Day 2- Explore (Doges Palace, St. Mark's)
Day 3- Explore (Murano & Burano)
Day 4- Leave for Rome
Day 5- Forum, Colosseum, Palatine, Circus Maximus
Day 6- Vatican City, Trevi Fountain
Day 7- Leave for Positano, hopefully stop in Pompeii
Day 8- Relax
Day 9- Day trip to Capri
Day 10- Hike/explore/relax
Day 11- Leave for Naples
Day 12- Fly home

Looking forward to the feedback!
jessa620 is offline  
Old May 23rd, 2017, 06:54 AM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 25,422
Received 4 Likes on 4 Posts
well, welcome

generally if I was booking for May 18 I'd try and close it out by February.

There are two train companies on your route. trenitalia is the main incumbant and the webite is easy as long as you spell the names of the towns in ITALIAN. have a read of seat61.com to get the understanding. NTV is the other, a search will find both websites. I could give you more details but seat61 does it all

small local airlines. Well some of these small local airlines are pretty big. Play around with skyscanner to get the overall idea, but take car not all airports are where you would think they are and control of cabin baggage is tight.

Yes stop in naples, there are even hotels at the airport which is very near the centre of the city.

You have a very busy plan, I'd drop something "but the protestant work ethic is stong in these people" even on holiday

Also i'd drop the trevi fountain which is heaving with people and do something else, and on the afternoon before go and drink cocktails on the top but one deck of the "typewriter", best views in Rome.
bilboburgler is offline  
Old May 24th, 2017, 08:51 AM
  #3  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Haha yes, bilboburgler, it is a lot of ground to cover but I think doable. Worst case we get to Positano and just spend 3 full days on the beach and in cafes to rest and absorb. Thank you so much for all the information and things to consider, the train website is extremely helpful as well as I was struggling to figure the train situation out. Also, I looked into your "typewriter" building suggestion and that is excellent, I love a good place to take in a view with a cocktail
jessa620 is offline  
Old May 24th, 2017, 09:27 AM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 624
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
There is no reason to "drop" the Trevi fountain (which is especially a lot of fun to visit in the evening, after dinner.) It's right in the center of historic Rome, and you almost need to go out of your way to avoid it.

I will also warn you that the hotels near the airport in Naples are dreadful. A taxi from the center of town to Naples airport is a flat rate of about 35 euros, or you can take a taxi to the train station for a few euros, and then a bus to the airport for another few euros.

No doubt you will appreciate all the information people offer freely on this awesome community, but beware that a lot of the information is incredibly misleading and, frankly, can ruin your trip if you follow it. Double check with a good guidebook and if you enjoy social media as a way of planning a trip, try signing on to a couple of different forums.
frencharmoire is offline  
Old May 24th, 2017, 10:23 AM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 25,422
Received 4 Likes on 4 Posts
I've stayed in two hotels up by Naples airport, both fine, but use tripadvisor to pick them as some are c@@p as french suggests
bilboburgler is offline  
Old May 24th, 2017, 10:50 AM
  #6  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 7,919
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
You mention "round trip flights" from DC to Frankfurt, but it would make more sense to fly home to DC from Naples, unless there is some other important reason to return to Frankfurt. If using an airline website, or a general travel website such as www.expedia.com , check the box for "multi-city" instead of one-way or round-trip, and price a flight into Frankfurt and home from Naples. It's usually about the same price as a round trip, and if you consider the cost of returning to your arrival point, it's usually less.

Another factor to consider is that if you buy a round trip ticket to Frankfurt, and then a separate ticket to return to Frankfurt, the connection won't be guaranteed. You would need to arrive in Frankfurt the day before your flight to the US to be on the safe side. So getting a multi-city ticket may allow you to carve out an extra day for your vacation.

Here are the English language web sites for the two train companies mentioned above:

http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en
http://www.italotreno.it/en

And here is the Skyscanner web page, where you can find budget airline flights from Frankfurt to Venice.

https://www.skyscanner.net/

There is also an overnight train from Munich to Venice, which might be more convenient for you, as it leaves Munich a little before midnight and arrive at Venice at 8:30 in the morning, right in the center of the city, giving you a whole day there on the arrival day. Of course, you'd have to get to Munich, which is about 3 hours from Frankfurt by train, but that should still give you a whole day in Frankfurt as well. You can see this train on the German rail site. They show a train leaving Frankfurt a little before 8 PM, with a connection time of 11 minutes, but there is another an hour earlier that would give you an extra hour at the Munich station, maybe to have dinner there. In any case, short connection times are usually safe in Germany.

https://www.bahn.com/en/view/index.shtml

The overnight train may not run on weekends.
bvlenci is offline  
Old May 24th, 2017, 11:13 AM
  #7  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 7,919
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I meant to mention that there is no train to Positano. You would get a train to Naples, and change there to a local train (the Circumvesuviana) to Sorrento, which stops in Pompeii Scavi. The station is very near the entrance to the archaeological site, and you can check your luggage at the reception.

After the visit to Pompeii, you would take the same train on to Sorrento, where you could get a bus to Positano, or maybe get a private transfer to Salerno from Pompeii. Try to leave Rome as early as possible, as it can get very hot (and crowded) in Pompeii, even in May, and there is not much shade.

It might be better to visit Pompeii on your way back to Naples. If you do that, you might want to get a train to Salerno, rather than Naples. You can proceed to Positano from Salerno by bus or boat. Or you could get a private transfer to Positano from Salerno or Naples. I don't know how long it would take to get to Pompeii from Positano, but I would want to make the choice that gets you there earliest, before the bus tours arrive.

Finally, Sorrento isn't Positano, but it's a nice town, and a very convenient base for visits to the Amalfi Coast, Capri, and Pompeii.
bvlenci is offline  
Old May 24th, 2017, 11:48 AM
  #8  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 24,817
Received 4 Likes on 3 Posts
"Day 12- Fly home."

Tagging on to bvlenci's comments... Are you flying home through Frankfurt or heading home directly from Italy?

Either way, you might find more flight options if you re-ordered your itinerary to put Rome last. From Venice, go to Positano, see Pompei on your way to the Naples train station, and then end your trip in Rome.

If you look into "smaller" air carriers, make sure you note which airports they fly into and out of (some use secondary city airports) and what their luggage limits/fees are.

Be careful with your AirBnB locations, esp. in Venice and Rome. Your time is so short that you don't want to be far from the main sights.
Jean is online now  
Old May 24th, 2017, 11:48 AM
  #9  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thank you for the feedback, French! My husband has his heart set on the Trevi Fountain in the evening so it’s nice to hear that’s a better time to wander over. The cabs from Naples center to the airport sound perfect, glad to hear it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Also, excellent advice re: travel books and forums. I’m a researcher so it’ll be nice to use different sites and opinions to plan this trip.
Bvlenci, love the websites, thank you! And this may sound silly, but I have never understood how to book multi-city travel so thank you for that as well! I think you are right, using Frankfurt as a base is risky and unnecessarily complicated. The train from Munich sounds great and I will look into it more, it would be nice to gain the half day in Venice. The details for Pompeii and trains are much appreciated and your suggestion to go to Pompeii on the way back to Naples is probably going to be best. I will be looking into Sorrento further, convenience would be wonderful given the short nature of the trip and the town looks beautiful!
jessa620 is offline  
Old May 24th, 2017, 12:06 PM
  #10  
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 21
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I might be pointing you in the wrong direction, so someone is more than welcome to correct me if I'm wrong...

Would it be a good idea to do Venice to Positano to Rome and fly out from Rome?

We did a very similar trip in September and I personally am not a fan of Naples and would suggest just skipping it all together. This would also cut back on some travel time I believe.

Day 1- Arrive in Venice from Germany
Day 2- Explore (Doges Palace, St. Mark's)
Day 3- Explore (Murano & Burano)
Day 4- Leave for Positano
Day 5- Relax
Day 6- Day trip to Capri
Day 7- Hike/explore/relax
Day 8- Leave for Rome with a stop in Pompeii
Day 9- Forum, Colosseum, Palatine, Circus Maximus
Day 10- Vatican City, Trevi Fountain
Day 11- Explore
Day 12- Fly home
hebaseheart is offline  
Old May 24th, 2017, 12:20 PM
  #11  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Jean, good advice re: AirBnB. I have had positive experiences but have always stayed put longer so location wasn't so integral. I think reordering the itinerary is worth looking into, Rome would be easier to fly out of in terms of options and wouldn't necessitate a stay in Naples (no offense to Naples, we just hadn't planned an overnight there).

From what hebaseheart posted, it looks like we would actually gain a full day in Rome (or Venice if we chose) by re-ordering as well which would be awesome. Anyone care to comment whether the extra day is best served in Rome or Venice? I guess I ordered it the way I originally did due to shorter train trips but the longer one to Positano from Venice seems to give us more time, thanks for that!

You guys all rock and have given me so much info to consider, thank you!
jessa620 is offline  
Old May 24th, 2017, 12:26 PM
  #12  
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 21
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
No problem! If you decide that the train from Venice to Positano is too much travel time, you could always take a direct flight to Naples or Rome and catch the train from there
hebaseheart is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
htomlin412
Europe
7
Dec 21st, 2016 05:17 PM
mvs
Europe
4
Jan 24th, 2006 11:56 PM
nsm2
Europe
5
Jul 14th, 2003 06:25 AM
1tony
Europe
4
Jun 21st, 2003 08:43 AM
Marketa
Europe
1
Aug 8th, 2002 09:34 AM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -