rfic

Good to find this forum!

My wife and I plan to visit Europe first time for 2 weeks (16 days) in October from Los Angeles. Plan to go Paris, Rome and Venice for sure

Also considering to visit Amalfi coast, cinque terra, French Riviera if possible, now the question is

Since we plan to stay 3 days in Paris, 2-3 days in Rome, 1 day in Venice, we only have about 7 days left for other places and transportation

1. Before we consider to rent a car from French Rivera's nearby (such as toulon or marsiella) and go along coast line, all way to Amalfi coast, how long it will take to drive and visit those places? How difficult to access those places with car? Such as road condition, parking, etc.? I drives couple of times to hwy 1 in California, are they very similar, or much harder?

2. After I read a lot of negative feedback of renting car, I'm thinking using public transportation; in this case, we have to use some city as base for each place -- in this case, which of these 3 places is most worthy of visiting? Which city I should use as base? Any tour bus available from base city to those places? Or I have to call for pick up service? ( how much is this kind of service)

Any suggestion is welcome, really appreciate!

kybourbon

You really don't have time for all that. Assuming you are flying into Paris and home from Venice, Paris needs more than 3 days (especially if you are counting arrival day as one of those days). Rome needs more also as does Venice. Keep in mind that two nights somewhere results in only one sightseeing day.

Does the 16 days include travel to and from?

bobthenavigator

Here is a plan that will work given your time:
1. Paris---4
2. Fly to Venice--3
3. Train to CT---2
4. train to Rome--4

Mimar

October is not the best time of year for seaside resorts like Cinque Terre and the Amalfi coast. The weather is iffy. Cinque Terre, in particular, has nothing much to do if it's raining. And many of the hotels and restaurants on the AC will be closed or closing. The French Riviera has more to see and do in the fall. And you can see it quite well by public transportation.

If you rent a car in one country and drop it off in another country, you'll pay a big surcharge.

If you're flying from LA, you'll be jetlagged and sleepy on arrival and for a day or two. Allow extra time in Paris to get over jetlag.

I agree you have too much planned for your two weeks. Any chance of more time?

hetismij2

Don't forget also that you will arrive in Europe a day after you leave LA. The first day will be jetlagged, but if you can stay awake until evening you should get over it fairly quickly, though it hits everyone differently.

stevewith

If you are coming from Los Angeles, you might find the French Riviera is really not all that exciting a destination. The architecture of much of seaside Southern California is a deliberate imitation of the French Riviera, and although the croissants are better, you can sometimes feel like you are in Santa Monica.

I disagree that October is not a good time to go to the Amalfi coast, and that coastal area would be the easiest one to fit into your plans. You can reach the Amalfi coast using public transportation, or if you dont mind scary cliff driving, you can rent a car.

stevewith

I hit the button too soon!

This is how I would do your wish list in 2 weeks time

Fly into Rome, head directly to the Amalfi coast using public transportation. Stay 4 nights.

Go to Rome by train -- 3 nights

Train to Venice -- 3 nights

Fly to Paris (or train) for the remainder. Fly home from Paris.

momolisa

Hi LA,
you've chosen really splendid places to visit in France and Italy. I love them all and I have visited them moreoften. Lucky me- I live in Europe and for me distances are short!

Easiest and quickest transportation between the big cities will be by plane. Public transport to the airports is quick and available 24hrs a day. 1 day in Venice seems pretty short to me- there's too much to see and the atmosphere is very special and really outstanding.

I would never go by car from Southern France to the Amalficoast- too long distance, the highway doesn't go along the coast and you will miss the beautiful views.

There are daytrips from Rome to the Amalficoast- a little expensive, but worth the money. They pick you up at the hotel take you to all interesting places and take you back there in the evening. http://www.viator.com/tours/Rome/Pom...e/d511-2635POM

The best way to travel Cinque terre is by train. It takes more than 1 day to visit all 5 villages. A good base city might be Levanto, the doorway to Cinque Terre. http://www.cinqueterreonline.com/

There are also boat trips along the coast. http://www.cinqueterre.eu.com/en/boat-excursions

I'd think about visiting either Amalfi coast or cinque terre. They are not that different and it will be more relaxing.
As for French Riviera, a trainride from Paris to Nice takes less than six hours (by TGV) and it's a very comfortable way of travelling. (There's also a train from Nice to Rome)
http://en.voyages-sncf.com/en/

I hope this does help you a little!
Greetings from Germany
M.

suec1

It would probably be helpful if we knew your start and end points - do you have plane tickets?

That being said, I'd add ONE of the optional seaside destinations and probably either Nice or Amalfi. Nice is in a lovely area (maybe I need to hang out more in Santa Monica!)and it's very easy to explore by public transportation - there are local buses that are cheap and frequent and lots to see and do, even if the weather turns iffy. The Aamlfi coast also offers lots to do and good public transportation - I agree with the poster that said if the weather is bad, and Oct. could go either way) that the CT would not be a very pleasant place to be.

ekc

I agree with the other posters that you do not have enough time to visit all of your destinations - especially if you haven't been to any of these places before. IMO, 3 days in Paris and Rome are not enough for either city, unless you have been there before. And people often don't take into consideration the time it takes to change hotels/cities - usually half of a day.

This is a suggestion:

Day 1 - leave US
Day 2 - arrive Rome in a.m., train to Naples, driver to Positano, get to hotel, check in, unpack, shower, change, wander town, dinner, sleep
Day 3 - see Positano
Day 4 - day trip via ferry to Amalfi and tour Amalfi and Ravello
Day 5 - pack, check out of hotel, driver to Naples, train to Rome, get to hotel, check in, unpack, lunch, see a couple of sights, dinner, sleep
Day 6 - see Ancient Rome
Day 7 - see Vatican
Day 8 - see "the rest" of Rome
Day 9 - pack, check out of hotel, get to train station, train to Venice, get to hotel, check in, unpack, lunch, wander Venice, dinner, sleep
Day 10 - see Venice
Day 11 - see Venice/Murano/Burano
Day 12 - pack, check out of hotel, get to airport, flight to Paris, get to hotel, check in, unpack, lunch, wander Paris, dinner, sleep
Day 13 - see Paris
Day 14 - daytrip to Versaille
Day 15 - see Paris
Day 16 - fly home.

greg

I think an explanation on what you mean by "base" is needed. With respect to traveling to cities in Italy, one use of "base" is to stay in one place an visiting outside that town/city, e.g. stay in Florence and visit Pisa, stay in Napoli and visit AC, etc. You really don't much time for these kind of trips considering the number of places you want to go.

If you are using "base" as a place to stay within the city and visiting other part of the city, you may require a paradigm shift if you are coming from the Southern California. Traveling within the cities you mentioned is best accomplished by public transportation. In fact, in Venice, there isn't any road for cars except at the tip facing the mainland.

kybourbon

>>>Fly into Rome, head directly to the Amalfi coast using public transportation. Stay 4 nights.<<<
>>>Day 2 - arrive Rome in a.m., train to Naples, driver to Positano, get to hotel, check in, unpack, shower, change, wander town, dinner, sleep<<<

I don't agree with this for a first time traveler to Europe. While I've done it more than once, I'm familiar with the airport/train stations/ticket purchasing, etc. as I've been all these places. Last time I did this (FCO/Amalfi) with a first time traveler, it about did her in. If she had been with her husband trying to do it alone, she would not have made it. She was that overwhelmed and she really didn't have to do anything as I was buying the tickets and knew where to go. Last time I booked a long layover (about 10 hours) in Amsterdam (on the way to Zurich) so a relative (not a first time traveler to Europe) could see a bit of Amsterdam, he ended up like a zombie for several days. He remembers very little about Amsterdam or the first few days of the trip. You just don't know how someone will react to a long overnight flight.

ekc

Good point KY - I just figure that I am wiped out flying to Italy from the west coast and lose the first day in Italy to jetlag anyway, so why not "waste" it on the train getting to the furthest destination.

IMHO, getting a taxi from FCO to the train station, buying a ticket, sitting on the train for an hour and then meeting a driver to get you where you need to be is not that difficult. But I definitely could be wrong - wouldn't be the first time!

rfic

thanks all for detail information !

so after digest all reply, here're some conclusions/more information

1. 16 days is max vacation i can have, it does include flight from/back to LA; we haven't order flight yet, any difference first go to paris or rome?

2. it seems we should only have time for either Amalfi coast or French riveria -- we'll study these 2 places in more detail to see which one we'll pick (if French rivera is really same as santa monica, we might skip it -- it's 3 hrs drive from my home, so been there many many times)

3. if we pick Amalfi coast, seems we can even based from Rome; if we pick up French Riveria, seems i can based from Nice -- is my understanding correct? is Nice worthy of 1 day stay besides French riviera?

what i mean "base" is we can find public tour bus start from that base city and come back to that base city

thank all

ekc

I would not recommend trying to see the Amalfi Coast as a day trip from Rome. It would be a long, exhausting, expensive day on a tour bus with lots of other people and you would get very little time in any of the towns themselves.

nytraveler

You can spend one day on the AC from Rome - but it will b a very long day - as in 15 or 16 hours. You can't do it every day - just way too far. And I would do the AC only at the beginning of the trip - if you wait until the end ybe warm - you will be headed into fall and weather may have warmish weather or you may have cool and rain - not the best for a beach resort.

suec1

Sorrento is a good base for the Amalfi coast - you can easily get to Pompeii, explore other towns on the coast and take a ferry / hydrofoil to Capri for a daytrip. Also Naples can be a daytrip - good archeological museum. The city of Nice is worth at least a day to explore and then the region can keep you busy for several more.

Does anyone else want to comment on the Santa Monica / Nice comparison. I've only spent a few hours in Santa Monica years ago, but I think Nice is very much French and anywhere in the US is in the US - quite different in ambiance than Europe even if there are architectural similarities.

StuDudley

There are many many more medieval villages around the Cote d'Azur than there are in Santa Monica. No Negresco (Nice) type buildings in So Calif. I've never seen anything like Old Nice in California (except for the graffiti).

Stu Dudley
Lifetime Calif resident & frequent (2 months per year) visitor to France & Italy.

kelsey22

bookmarking

Jean

The French Riviera similar to Santa Monica??? Someone tell me that's a joke. Or some bizarre Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce boast.