Italy Tour 10 days
Jun 17th, 2016, 12:52 PM
#1
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Italy Tour 10 days
My Husband and I are planning a tour in July
Land in Rome spend 2 nights
Travel by train to Florence spend 3 nights- with a day trip to Venice
Travel by train to Pisa and fly out to either Austria (Salzburg) or Switzerland and spend 2 nights at a castle hotel.
We might be able to stretch our trip to 12 days keeping the same itinerary- in which case we would add an extra night in Austria/Swiss and Rome.
Any feedback on this itinerary?
Land in Rome spend 2 nights
Travel by train to Florence spend 3 nights- with a day trip to Venice
Travel by train to Pisa and fly out to either Austria (Salzburg) or Switzerland and spend 2 nights at a castle hotel.
We might be able to stretch our trip to 12 days keeping the same itinerary- in which case we would add an extra night in Austria/Swiss and Rome.
Any feedback on this itinerary?
Jun 17th, 2016, 01:19 PM
#2
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Yipes! You will spend most of your trip in transit. Remember than two nights somewhere is just one day. I wouldn't spend fewer than three nights in any of these destinations (which is just 2 days).
Jun 17th, 2016, 01:20 PM
#3
have you ever been to any of these places before?
If not you may feel somewhat shortchanged - for example your 2 nights give you only one whole day in one of the most interesting and vibrant cities in the world, and that when you are potentially suffering from jet lag.
In Florence you have 2 days, but are intending to spend one of those on a day trip to Venice - in itself a round trip of 4 hours or so - so I'm not sure what you hope to achieve in such a short time while you're there, especially in July when Venice will be crowded with other day trippers during the day. IMO you will get a much better impression of Venice and its attractions if you can spend at least one night there - is that a possibly? you might as well fly out from there as from Pisa, or even get a train to Austria/Switzerland.
Do you have your flights booked yet?
you might like to think about doing an open jaw [multi city] flight into Rome and out of somewhere else [? Salzburg]
Even with a couple more nights, it seems to be a lot of travelling around for not much seeing the things you've travelled so far to see.
If not you may feel somewhat shortchanged - for example your 2 nights give you only one whole day in one of the most interesting and vibrant cities in the world, and that when you are potentially suffering from jet lag.
In Florence you have 2 days, but are intending to spend one of those on a day trip to Venice - in itself a round trip of 4 hours or so - so I'm not sure what you hope to achieve in such a short time while you're there, especially in July when Venice will be crowded with other day trippers during the day. IMO you will get a much better impression of Venice and its attractions if you can spend at least one night there - is that a possibly? you might as well fly out from there as from Pisa, or even get a train to Austria/Switzerland.
Do you have your flights booked yet?
you might like to think about doing an open jaw [multi city] flight into Rome and out of somewhere else [? Salzburg]
Even with a couple more nights, it seems to be a lot of travelling around for not much seeing the things you've travelled so far to see.
Jun 17th, 2016, 01:20 PM
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I would say possible but not ideal.
Depending on where you are coming from, 2 nights in Rome gets you 1 full day and part of a possibly jet lagged day. Most people who only have that amount of time end up not liking Rome very much (that was my experience my first time, I have since been back about 10 times and it's one of my favorite places on earth).
A day trip to Venice from Florence is possible - the train trip is only about 2 hours. But then you will be there for just the middle of the day - the same time as thousands and thousands of cruise ship passengers are there. You won't like Venice very much. My first time in Venice I did spend several days, and I've returned a number of times and love it. But once, I was staying in Padua and decided to do a day trip into Venice and thought - OMG this is awful, I'm so glad this is not my only exposure to Venice.
So - I would say if you only have 10 days forget Austria/Switzerland. Do either 4-3-3 Rome-Florence-Venice (maybe add in a day trip somewhere in Veneto or Tuscany). If you have 12 (I'd still skip Austria/Switzerland this trip) then do 4 or 5 days in Rome with Florence as a day trip, then train to Venice to 3 or 4 nights and fly from there to Austria or Switzerland and fly home from there.
Depending on where you are coming from, 2 nights in Rome gets you 1 full day and part of a possibly jet lagged day. Most people who only have that amount of time end up not liking Rome very much (that was my experience my first time, I have since been back about 10 times and it's one of my favorite places on earth).
A day trip to Venice from Florence is possible - the train trip is only about 2 hours. But then you will be there for just the middle of the day - the same time as thousands and thousands of cruise ship passengers are there. You won't like Venice very much. My first time in Venice I did spend several days, and I've returned a number of times and love it. But once, I was staying in Padua and decided to do a day trip into Venice and thought - OMG this is awful, I'm so glad this is not my only exposure to Venice.
So - I would say if you only have 10 days forget Austria/Switzerland. Do either 4-3-3 Rome-Florence-Venice (maybe add in a day trip somewhere in Veneto or Tuscany). If you have 12 (I'd still skip Austria/Switzerland this trip) then do 4 or 5 days in Rome with Florence as a day trip, then train to Venice to 3 or 4 nights and fly from there to Austria or Switzerland and fly home from there.
Jun 17th, 2016, 03:50 PM
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I suggest no more than 3 stops. Ten days, you could fly into Rome and out of Venice or the reverse, Florence on the way. If day one is the arrival day, and you have one travel day, you have 8 full days to distribute among these locations. Day trips you double the train times and add 4 trips going back and forth from stations.
Jun 17th, 2016, 04:23 PM
#7
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This trip is physically possible but you will have very limited time to do/see anything versus spending it sitting on a train or a plane - a very exhausting, expensive trip of the train stations of europe.
In the limited time you have agree to limit to c cities. Just to see the basics in Rome you need 4 nights (3 days there) since you first day is 12 day of jet lagged.
And definitely do open jaws flights to avoid wasting a ay going back to your first city.
In the limited time you have agree to limit to c cities. Just to see the basics in Rome you need 4 nights (3 days there) since you first day is 12 day of jet lagged.
And definitely do open jaws flights to avoid wasting a ay going back to your first city.
Jun 20th, 2016, 03:23 AM
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Just to muddy the waters...
A day trip to Venice from Florence is easily doable, cheaper than staying in an overpriced Venice Hotel and saves the bother of all that 'finding the hotel, checking in, getting your things out etc'.
But, to do it properly, you'll need to leave your Florence hotel in the morning about 6.30am for a 7am departure. Breakfast on the train as the sun rises and you pass through northern Tuscany, Emilia Romagna then Veneto. You'll have an entire day in Venice and return on the penultimate train to Florence exhausted. But it is quite a day!
A day trip to Venice from Florence is easily doable, cheaper than staying in an overpriced Venice Hotel and saves the bother of all that 'finding the hotel, checking in, getting your things out etc'.
But, to do it properly, you'll need to leave your Florence hotel in the morning about 6.30am for a 7am departure. Breakfast on the train as the sun rises and you pass through northern Tuscany, Emilia Romagna then Veneto. You'll have an entire day in Venice and return on the penultimate train to Florence exhausted. But it is quite a day!
Jun 20th, 2016, 03:40 AM
#9
You need 3-4 nights in Rome (three nights gives you two sightseeing days). It's not clear if your 10 days includes travel days to and from your home country. It appears you only have 7 hotel nights (that's how many you listed). If you only have 7-8 hotel nights, pick 2 cities.
Jun 20th, 2016, 08:16 AM
#10
The first train from Florence to Venice departs at 07:30, connects in Bologna, and arrives at 10:18. (This option does not run on Sundays.) The next train from Florence leaves at 08:30, makes no connection, and arrives at 10:35.
It takes at least 30 minutes to get from the train station to Piazza San Marco or Gallerie dell'Accademia or a couple of minutes less to reach the Rialto Bridge.
The last fast train from Venice to Florence leaves at 19:25, so it's not a terribly long day in the city for all that travel time.
It takes at least 30 minutes to get from the train station to Piazza San Marco or Gallerie dell'Accademia or a couple of minutes less to reach the Rialto Bridge.
The last fast train from Venice to Florence leaves at 19:25, so it's not a terribly long day in the city for all that travel time.
Jun 20th, 2016, 09:33 AM
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Do you already have flight tickets? Into? Departing? Exact days and dates will be necessary to give best recommendations.
Do you mean this July - a month from now?
Keep things simple.
No long day trips, an hour each way max because of crowds in heat of summer.
7 nights, 2 places (2 hotels, max)
9 nights, 3 places (3 hotels, max)
12 nights, 4 places (4 hotels, max)
Allow a minimum of 3 nights in Rome!
If you cannot spend at least a night in Venice, in July, you might want to skip it.
If going to Switzerland just for a castle stay, there are plenty of beautiful places to stay in Italy. Consider instead a night of two in one of the Italian Lakes and depart from Milan or Venice (depending on the lake you choose).
Remember that each time you change places, hotel to train station, train time, station to hotel, you lose about 1/2 day or more in travel. It will be even more by plane.
Do you have a major interest in Art? If not, here is one possibility.
Rome, 3 or 4 nights
Early train to Florence. Leave luggage at the train station. Tour Florence.
Train on to Venice in the evening.
Venice, 2 or 3 nights
Depending on extra days or times, train to lake (look for recs from others as to what is best) for 2 nights. Depart from Milan.
Do you mean this July - a month from now?
Keep things simple.
No long day trips, an hour each way max because of crowds in heat of summer.
7 nights, 2 places (2 hotels, max)
9 nights, 3 places (3 hotels, max)
12 nights, 4 places (4 hotels, max)
Allow a minimum of 3 nights in Rome!
If you cannot spend at least a night in Venice, in July, you might want to skip it.
If going to Switzerland just for a castle stay, there are plenty of beautiful places to stay in Italy. Consider instead a night of two in one of the Italian Lakes and depart from Milan or Venice (depending on the lake you choose).
Remember that each time you change places, hotel to train station, train time, station to hotel, you lose about 1/2 day or more in travel. It will be even more by plane.
Do you have a major interest in Art? If not, here is one possibility.
Rome, 3 or 4 nights
Early train to Florence. Leave luggage at the train station. Tour Florence.
Train on to Venice in the evening.
Venice, 2 or 3 nights
Depending on extra days or times, train to lake (look for recs from others as to what is best) for 2 nights. Depart from Milan.
