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Let's get this vacay started! Venice, Lucca, Sorrento, Rome

Let's get this vacay started! Venice, Lucca, Sorrento, Rome

Old Sep 16th, 2010, 07:36 AM
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Let's get this vacay started! Venice, Lucca, Sorrento, Rome

Due to being very excited about our upcoming trip, I’ve decided to start my trip report a little early with a brief overview of our itinerary and daily plans. Since I’m pretty addicted to email and electronic correspondence in general, my intent is to find a few internet cafés or wifi spots along the way and update this report real time.

Before I get started, I just wanted to say “Thank You!” to everyone who contributes to this forum. I have been a long time lurker, but have benefited immensely from all your advice and appreciate the time everyone takes in sharing.

And now, without further ado, the report begins.

Background:
My sister and I have always talked about renting a villa in Tuscany (as I’m sure many do), but never had any motivation to put our plan into action. At the time, I was sharing a cubicle at work, and my cube mate had just gotten back from Mexico and was showing me pictures of his trip and their rental where they stayed. The pictures were gorgeous, especially their villa, and he showed me the website (HomeAway.com) where they had found it. I surfed around the site a little that day, stumbled upon the villa that would one day be “our” villa, sent the link to my sister, sent it to a few more friends, and the rest is history. I still can’t believe that we were able to get 12 people to commit, 9 months in advance, but we did! And the trip was officially official!

The players:
Sister (K), Brother in law (D) and husband (J) are my main traveling companions. We will be flying together and staying in all the same places, with the main sightseeing reservations made together. As for the villa group, there are 4 couples (2 of which are K, D, J and myself) and 4 singletons. Everyone has their own separate itinerary…one couple is starting in Munich and working their way down, another is starting in Rome and ending in Lake Como, etc. But we will all converge at the villa for one week.
We are all mid 20s to mid 30s professionals, and most of us have known everyone else for awhile. I am keeping a positive attitude about our abilities to get along, as I have heard horror stories, but I hope I won’t be adding any of my own. (fingers crossed) (and as a side note, I think if I get annoyed with anyone, it will be the sister, but that has been par for the course for 30 years. )

Lodging:
Venice: Ca Dei Dogi near St Marks Sq. http://www.cadeidogi.it/
Villa: Villa Lean about 10 km north east of Lucca http://www.villalean.com/home_new.asp
Sorrento: Hotel Belair on via Capo http://www.belair.it/en/index.php
Rome: Relais Navona 71 on Piazza Navona – recently found out there is scaffolding covering our “view” windows. We were given a discount, but still, disappointing. http://relaisnavona.hotelinroma.com/

The plan:
Day 0/Day 1: leave on American out of Boston Logan with a 2.5 hour layover in Paris CDG. We arrive in Venice at 11:30 am. Plan on just getting out and exploring the city, walking off jetlag (fingers crossed again that there won’t be much of that) and finding someplace with outdoor seating and a view for dinner.

Day 2: Venice: haven’t officially formulated a plan, but possible sights to see include the Rialto bridge and fish market, the Frari church, St Marks sq and the Doge’s palace. Would like to find someplace out of the way this evening for a late night gondola ride, to try and find the romantic side of the gondola ride. If it happens good, if its looking too touristy, then no biggie.

Day 3: Venice to Villa: pretty much counting on this as purely a travel day. Picking up the car, stocking up on groceries, stopping at an Autogrill?

Day 4: Villa: Plans include exploring Lucca, biking the walls, and a welcome dinner prepared for us back at the villa by our proprietor/chef, Monica. Yum!

Day 5: Villa: Plans include a daytrip to San Gigminano and Siena to meet up with some friends who happen to be in Italy honeymooning at the same time! Drinks in Siena at Liberamente on the Campo as a meeting point around noon.

Day 6: Villa: Possible plans include some beach time in Forte dei Marmi if the weather is nice.

Day 7: Villa: plans include a group bike and wine tour (!) through NotOrdinaryWays meeting and ending in Lucca. Followed by some pool time at the villa.

Day 8: Villa: possible plans include a daytrip to Florence. Need to spend time figuring out what our priorities are in Florence.

Day 9: Villa: possible plans include a cooking class at the villa. More pool time.

Day 10: Villa to Sorrento: Another full travel day. Dropping off the car, and taking the train to Naples and onto Sorrento.

Day 11: Sorrento: Plans include a daytrip to Capri, with a Gozzo boat rental planned from 2-5 pm through Capritime. Definitely want to visit Anacapri and take the chairlift to Monte Solaro, if we have time would like to walk around Villa Tiberious, and of course, take an open top taxi at some point.

Day 12: Sorrento: Plans include a daytrip to Pompei with a private guide (Fiorella Squillante) in the morning, followed by a visit to Naples for some pizza and the Museum of Archeology.

Day 13: Sorrento: No real plans for this day. Thinking about a bus ride down the Amalfi Coast, but want to make sure we are fully rested for Rome. We might just end up exploring Sorrento and drinking lots of Limoncello.

Day 14: Sorrento to Rome: Taking the train to Rome, and hope to be there by noon. I’d like to have a well layed out plan for this day before it gets here, but some ideas for sights include the Spanish steps, Pantheon, trevi fountain, villa Borghese, trastevere, campo di fiori (I know I won’t see all, those are just jumping off points for whatever ends up making the most sense logistically)

Day 15: Rome: Long day: we have a Scavi tour reservation at 9:15 and Vatican tour reservations through Maximus Tours at 1:15.

Day 16: Rome: Plans for the day include the Cappuchin Crypt (I know this isn’t high on most people’s list, but I’m a little odd that way. If we decide there’s something else we’d rather do, then do it we shall) Roma Antica tour through Context Tours at 3 pm.

Day 17: Rome: time to go home. Our plane leaves at 11:45 am with a stopover in London Heathrow, before getting us back to Boston around 6 ish.

So there you have it. Thems the plans. Stay tuned to see how it all plays out! I’m excited to find out myself!
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Old Sep 16th, 2010, 07:44 AM
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Nice trip.
Why not drive to Sorrento and drop the car?
Sure beats 3 trains and schlepping luggage.
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Old Sep 16th, 2010, 08:29 AM
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Buona Fortuna GJB! Can't wait to hear about it upon your return. If you go to Florence, try to have lunch at Sostanza - amazing chicken!
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Old Sep 16th, 2010, 08:36 AM
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hi bob,
i don't know why i didn't think of that. i'm guessing because its ingrained in me that it is much more expensive to pick up/drop off a rental car at different locations. but that's not so in italy it would seem.
off to investigate...
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Old Sep 16th, 2010, 10:52 AM
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When is your trip?

Your Capri day seems a bit overscheduled. Return ferries don't run late, but depends on time of year.

You will probably pass the Cappuchin Crypt on your way to Borghese so I would combine these on the same day.
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Old Sep 16th, 2010, 11:31 AM
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hi kybourbon - we are leaving next week. as far as i can tell, the last ferry to sorrento leaves at 7 pm, but there looks to be several options between 5 and 7. (the boat company we renting with docks at marina grande, so it shouldn't be too much trouble to get on the ferry). as with everything listed, its not so much a "must do" as a "want to"; i won't stress about crossing things off the list!
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Old Sep 16th, 2010, 11:33 AM
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oh, and thank you for the cappuchin crypt/borghese connection! i think that will really work for us!
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Old Sep 16th, 2010, 12:17 PM
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Is this trip soon, or are you talking about sometime next spring-summer-fall?
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Old Sep 16th, 2010, 12:26 PM
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Sorry, just saw the reference to "leaving next week."

Sounds good if a bit rushed in spots, especially Venice and Rome. Then again, I'm an admitted city girl and probably wouldn't spend that many days at a villa when the itinerary also includes the Sorrento area.

I'd make some rainy-day plans in case the weather doesn't cooperate.
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Old Sep 16th, 2010, 12:28 PM
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The 116 bus (small bus that runs through the historic center) runs up via Veneto (past the crypt) to Villa Borghese (and through it). You can catch it various places in the park or near the crypt and the Piazza Navona area. If you have some type of pass (Roma Pass, 1 day transport pass, 3 day transport pass, etc.) you can just hop on and off. You can switch lines to go to the Spanish Steps, etc. Here's a map of the 116 route.
http://www.atac.roma.it/files/doc.asp?r=9
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Old Sep 17th, 2010, 02:19 PM
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hi gwen,

great idea for a trip, and you have paced it well i think.

just a few ideas for your stay in Venice - there are some restaurants along the Zattere with views out over the water to the giudecca - very nice - which would be very pleasant for your first night dinner.

for day 2, I recommend getting to the rialto market reasonably early and finding a cafe to have breakfast - there are a few round there - if your hotel breakfast isn't free. then after a look round the market, head down to the Frari as you have planned, but don't forget to see the Tinteretos in the scuola di san rocco opposite. then you can walk down through dorsoduro to the Zattere, and get the boat to San georgio and go up the tower - much nicer and far fewer crowds than the san marco one.

then a boat back to the zattere to see the guggenheim and/or accademia, followed by the accademia bridge to san marco, or another boat over to san marco, as you prefer.

have a great trip!
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Old Oct 12th, 2010, 04:37 AM
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we are back! so much for my attempts at updating as we went along. i've started with my reviews of the hotels, and i'm working on the restaurants and hope to have those up soon! and then if i'm feeling ambitious, i can do a bit more of a play-by-play with what we did, what worked, and what didn't. definitely a wonderful vacation!
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Old Oct 12th, 2010, 04:40 AM
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Ca’Dei Dogi – Venice – 220 Euro/night
Loved this hotel! The rooms were quite small (about 1 foot on three sides of the bed), but very nicely done. Modern and clean. We had one of the rooms with a small balcony, and the courtyard it looked over was peaceful and quiet. Breakfast was served every morning in the adjoining restaurant and was very plentiful with yummy cappuccinos and mushroom omelets. The host and hostess very super friendly and recommended what turned out to be one of my favorite dinner spots of the whole trip. “A+”
Villa Lean – Valgiano (just north of Lucca) - $3500 for 12 for 1 week
12 of us stayed in this villa, and it was fabulous. It more than lived up to the pictures, and the hostess, Monica, was very nice and accommodating. It was a bit hard to find by the time we got there in the dark, but that was the only trouble we ever had getting to and fro. The kitchen was well stocked, and the rooms were nice and clean. It was really just like being at home in Italy, and I would stay there again in a heartbeat. “A+”
Hotel Belair – Sorrento – 190 Euro/night
Just up the hill a bit on Via Capo, the views from our balconies were absolutely amazing! We could look all the way across the bay of Naples and even Ishcia and Capri. The hotel itself is somewhat fancy and fussy in an old fashioned sort of way. There is a piano bar area and breakfast served in the dining area every morning. The food was not that great and the coffee/espresso/cappuccinos were the WORST we had the whole trip. The room and bathroom was really spacious tho, and I was even able to take a bath, so thumbs up for that! All and all, very nice, just a bit more “cruiseship-like” than I’m used to. “A”
Navona 71 – Rome
Never actually stayed here since they “lost” our reservation 4 days before we were set to check in, and 9 months after I originally reserved and 2 weeks after I emailed (and successfully) confirmed. They did not offer to find us anything else until we pressed hard, and by then we’d found something on our own. “C-“
Hotel Piazza di Spagna – Rome – 335 Euro/night
This was the one hotel that we could find 2 rooms in at such a short notice. The location was great. And that’s all that was great. For the most expensive hotel of our trip, this was a shithole to put it plainly. My sister’s room had visible bedbugs, ON THE BED, and the front desk could care less. The rooms were very dingy, dark and tired, and the breakfast area in the back was creepy. We stayed here only out of necessity. “D-“
Hotel Condotti – Rome – 350 Euro/night (but luckily they negotiated a discount)
After my sister found bedbugs in Hotel Piazza di Spagna, she went across the street to this hotel, paid ever more for a room, and found visable bedbugs AGAIN. At least this hotel cared, and tried to make it right. Still, the bedbug thing is out of control in Rome it would seem.
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Old Oct 12th, 2010, 05:08 AM
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The villa sounds wonderful-would love a link to your hotels if poss.
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Old Oct 12th, 2010, 05:13 AM
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hi TDudette - here are the webpages of the places we stayed (and liked)

Venice: Ca Dei Dogi near St Marks Sq. http://www.cadeidogi.it/

Villa: Villa Lean about 10 km north east of Lucca http://www.villalean.com/home_new.asp

Sorrento: Hotel Belair on via Capo http://www.belair.it/en/index.php
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