davispeets

We like a late start on vacation, given that, by the time we arrive somewhere things are shut down.

Do you have an effective strategy?

Our current travel style is more town stroller and café sitters/wine drinker, then museum/church visiting. Long lunches/dinners make us antsy, unless we are outdoors with people walking by.

We will be day tripping with a car from Spello in October. [Overall plan: Perugia(3), Spello (3), Orvieto (2), and Rome(6))]

annhig

hi, davispeets,

our method has been to get an early start [not stupidly early, but say 9.30 ish] perhaps drive for an hour or so to our first destination, sightsee for a couple of hours, have lunch when everything is shutting down, then either sightsee again, or, drive to next place and sightsee there.

However, the method of my italian teacher at the language school i went to last year was rather different - start at about 4pm, drive to the destination, tour, drive again, [by which time it was about 8pm] have dinner , go home. although this was designed to take into account the fact that we had lessons in the morning, a lunch break, then siesta, it worked very well.

good luck!

tuscanlifeedit

If churches and museums are out, that kind of kills my strategy. I plan carefully around what's open midday and make those visits after lunch.

When not visiting churches and museums, we go for historic sites and monuments or ancient sites. A drive to see a natural feature or out of the way historic site sometimes can fill midday hours.

I can't quite see how late starts and short lunches will work for town strollers; it seems that you might have to change your usual way of doing things for this trip.

What about spas or thermal baths?

bobthenavigator

Regardless of how you fill your time and what you may want to see, I suggest the day is really in 4 segments:
0900 to 1300---discovery time
1300 to 1600---Pranzo and nap time
1600 to 1900---cocktails/gelato/shopping/passagiatta
1900 to 2300---dinner time

Is is the first segment that people may not use to best advantage----it is the reason I went in the first place.

davispeets

It is becoming clear to me that we need to get out the door earlier, but with the promise, as well as giving myself the "permission," to come back during what I would normally consider the prime time of the day, to instead nap and relax, and then heading back out. That third segment is my favorite part, but when I've been out all day - I am sometimes too tired to keep going.

My motto will be take a break in the day, it's ok you are not wasting the day you are lengthening the day.

socaltraveler

You really have to adjust to la bella vita Italiana or you find yourself with a big chunk of YOUR day with little to do as things are closed. Bob has it mapped well.

annhig

to come back during what I would normally consider the prime time of the day, to instead nap and relax, and then heading back out. >>

it's common sense really as it;s the hottest part of the day. many monuments etc have opening hours from say, 0900 - 1300 and 1600 - 1900.

the palazzo vecchio in Florence opens until midnight in summer.

StCirq

Bob's got it right, of course. You can't DO Italy the way YOU want to. Get out early, linger over lunch or take a nap (I never nap) or go into churches during the middle of the day, gt back to sightseeing for the rest of the afternoon, take a café break around 6 pm, stroll some more, have dinner around 8ish.

sundriedpachino

Good advice. I might add that if you have a car, and are doing daytrips, closing times are a good time to do some driving between your destinations, and/or have a picnic with the goodies you bought in the market that morning.

It looks like you may be doing some driving with the itinerary you have.

A_Brit_In_Ischia

Many good reasons to adopt the siesta but - in October - you shouldn't find even midday temperatures too much of a worry.

Remember that by then we'll be down to only 12 hours of daylight, from 7 to 7:

http://www.gaisma.com/en/location/rome.html

... although it's very handy for dawn and sunset photos!

Peter

gertie3751

It's when you don't have a car that it gets tricky. Right now I'm in Umbria getting the train or bus every day to various towns. I too don't like early starts but unless I leave around 7-8am there's little chance of getting somewhere for much sightseeing before everywhere closes. The last bus back is often 6-7pm. Public transport is designed for local people rather than tourists. And it's obviously not possible to get the bus back to base for a nap in the middle so....? Makes for long days and long lunches.

tarquin

If we are doing a moving around type of trip, we like to do our change of towns - by train, bus or car - after lunch, thus not wasting any of Bob's #1 time of discovery or #3 time of walking, drinks, shopping etc.