Overwhelmed regarding Italy
Jul 21st, 2006, 12:06 PM
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Overwhelmed regarding Italy
Hi everyone,
I need some advise on my itinerary.
I am concerned that we are over zealous in our plans.
This is our itineray for Italy-
In late September leave LAX on Friday for London stay in London Saturday and Sunday night.
Monday fly to Milan and arrive in Lake Como in late afternoon. Stay in Bellagio Monday night, Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday morning train to Florence and spend a few hours there, before training to Siena. Spend Thursday night in Siena and all day Friday. On Saturday morning drive to San Quirico (stopping for lunch at a winery reserved by our hotel) in Montacino. Arrive San Quirico Saturday late afternoon. Sunday will either be exploring the hills towns or going to Pisa or maybe both. Monday drive back to Siena drop off car and train to Florence. Spend the afternoon and night in Florence. Train to Venice Tuesday morning and spend Tuesday afternoon and evening and Wednesday and Thursday in Venice and Friday afternoon train back to Milan to fly home Saturday very early. Does this all sound doable or are we over zealous as I mentioned. Please help.
Thanks
Karen
I need some advise on my itinerary.
I am concerned that we are over zealous in our plans.
This is our itineray for Italy-
In late September leave LAX on Friday for London stay in London Saturday and Sunday night.
Monday fly to Milan and arrive in Lake Como in late afternoon. Stay in Bellagio Monday night, Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday morning train to Florence and spend a few hours there, before training to Siena. Spend Thursday night in Siena and all day Friday. On Saturday morning drive to San Quirico (stopping for lunch at a winery reserved by our hotel) in Montacino. Arrive San Quirico Saturday late afternoon. Sunday will either be exploring the hills towns or going to Pisa or maybe both. Monday drive back to Siena drop off car and train to Florence. Spend the afternoon and night in Florence. Train to Venice Tuesday morning and spend Tuesday afternoon and evening and Wednesday and Thursday in Venice and Friday afternoon train back to Milan to fly home Saturday very early. Does this all sound doable or are we over zealous as I mentioned. Please help.
Thanks
Karen
Jul 21st, 2006, 12:20 PM
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I really think it sounds quite doable and very good. The only part that is a bit odd is the arriving in Florence by train, spending a morning there, and then training to Siena. I'd want to just head right to Siena and not worry about the luggage, etc. Then when you return to Florence, I'd also stay well into the next day, taking an afternoon train to Venice. Or possibly even spend two nights in Florence and reduce Venice to two nights since you can arrive there fairly early in the morning, have all the next day, and most of the following day before heading to Milan. I can't believe I suggested that as I don't even like Florence, but somehow I think it makes more sense.
Jul 21st, 2006, 12:35 PM
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I'm sorry; I don't like it. You asked for advice: mine is to SLOW DOWN. All this in one week? And all the way from Los Angeles? Wow.
Yes, you ARE over zealous in your plans!
I suggest that you focus on one destination (okay, maybe two) and settle in and enjoy it, savor the taste of Italy instead of the insides of trains and so many hotels...
Yes, you ARE over zealous in your plans!
I suggest that you focus on one destination (okay, maybe two) and settle in and enjoy it, savor the taste of Italy instead of the insides of trains and so many hotels...
Jul 21st, 2006, 12:39 PM
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Forget about Pisa. You are basing in San Quirico for the "Tuscan time," and there's plenty to see. Why do you have to drive back to Siena then train to Florence? The distances are not great and the driving is so easy, I'd suggest driving back to Florence and dropping the car there. (Hopefully outside of town -- driving IN Florence is confusing) If fact, I'd just arrange to pick up a car, say at the airport outside Florence, DRIVE to Siena and keep your car while there and on for your tour of the Tuscan country side, returning it when you go back to Florence. I don't think you are staying any more than an hour and a half - two hours from Florence by car.
The train trip from Florence to Venice makes sense, as does training back to Milan to fly home.
The 2 nights in London gives you a chance to get adjusted after jetlag. On to Italy, where your itinerary gives you 3 nights in the lake country, 2 nights in Siena, 2 nights in San Quirico, 1 night in Florence, 3 nights in Venice, then return to Milan for the flight home. That's a lot of hopping around, but do-able. I might do one night in Siena (but it is a cool city so that's a tough call) if only to do two nights in Florence. But do understand that Florence - Siena is not a long haul at all, many people stay in one and "daytrip" to the other. Pisa is at the "other end" of Tuscany, which is why I'd suggest passing on it. Somehow it seems to have made it on all the lists of "things I could have missed" rather than "must sees."
Enjoy your plans. I expect you will get some similar advise from others here. Italy is such a popular place to visit.
The train trip from Florence to Venice makes sense, as does training back to Milan to fly home.
The 2 nights in London gives you a chance to get adjusted after jetlag. On to Italy, where your itinerary gives you 3 nights in the lake country, 2 nights in Siena, 2 nights in San Quirico, 1 night in Florence, 3 nights in Venice, then return to Milan for the flight home. That's a lot of hopping around, but do-able. I might do one night in Siena (but it is a cool city so that's a tough call) if only to do two nights in Florence. But do understand that Florence - Siena is not a long haul at all, many people stay in one and "daytrip" to the other. Pisa is at the "other end" of Tuscany, which is why I'd suggest passing on it. Somehow it seems to have made it on all the lists of "things I could have missed" rather than "must sees."
Enjoy your plans. I expect you will get some similar advise from others here. Italy is such a popular place to visit.
Jul 21st, 2006, 12:42 PM
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Tuck, did you read the actual itinerary? One week? Huh? it's actually slightly over two weeks.
Many of the travel times between stays are only an hour or two and most stays are two or three nights.
Some people want to stay in one place and only see one place a week. (I do that now too, after years of happily covering more territory and doing lots of two and three night stays). Others like to see and do more. I still say it is quite nice.
Frankly, I would have omitted London where you're only getting one day, but I suppose that was strictly a logistics problem. The whole thing would be far better if you could fly LAX to Milan and then return Venice to LAX -- but that may not be possible for you.
Many of the travel times between stays are only an hour or two and most stays are two or three nights.
Some people want to stay in one place and only see one place a week. (I do that now too, after years of happily covering more territory and doing lots of two and three night stays). Others like to see and do more. I still say it is quite nice.
Frankly, I would have omitted London where you're only getting one day, but I suppose that was strictly a logistics problem. The whole thing would be far better if you could fly LAX to Milan and then return Venice to LAX -- but that may not be possible for you.
Jul 21st, 2006, 01:26 PM
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Your Italy portion is pretty good.
But I do have a few ideas:
#1 Florence - you plan to go to Florence twice but spend no significant time there. Think about whether you really want Florence for this trip.
#2 It is just me, but I am not comfortable leaving the car parked with all of the luggage in the back. So I think of driving from one town to another as a drudge/work. So I would be inclined to use one base in Tuscany and daytrip in various directions.
If I look at your itinerary as: Lake Como, then Tuscany, then Venice,and twelve days for the three, then you would be hard pressed to do any better.
I am sure that you will enjoy this trip.
I've done London in a day and a half myself. If WWII history etc. interests you, then you might add the Imperial War Museum to your list. There is a new musuem related to Churchill that is supposed to be good but we ran out of time.
But I do have a few ideas:
#1 Florence - you plan to go to Florence twice but spend no significant time there. Think about whether you really want Florence for this trip.
#2 It is just me, but I am not comfortable leaving the car parked with all of the luggage in the back. So I think of driving from one town to another as a drudge/work. So I would be inclined to use one base in Tuscany and daytrip in various directions.
If I look at your itinerary as: Lake Como, then Tuscany, then Venice,and twelve days for the three, then you would be hard pressed to do any better.
I am sure that you will enjoy this trip.
I've done London in a day and a half myself. If WWII history etc. interests you, then you might add the Imperial War Museum to your list. There is a new musuem related to Churchill that is supposed to be good but we ran out of time.
Jul 21st, 2006, 01:56 PM
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Hi kp,
Is there a reason why you are spending so little time in London?
OR
If you have to layover in London, why so long?
>On Thursday morning train to Florence and spend a few hours there, before training to Siena.
May I suggest spendin 2 nights in Florence?
Is there a reason why you are dropping the car in Siena? You can drop it off in Venice for the same price and save the train fare.
Enjoy your visit.
>... going to Pisa...
Is there a reason why you are spending so little time in London?
OR
If you have to layover in London, why so long?
>On Thursday morning train to Florence and spend a few hours there, before training to Siena.
May I suggest spendin 2 nights in Florence?
Is there a reason why you are dropping the car in Siena? You can drop it off in Venice for the same price and save the train fare.
Enjoy your visit.
>... going to Pisa...
Jul 21st, 2006, 02:24 PM
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kpilling-some of your itinerary sounds overly labor intensive to me.
First of all, are you wedded to the idea of spending a night in Bellagio? Why not just relax in Milan for two days, and do Lake Como/Bellagio as a day trip? The train from Milan Centrale will take you right to Lake Como, then you can just pick up a ferry and tour around Bellagio and other places if you want. You'll get the best of both worlds that way, dining in Bellagio and Milan, a more relaxed pace to get you over the jet lag, and then you just have to get on the ES and in two hours you will be in Florence.
As for Florence, do you really think it is necessary to do the double-back Florence/Siena/Florence? I would strongly suggest here that you just base yourself in Florence-it is far more wonderful than Siena, anyway-more to do, more to see, more to buy-and all so compact. Take your time here, and use Florence as your base to explore the hill towns- (I would suggest San Gimignano or Lucca/Pisa-Pisa could be done in half a day-Siena can be done in a day or less). Then come back to Florence, and train to Venice.
First of all, are you wedded to the idea of spending a night in Bellagio? Why not just relax in Milan for two days, and do Lake Como/Bellagio as a day trip? The train from Milan Centrale will take you right to Lake Como, then you can just pick up a ferry and tour around Bellagio and other places if you want. You'll get the best of both worlds that way, dining in Bellagio and Milan, a more relaxed pace to get you over the jet lag, and then you just have to get on the ES and in two hours you will be in Florence.
As for Florence, do you really think it is necessary to do the double-back Florence/Siena/Florence? I would strongly suggest here that you just base yourself in Florence-it is far more wonderful than Siena, anyway-more to do, more to see, more to buy-and all so compact. Take your time here, and use Florence as your base to explore the hill towns- (I would suggest San Gimignano or Lucca/Pisa-Pisa could be done in half a day-Siena can be done in a day or less). Then come back to Florence, and train to Venice.
Jul 21st, 2006, 05:55 PM
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Hi everyone,
Thank you for all your input.
This is the situation. We are going to London because it was way cheaper to fly there first. Also, we decided it was a nice neutral place to get over jetlag for us inexperieced European travelers.
After looking at train schedules we realized that upon leaving Lake Como we must travel back to Milan and then on to Florence before we can get to Siena. Therefore, we figured why not spend a little time that afernoon in Florence before going to Siena. The reason for coming back to Siena after leaving San Quirico is that from what we read on train schedules we have to get back to Siena and then to Florence to get to Venice. The train leaves early for Venice - as being novices we did not want to get to Venice in the dark with luggage and have to try and find our hotel. We decided not to drive except in the countryside. I can barely take my husband's driving in this country. There is no way I will drive as my husband is too much of a back seat driver.
So, if anyone knows of a better route with respect to the train system please let me know - I would be in your debt forever.
Thank you for all your input.
This is the situation. We are going to London because it was way cheaper to fly there first. Also, we decided it was a nice neutral place to get over jetlag for us inexperieced European travelers.
After looking at train schedules we realized that upon leaving Lake Como we must travel back to Milan and then on to Florence before we can get to Siena. Therefore, we figured why not spend a little time that afernoon in Florence before going to Siena. The reason for coming back to Siena after leaving San Quirico is that from what we read on train schedules we have to get back to Siena and then to Florence to get to Venice. The train leaves early for Venice - as being novices we did not want to get to Venice in the dark with luggage and have to try and find our hotel. We decided not to drive except in the countryside. I can barely take my husband's driving in this country. There is no way I will drive as my husband is too much of a back seat driver.
So, if anyone knows of a better route with respect to the train system please let me know - I would be in your debt forever.
Jul 21st, 2006, 06:03 PM
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Kpilling-my question was, why stay in Siena at all? You would avoid all that back-tracking if, upon arrival from Milan, you just stayed in Florence, and trained it to Siena for the day, then on to your other stops, plus San G. Lucca/Pisa. Make all the Tuscan hill towns day-trips from Florence. Then go on to Venice.
Jul 21st, 2006, 06:14 PM
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I suggest that you stay in Florence and day-trip to Siena if you really have to go there. Otherwise, just stay and enjoy Florence. It's a marvelous city.
We arrived by train from Florence to Venice at night, around 9:30 p.m., and we planned it that way. Because to see Venice for the first time at night is magical. So, don't be afraid of the dark. There are always people out and about, who can give you directions if you need them. Taking the vaporetto from the train station is a piece of cake, just so you know the stop you want, and where to go from there.
We arrived by train from Florence to Venice at night, around 9:30 p.m., and we planned it that way. Because to see Venice for the first time at night is magical. So, don't be afraid of the dark. There are always people out and about, who can give you directions if you need them. Taking the vaporetto from the train station is a piece of cake, just so you know the stop you want, and where to go from there.
Jul 21st, 2006, 06:17 PM
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Yep -- what I was trying to get at is that there the distance between Florence and Siena is very short. It make little sense to spend money on train fares (waiting time too) between those two when you are renting a car to see Tuscany anyway.
Most of the drives are like on two lane country roads. The "big highway" is between Florence an Rome (the A1) which you really won't need. (Get a good Michelin map) You shouldn't have problems at all.
relax.
Most of all, you will love Italy.
Most of the drives are like on two lane country roads. The "big highway" is between Florence an Rome (the A1) which you really won't need. (Get a good Michelin map) You shouldn't have problems at all.
relax. Most of all, you will love Italy.
Jul 21st, 2006, 06:23 PM
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Hi. We flew into Venice and back to the US from Milan last month on USAir. Make sure you leave hours of time to catch your plane in Milan. I never saw an airport which was so confused. Lots of people didn't make the flight because of all the problems. We are silver preferred and do carry on and still it was a royal pain. We really didn't have more than 40 minutes of waiting time, and we arrived at least three hours in advance and went through the short line. Our trip was similar to yours except for one day and no night in Sienna. Venice is easy to navigate and loads to see. Lake Como is great. I wish we had spent more time there but I think two nights would be more than enough to sightsee. Spend the extra time in Florence where there is tons of stuff to see. If you don't like to spend too much time in your hotels, this is doable with no problem. Your not too extended. Have fun and bring tons of money. The dollar stinks in comparison with the euro.
Jul 21st, 2006, 06:47 PM
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FWIW... <i><b>bus</b></i> to Siena, not train, as the (SITA) bus is generally regarded as superior. Train leaves you at the bottom of the hill, with a taxi ride, or a big climb to make. Bus takes you up the hill <i><u>into</u></i> Siena proper.
Best wishes,
Rex
Best wishes,
Rex
Jul 21st, 2006, 06:54 PM
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I'm with Maureen's advice and the general notion that you make Firenze rather than Siena your base, and do a day trip to Siena or Pisa depending on your mood and the weather. I would only change that advice if you tell me that Sienese art is a particular favorite of yours.
I'm a little concerned that neither you or your husband are looking forward to driving in Italy. Instad of renting a car, why don't you look into hiring a driver or getting to the winery by bus? Or San Querico. Sounds nutty, but it might work for you, and maybe the costs are not all that more extravagant than renting a car.
Once you've consolidated your Tuscany stay to be basically Firenze and a night or two in the countryside, take any extra time you've picked up and put it into Venice. No need to be afraid of arriving at night. The city is among the safest in the world, and it could be quite special to arrive in the nighttime and wake up there. Just make sure to let your hotel know you are coming later than 8pm or whatever.
Buon viaggio!
I'm a little concerned that neither you or your husband are looking forward to driving in Italy. Instad of renting a car, why don't you look into hiring a driver or getting to the winery by bus? Or San Querico. Sounds nutty, but it might work for you, and maybe the costs are not all that more extravagant than renting a car.
Once you've consolidated your Tuscany stay to be basically Firenze and a night or two in the countryside, take any extra time you've picked up and put it into Venice. No need to be afraid of arriving at night. The city is among the safest in the world, and it could be quite special to arrive in the nighttime and wake up there. Just make sure to let your hotel know you are coming later than 8pm or whatever.
Buon viaggio!
Jul 21st, 2006, 07:07 PM
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Hi kpilling, you have received some good and some interesting thoughts here.
My comment would be if you arrive in Venice at night I believe you will find it difficult to get dinner as Venice restaurants tend to close up early. And you wouldn't really be able to get an early dinner in Florence before you take the 3 hours train trip to Venice.
I would arrive in Venice in time to get to your hotel, get checked in and get to a restaurant for your dinner.
My comment would be if you arrive in Venice at night I believe you will find it difficult to get dinner as Venice restaurants tend to close up early. And you wouldn't really be able to get an early dinner in Florence before you take the 3 hours train trip to Venice.
I would arrive in Venice in time to get to your hotel, get checked in and get to a restaurant for your dinner.
Jul 22nd, 2006, 05:47 PM
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Thank you all for the great advice. We have already booked our stay in Siena, and the lady at the Frances Lodge is so helpful that we are going to stay there for two nights. However, we are seriously considering renting our car in Florence on Thursday after arriving in Florence and driving to Siena that afternoon. Friday, we are considering a wine tasting at Castello Verazzano (sp) and then sightseeing in Siena. Saturday and Sunday we are in San Quirico and Monday we will drive at our leisure back to Florence and see the "David" and as much else as we can fit in. We really want to see Tuscany more than Florence. This has been a really tough decision. We were going to give up a night in Lake Como(we have 3)to see more of Florence and we may still do that. Oh what fun to do this planning.
Karen
Karen
