Rome & Venice - first time questions

Am thinking 3 days is good for Venice. Would spend the rest of the time in Rome under this scenario, and with this much time, you could also see Tivoli and Naples and Pompeii and such as side trips.

If you wanted to break your "two cities only" rule, you could also easily include Florence which is on the way via train between the two cities, maybe splitting your time up this way: 3 days Venice, 5 days Florence, 6 days Rome. Florence is well worth the visit.

Hello, okwdvc. Flying into Venice and departing from Rome is a very good idea as usually the planes departing from Venice leave very early in the morning.

I have never rented an apartment in Italy so I can't offer any help on that subject but there are so many Fodorites that have so no doubt you will get some very good advice.

With ten days (how many nights will they have in Italy?) staying in Venice and than taking the train to Rome sounds ideal to me. Just want to mention in that you have a 14 year old daughter that all the teens I have known that have been in Italy love Venice and Rome the best.

In that your husband and daughter are vegans you might suggest to them to keep an eye out for pizza that is served with mushrooms (funghi). And when they see peperoni on a menu that is not meat but rather red and/or green peppers.

Your husband and daughter will be making beautiful memores!

For reasonably priced apartments in Rome, I can recommend realrome:

www.realrome.com

Last winter I rented this apartment in the old Jewish Ghetto, a wonderful neighborhood that is quiet at night and within easy walking distance of many sights. There were two grocery stores within easy walking distance and of course Rome has many markets:

www.realrome.com/propreginella1.html

Flying into Venice & out of Rome is a good idea and quite common. Yes the train in between the two cities is the way to go. I'd probably split 5/5 but that's because I really love Venice. If they want a kitchen equipped for cooking full meals, I think you'll need apartments both places (whether it is a cheaper deal or not).

I agree with the idea of adding Florence to the itinerary if you can do it - a 10 day trip is plenty of time for the classic Venice/Rome/Florence tour. But if you are planning to use Rome as a base for day tripping to Pompeii, then just do Venice/Rome. You need a minimum of 4 days in Rome to hit the highlights (and that isn't enough time to get outside of the city at all), and 3 days to get the feel of Venice (including a day to hit the out islands). So if you are set on just Venice-Rome, I would probably split it 4 and 6 nights, and that will give you a little bit of breathing space in both locations. If classic Florence is important, then 3 nights Venice, 3 nights Florence, and 4 nights Rome. Just remember, there are NO wrong answers.

I'd split between Venice and Rome. Train between the two.

If it's ten nights, then 5/5, if it's 9 nights then 4 Venice and 5 in Rome.

Stay in apartments in both cities, by limiting to two places less hassle with moving in and out of accomodations.

We have used these folks in Venice with good luck and they also have an operation in Rome.

www.veniceapartments.org

There are supermarkets is Venice as well as the Rialto Market for fresh vegetables. in restaurants, vegetarian is not usually a problem, but if they are strict vegans they may have a bit more difficulty.

they may want to learn a few key phrases that outline their dietary requirements.

I would stick to 2 cities, 3 or at most 4 nights Venice and the rest of the time in Rome. Rome really has an incredible amount to see/do.
Renting an apartment in Rome would definitely be a good idea. Our family (parents with 16 year old son) also had a great experience with realrome.com. In fact, in 2007 we stayed in the same apartment as Apres_Londee. It is close to the market at Campo de' Fiori and there is a small supermarket nearby. There are several bakeries and a good inexpensive restaurant with veggie pizza and pasta options on Via del Portico d'Ottavia

An ES train is 4 1/2 hrs and 2nd class seats are 61E. Here's a great apartment in Venice with a small balcony/canal view with gondolas going by. We loved this place and would love to stay again on our next trip but we'll be a party of 4. It's 160E a night. http://www.rosadivenezia.com/en/index.htm For a recommended budget accommodation, 95 E w/private bath in May, try: http://www.alcampaniel.com/

For Rome apartments, read reviews here: http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/

Try:
http://www.dolceroma.it/
http://www.domusintl.com/easyStore/index.asp?CategoriaID=100001
http://www.palazzo-olivia.it/

The 'realrome' website looks really good. I just found an apartment that I'm interested in renting for a week, next May. It's in the Trastevere section, and is actually pretty within my budget.

Thanks so much for all the great advice! DH wants to stick to just two places because he hates moving around on vacation. He likes a base and wants to go from there. Doing it twice without me there will be enough for him! They may do some day trips from Rome. Since neither has been to Italy before, I am certain they will find enough to keep them busy.

Thanks for the great apartment sites. So many cool ones to choose from. I am bummed that I am not going but I am having a lot of fun planning.

I am having a hard time finding a flight from Miami or Orlando that goes non-stop to Venice. There are plenty that go non-stop into Rome. The layovers getting to Venice are too long and most require switching AIRPORTS! I may have them just fly to Rome and take the train to Venice unless I can find better flights into VCE.

I thought of another question. Why do many of the apartments state that they have washing machines but no dryers? How do they dry their clothes? Is it a combo washer/dryer?

Hi again okwdvc, dryers are not used as much in Italy as in the US. There should be a terrace or somewhere to hang up the washed clothes to line dry after being washed in the washing machine..which btw usually takes a lot longer than the washing machines in the US.

Many, perhaps most, Italian clothes washers have settings that run for 20 minutes or less. I have always found my clothes got quite clean using settings marked "delicato" even if I was washing towels.

You will find plenty of clothes pins, clothes lines and double check you are provided with an indoor clothes drying rack.