Solo female backpacking trip to Italy
Feb 7th, 2013, 03:58 PM
#1
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Solo female backpacking trip to Italy
Hi there!
I will taking my first backpacking trip through Italy in May. My itinerary is complete...but i am terribly confused about the train .. Which one for which city .. Buying a eurail pass.. So my question is this:
I am arriving in Milan then going to Varena (which train? Regional?!) then heading to the dolomites Bolzano, then Venice, Vernazza, day trip to Pisa, Florence, Siena, Assisi, Orvieto, down to Sorrento ( day trips to Capti, Pompeii and Naples) then finally Rome.
What trains would i take?! I looked at Eurail and went to go see the train schedule from Milan to Varena and it says its a 3 day trip! It doesn't make any sense because it is only .75 hrs! Can someone please help figure out how to go about this?
I will taking my first backpacking trip through Italy in May. My itinerary is complete...but i am terribly confused about the train .. Which one for which city .. Buying a eurail pass.. So my question is this:
I am arriving in Milan then going to Varena (which train? Regional?!) then heading to the dolomites Bolzano, then Venice, Vernazza, day trip to Pisa, Florence, Siena, Assisi, Orvieto, down to Sorrento ( day trips to Capti, Pompeii and Naples) then finally Rome.
What trains would i take?! I looked at Eurail and went to go see the train schedule from Milan to Varena and it says its a 3 day trip! It doesn't make any sense because it is only .75 hrs! Can someone please help figure out how to go about this?
Feb 7th, 2013, 04:09 PM
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Here s the official train site:
http://www.fsitaliane.it/homepage_en.html
The R trains are cheap and should not be purchased online since there is no benefit and greater restrictions with such tickets--just buy them at the station on the day of travel. For the other trains, you may get some good discounts by purchasing ahead of time online.
Perhaps you need to be careful in your spelling. If you are going to Lake Como, then the town you want is VareNNa. You want a train fro Milano CE to Varenna-Esino.
http://www.fsitaliane.it/homepage_en.html
The R trains are cheap and should not be purchased online since there is no benefit and greater restrictions with such tickets--just buy them at the station on the day of travel. For the other trains, you may get some good discounts by purchasing ahead of time online.
Perhaps you need to be careful in your spelling. If you are going to Lake Como, then the town you want is VareNNa. You want a train fro Milano CE to Varenna-Esino.
Feb 7th, 2013, 04:24 PM
#6
I hope you have a month for this trip...
I can't help you with the eurail pass issue, but you can check train timetables and most basic point-to-point fares here:
http://www.fsitaliane.com/homepage_en.html
Use the full name "Varenna-Esino" when searching for Varenna on Lake Como.
You'll find your itinerary requires some backtracking here and there. For example, Varenna to Bolzano means going back to Milan for the first connection. Then you'll change trains in Verona both on your way to Bolzano and then again on your way from Bolzano to Venice. Similar issues in the Siena-Assisi-Orvieto part.
You can stop in Pisa on your way from Vernazza to Florence. There is a luggage storage room at the Pisa Central train station
I can't help you with the eurail pass issue, but you can check train timetables and most basic point-to-point fares here:
http://www.fsitaliane.com/homepage_en.html
Use the full name "Varenna-Esino" when searching for Varenna on Lake Como.
You'll find your itinerary requires some backtracking here and there. For example, Varenna to Bolzano means going back to Milan for the first connection. Then you'll change trains in Verona both on your way to Bolzano and then again on your way from Bolzano to Venice. Similar issues in the Siena-Assisi-Orvieto part.
You can stop in Pisa on your way from Vernazza to Florence. There is a luggage storage room at the Pisa Central train station
Feb 7th, 2013, 04:46 PM
#9
A few other train station names to use in your searches:
The main train station in Florence is "Florence S.M.N." (include periods between letters), which is short for Florence Santa Maria Novella.
The main train station in Venice is "Venice Santa Lucia" or "Venice S.L." (again, with the periods between letters).
The main train station in Rome is "Rome Termini."
The main train station in Florence is "Florence S.M.N." (include periods between letters), which is short for Florence Santa Maria Novella.
The main train station in Venice is "Venice Santa Lucia" or "Venice S.L." (again, with the periods between letters).
The main train station in Rome is "Rome Termini."
Feb 7th, 2013, 06:49 PM
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If you are able to rethink (tweak, actually) your itinerary you will have a better and less expensive trip. Like the others, I don't think RS trip is the best approach to Italy. Go a little slower, see fewer cities, and you will enjoy it more.
If you're open to that, think through what you might like: country, city, museums, great food, hiking, or whatever, and then read other guidebooks and see what fits your vision.
And yes, a Eurail pass isn't the best way to go.
If you're open to that, think through what you might like: country, city, museums, great food, hiking, or whatever, and then read other guidebooks and see what fits your vision.
And yes, a Eurail pass isn't the best way to go.
Feb 7th, 2013, 06:52 PM
#17
Feb 7th, 2013, 07:13 PM
#19
Some of your routes will be better (and cheaper) by bus.
>>>day trip to Pisa<<<
From where?
The smaller towns on your list won't be served by the faster trains. The slow R trains are very cheap, but you would have to crunch the number to see if a pass would pay off. Keep in mind that a rail pass doesn't include seat reservations which are mandatory on all the faster trains in Italy (about 10€ each).
Forget Rick Steves. What do you want to see? Make your itinerary based on that.
>>>day trip to Pisa<<<
From where?
The smaller towns on your list won't be served by the faster trains. The slow R trains are very cheap, but you would have to crunch the number to see if a pass would pay off. Keep in mind that a rail pass doesn't include seat reservations which are mandatory on all the faster trains in Italy (about 10€ each).
Forget Rick Steves. What do you want to see? Make your itinerary based on that.
Feb 7th, 2013, 07:17 PM
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I wouldn't worry about the trains. With an itinerary like that, you'll be an old hand at train travel by day three.
Seriously, though, I recommend that you don't bother with a rail pass or with trying to buy train tickets in advance. For main train lines serviced by the more expensive high-speed trains, discounts can be had with advance purchase, but many of the stops on your itinerary aren't on those high-speed train lines. You can use the link that ellenem and Jean provided to the official Italian railway site to print out the train schedules, then just go to the train stations and buy your tickets.
You'll find it easier to negotiate both the train website and the train stations if you know the actual names of your destinations, rather than the English versions. Use Venezia instead of Venice, Firenze instead of Florence, Roma for Rome, and Napoli for Naples.
May is a wonderful time to be in Italy (I go there every year in May), and three weeks is a good amount of time, but I encourage you to consider dropping a few items from your itinerary for a more enjoyable trip. Bolzano is a nice city, but it's not really in the Dolomites, and without a car, you won't be able to get into the Dolomites proper. I would skip Bolzano and spend additional time somewhere like Venice or Rome. I would also suggest dropping Orvieto. Orvieto is a pretty hilltown with a spectacular cathedral, but you'll already have seen Assisi, a more beautiful hilltown with more spectacular attactions, imo.
All the places you've listed are worthy destinations, as are many other Italian cities and towns that you haven't listed, but three weeks just isn't enough time to see it all.
Seriously, though, I recommend that you don't bother with a rail pass or with trying to buy train tickets in advance. For main train lines serviced by the more expensive high-speed trains, discounts can be had with advance purchase, but many of the stops on your itinerary aren't on those high-speed train lines. You can use the link that ellenem and Jean provided to the official Italian railway site to print out the train schedules, then just go to the train stations and buy your tickets.
You'll find it easier to negotiate both the train website and the train stations if you know the actual names of your destinations, rather than the English versions. Use Venezia instead of Venice, Firenze instead of Florence, Roma for Rome, and Napoli for Naples.
May is a wonderful time to be in Italy (I go there every year in May), and three weeks is a good amount of time, but I encourage you to consider dropping a few items from your itinerary for a more enjoyable trip. Bolzano is a nice city, but it's not really in the Dolomites, and without a car, you won't be able to get into the Dolomites proper. I would skip Bolzano and spend additional time somewhere like Venice or Rome. I would also suggest dropping Orvieto. Orvieto is a pretty hilltown with a spectacular cathedral, but you'll already have seen Assisi, a more beautiful hilltown with more spectacular attactions, imo.
All the places you've listed are worthy destinations, as are many other Italian cities and towns that you haven't listed, but three weeks just isn't enough time to see it all.
