chelle101979

Hello All!

I am just in the beginning stages of planning a 10 day trip to Italy (Rome (3 days),Florence (3 days),Venice (2 days) for the end of March 2017 for myself and 3 others.

Is it possible to do a day trip to Pompeii? Or should we save that for another visit?
Any must not miss and itinerary help would be much appreciated for Rome, Florence or Venice.

Also any tips on best time to travel (morning or night) leaving from New York?

Thank you

suze

With 3 cities in only 8 days, I wouldn't add any "day trips" because that's already pretty tight once you add (or subtract as it were) the travel time between cities (assuming by train?).

You don't need an itinerary for Venice if you pick a hotel in a central location. It's very easy to just get out there and wander around.

vincenzo32951

I'd save Pompeii for another time.

As far as itineraries: What are your interests?

Pawleys

I would definitely save Pompeii for another trip. Maybe a trip
to the Amalfi coast. And I would add your extra days to one of the three cities you plan to see.

PalenQ

Yup - save Pompeii for later trip but if you want to see a similar in many ways place right on the edge of Rome take the metro to Ostia Antica- Classical Rome's ancient port with extensive ruins of the fish market and many buildings:

https://www.google.com/search?q=osti...w=1745&bih=868

For trains booking really early can yield deep discounts if you are fine with a specific train at a specific time- no changing without stiff penalties usually - www.trenitalia.com is the official site but also check www.italotreno.it/en - a competitor with consistently cheap fares even without booking far in advance.

For lots of info on Italian trains check www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com. There is an Italian Railpass but you are not nearly traveling enough to make it pay off.

You can always get on trains on the spur of the moment but then you'll pay a whole lot more.

check discounted tickets in 1st and 2nd classes - sometimes the 1st class may not be much more than the lowest available 2nd class ticket and if so first class is more relaxed and easier IME to stow luggage.

xyz99

AFAIK, all flights to Europe leave in the evening, I don't know if you even have an option for a morning flight.

And what everybody else suggests, leave Pompeii for another trip, this is already rushed.
10 days - do you have 10 full days, or just 8 + 1st day landing and last day leaving?
You don't have time for all "must not miss", so get a guide book and select a few that interest you. Happy planning!

PalenQ

Pompeii takes about 3 hours each way by train to get to the ruins entrance - that's about a half a day of travel - time most yes would say is better spent in Rome rather than on a train.

bvlenci

If you're a big fan of Italian Renaissance art, your division of time is about right, although the time is short for all of the cities. If you're not a big fan of Renaissance art, you probably should take a day from Florence and add it to Rome, which is a much bigger city, with many things to see and do.

Also, it's much easier to evaluate the time you have in each place by stating the number of nights you'll spend there. The number of full days in a place is one less than the number of nights, although you'll also have some hours on the arrival day.

When people say "three days in Rome", sometimes they mean that they arrive on Monday and leave on Wednesday (two nights), which is really one whole day. Or some mean they will spend three nights in Rome, which will give them two whole days, plus some time on their arrival day. Or it could mean that they'll have three whole days (four nights) in Rome, plus some time on the arrival day. People use the term "three days" to describe all three of the above scenarios. The only description that has no alternative interpretation is the number of nights you'll be in a city.

bvlenci

If you're looking for discounts, both Trenitalia and Italo have restricted their availability recently. You now have to buy your tickets at least two days before travel date to get any discounts. On the travel date, and the day before, you will find only full-price tickets.

Ostia Antica is a fantastic archaeological site, and actually it's within the city limits of Rome. It's much more accessible than Pompeii, especially on a short trip. However, even that easy trip could occupy half a day or more, and whether you have time for it depends on what else you want to see in Rome.

runwaycat

Not sure if this helps you, but we are planning 3 weeks in Italy (mid-March to early April 2017) next Spring also, and just scored really great airfare from the States on United. In our case, $671 per person from Knoxville (so from NY should be one less stop) using multi-city travel (We are flying in to Naples and out from Venice). Hubby found the sale on Kayak, but I found better flights directly on United's site. Hope this helps!

Sassafrass

Being a tad nit-picky, I know, but I do not believe the archeological site of Ostia Antica is within the city limits of Rome, unless they have been expanded. It is about 20 miles from Rome, on the coast, roughly 30 minutes, depending on how you go. Not far, but definitely not in the city limits. Metro tickets cover it, but you take a commuter train to get there.

The park, Appia Antica is within the city limits. Perhaps that is the confusion, and the commuter train departs from a metro station.

PalenQ

I thought the commuter train was incorporated into the Rome metro? I probably was wrong -in any case metro tickets can be used on it so for the traveler makes no difference - but Ostia Antica yes seems to be well beyond the Rome city limits.