jaxsantiago

This is supposed to be a 17D16N trip but owing to potential leave issues, has been cut down to 14D13N.

Just wanna know what you think about the following draft itinerary:

Day 1 - 3: London. We'll be arriving early morning of Day 1 via a direct British Airways flight from Singapore.
Day 4: London & Paris (will be taking 12nn train from London to Paris)
Day 5 - 7: Paris
Day 8: Paris to Venice via an 11am~ easyJet flight. Overnight in Venice
Day 9: Take 1pm~ train from Venice to Florence. Florence will be our base for the next 3 days
Day 10: Florence to Pisa Day Trip (via Train)
Day 11: Florence to outlet shops: Space & The Mall (the ladies in our group say this is a must)
Day 12: Take 1pm~ train from Florence to Rome
Day 13: Vatican.
Day 14: Rome. Flight back to Singapore at 8.45pm

Trip starts around last week of April 2015. There will be 4 of us and this will be our first long trip out of Singapore (longest we've flown is Singapore to Sydney) so I am not sure how jetlag -- if any -- will affect us (admittedly I haven't factored it during planning -- haven't got a clue).

Weather wise, it seems the temperature during our travel period is around 10 deg celsius so I guess a cotton undershirt and a (quite thick) fleece jacket should suffice?

Having said the above, I don't really have specifics yet as to what places (museums etc) we will be visiting at this point but I'm quite certain that it will most likely be the major tourist attractions.

For the london to paris train trip, do we need to go through immigration counters on our way out of london and in of paris (similar to airport process)?

For the train trips in Italy, it seems it will be better for us to just purchase point to point tickets rather than a rail pass?

For accommodation, we are looking at getting a 2 bedroom unit from Airbnb with a nightly budget of 200 EUR / 250 USD. As I haven't tried Airbnb before, appreciate if you can give us tips/advise on what to look for, specially in choosing the location of the apartment/unit. Also should you have a particular unit to suggest / recommend, appreciate if you could share it to us.

Thanks in advance to all those who will spend time replying to my post.

adrienne

Bring waterproof jackets rather than thick fleece. You could layer with a thin fleece vest and long sleeve shirts. In 2 weeks in April there's a good chance of rain, probably half the time.

I don't think you'll get your money's worth from a rail pass. Book train tickets in advance for discounts on anything but regional trains. Read seat61.com for info on Italian trains.

With your schedule you won't have time to see all the major attractions so make a list of those sights you most want to see so you can go to them first and then see secondary choices if time permits.

You have almost no time in Florence - a couple of hours so you could see 1 thing there. If you want to visit the Uffizi or Accademia it's best to book tickets in advance so you don't waste time standing on line.

janisj

You are really REALLY rushing things.

In London you'll have 2.5 likely jet lagged days... Even w/ a morning arrival -- at least half of the first day is shot w/ immigration, transfers, checking in and just exhaustion.

You have 3 and a skosh days in Paris. A noon train gets into Paris a bit after 3 PM. So after getting to your hotel and checking it it will be late afternoon.

You have basically NO time in Venice. You'll get into the city in the mid to late afternoon, and have to leave again the next morning. So why bother (and spend the money)?

You have one full day free in Florence and that is spent at the outlets (?)

and you finish up w/ 1.5+ days for Rome.

If London and Rome are set in stone . . . then either cut out Paris . . . or cut out Venice and Florence.

London > train to Paris > fly to Rome

OR

London > fly to Venice > Train to Florence > Train to Rome.

That is all you have time for.

vinoroma

10C? We have that in Rome in jan & feb, not beginning of may. It will be 20-28C

janisj

But vinoroma . . . they aren't JUST going to Rome. It could very well be 10C or cooler (at least in the evenings) in both London and Paris.

ESW

I've pulled up the figures for tempertures in London for April this year:
http://www.accuweather.com/en/gb/lon...weather/328328

Evenings could be quite cool but day time temperatures can fluctuate quite a lot and you may get some quite warm days. Unless it is wet with a strong windchill factor, temperatures are unlikely to be as low as 10C during the day.

You need to think layers so you can add or take off clothes depending on what the temperature is doing - and how susceptible to cold you are. Cotton t-shirt, sweater and light weight(ish) fleece.

I'd agree with Janisj that the itinerary really is rushed and won't give you a lot of time to see some of the places. You also need to bear in mind what time sunset is. For example sunset times for Venice in April are here:
http://uk.weather.com/climate/sunRis...+ITXX0085:1:IT

jaxsantiago

Thanks all for the replies especially to janisj. As I suspected, it would be hard to cover all 3 in 14D13N (considering effects of jetlag and all).

I guess we will have to drop London since it wasn't in the original plan in the first place, and it will require a separate visa application and (costly) fee. Doing Paris and Italy means all we need to work on and pay for is the Schengen Visa.

That leaves us with Paris and Italy. I guess we can afford to take the train from Paris to Milan instead to enjoy the view, perhaps stay a night there or have a quick walk around (the duomo looks too marvelous to miss) before hopping to another train bound for Venice.

jaxsantiago

from janisj
You have one full day free in Florence and that is spent at the outlets (?)
---------------

Just remembered seeing the above.

This is actually the day the ladies are (probably) most excited about, and the day the guys most dread. lol. I foresee that the guys will practically be serving as chaperone cum bag carriers on this day.

janisj

If you cut London you'll have a much better trip. Not that London isn't fabulous (I visit 2 or 3 times every year) But that is just spreading yourselves too thin. And especially w/ your visa requirements.

I'd just plan a trip to the UK sometime in the future.

Also you post '14 days/13 nights'. It honestly doesn't work that way. 13 nights 'on the ground' nets you 12 days. To get 14 days you'd need either 15 or 16 nights (depending on your flight times)

So just another reason to cut back to Paris and the three of places in Italy (or even JUST Italy).

jaxsantiago

Hmmm... not sure if the confusion on my end is about timezone differences but basically I keyed in my flight / travel dates in zuji.com.sg as departing on 24 Apr @ 10:55pm, with the return on 08 May at 06:45pm. Then I struck off the departure and arrival dates on the timeline i listed above.

Night 1 (24 Apr): Flying out of Singapore at 10:55pm (GMT+8)
Day 1 (25 Apr):
...
Day 14 (08 May): Flying out of Rome at 08:45pm
Day 15 (09 May): Arrive in Singapore at 05:30pm

That's why I thought it's 14D13N. Not sure if it makes sense though.

jaxsantiago

I see I posted 2 different flight times out of Rome. To be clear, it's 08:45pm.

vinoroma

Janisj you are right. I had written more actually and it got cut off for some reason, and i was on mobile and didn't have the nerve to writeit all again. All has been said already in the meantime!

bvlenci

On your last day, especially if you're staying in an AirB&B lodging, you'll have to take your bags to Termini station to check them into the left luggage room if you want to do any sightseeing that day. Then you'll have to go back to pick them up before going to the airport. This will take a good hour or more out of your day. Also, for an 8:45 PM flight, you should be at the airport checkin counter 3 hours in advance, and leave central Rome by no later than 5 PM. I wouldn't plan any major sightseeing that day. By cutting London out, I hope you're able to add at least one more day to Rome. Then you could spend your last day strolling through the historic center of the city and perhaps visiting a few churches that have great works of art. Maybe you could even visit one of the smaller, less crowded museums. Rome has at least a dozen great art museums, many of which are overlooked by most tourists.

ssander

My favorite Rome hidden gem: Santa Prassede...not too far from Termini to walk, though I'm not sure of the hours (and I can't find their link).

Great mosaics, some of which you can see up close. You can see it in 15-30 minutes and well worth it if you are pressed for time.

SS