OK, I stayed at B&B Centro di Roma a couple of years ago and I think it was in your price range. Nice, clean and good location. http://www.bbalcentrodiroma.com/

Just think, you can come back to see Pompeii and include a trip to the Amalfi Coast!

<I think one of my fears is being in a country where I don't know the local language and feeling lost.>

I love to travel where English is not the language (and sadly I do not speak any foreign language myself).

There's always someone around to help you, in my experience. I've never had a situation where somehow you couldn't figure things out (by watching what other people or doing, or asking if anyone speaks English, etc.).

My friend who lives in (French speaking) Switzerland who I stay with would send me out and make me do errands for practice -lol- like going to the bakery to pick up a certain thing, or using her shopping list to go to the farmers market and negotiate, pick up her dry cleaning, whatever. It was scary at first, but they I got the hang of it.


As far as actually *being* lost, I always carry a paper street map of the city and write various locations on it. I also use the trick of having taxi fare in local currency & the business card for the hotel I'm staying at, so worst case scenario I can hail a taxi and get back "home"!

Exactly what ekc said! I was in Tuscany in May and loved it, but to do a typical Tuscan itinerary would be hard without a car. For a first trip, I'd probably base in Florence and book a day tour from there to do wine and all that.

A day trip to Cinque Terre would just take too long, and is really dependent on the weather. Save that for another one.

And definitely stay in Rome if you only have 2.5 days! One day for the Vatican, one day for the Colosseum and Forum, and you can fit in other things around those. I loved the Borghese Gallery - prebook tickets if that's of interest.

Hi michelley573, I absolutely agree that the first trip mentioned is amazingly busy. However, if getting a taste is what you want, I'd almost consider it if you can afford it. You WILL return to explore at leisure if Italy captures your hearts the way it did ours.

The Venice, Florence, Rome agenda is the typical "Big Three" tour and looks much more relaxing.

DH and I evolved from Tours to DIY over the course of 20 years. I think you've gotten great advice for DIY if you decide to go that route.

As I aged, I came to appreciate that someone else schlepped for tickets and knew all the opening and closing times. That can also be true for a first-timer.

Looking forward to reading about what your do!

Michelley573,I am in the process of planning a trip for me and my husband, and my best friend for this coming May. There is so much to see in Rome, we decided to just stay there and really soak up the culture and city. One thing you might like is looking into accommodations on AirBnB - most apartments and flats are hosted by folks who live close by or in the same building, and most are really happy to point you in the right direction, explain how the local trains and buses work, suggest sights and restaurants, and some will even help arrange airport transfers for you. They all have ratings and up front price quotes, along with maps of the areas you want to stay in. I might suggest that if you're really into food, you stay near the Trastavere area in Rome. It's on the same side of the river as Vatican City, but just a bridge away from Campo di Fiori and Piazza Navona. Great location for local flavor, culture and some less "touristy" digs.

That being said, if I had to choose a second city to visit after Rome it would most likely be Florence, which is less than 2 hours by train. So you could either get from one city to the other easily, or do a day trip to Florence from Rome. Staying in Rome also allows you to spend a day touring the Vatican collections, a day in Pompeii, a day doing the Forum/Colloseum, a day hanging out in piazzas eating gelato, a day shopping.... you get the picture.

Just for comparison's sake, I booked a 3 br apt and non-stop flight for us for $1750 per person for 8 nights, which I thought was pretty good compared to the tours I saw. Whatever you do it will be great!

One more thing... you can download the app Duolingo for free on your phone or iPad. Great little app that teaches you Italian (or any other language) in easy to handle interactive units. You'll be asking for 2 chocolate gelatos in no time!

michelley573: You mentioned nervousness about language. Don't worry about that at all .. in fact, dealing with language can be one of the most interesting and memorable things on the trip.

I've been to Germany, Czech Republic, Ukraine. China and several other countries, and have great memories of all ... and many of them revolve around language. You will find to your amazement that many people speak English - especially those younger then 30. You will also run into people who don't speak English, but you'll find that there are innumerable ways you magically communicate with them.

I'm horrible at learning lanuuages, but always try to pick up a few words before I go. Duolingo on your smartphone is a great way to learn a bit - and its useful when you're there. And you can get a language app. on the phone.

Always try to get one of those pocket language booke (some come with a CD that helps you learn the sounds). Those can be helpful.

There are some fold out cards you can carry: some are to decipher menus (with pictures and words). Others summarize some of the basic language essentials like "where is the washroom?"

And carry a map. Luckily in Italy all the signs and the letter on your map will be similar. One of my great memories was getting totally lost in Odessa in Ukraine. I had a map, but it was in the standard latin alphabet. All the signs were in Cyrillic. I'd walk up to people and ask "Etta?" (the word for "here"), and point to the map with a lost look on my face. We ended up in some very pleasant exchanges (not knowing a word of each others' language) while they tried to understand the map and I tried to explain where we were trying to go.

In a small town in China we were the only westerners in a restaurant, sitting alone at our table. The Chinese family at the next table just started talking to us (we didn't know Chinese, they didn't know English) and ended up sitting with us. Although we couldn't understand each other, we all understood smiles, laughs, drink, food, and gesture-talk. And I pulled out my little language book and we'd all point to words (it's amazing the complexities that just one word, a gesture or two, and a smile or laugh can convey.)

In Germany I wasn't quite sure if we were at the right platform for our train. I talked to a few people my age (60-70) who didn't know English. Then I spotted someone who I thought could help - a person your age, under 30. Sure enough, he knew English. And while we were waiting for the train found out that he had worked for a while in a small mountain town in the middle of British Columbia Canada - right adjacent to a mountain range where my wife and I had met on a mountaineering trip. We spent a great 15 minutes talking on the platform and another half hour on the train.

I could go one and on about my memories re meeting people and being able to communicate without a common language. They are some of the best memories of my travel.

For the Tuscany portion you questioned staying in Siena or Volterra. It's a better idea to base in Florence as the transportation connections are much better - for day trips and for arriving from Venice and departing to Rome. The afternoon you arrive you can explore Florence and then do day trips on the two following days.

Siena is very easy by bus (not train, bus is easier because it stops just outside the walls in Siena whereas the train is too far/steep to walk so you'd need to take a local city bus or taxi). Bus stop in Florence is right next to the train station. Siena makes a great day trip because it still a Tuscan 'hill town' but it's larger than most with some great sites (the main square, the duomo, etc.) in addition to lots of steep, narrow alleys to explore and wonderful views out to the countryside. If you want to visit an actual vineyard you can find organized day tours from Florence that visit those. If you just want to do 'wine' tasting, there are places in both Siena and Florence where you can do that. You only have two full days (plus the half day you arrive) for day trips so you have to pick and choose but if you want, Pisa is also a very easy day trip. This time take the train. Many people combine Pisa and Lucca on the same day trip as they are on the same train line and neither really takes a whole day to see. I did that and it worked out great. You do not have to pre book Siena or Pisa/Lucca as they are regional transportation so no advantage or cost saving to buy tickets ahead of time. So you can decide when you get there which day trips you want.

If the things in Tuscany are more important to you, you could take one day from Venice and add it to Florence. I love Venice so I'd leave it the way you have it but an arrival day and one full day is enough to give you a taste of Venice. There is so much to see in Rome I would not take any time from there.

Any possibility you can add a few days to your trip. The airfare is the most expensive part so if you can afford the time away from your job you can add a few days to a trip for very little 'extra' money. Some first timers think they may be tired after a 10 day trip but you could just as easily be frustrated by trying to see too much in too little time and a trip slightly longer actually ends up being less tiring (cause you aren't trying to cram too much into each day).

Depending on when you are going you can get very nice accommodations for under €150. In Rome we just stayed at Hotel Floris for 99€ double (in July, in March their rate is €170). Hotel Julia is a little more but very nice. Kings Relais Hotel is another good one. I have stayed at all of them (the Floris multiple times).

I am always impressed by the generosity of Fodorites in explaining things at length. I am going to Italy soon & found some of the advice above helpful. Also, thank you, ELBEGEWA, for sharing your language-centric experiences. Your encouragement was good for me to hear as well!

My first time visiting Europe was to Italy with my mom. I was in my early thirties. We did a tour group (can't remember which one). I was the youngest in the group of about 25, but had a blast! When we traveled to Venice on our bus as a day trip from our home base, some of us passed a bottle (or two!) of wine around and drank right from the bottle. Folks ages are not what matters, imo. It is their love of life and experiences! I've always been able to get along with people of any age, and enjoy myself greatly. Now I am leaving Monday for Italy again, with my husband this time. He's never been. We're 62. CAN NOT WAIT! So, you've read my opinion about the potential age difference with a tour group and possibly take into consideration. My other opinion is for your first trip - do it with a group. I think it is much more relaxing and typically you'll have free time when you can go it alone. Have a fantastic time!

P.S. I have planned trips (most recently to Ireland) traveling on our own... so I've experience with both tour groups and on my own. My mom was a world traveler and between the two of us we've traveled with Collette; Globus; Trafalgar; and Grand Circle to name a few. Never have been disappointed; nor have we experienced "Americanized" food; six a.m. baggage calls, etc as some posters have mentioned. As far as cost: the trip I'm leaving on Monday is for 14 days (12 touring Italy) with Collette - all 4 star hotels in great locations; we get to experience one dinner at a restaurant of our choice; one lunch with locals; and I bought 3 optional side tours (like Rome at Night). With our airfare from CVG to JFK to FCO and return trip from Milan - we paid just over 4k - including the optional excursions. Just an FYI. Check for potential discounts...

well, I'm going respectfully to disagree with jill - now you are embarked on your own planning, don't look back! but I do agree with Isabel that you are trying to pack in too many day trips, plus staying in Tuscany may not be the best choice on this trip.

So I've played around a bit with your itinerary, and come up with this:

Day 1: Leave US

Day 2: Arrive mid-afternoon in Venice - Explore the Grand Canal [dead easy, you just hop on a vaporetto and let it take you past all the wonderful buildings you will see on the way]. allow some time for recovering from jet lag, etc.

Day 3:Explore St. Mark's Square - which will take you 5 minutes, or 15 if you include a tour of St Marco itself. you can book a timed entry slot for it if you are worried about queuing.

lots of things you could do on this day - most guide books will have suggestions for 24/48 hours in Venice which you may find useful, or just wander around and get lost or, using your vaporetto pass [definitely worth the money IMO] just hop on and off exploring the different places that the boats take you to.

Day 4: Train to Florence. You should be there by lunchtime at the latest. spend the rest of the day exploring, perhaps seeing the Duomo, the campanile and the piazza dei signori. [Also the Palazzo Vecchio opens till midnight most nights and there won't be any queues to go in]. in the evening, walk up to the Piazzale
Michelangelo and enjoy the view over the city.

Day 5: Wine tasting and exploring in Tuscany - having saved so much money doing this yourselves, perhaps treat yourselves to a day with Hills and Roads, who are very well thought of here, or do a day trip by bus to Siena, or by train to Pisa and/or Lucca.

Day 6: Day in Florence. By now you should have a better idea of what you would like to see and can plan accordingly.

Day 7: Train to Rome. Arrive by midday. afternoon walking tour of centre - most of the "centro storico" [historical centre] can be seen on foot and is very easy to negotiate with a good map or app.

Day 8: Vatican Tour - probably only half a day. you could add some time in st Peter's [climbing the Dome perhaps] and /or the Scavi tour of the excavations under St Peter's.

Day 9: Ostia Antica Day Trip - much easier to get to than Pompeii and very interesting.

Day 10: Tour of Ancient Rome - possibly book the tour of the underground and the 4th tier, and definitely a tour of the Forum if you want to understand it.

Day 11: Return to US

How's that?

>>> When we traveled to Venice on our bus as a day trip from our home base, some of us passed a bottle (or two!) of wine around and drank right from the bottle.<<<

This is exactly why I wouldn't want a tour. A day trip to Venice instead of actually staying in Venice. If you book a tour, try to make sure you are actually staying in the cities (somewhere central in the city), not 45 minutes away as often can be the case.

And this:

>>>we get to experience one dinner at a restaurant of our choice; one lunch with locals<<<

A big part of my enjoyment of travel is dining out at places of my choice. I want to linger over a meal usually and enjoy the food and surroundings. Tours have set meals and little choice (select meal A or meal B usually) and even meal times are usually pretty scheduled.

Hello all, I'm back from 2 week trip to Italy with Collette. I agree, to each his own - and our opinions differ b/c we are different people. :-)

That being said ... my last piece of advice would be if one plans his own trip w/out any guide, be sure to hire one (especially) in Italy, as there is SO much historical and cultural information to learn and personally I cannot see reading about each spot as you are trying to experience it.

Btw, the Collette tour "Italian Vistas" was absolutely perfect (for me) and I lucked out with sunny weather except for one day in Venice.

Now ... I'm off to make a decision with your help as to "Tour" or not with our next trip to Europe (Britain and France). I think I'll go without!

Hello all, I'm back from 2 week trip to Italy with Collette. I agree, to each his own - and our opinions differ b/c we are different people. :-)

That being said ... my last piece of advice would be if one plans his own trip w/out any guide, be sure to hire one (especially) in Italy, as there is SO much historical and cultural information to learn and personally I cannot see reading about each spot as you are trying to experience it.

Btw, the Collette tour "Italian Vistas" was absolutely perfect (for me) and I lucked out with sunny weather except for one day in Venice.

Now ... I'm off to make a decision with your help as to "Tour" or not with our next trip to Europe (Britain and France). I think I'll go without!

thanks for coming back with your experiences, jill. glad that the Collette tour worked out for you.

As for your next trip, there are lots of us here who live in the UK, and a few who live in France [or have visited a lot] so if you need help with that trip, just shout!