I need a plan. help please. I feel time is running out. I have been to Italy in the summer and in February. Money is an issue and we have approx. 9-10 days. This will be THE ONE trip for my family.... With my son and daughter's schedule, the window of opportunity exists during the Christmas hoilday. To get the cheapest fare from NY, we figure to fly on Christmas eve or day..or even the 23rd.. Correct?
Being their first trip it seems logical and important to do Venice, Rome and Florence.Important for their soul and education. Another post spoke about Pompeii and Orvieto...now that is tempting me..
But which city would be best to start at on Christmas day,eve or eve /eve.- ( 24-26) if we fly/ arrive on the 24th, 25th, which would be best? Restaurants will be closed? so the hotel must have food?
So far , I figure am flying out on perhaps the Wednesday 23rd of December.

The plan could be-
Milan- Where I have only passed thru, See the Last Supper can be seen on the 24th while jet lagged. wander the city for two days?
Venice- Wander into churches and the streets. Very few restaurants will be opened those two days but the essence of Venice can be experienced and this seems to be a smart pick!
or
Rome - Beside from Venice, perhaps the best place to begin our adventure. still got the Pantheon, Colosseum ,THE STREETS , FOUNTAINS AND CHURCHES but few restaurants and the Sistina is closed until 27th a Sunday that is free and thus very crowded....?
Got ideas? and should I use a travel agent for the rail or bus?
I know? Sure, that is a lot of stuff.

Sorry, cannot offer you specifics to your questions, but I can offer some pointers based on my recent trips to your desired destinations:

1. If you decide to visit Milan's Last Supper, you should definitely book them as early as possible. I looked for those tickets a month before arrival and they were gone.

2. Pompeii is a must. Books to get when you are there: there are these rectangular shaped plastic books that has a plastic slide on top of each important monument. Those plastic slides depict how those structures looked like during ancient time. Unless you look at those plastic slides, you cannot even begin to imagine how grandiose these ancient relics/era once was. Believe me, those ruins that you see do not do history justice. There's a book of Rome too and you can find them in Rome.

3. You don't need a travel agent for rail or bus! These are the sites I had used when planning my one month long country/city hopping:
http://www.bahn.de/international/view/en/index.shtml
http://www.italiarail.com/ Look at this site: they are offering tremendous promotions right now.

These sites that some time to get use to it.

Last, get a good guidebook, it will save you money (no need for tour guides; especially you are traveling with 4 people...guides are usually in the price range of 35 euro/person) and help you understand what you are witnessing regardless of what season/opening/closing time...at least, from the outside.

Believe me, Rome, Florence, Venice are truly cities for art lovers. Your mind will be stimulated to the max. If you thoroughly observe/absorb what these cities have to offer you, you will feel overwhelmed by the beauty but you will leave with a profound, if not deeper, love for the arts. (And you will feel sorry for those who never traveled beyond their comfort zone)

We often fly to Europe on Thanksgiving day to take advantage of lower fares and uncrowded planes - not sure if Christmas Day would be the same but I suspect so.

Book open jaw flights to save time and money.

I very rarely recommend apartments as I have zero interest in staying in one on vacation but that might be a money saver for your, esp. in Rome and Venice which are expensive.

As far as logical and important for the kids, the highlights of my first trip to Italy with my parents were not the major cities but the smaller ones where we were made to feel so welcome. But, if it a Big Three trip you are looking for, you have the major points covered.

Read up on the Roma Pass as it includes public transport and also entrances into your choice of several places you will want to see (Forum, Colosseum, etc). The catacombs might also be an interesting visit and you can take the bus.

There are wonderful free things to do everywhere. The vespers at San Miniato in Florence comes to mind as one of them.

Lots of research and reading will provide lots of ideas.

how does one best get to Pompeii? bus from Rome? Via Naples/
I have been to the big three about three times... but never with the family... As an artist teacher I am on what to see and the value of it. But The christsmas thing is throwing me... Not to mention the group I am traveling with... I have never been to naples or Pompeii. I think a day to Pompeii can be squeezed in. Thanks for the ROme pass Idea. I have guide books and would not think for a minute to use a guide. My Italian is pretty good as well. But never the less I am apprehensive and I am looking for tips , advice and recommendations.

This is what I did:

I stayed in Florence for 4 days.

Afterward I caught the train from Florence into Naples. I checked into my hotel around 12:45pm and was informed that the Pompeii bus was leaving the station (the one close to the ferry/port) at 1:15pm. A hotel person took me to the port (I would never have found it myself since it was my first day)

The bus finally came and it took around 45 minutes to get from Naples to Pompeii. I had a quick lunch two blocks away from Pompeii's entrance site. I stayed in Pompeii until closing time (around 7:30pm). Went back to Naples on a bus.

The next day, we took a train from Naples to Sorrento. We transferred onto a bus (6.5 euro) that took us to Amalfi. We walked around Amalfi and took another bus into Positano. We walked around Positano including the beach and finally took the bus back to Sorrento. Train from Sorrento into Naples.

The 6.5 euro was well spent b/c it covered all bus rides from Sorrento into Amalfi Coast--unlimited for 24 hours. There are many towns along the coast I wish I had stopped by (Ravilo, etc.) but the heat was getting to me. Also the 6.5 euro included a nicer bus tour (perhaps guided) between Amalfi and Ravilo.

Forgot to mention:

1. when we took the train from naples into sorrento, it actually stopped by Pompeii too. I guess you can either take the train or bus into Pompeii.

2. For those books that I mentioned, haggle till 12 euro or less. I paid 12 euro each for those books.

How old are your children? Because that makes a difference.

kids are 18 and 20 so hardly kids but they have their moments.

I would think that a big city like Rome or Milan would be more likely to have something open around Christmas Day.

great advice.... the only thing I think about is the fact that about the Sistine chapel. It is a must and seems to extend our Roman stay a bit too long waiting for it to open... I might have to fly in later...oh boy!

BUT here is a question your reply brings up!
Is it wise to fly in and out of one airport, or enter Italy from Milan and work our way south flying out of Rome? or Naples????
If the rates are good fly to Roma and train to venice working our way back down????

if you can fly open jaw (into one city and home from another), I think it is preferable--one less train ride to get back to where you began. You should ind prices about the same or slightly higher. Even if they are higher, factor in the extra train tickets and time wasted and open jaw should be worth it. Most online reservation system refer to this as "multi-city."

hi brucelieb,

i have taken my kids to Italy a number of times now [we live in England so it's easier for us] and it is a mistake for you to try to show them everything at once, 'cos this is the "ONE TRIP".

in 9-10 days it can't be done. every time you move you lose at least half a day, if not more. so you are now down to no more than 8 days. then you are thinking of going to the three most visited, most intense cities in Italy. we spent a week in each, and there was still loads we didn't do and see. Rome, in particular, required a lot of time to get the most out of it - if you really only have 2 1/2 days for it, it woudl be better not to go, especially when some places will be shut due to the holiday.

that said, in your place, I would go to Rome, but cut out Florence for this trip.

this is what I would do:

Fly [open jaw] into Venice. spend three nights adjusting to Italy in a no-traffic environment, recovering from jetlag. etc. stay in a hotel that has a restaurant so that if you find everything shut [you won't] you have somewhere to eat.

Get the train to Rome, and rent an apartment. this will keep your costs down. aim to arrive between Christmas and New year so that the shops are open and you can do some shopping. do a day trip to Pompeii if you like. [there are threads about how to do this on the train from Rome in a day].even do a say trip to Florence if you must.

this will enable you to see the sisitine chapel [only availabel by gonig to the Vatican museums first] which is so important to you.

fly home from Rome.

it may be the only time that you go as a family, but it needs to be a trip that makes sure that THEY want to go back.

good luck,

regards, ann

that is a great/are great ideas...but what is "open jaw." When you go do you fly in to one place and out another?

yes, you have described open jaw correctly, also known as multi-city on most airline web sites

(Do not search for two one-way tickets. Search using the multi-city option.)

I know it was stated that you can't see it all in the time frame I have, true indeed. But two days and two nights in Florence or Venice packed in long days can give a great taste .
The Ufizi , the Academia, the wandering, a few great meals.....
but as for the fly in fly out thing...
From NYC we can fly to Rome and Milan easy..... as I recall transfering for a flight to Venice or Florence.....
This might be a silly question but with all the experience you have which city beside Rome would you fly to.. Sometimes we have to transfer in London anyway so maybe it is easier then I think.

hi bruce,

my idea was to fly into Venice, out of Rome. it's a very common combination. otherwise, into milan, train to Venice, train to Rome, out of Rome.

you CAN do two nights, Venice, two Florence, and three Rome, but you won't get to the Vatican or Pompeii if you do.

your choice.

regards, ann

Bruce,

I have done precisely the trip you describe with my college-age niece to give her a first taste of Europe, knowing she was headed to a rigorous grad school program that would not allow travel for a while. While it took place at spring break in early March, the time frame was similar to yours.

Friday: depart from NY JFK on Delta direct flight to Venice
Saturday: arrive Venice
Sunday: Venice
Monday: Venice
Tuesday: Train from Venice to Rome, dep 8:30 am; stop for lunch and a six or so hours of wandering in Florence; arr Rome 8:00 pm
Wednesday: Rome (Vatican sights, roaming around)
Thursday: Rome (Colosseum/Forum, roaming around)
Friday: Rome (daytrip to Orvieto)
Saturday: Rome (roaming around, churches, piazzas, cafes, gelato)
Sunday: fly home direct to JFK

I chose to fly into Venice because when you fly out of Venice, often the flights with connections leave very early in the morning. Also, I thought my niece would enjoy it as a first stop.

Our brief stop in Florence worked for us because she didn't feel the need to see any museums, plus I've been to Florence a number of times so there was no mystery about storing the luggage at the train station and finding our way.

We took a daytrip to Orvieto so she could get a taste of a quaint hilltown to add to her experiences in larger cities.

boy this gets more complicated...... My 29 yearold niece lawyer might be joining us to keep the "almost adult kids" from killing each other. They are all killing me!
Do hotels have bed setups as they do in the states,..I only traveled alone. Can we get two rooms with two beds or a cot? A room for three.
Also now they all want to move on to their families home town - Bari. Where the heck do we fly out of now?

hi Bruce,

you will do much better booking two rooms [4 bedded ones tend to ne scarce and cramped, especially fi you are 4 adults]. you might find the odd triple, or in older hotels, they may have a proper single ie a room with a single bed. but again, for a group, an apartment is a much better option and you get MUCH more space for less money.

you can probably fly to Bari from Rome. just google Bari airport to find out who flies in there from where.

regards, ann

Hi again,

I had a look for you, and you can fly to Bari from Venice - see:

http://www.euroflights.info/italy/bari/

you can also fly on Alitalia from Rome, but it's not cheap - $363 was being quoted. the train would be cheaper.

another idea - fly into and out of Rome, train straight to Venice when you arrive, fly to Bari, train back to Rome.

if you go to Bari, it's more like a 14 day trip.

regards, ann