Christmas Suprise
 

Hi,

I planned a surprise holiday for my boyfiend as a christmas gift. I bought the flight tickets so that we are going to rome on 17th and returning from milan on 28th of december. Actually, it will be our first trip to italy, so I don't know what to do in between Rome and Milan. People say "Florence, Pisa, Venice, Sienna, Genoa, .... etc". Where to

stay is another question? In hotels, apartment or B&B.

I know it is a little bit late but I am open for any suggestions.

Thanks

hi
what's your hotel budget, per night, or for the whole trip for the two of you?

By my count you have 10 or 11 days in Italy. I'd suggest staying in no more than 3 cities with perhaps a daytrip or two.
Otherwise you waste a lot of time checking in and out, traveling, etc.

Since Rome is first, and it's large, spend 4 days there including your arrival day. It will be only scratching the surface, but you can see the highlights. If Florence interests you but a little, you can daytrip there. If it interests you more, you can take a train and stay 2-3 days. If you stay in Florence, you can daytrip to Siena--bus is best because it is most direct.

Venice is my favorite so I can't see not spending at least 2-3 days there.

You can take some evening trains to cut down on loss of sightseeing time.

From Venice you can take a train to Milan. Most people would say that on a short trip, Milan is skippable--since you have to leave from there anyway you could allow for a day to see the Duomo.

If you click at the top of this screen on Destinations you can find your cities and see suggestions for sightseeing and short visits.

I have files on the above cities; if you'd like to see them and if your email can accept large attachments, email me at
[email protected]

Hi seren,

Lucky BF.

You have 10 sightseeing days. I agree with Elaine, except that I prefer Florence.

About 3 days in Rome, 3 days in Florence, 3 days in Venice and last day in Milan.

From Rome you can visit Orvieto for a hill-town experience. From Florence you can visit Siena for a day.

Train schedules are at www.trenitalia.com/en

Bus schedules to Siena are at http://www.sita-on-line.it/

It will be a busy 10 days, but if this is your first trip to Italy, I would definitely recommend that you try to see Rome, Florence and Venice. They are all wonderful and, especially in the winter, there is more to do in the cities than in the countryside. Milan might be worth a day if you could arrange to see the Last Supper (you need reservations). Otherwise, I would suggest concentrating on the "big 3" and arriving in Milan only with sufficient time to catch your flight home. As Italophiles will tell you, you will return! Be sure to write a trip report.

I would stick to 2 cities and do a day trip from each if you'd like. There is a lot of time spent moving from city to city IMO.

I think Pisa can be easily eliminated from your list. Genoa is a city I enjoy visiting and for me, Sienna is a fun day trip but then I am done.

I do not like Venice so I would focus on Florence and Rome. There is plenty to keep you busy in both of those cities and you can get a better feel for places if you do not ruch through them.

From Florence, there is a wide range of day trips. And in Rome, there is enough to experience that I will be making my 12th visit there this January (ten nights in Italy, 7 in Florence, 3 in Rome) and know I will not be able to fit in everything I want to do.

Re where to stay, this is totally a matter of personal preference. I like hotels because I like the convenience of having a concierge and a bar and sometimes a fitness center on site. I have stayed in B&Bs when price is an issue and found them perfectly fine. But there is often some inconvenience assocaited with a B&B as it is not staffed full time. In Florence last July we stayed in a very pleasant B&B in a terrific location and had a great room. But we could get or make calls when reception was closed and this was a pain as we have kids at home. We ended up buying an Italian cell phone, which is good for us as we are in Italy 3-4x a year these days. ALso, there was no coffee or breakfast. There was a cafe in the building down 4 flights of steps but we also enjoy the rare luxury of a cappucino on the terrace or in the garden or even in bed in the mornings as we missed this as well.

This winter we are staying in hotels in both cities that we have enjoyed before.

You can get a lot for your money in December so do the research and find a place that appeals to you.

Lastly, the past tow winter trips in Dec/Jan to Italy have brought mixed weather. Last year we had rain about 65% of the time, we had snow and sleet in Venice and we had rain and cold in Rome. In all cases we were grateful that we had selected hotels that were in the true city center so we could go back often and dry off. In high season, we tend to stay at hotels that are out of the mainstream and in more residential areas.

If you are flying on a morning flight out of Milan, I suggest you do not rely on a same day train but overnight in Milan. If you stay in the center, there are train connections to Malpensa. I have also used the Malpensa Shuttle which was fine.

a more basic question is how much countryside vs city do you want to experience. the countryside is a whole different world from the cities IMO.

personally, i think that spending a substantial amount of time relaxing in the countryside (tuscany, for example) is a great introduction to the people and lifestyle of italy. as another poster pointed out, however, you need to consider that it will be winter and the countryside has less activity (which may or may not be a good thing, depending on what you are looking for).

First of all, it would be helpful if you RESPONDED to what has been posted already.

Second your actual interests would be helpful, too....you might be some of those many people who would prefer NOt to go to the cities everyone is recommending.

topping so that seren will see this

Since I/we posters have no idea what you and your boyfriend are interested, will respond with what I would do in that timeframe...

The only place in Italy I have been in Venice (twice) and adored it. I am intimidated by the size and pace of Rome and often travel alone, so would not spend a lot of time there.

I would... Fly into Rome and spend 2 days getting over your jet lag and seeing the major sites. Train to Florence and stay 4 days, train to Venice and stay 4 days, return the day before your flight to Milan and overnight somewhere convenient to the airport. I would stay in 3-star hotels in central locations each place.

*OR* on the flipside if you prefer relaxing in the countryside over siteseeing in the cities ...

Fly into Rome and overnight, depart the next morning to somewhere in the Italian countryside. Stay 7-8 days in a villa you have rented. Get to Milan for 1 day at the end, the day before your flight out.

Sorry for my late response.

Thanks for all inputs. Especially elaine and ira,who helped me to make up my mind. Finally, 4 nights in rome, 4 nights in venice and 2 nights in milan seems the best option. I may travel through italian countryside next time (spring or summer seems to be the best times).

Now I can start looking for the hotels. Our budget is around 100-150 Euros per night. And I agree with kfusto, that the accomodation have to be in the city center.

Any suggestions?

www.venere.com and look for hotels there.

Pensione Panda in Rome always gets good remarks here
www.hotelpandaparadise.com

another that also does is
www.hotelparlamento.it

I think they might be in your price range

For Florence, I've never read a bad thing about the hotel Casci

also check for guest comments at
www.tripadvisor.com

I have files on R and F; if you'd like to see them, email me at
[email protected]

Can I give your name and number to my wife? What a nice surprise. Maybe you could give her some hints.