Comments on my itinerary for 12 days in Italy
 

I am planning a trip to Italy (for my husband and myself) in October. We plan to fly into and out of Rome. We plan to use the train for transportation. <BR>Day one - train from Rome to Milan, stay in Four Seasons. <BR>Day two - Train to Sirmione, stay at Villa Cortine Palace Hotel <BR>Day three - Train to Verona, stay at Hotel Gabbia d'oro <BR>Day four - five - Train to Vencie, stay in Gritti Palace <BR>Day five - eight - train to Florence, stay Lungarno Hotel <BR>Day nine - ten - train to Sorrento, stay Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria <BR>Day eleven and twelve, Rome, where to stay???? <BR>Please comment on this schedule - Are the hotels good? Is there enough time for this??

It looks pretty good to me, assuming you are an organized person and like to move around that much. Just a very few suggestions--you don't say when in October, but Sirmione is just on the cusp of the season at that point. If you must, go see it, but it is prettiest in the summer. I would fly to Rome and over night the first night in Rome (you can save some energy for the trip to come and recover from the jet lag!) Next day, train through Milan--don't stay--you can have a look at the Cathedral if you want--straight on to Sirmione or I would prefer Verona for two days, leaving fairly early the next day for Venice. Our favorite in Verona is the Due Torri which is well located and furnished with antiques although pricey. Then Venice--the Gritti is tops as are the Daniele, Europa, Bauer Grunwald and if price is no object, the Cipriani across the canal, but in October it won't be necessary as most of the crowds will have left. Then your idea of the Lungarno in Florence is tops--it's our very favorite, but small so make sure you can get in. Then Sorrento, again, if you must--again it's a summer resort, you could stop in another town in Tuscany or Umbria instead--how about San Gimignano or Orvieto or Assisi or Siena??? Then Rome. <BR> <BR>In Rome our very favorite always is La Residenza near the Via Veneto---again small so must be booked well ahead. It's on Via Emelia and close to lots and nice trattorias and near the Spanish Steps and the Via Condotti shopping. FAX them at 011-39-6-485-721. If that doesn't work I can make other suggestions. <BR> <BR>You will undoubtably receive lots of other suggestions--as many as there are people who have gone to Italy, but your plan to take the train, to stay in those hotels and your timing is good, and you need to stick with your first ideas. I just would reconsider Sorrento and Sirmione, but as I said, it could be done nicely. <BR> <BR>If you find you Must stay in Milan, stay at the Excelsior Gallia which is just across the street from the central station. You can get a porter to help with the bags---have a drink in the Baboon Bar! <BR>

You cover a lot of ground but it seems like you're always going to be running for a train, especially at the start of your trip. But I'm sure it can be done. Are you planning to take overnight or off hour trains so you don't waste your days? (for example Florence to Sorrento can take as much as 7-8 hours depending on what kind of train you take) <BR>

Like the above response, I think it sounds like you will be spending a lot of time en route. Do try to maximize on night trains (not a lot of opportunity here, but where you can...). How about an open-jaws flight into Milan and out of Rome? That way you don't have to start out leaving one city for another when you're jet-lagged. <BR>I do have to disagree about skipping the resort towns when it's not peak season...who wants to go in peak season when everybody else and their dog is there, too? I went to Sorrento in April one year, and it was beautiful, quiet, and much cheaper than during summer. If your only intention is to go lie on the beach, then skip it, but there are other reasons to go (day trips to Pompeii or Capri, for example). <BR>If I had twelve days I would spend three in Rome, one in Siena or other hill town in that area and two in Florence (using one as 'base-camp' for both towns), then train it to the Cinque Terre, stopping in Pisa for a look at the tower. Spend the night there and go hiking, then head for Venice for two days. Night train it to Naples and get on the Circumsuviana train to Sorrento. Hang out there and relax, spend a half a day in Pompeii and return at the last possible moment to Rome for the flight home. Maybe that's too much, actually, in which case I'd skip Venice. Anyway...go with your instincts; just thought I'd give you an example of something else. Make sure you check out Rick Steves' _Best of Italy_. Good luck!

I STRONGLY recommend either arriving in one city and leaving from another. It's a waste of time arriving and leaving from the same city. Florence and Venice are two cities you can stay a few days in and then take day trips to the outlying cities via trains. <BR> <BR>Lemme know if you want any more info <BR> <BR>-LB

I will be traveling to Italy in December and would like to know how to get to Urbano from Florence. Any ideas? Gratzi, <BR> Jessamyn

Tell me you're kidding. That is not an itinerary, <BR>that is a wish list with horrible logistics. <BR>You will not have time to see anything or to have <BR>any fun And, the prices you will pay for those hotels you could hire a private driver and see Italy. I believe the Villa Cortine requires a 3 nite minimum stay----but you could not be serious anyway so this is really an exercise to see what <BR>kind of reaction you will get. I sometimes fantasize about winning the lottery---if this is your fantasy, you need to get some help.

No, actually, this is a planned trip. Please forward helpful comments. <BR>

Delle, I apologize if I was flip---I really thought <BR>it may be a spoof. Of course,this has to be the creation of a travel agent, on commision, whose Italy experience was a whirlwind FAM trip in 1988. <BR>I have planned more than 40 personalized itineraries to Italy and this one will break you <BR>both physically and fiscally. I have several ideas to make it better, but too much to share here. I will email you later with some thoughts, but am curious about: WHY MILAN AT ALL? WOULD A CAR FOR PART OF THE TRIP BE AN OPTION? WHEN IN OCT.? <BR>WHY FLY INTO AND OUT OF ROME---WHY NOT MILAN? <BR>WHY NOT TIME IN TUSCANY RATHER THAN BIG CITIES? <BR>Lots of questions, but you may need help. I will <BR>contact you directly on Wed. BOB

Bob, you were flip and that's not like you, I know this from your usual wonderful and thoughtful replies. We have done some similar trips to this---yes, it's not totally relaxing, but when we were young and wanted to see everything, we did it! I suggested skipping Sorrento and Sirmione because of the time it would take to get to each and because, depending on what week in October this lady is going, it could be raining as we all know, right? OK to be in a city in the rain, really depressing to be staring at a lake in the rain. It's great to be somewhere off season, but you have to be careful not to be too off season. We always travel in October, and plan to do it before or after our business meeting depending on our destination. I can tell you horror stories of a week of rain and wind in some parts of Europe in the last weeks of October. April and May are a safer bet in Italy, but still a risk of bad weather. It's not too bad to fly into and out of Rome if in fact she has to do it---I guess I assumed it was a given. We always fly from SF to London and then London to Pisa or to Frankfurt and then to Venice. Personally, I would skip Rome entirely because I don't think it fits with the rest of the trip, but if our poster has never been to Italy, how can we recommend that? The Italians have "rapido" trains also if one is careful in making reservations. I'm assuming that she can afford these hotels, and if so, she certainly shouldn't be discouraged from staying at them. I think we are becoming too impatient when offering advice! Rather than telling her they're too expensive and she needs to win a lottery, could we just say, "Are you aware you've picked some very expensive hotels, maybe with minimum stays (although are we sure--perhaps the minimum is just "in season")?" I've stayed at many of them and sometimes the expense is justified! Let's try to be a little kinder and gentler. People are jumping on each other on the U.S. forum, let's not go that way. <BR>

Delle-We were in Italy for 11 days in May. We visited Florence, Venice and the Tuscany area. I think it would be well worth your time to visit Tuscany-the countryside is gorgeous, relaxing, & great food! We based ourselves in San Gigimano-stayed at a lovely hotel-L'Antico Pozzo, with a canope bed-great! Plus it was convenient to many surrounding areas. THanks to Bob the Navigator, and his directions, we were able to find it very easily! You don't want to drive in Florence, but somehow, I would visit fewer places. I really don't like to pack up every day and move to a different hotel, but that is my preference. Oct. should be a less busy time in Italy, so you should experience fewer crowds. We arrived in Rome, & flew to Pisa etc. We decided not to stay in Rome for various reasons. So, I would say do a bit of research on the various cities you've chosen and try to narrow it down a bit more so you'll have time to relax. Also, we experienced a train strike and had to modify our plan a bit. Have a great trip!! Sharon