ginder

I couldn't wait any longer, I have to know if I am on the right track with my itinerary. So much to see, so little time!
Here goes:
Goals: to stay with relatives in Rome and still see some of the city(My Uncle is retired, wife works, has 2 young children 6 yrs and 8 yrs); to stay in Florence, Venice, Tuscany;visit Siena, San Gamignano, Fiesole, Orvieto, Tivoli, countryside in Tuscany, somehow visit Pompeii and archaelogical museum, relax, shop for presents and souvenirs,eat,drink just a little, playtime for 3 and half year old, stress-free driving experience.

Challenges: Total max. 24-25 nights (can't help myself)in Italy; want to begin and end trip in Rome with relatives; Have 3 and half year old to consider; have uninterested husband who has just been diagnosed with tear in knee cartilege(may or may not have had operation before we leave)must not do too much walking in any given day; must relax too; need rest days for all; somehow see Pompeii;allow time when arrive in Rome to adjust for 3 and half yr old in case of health problem,etc due to jet lag about 5 or 6 days; to stay with relatives over 2 wkends so kids can play together and Uncle wants to take us to his holiday home in Termoli on one of the weekends;Lousy navigational skills(me) impatient driver(UH) UH doesn't like alcohol!!

Itinerary so far:
Thurs 18th May 2006 leave Perth Australia for very long flight to Rome

Fri 19th May 2006 Arrive Rome(am)stay with relatives(5nights)

Wed 24th May,take a train to Venice (stay 3 nights)

Saturday 27th May, pick up rental car from autoeurope in Mestre (take train to Mestre)
Drive to Sant Antonio resort near Montepulciano (min. stay sat to sat)

Saturday 3rd June, return car to Chiusi depot and take train to Florence (5 nights)

Thurs 8th June take train to Rome
In Rome with relatives (4 nights)

Mon 12th June fly to Montreal(early pm-latest flight available)
(Can be possible to leave Tues 13th June instead)

Nothing is booked of course. My Uncle in Rome lives near a train station called Furio Camillo. I am not sure how difficult this will be to see the sights, eg. extra time added to day.

I was thinking of shortening time at Sant antonio resort and leaving friday 2nd June, but, that is a public holiday. I may not be able to refuel car before handing car back in, but, auroeurope site did not indicate that the drop off depot would be closed. How will the public holiday affect Florence, eg museums, shops?
Can anyone help me fine tune this, or help me see reason. Thank you ( pompeii was the only site I had wanted to see until I started reading all those guidebooks, now, I can't believe I've left it as a maybe- only because of distance suggesting an overnight stay somewhere down there is better, and scared to drive anywhere near it, and now don't know how to fit it in when in Rome.)
I would appreciate any help.Thank you for reading this.

ginder

Forgot to add: Is Mestre a stress-free car pick up site(not much traffic, easy to navigate out of?)If so, which route to take to montepulciano? if not, where would be a more sensible, less stressful place to pick up car? eg train back to florence?
I wouldn't mind seeing Assisi either!

ira

Hi g,

Looks like a nice visit.

You can pick up your car in Venice at the Piazzale Roma and save the train ride to Mestre.

You exit Venice on the causeway, so you can't get lost.

Driving directions, etc can be found at www.mappy.com and www.viamichelin.com.

I would add a night to Venice and take it away from Florence.

Have a great visit.

SusanP

I would also take a day from Florence and add it to Venice.

I have to say that I don't see how a husband who is not only uninterested but now has a knee problem is going to enjoy this trip. I have arthritis in my knees and still did a TON of walking and stairs last month during 18 days in Italy. However, I wanted to be there more than anything and just ignored the pain as much as possible!

Although I haven't done it, do a search here and you will find a lot of information on doing Pompeii from Rome by train in one long day.

Good luck!

Jocelyn_P

I think adding a day to Venice would be tricky, given the Sat-Sat schedule at Sant Antonio.

Good luck ginder. I look forward to an interesting trip report.

misscarol

Pompei is great, but a lot of walking along uneven surface. My husband did it with an arthritic hip and use of a cane, we took the ferry from Ischia and a small van dropped us off right at the sight. So we did not have to deal with driving or parking.

ira

Good point, JP.

I would then reverse Venice and Florence.

hazel1

Regarding dropping the rental car in Chiusi - be aware that if you have a rental with Avis, the agency is not in Chiusi proper anymore, it's a few km away and you'll have to either take a taxi to the train station or, if you're lucky, as we were, to get a ride from the agent if he's not busy. The Hertz agency is across from the Chiusi train station.

ginder

Hello Joselyn P and Ira, thanks for vote of confidence. If I reversed Florence and Venice, would 3 days be enough in Florence? and 5 too much in Venice? Would it be better to visit Siena and San Gamignano, orvieto and Pisa by car? If we picked up car in Florence would that be stress free? or just pick up car in Chiusi? What are your thoughts on Pompeii in a day? Ginder

ginder

Hi Susanp, I know the trip sounds like it is going to be a pain in some respects, I'm just hopeful. Hi Misscarol thanks for the tips on Pompeii, did you stay in Ischia, would you recommend anywhere to stay if not there? Maybe we could overnight at the end of the trip, get a driver if we have any money left!! Hi hazel1 sounds like Avis is better to deal with than Hertz!! Ginder

Nikki

I've done Pompeii in a day from Rome twice and highly recommend it, although it is indeed a long day. Depends how much stamina your kids have, I guess. Take the train from Rome to Naples, then the Circumvesuviana commuter train from Naples to Pompeii Scavi station, which is just about at the entrance to the ruins.

Alternatively you can take the shuttle bus operated by Enjoy Rome (www.enjoyrome.com). This is a relaxing way to get to Pompeii and gives you over three hours at the site, which should be plenty with young children. You're back in Rome by dinner time.

Jocelyn_P

Hi ginder,

You will invariably get differing opinions on this, but I would switch Venice and Florence, giving you more time in Venice.

My kids are 5 and 3, and although I haven't taken them to Italy yet, I daydream about it all the time. Even though I personally connected with Florence more than Venice, if I had my kids with me, I would much rather spend the extra time in Venice. There's no car traffic to worry about, the pace is a lot slower and less stressful, and the boats and bridges are such a novelty. I think a lot of your planned daytrips could be done from Sant Antonio as well as Florence (but be flexible! If everyone would rather just hang out at the villa, it's not a day wasted. You're seeing lots of stuff already and it's all about spending quality time together), and given your circumstances, I think spending a few days relaxing in Venice with your family could be a good plan. There are plenty of daytrips you could take from Venice by boat or train if you all get restless.

I would play Pompeii by ear. You have lots of time in Rome, so I'd say just make sure you know what your options are, and see what you and your family feel like doing once you're there.

tuscanlifeedit

I found the car rental pick up or drop off in Mestre to be more difficult than the ones at Piazzale Roma in Venice. In and out of Venice, it is a straight shot. Not so for in and out of Mestre, where one must navigate the city streets near the train station, where rental agencies are located.

ginder

Hi Nikki thanks for info on Pompeii, sounds doable.Thanks for the enjoyrome website.
Hi Jocelyn p thanks, just the info. I want. You are not the first to suggest swapping Florence and Venice.I will heed this.
Hi Tuscanlifeedit.Thanks for tips on pick up of car. May switch Pick up out of Florence. Does train to Chiusi and pick up car sound more stress-free?(bit apprehensive about exiting from florence) Is it worthwhile driving into Piazzale Roma and dropping car off? Or should we drop Chiusi or somewhere else closer to Venice that is worth visiting and hasslefree drop off near a train station to Venice?(Please note Chiusi depot autoeurope (Avis) closes on sat at 12.00. We are thinking of pick up and drop off on a saturday.

StCirq

Am I the only one who thinks this trip sounds absolutely exhausting, given the 3.5-year-old and the gimpy uninterested husband?

"Somehow visit Pompei" is right. Why not just take the train out to Ostia Antica and call it a day? It's a fabulous ruin and SO much less hassle given the baggage you're carrying around with you than getting to Pompei.

I guess I'm a curmudgeon, but something about this whole trip hasn't sounded right to me to begin with, and now to add in the husband's knee problems and the lousy navigational skills and the impatience about driving, well, if it were just the OP and the UH it might make for a good if violent trip report, but with the baby along it's sounding like a nightmare in the making to me. And I do have considerable experience in that area.

francophile03

Could you possibly leave your husband at home and take the 3 1/2 year old with you? Seriously if your husband is not interested in travelling to Italy and may have knee surgery it won't be fun for you either.

Michael

The solution is to take the husband along as a nanny, and ginder goes to the sites by herself.

LoveItaly

Oh StCirq, thank you for saying what I didn't, but I sure was thinking the same thing. I would rather stay home with a good book. I almost get a tension headache thinking about this trip. But ginder, I hope that you somehow work it out and have a wonderful time. But I would strongly suggest if you husband cannot walk much that you leave him at the relatives in Rome with your little one and go to Pompeii by yourself, or just do not go to Pompeii. Pompeii, in my experience is nothing but walking.

Oh my, I will stop and just say CinCin!

SusanP

StCirq & LoveItaly, Did you see ginder's previous posts about this trip? Many people (me included) recommended that she go to Italy by herself and leave her uninterested husband at home with their child. That was just when he was uninterested. Now she has added that he is an impatient driver and has knee problems requiring surgery. I agree with both of you, sounds like a terrible trip in the making.

Parfym

I thought from the beginning that this poster just wanted to see how far we would go along, agreeing, encouraging and suggesting, before we realise that she is just having some vicarious fun. I can hardly wait to see what the next "obstacle" will be. Maybe something like: "Oh, I forgot to tell you that I am scheduled to deliver twins the week before the departure."