family trip to Italy
Jan 17th, 2007, 05:21 AM
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family trip to Italy
My 20-year-old daughter is studying in Florence from January until end of April. My husband and I and our son (13) are planning to join her there after she completes her classes, figuring she will have the language well in hand and will be a good tour guide. This will be our first trip to Europe. We only have 10 days, door to door, upstate NY and back. She has already skyped me pictures of Puglia and I love it! She would very much like us to visit Florence for a few days, but I'd like to spend some time doing the shore. I love beaches and ruins and castles, etc. I've kind of been thinking of renting a car and doing Puglia that way. 1. are we very late in planning this trip? 2. can we possible do this under $6,000? 3. does anyone have any suggestions for an itinerary? I think we need a lot of help and I'm kind of getting the idea that I should have started thinking about this about six months ago.
Jan 17th, 2007, 05:29 AM
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Hi K,
>...I'm kind of getting the idea that I should have started thinking about this about six months ago. <
Never too early to statr planning a trip.
You have less than 8 days in Italy and you want to spend dome of that time on a beach?
I wouldn't recommend Puglia for a first-time visitor.
I think that your daughter has a good plan in visiting Florence for a few days.
You could combine that with a few days in Venice.
You could fly into Venice, where your daughter can meet you, spend 3 nights there and use the rest of your time visiting Tuscany and Florence either by car or with public transport.
Fly home from Florence FLR or Pisa PSA.
See www.kayak.com for airfare; www.autoeurope.com, www.novacarhire.com and www.gemut.com for cars; www.trenitalia.com for trains.
Enjoy your visit.
>...I'm kind of getting the idea that I should have started thinking about this about six months ago. <
Never too early to statr planning a trip.
You have less than 8 days in Italy and you want to spend dome of that time on a beach?
I wouldn't recommend Puglia for a first-time visitor.
I think that your daughter has a good plan in visiting Florence for a few days.
You could combine that with a few days in Venice.
You could fly into Venice, where your daughter can meet you, spend 3 nights there and use the rest of your time visiting Tuscany and Florence either by car or with public transport.
Fly home from Florence FLR or Pisa PSA.
See www.kayak.com for airfare; www.autoeurope.com, www.novacarhire.com and www.gemut.com for cars; www.trenitalia.com for trains.
Enjoy your visit.
Jan 17th, 2007, 05:37 AM
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Haven't spent a lot of time in that part of Italy, but you should be able to do really well with $6000 for 8-10 days.
We travel well and average $350-$400 a day for the two of us including airfare on our European trips (including the two we made this year).
We just finished a 4-person trip to Prague and Berlin for 8 days that cost $7000 for all four of us staying at 4-star hotels (something we don't usually do). The $7000 includes everything including gasoline from home to airport and back and airport parking.
We averaged $375 a day on our 2-week June/July trip to Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
Of course, a lot depends on your travel style: If you stay in the most expensive hotels, eat large meals with the most exclusive wines in Michelin-starred restaurants every night, shop a lot, etc., then it's a whole new ballgame.
We travel well and average $350-$400 a day for the two of us including airfare on our European trips (including the two we made this year).
We just finished a 4-person trip to Prague and Berlin for 8 days that cost $7000 for all four of us staying at 4-star hotels (something we don't usually do). The $7000 includes everything including gasoline from home to airport and back and airport parking.
We averaged $375 a day on our 2-week June/July trip to Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
Of course, a lot depends on your travel style: If you stay in the most expensive hotels, eat large meals with the most exclusive wines in Michelin-starred restaurants every night, shop a lot, etc., then it's a whole new ballgame.
Jan 17th, 2007, 05:51 AM
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In my opinion, Puglia is really too far for you to drive in the amount of time you have in Italy.
I spent the entire summer of 2003 in Puglia, and it is very lovely. But I remember it taking me almost the entire day to drive from where I was living near Leuca to Florence. So you are talking 2 days just for driving to Puglia and back to Florence. Driving to just Bari would obviously shorten the trip, but if you are looking for beachy/seaside time, it is nicer to stay way down on the southern tip of Puglia.
Maybe flying from Florence to Bari or Brindisi may save you some time?
And Ira is right in the sense that as a first-time visitor, Puglia might be a bit difficult for you unless you're daughter has a decent command of the Italian language. However I found that even the little Italian I knew at the time didn't help me that much because the Pugliese spoke mostly in Pugliese dialect. My husband who is Tuscan/Napolitano doesn't even understand the Pugliese when they speak! I found a lot of the Pugliese also spoke French, but no English.
Having said this, I highly recommend a nice 2-3 week seaside summer holiday in Puglia when you have the time. The Pugliese are probably the nicest, most hospitable people you will find in Italy. I met 2 families when I was there and they kindly "took me in" and invited me to dinner every night...lovely people!
Also Puglia does have many other sights to see besides just the lovely sea.
I spent the entire summer of 2003 in Puglia, and it is very lovely. But I remember it taking me almost the entire day to drive from where I was living near Leuca to Florence. So you are talking 2 days just for driving to Puglia and back to Florence. Driving to just Bari would obviously shorten the trip, but if you are looking for beachy/seaside time, it is nicer to stay way down on the southern tip of Puglia.
Maybe flying from Florence to Bari or Brindisi may save you some time?
And Ira is right in the sense that as a first-time visitor, Puglia might be a bit difficult for you unless you're daughter has a decent command of the Italian language. However I found that even the little Italian I knew at the time didn't help me that much because the Pugliese spoke mostly in Pugliese dialect. My husband who is Tuscan/Napolitano doesn't even understand the Pugliese when they speak! I found a lot of the Pugliese also spoke French, but no English.
Having said this, I highly recommend a nice 2-3 week seaside summer holiday in Puglia when you have the time. The Pugliese are probably the nicest, most hospitable people you will find in Italy. I met 2 families when I was there and they kindly "took me in" and invited me to dinner every night...lovely people!
Also Puglia does have many other sights to see besides just the lovely sea.
Jan 17th, 2007, 05:58 AM
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I have a Weissman Report for visiting Bari (the main city in Puglia) that I could send you. It has all general information about the area (geography, history) as well as sightseeing suggestions and hotel and restaurant recommendations. If you'd be interested, send me an email. David
Jan 17th, 2007, 08:37 AM
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When my daughter was studying in Paris, we decided in mid-January that a visit in mid-March (our school's winter break) would be the only time we could go with our 12-year-old son.
With all the information available on the internet to search for hotels and suggestions from seasoned travelers, we planned our trip in just six weeks, and had a most memorable time...and you will too!
My first suggestion would be to get an open-jaw ticket if possible. Fly into Florence and out of say Venice if that is your destination to avoid backtracking.
Your daughter is surely going to want to show you Florence. Stay there a couple of days, and then rent a car and head to your next destination. Tuscany or Umbria would make a lovely countryside vacation for a few days. There are so many towns to explore with plenty of ruins, castles, abbeys, churches, etc.
You could then drive to Venice...a fabulous city that the entire family should enjoy...and then fly home from Venice.
You would have to ask the beach experts about the weather in April and whether a beach vacation is advisable at that time of year in Puglia. Of course, you should also consider the fact that Bari is over 400 miles from Florence if you choose to go. The ride could take well over six hours to get there and then consider the ride to the city where you will fly home from. But if your heart is set on Puglia, then I would pose another question specific to Puglia regarding the weather, beaches, etc.
Good Luck!
With all the information available on the internet to search for hotels and suggestions from seasoned travelers, we planned our trip in just six weeks, and had a most memorable time...and you will too!
My first suggestion would be to get an open-jaw ticket if possible. Fly into Florence and out of say Venice if that is your destination to avoid backtracking.
Your daughter is surely going to want to show you Florence. Stay there a couple of days, and then rent a car and head to your next destination. Tuscany or Umbria would make a lovely countryside vacation for a few days. There are so many towns to explore with plenty of ruins, castles, abbeys, churches, etc.
You could then drive to Venice...a fabulous city that the entire family should enjoy...and then fly home from Venice.
You would have to ask the beach experts about the weather in April and whether a beach vacation is advisable at that time of year in Puglia. Of course, you should also consider the fact that Bari is over 400 miles from Florence if you choose to go. The ride could take well over six hours to get there and then consider the ride to the city where you will fly home from. But if your heart is set on Puglia, then I would pose another question specific to Puglia regarding the weather, beaches, etc.
Good Luck!
Jan 18th, 2007, 05:21 AM
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lorac, you seem to have some great feedback. any more? My husband has found a website with really cheap tickets $349, plus tax, gj (although we don't know what that is), NY to Rome. Would you go with something like that? If you were to do Florence, what's your best advice: one or two more cities and which cities? thanks for your help
Jan 18th, 2007, 06:24 AM
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kjosteno, the first thing I would do is book the flights since $349 is a terrific price to Rome. Although I would get a final price with taxes and fees before booking anything. But do some comparison shopping. There are several airlines right now that are offering very good prices to Europe but booking needs to be done by certain dates in January. Sometimes, you can get an open-jaw ticket (in one city and out another) for just a little more which is so well worth the money. If the price is right, you could fly into Florence and then out of Rome or Venice and never backtrack. Usually, the extra cost of the ticket is comparable to what it would cost for three people to take a train and the time saved is invaluable especially when you have only 8 days to work with. On our last trip, we booked a round trip to Venice, but our first destination was Naples, so for just a little bit more, we flew to Naples in just over one hour…well worth it…and we flew home from Venice.
Having said all of that, you have to decide on what you and your family want to see and do on this trip and the sooner you realize that you can't do it all in one trip, the choices become easier. The good news is that whatever choice you make, it will be a good one. I think if I were doing this trip, I would try to fly into Florence since your daughter is already there, and spend two or three days there. Then I would rent a car and drive through Tuscany, staying three days at a location that would give you easy access to the towns you wish to visit. Driving in Tuscany is a wonderful way to see some of the hilltowns and the magnificent scenery…and the food and wine is fabulous throughout. Then I would end the trip in Rome with two or three days, and fly home from Rome.
But this is your trip and you have to establish what you really, really want to see and do. Once the flights are booked, you can fill in the hotel reservations. April is such a beautiful time to travel…everything is turning green and the flowers are blooming.
You can e-mail me with more specific questions at [email protected] …I’m more than happy to help.
Carol
Having said all of that, you have to decide on what you and your family want to see and do on this trip and the sooner you realize that you can't do it all in one trip, the choices become easier. The good news is that whatever choice you make, it will be a good one. I think if I were doing this trip, I would try to fly into Florence since your daughter is already there, and spend two or three days there. Then I would rent a car and drive through Tuscany, staying three days at a location that would give you easy access to the towns you wish to visit. Driving in Tuscany is a wonderful way to see some of the hilltowns and the magnificent scenery…and the food and wine is fabulous throughout. Then I would end the trip in Rome with two or three days, and fly home from Rome.
But this is your trip and you have to establish what you really, really want to see and do. Once the flights are booked, you can fill in the hotel reservations. April is such a beautiful time to travel…everything is turning green and the flowers are blooming.
You can e-mail me with more specific questions at [email protected] …I’m more than happy to help.
Carol
Jan 19th, 2007, 08:42 AM
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I don't think you should go to Puglia for beaches in April - the weather is pretty hit and miss and out of season they don't clean the beaches, so you get all kinds of ship detritious that's washed up over the winter.
If castles and ruins are also your thing, and you haven't been to Italy before, then you really coudln't go wrong with sticking to Tuscany or Umbria - more famous sites that you'd believe (and way more than there are in Puglia).
If castles and ruins are also your thing, and you haven't been to Italy before, then you really coudln't go wrong with sticking to Tuscany or Umbria - more famous sites that you'd believe (and way more than there are in Puglia).
