First Time in Italy - How should we do it?
 

I am planning our first trip to Italy. We are planning to go in early October. My only limitation is I have some trouble walking and will need to have good transportation or accommodation.

My travel companions are thinking about a tour. I am thinking about visiting 3 cities over 10 days and not touring.

Any thoughts? Any recommendations as to how to plan such a trip would be helpful.

Pick one place - Florence or Rome - and take daytrips from there. You will easily fill up the time, and see more doing it the "slow" way.

If it's your first time you might consider a tour to get a taste of the country, then you will know exactly where you want to go back the next time. There will mostly likely be a next time.

Hi F,

>I am thinking about visiting 3 cities over 10 days and not touring.<

One of the easiest itineraries to plan on your own.

Fly into Venice - 3 nights, train to Florence - 3 nights, train to Rome - 3 nights, fly home.

See www.kayak.com for airfare.

See www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html
for trains

See www.venere.com for hotels.

The easiest way to get to your Venice hotel will be by water taxi - about 85E for the boat.

There are shuttle services to take you to FCO from Rome.

Can you climb short flights of stairs? You will have to go over bridges in Venice.

Come back after you have a planned itinerary and we will help you improve it.

Enjoy your visit.

((I))

I would suggest you not do a tour. The tour is set up on the assumption that everyone is mobile - and they often park the buses fair distances from where you need to go, with fairly tight timetables for you to get to the sight, see it and get back to the bus.

Traveling on your own you can set a schedule that meets your needs - so you're neither in difficulty/uncomfortable or holding eveyone else up. And you can use whatever transit you want - cabs or a rental car can often bring you right to the entrance of the sight while a tour bus might be blocks away.

To do 3 cities I would travel by cab in the city and by train in between. If you want to do a smaller town you can go by train and either walk in just the center of town or cab to where you want to go.

You will have a much more enjoyable vacation - and not feel rushed or fatigued or have to wait on the bus since you can;t "do" the sight (too much walking or too many steps).

Hello fredklein, I sure agree with NYTravelers thoughts. Travelling on your own versus a tour would give you the flexability that you will need. And regarding the water taxi (which is like a private taxi versus the water bus which is like a regular bus so to speak) is a good idea and keep in mind the cost Ira gave you is for all of you, not per person. And if you want to see the three major cities in Italy Ira's thoughts are quite good. Or if you want to not move around that much then I would suggest that you pick two of those cities depending on your interest. You can take the train between any of them quit easily. And if you fly into one airport and home from another you will not be backtracking. That is called an Open Jaw Flight or a MultiCity Flight.

Personally if it was me and I if I chose two cities those two would be Rome and Venice if you can handle the stairs that are on the bridges that go over the various canals. in Venice. If you can't then I would visit Rome and Florence. Best wishes to you and have fun planning your trip.

Is this your first trip abroad or your first trip to Italy? For 10 days, limitations on mobility and considering this may be your first trip I recommend 2 cities. You may also want to compromise on the tour with something like a "hosted" package if you are feeling overwhelmed with the planning. This is when you buy a package that includes hotel and transportation arrangements where you have an input on the accommodations... not something completely set and "take it or leave it."

Usually these packages include a bus tour of city highlights on the first full day you arrive there. The rest of the time is on your own. The bus tours last about 3 hours and you may stop and get out at some points for photos or brief explanations - other times you will just see from the bus. The benefit of this overview is you can see a few things and then based on your interest and the accessibility of the various sites, you can decide which ones you would like to revisit in depth during the rest of your stay.

It also depends on how many companions there are, if they are ok with walking or not and how flexible/considerate they are of others limitations.

We've done a few trips to Italy. With 10 days, I would look at Rome/Florence or Florence/Venice. You will have a travel day on each end of your trip so you realistically have at best 9 days. You should also consider that going between cities will also take a day. Our family is not the touring kind. We plan our days, take our time and see as much as possible. We have taken walking tours of various places (St Peter's, Rome at night, etc) but not a fully planned out tour group. Almost any place you want to see in depth will require a good amount of walking - if you can spread it out over 3-4 days in each of two cities, you should be fine.

Just a thought. if you are planning to carry out your own itinery, try and find a hotel close to public transport. I stayed in a hotel on via Cavour in Rome, and the metro was about 100 metres away. Ask a seperate question about accommodation and your specific needs as required.
You could also carry out tours on vehicles like the segways
http://www.segwayfirenze.com/rometours.asp
would this be ideal for you?

I took my elderly mother, who also had trouble walking, and two preschoolers (one in diapers and a stroller) to Italy for about 10 days several years ago. We obviously had some major mobility issues. I was the porter for all of us. We spent a few days each in Rome, Tuscany (near Florence) and Venice, left Italy out of Milan, travelled independently and rented a car. Some of our experiences:

Car Rental: I rented the car because we wanted to explore Tuscany and did not want stay in Florence proper. I had the car delivered to our hotel in Rome on the morning we left the city. The additional cost for delivery was about $25 at the time and was well worth it! Last May, a friend and I rented a car at the train station and it was a total pita. Anyway, the car gave us flexiblity and since our goal was Tuscany and not just Florence, we needed it to explore the countryside. We left the car parked in the garage in Venice and took the vaporetta (cheap) into the city. When we left Venice, we took a water taxi (expensive) to make things easier. The car rental just sat in the garage in Venice, but with several travelers, it made more sense than managing train schedules, was cheaper and was easier with several bags and a stroller. We were able to drop it off at the airport in Milan when we left Italy.

Cobblestone Streets/Narrow Sidewalks/Bridges & Steps in Venice: Make sure you have great, well broken-in walking shoes. You can't get around the fact that you will be walking like crazy. The best thing is to pace yourself. Divide your sightseeing into geographical segments (ie. St. Peter's & the Vatican on one day and the forum/coloseum on one day). Take plenty of coffee/wine/gelato breaks in the cafes along the way. In October, the heat shouldn't be an issue. Walking can be rough in Rome and Florence because of the narrow sidewalks, narrow streets and crazy traffic, but you can take taxis in Rome. You must catch a taxi at a designated taxi stand in Rome. I've never taken a taxi in Florence. In Venice, you get around by vaporetta and walking, mostly walking.

Try to stay in the very central sightseeing areas of each city. In Rome, I would stay near the Forum, in Florence, near the Duomo or along the Arno River and near St. Marks in Venice. Personally, I find public transportation (trains, buses) more difficult with multiple people, children and the elderly.

After you research what you want to see, adjust your itinerary to allow enough time in each city. You may want to consider 4 days in Rome since you won't be able to speed between sights. Two days in Venice is fine. In Florence, make sure you reserve a tour to the Uffizi. The lines can be horrendous (up to a couple of hours) and a tour or timed ticket will bypass the lines. The lines to the Accademia (David) are not as bad, but you can also reserve a time there.

A guided tour may be a good idea. You don't mention your age group, but if you are in the seniors category, you should be able to find a slower paced tour (catering to seniors) that takes age and mobility into consideration. You will also eliminate the issues with transfers and baggage handling.