First time to Italy - HELP!
Apr 20th, 2004, 09:12 AM
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First time to Italy - HELP!
I'm going to Italy for the first time next week and I feel really unprepared. I have my airfare - direct flight to London (from San Francisco) landing at 7am on 4/28 and we're spending 1 day in London. Then flying to Rome on 4/29 and landing in FCO @ 3pm.
We have 18 days in Italy - how should we spend them?? We're flying out of Venice on 5/17 back to London and then back to SF on 5/18. The only part of our itinerary that is set is that we're going to be in Udine on 5/14- 5/16 for a wedding.
We were planning on spending 5-6 days in Rome, 5-6 in Florence (& Tuscany - maybe taking a few day trips to Luca & Pisa) and then the remainder of our time in Venice and Udine.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!! We haven't even booked hotels yet - are we going to be OK??
Also, do I need to get an International drivers license to rent a car there? I read that you should get a license and that you can get it at AAA.
Thanks for all of your help!!!
We have 18 days in Italy - how should we spend them?? We're flying out of Venice on 5/17 back to London and then back to SF on 5/18. The only part of our itinerary that is set is that we're going to be in Udine on 5/14- 5/16 for a wedding.
We were planning on spending 5-6 days in Rome, 5-6 in Florence (& Tuscany - maybe taking a few day trips to Luca & Pisa) and then the remainder of our time in Venice and Udine.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!! We haven't even booked hotels yet - are we going to be OK??
Also, do I need to get an International drivers license to rent a car there? I read that you should get a license and that you can get it at AAA.
Thanks for all of your help!!!
Apr 20th, 2004, 09:19 AM
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Hi jam,
I suggest you immediately make reservations for your single nights in London.
After that you should immediately start looking for places in Italy.
An International Drivers License is needed only if you are in an accident or stopped by the police.
5-6 days each in Rome and Florence is good.
You can do Lucca and Pisa both in one day and Siena in another.
From Rome, try a visit to Orvieto and Ostia Antica.
Enjoy.
I suggest you immediately make reservations for your single nights in London.
After that you should immediately start looking for places in Italy.
An International Drivers License is needed only if you are in an accident or stopped by the police.
5-6 days each in Rome and Florence is good.
You can do Lucca and Pisa both in one day and Siena in another.
From Rome, try a visit to Orvieto and Ostia Antica.
Enjoy.
Apr 20th, 2004, 09:23 AM
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I am guessing that you are in your 20's and that will help a lot b/c you will be flexible. When my husband and I were in our 20's, we did virtually the same thing and we were fine!! We found hotels as we went along--there is info in all train stations and airports, and we rented a car the same way. As far as the AAA driver's license goes, I believe you can and do need one and you can just go to your local office and get one. We stayed in places till we got tired of them and then went someplace else. Enjoy the experience!!
Apr 20th, 2004, 09:31 AM
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"I really feel unprepared."
Based on the rest of your posting, that's an understatement!
As Ira said, get your London hotel right away. However, before proceeding with your other hotel reservations, I would think you should finalize your general itinerary. Then, get those hotel rooms. And, since you are leaving in seven days, I suggest you start your planning right now....and full speed ahead!
I am amazed that you could be so close to your departure and yet have done so little planning!
Based on the rest of your posting, that's an understatement!
As Ira said, get your London hotel right away. However, before proceeding with your other hotel reservations, I would think you should finalize your general itinerary. Then, get those hotel rooms. And, since you are leaving in seven days, I suggest you start your planning right now....and full speed ahead!
I am amazed that you could be so close to your departure and yet have done so little planning!
Apr 20th, 2004, 09:45 AM
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I definitely agree with the others...start booking your hotels right away. Especially since its your first trip to Italy, knowing exactly where you are staying will give you piece of mind. Since May is heading towards peak season, you will definitely want to book ahead of time. If you are looking for places to stay, check out travel guides, as well as internet sites such as hotels.com. I also checked traveladvisor.com to get the ratings on the hotel before I booked.
Apr 20th, 2004, 10:36 AM
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Hi
Please provide what you want to spend each night on accommodations, and people here will readily make suggestions. The problem is availability--a lot of popular places, especially the economical ones, book up well in advance. Still, you may be lucky.
I'll add that based on what I've read, avoid like the plague driving into large cities and towns like Florence and Rome. Driving is a nightmare, parking even worse. Traffic in and out of the city, from what I've observed is very bad, and that's for people who are locals. Use the car for Tuscany touring if you like (though daytrips to places like Pisa don't require a car either) and for Udine, but other than that, you don't need want the car in Florence and Rome. So organize your itinerary with that in mind as well.
Please provide what you want to spend each night on accommodations, and people here will readily make suggestions. The problem is availability--a lot of popular places, especially the economical ones, book up well in advance. Still, you may be lucky.
I'll add that based on what I've read, avoid like the plague driving into large cities and towns like Florence and Rome. Driving is a nightmare, parking even worse. Traffic in and out of the city, from what I've observed is very bad, and that's for people who are locals. Use the car for Tuscany touring if you like (though daytrips to places like Pisa don't require a car either) and for Udine, but other than that, you don't need want the car in Florence and Rome. So organize your itinerary with that in mind as well.
Apr 20th, 2004, 10:58 AM
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Book those hotel rooms soon ... in Florence I would recommend checking out Hotel Casci (http://www.hotelcasci.com/)
Small and unpretentious but warm and friendly. Close to everything, English speaking staff, reasonably priced. It was recommended in Italy 2004.
Small and unpretentious but warm and friendly. Close to everything, English speaking staff, reasonably priced. It was recommended in Italy 2004.
Apr 20th, 2004, 11:13 AM
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...and since some of these hotel plans are well...a wee bit late... you might try laterooms.com. I know they have London hotels...
I suppose Laterooms works because ... better someone in those rooms at reduced prices, than no one at all!
I suppose Laterooms works because ... better someone in those rooms at reduced prices, than no one at all!
Apr 20th, 2004, 11:54 AM
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Thanks for all of the tips! I have my hotel booked for my 2 nights in London already.
As for staying in Italy - we want to be comfortable and don't want to spend too much. No more than $100 a night between the 2 of us - is that about right?? We've never stayng in a hotel without a bathroom - so I'm not sure how well that would work out. Any suggestions, recommendations would be greatly appreciated!!
As for staying in Italy - we want to be comfortable and don't want to spend too much. No more than $100 a night between the 2 of us - is that about right?? We've never stayng in a hotel without a bathroom - so I'm not sure how well that would work out. Any suggestions, recommendations would be greatly appreciated!!
Apr 20th, 2004, 12:10 PM
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Just returned from driving around Tuscany and Umbria regions for 16 days -
fantastic! We stayed four nights at the L'Antico Pozzo Hotel in SanGimignano
and drove all over Chianti, visited Lucca (loved it), Siena (overrated), Pisa (yuck), Cinque Terre (hiked the whole thing and adored it), and all sorts of other Tuscan villages. Stayed at Castello Delle Oscano in Perugia and thought it was magical - had never stayed in a castle before - stayed for a few nights at Palazzo Dragoni in Spoleto (out of this world view and care by staff) and used Spoleto as our base for driving around Umbria. Spent six days in Florence at the Hotel Calzaiuoli (terrific)and just ate, drank, and ate some more! There were few tourists so your experience will be a bit different. A hotel we like in Venice is the Hotel Giorgione. Venice is awfully touristy year round but it's so wonderful. As for Rome - I used to live there so I'm biased! It's just the best. Our family stays at the Hotel Imperiale. Best Wishes to you.
fantastic! We stayed four nights at the L'Antico Pozzo Hotel in SanGimignano
and drove all over Chianti, visited Lucca (loved it), Siena (overrated), Pisa (yuck), Cinque Terre (hiked the whole thing and adored it), and all sorts of other Tuscan villages. Stayed at Castello Delle Oscano in Perugia and thought it was magical - had never stayed in a castle before - stayed for a few nights at Palazzo Dragoni in Spoleto (out of this world view and care by staff) and used Spoleto as our base for driving around Umbria. Spent six days in Florence at the Hotel Calzaiuoli (terrific)and just ate, drank, and ate some more! There were few tourists so your experience will be a bit different. A hotel we like in Venice is the Hotel Giorgione. Venice is awfully touristy year round but it's so wonderful. As for Rome - I used to live there so I'm biased! It's just the best. Our family stays at the Hotel Imperiale. Best Wishes to you.
Apr 20th, 2004, 12:26 PM
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venere.com has a huge selection of Italian hotels, and allows you to search for availability by date. But only the "Instant Confirmation" hotels are definites on-the-spot. The other hotels that appear will take a day or two to confirm that what shows up is still avaialable, so you may want to contact the hotels directly, and perhaps inquire at a few, in case one turns out to be booked after all.
www.hotelinvenice.com (and related sites for Florence and Rome) works in much the same way. Both this site and venere will show rates for your *total stay*.
As previously mentioened, laterooms.com might be useful as well.
And the site w/hotel reviews is tripadvisor.com
On such short notice, I think most of the most popular places will be fully booked, but you might hit a cancellation, and will certainly find something that will work for you. Buona fortuna!
www.hotelinvenice.com (and related sites for Florence and Rome) works in much the same way. Both this site and venere will show rates for your *total stay*.
As previously mentioened, laterooms.com might be useful as well.
And the site w/hotel reviews is tripadvisor.com
On such short notice, I think most of the most popular places will be fully booked, but you might hit a cancellation, and will certainly find something that will work for you. Buona fortuna!
Apr 20th, 2004, 12:44 PM
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You shouldn't have any trouble finding rooms with en suite bathrooms. While some hotels still have bathrooms down the hall, most seem to fit bathrooms into the rooms nowadays to accommodate and attract more visitors/tourists. We just returned from Italy and spent about $100 EU a night but it was off-peak season so prices were lower. Here are some of the places we stayed:
Hotel Centrale in Florence- decent place to stay. Owners are nice, and very central location.
http://www.hotelcentralefirenze.it/s.../index_eng.php
In Rome we stayed in the Domus Sessoriana for 3 nights and the Hotel Ara Pacis for 2 nights. We booked both with hotels.com. If I had to recommend one, I would recommend the Ara Pacis, which is more centrally located to tourist attractions and metro stops.
Good luck!
Tracy
Hotel Centrale in Florence- decent place to stay. Owners are nice, and very central location.
http://www.hotelcentralefirenze.it/s.../index_eng.php
In Rome we stayed in the Domus Sessoriana for 3 nights and the Hotel Ara Pacis for 2 nights. We booked both with hotels.com. If I had to recommend one, I would recommend the Ara Pacis, which is more centrally located to tourist attractions and metro stops.
Good luck!
Tracy
