First time to Rome & Florence
 

Hi,
I am a 28yr old solo female traveller. I have travelled alone before and loved it!

August 26th and leave September 5th
I have bought a round trip from New York to Rome. (The open jaw tickets were very expensive). I have not made any bookings yet.

I land on the 26th at 3:00pm. Upon arrival, thinking of taking the train from Rome airport to Florence. Do I need to book in advance or can I buy this on the spot, since I am not sure of delays in the internal flight etc.

Spend the night in Florence

Stay in an apartment in Florence. Which websites should I book from?

August 27th : Spend the day in Florence
August 28th: Spend the day in Florence
August 29th : Day trip to Pissa – book in advance?
August 30th : Spend day in Florence and leave in the evening for Rome. Do I need to book the train ticket in advance?
August 31st : Rome
September 1st: Vatican
September 2nd : Rome
September 3rd : Rome
September 4th: Rome
September 5th: Leave early for New York

Should I cut down a day in Rome and add a day trip to Lucca or Sienna from Florence instead?

To climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa, you should book tickets in advance. No need to book the train between Florence and Pisa in advance.

There are frequent train departures between Florence and Rome so you should have no problem waiting until you reach italy to buy tikets. The only reason to book ahead is to try to get a "Mini" reduced fare ticket which are only available ahead of time and in limited quantities.

I'd keep the extra day in Rome, and if I found myself wanting a change of scenery, I'd take a daytrip from Rome to Orvieto. It is just an hour from Rome and I think is a bit more quaint than Lucca and scenic like Siena.

"The open jaw tickets were very expensive"
I realize that you have already purchased your tickets, but just want to verify for you (and others who may read your post): Did you look at the cost two one-way tickets when you priced open jaw tickets? To book "open jaw" one should use the "multi-city" option on airline websites, not two one-way tickets. I also depart from NYC and have never found multi-city to cost that much more, especially when one factors in the train ticket to return to one's starting point.

Open jaws tickets are NOT any more expensive. You were probably looking at 2 separate one-way flights rather than using the multi-city option.

You cannot go directly the rome airport to Florence by train, you have to first take the train into Rome and there switch for a train to florence. If you look below there are recommendations for sites to rent apartments - we only use hotels so I cant reco. But - you have left it quite late and many places want you to rent for a week - so you had better move quickly to find something. Also both Florence and Rome at that time of year can be expected to be very hot and humid so do check that the apartments have real AC.

Three days ins the absolute minimum for Rome (I day Vatican, 1 day ancient, 1 day everything else) although I would reco 5 or 6 days for a first trip. You already have 2 full days i FL, which isn't bad. Pisa is only 30 minutes away - so perhaps won;t take a whole day.

I know about mul-city option, I use it all the time. And I did factor in the cost of travel to Rome and back as well, and this made the most sense. Thanks tho.

I will stick to the itinerary as per your suggestion.

Is it worth climbing the Tower of Pisa?

"Is it worth climbing the Tower of Pisa?"
Totally subjective whether or not it is worth it. If you suspect that you might want to do it, then reserve a ticket. Otherwise you may miss the opportunity.

"Is it worth climbing the Tower of Pisa."

As a teen in physics class, I heard the story of Galileo dropping 10-pound and 1-pound weights off the top of the tower in an experiment of his theory that all objects fall at the same rate of speed. I had to climb the tower if only to walk in Galileo's footsteps.

>>>I know about mul-city option, I use it all the time. <<<

Were you selecting Rome and Florence as the cities? I find tickets to Florence much more expensive than Pisa, Milan, Rome.

Yes, I did select Florence. Well,, my tickets are already booked. I am now looking into options for apartments in both Florence and Rome.

What neighborhoods would be good to stay in. Since this is my first time, I would like to live in the tourist hubs.

Thanks.

Are B&Bs cheaper or apartments? Which one would you recommend for Rome and Florence.

Thanks.

We stayed in an apartment near Piazza Navona and I really liked the location (and the apartment). We were able to walk everywhere, which was great, and felt very safe. However, for one person, it may not be cheaper than a b&b, and depending on your personality you might rather be in a b&b when traveling alone. Kind of personal preference, I'd say.

We rented with sleepinitaly.com and had a great experience with them.

Sleep in Italy (mentioned above) is an excellent company. A couple of small apartments in Rome I can recommend from personal experience are:

Piazza Rondanini - 1 bedroom, 2 blocks from Pantheon, about 4 blocks from Piazza Navona, 3 blocks to major bus stop, good sized market 2 blocks away (near Pantheon). One floor up.

Monteveccio Bis - about 100 meters down Via Coronari going from Navona towards Tiber. Loft type apt. Many markets in vicinity, two great restaurants just around the corners. Easy walk to most sites and bus access. 15 minute walk to Vatican Museum, 10 minutes to St. Peters. Ground level.

Both of these can be had for about 110 euros per night or less. Rondanini is very modern, with wireless internet. Both have washer/dryers. Monteveccio has 2 bathrooms.

Other apts. I've stayed in are either too large for your needs or more out of the way. Beauty of apartments is that you can save money on food and lots more room to spread out.

dave

ok, What neighborhood in Florence should I look for aparments in? Also, any recommended websites?

Thanks