First timer requesting help!
 

I have researching for what feels like months and I am more confused than ever! My husband and I will be traveling to Italy in April for about 10 days. Our main goal is to see Rome and Florence- we would love to see Venice and parts of Tuscany if we can figure this all out. we are looking at this in 3 way

1. A tour- it will give us a taste of everything but are they too "touristy". My hubby and I are in our late 30's and we know somtimes the age level of tours can be a bit higher (not that that really bothers us- we are not party all night long people!)a pro to the tour is a consistent price so we don;t have to worry about the $ vs teh euro that much!

2. Renting a villa in Tuscany as a base and renting a car as well to explore all the areas with. The only real con to this is the price of rental cars, gas and the dollar to euro exchange rate

3. renting an apartment in florence to use as a base and taking trains to explore places. Train system seems somewhat confusing so that may be a con- plus not sure of where to stay in Florence and would hate to stay in a seedy area (although we are from NY - so we're tough! :)

sorry so long- once i can narrow things down i will feel so much better! i know what help you all will be to me- so go ahead and advise away!!

Thanks!

Mikki

Mikki..Just a thought. Re-Post this with "Italy" in the title..something like: First Trip to Italy.Seeking Help!

The historical center of Florence is in no way seedy in my opinion so that shouldn't be much of a concern.

Ten days isn't nearly enough time to visit Rome, Florence, Venice, and the Tuscany countryside.

Tuscany is beautiful in April, and Florence crowds are thinner than in May-Oct. I advocate the idea of mixing cities with countryside. Rome, Florence, and Venice in 10 days would "wipe-out" many visitors.

I would choose Rome, Tuscany countryside, and Florence - OR Venice, Tuscany countryside, and Florence. I think Rome would consume the most time (4 days is usually the min), so I would probably choose the latter itinerary for only 10 days. However, if Rome & Florence are really your top two choices (Venice is beautiful/unique) - do the Rome, Tuscany, Florence plan.


Stu Dudley

Mikkih,

You have skipped over an important 4th way--doing number 1 on your own.

To see both Rome and Florence (and perhaps Venice), it is a bad idea to do numbers 2 or 3 (base yourself in or near Florence and attempt to daytrip to Rome or Venice). If you just want to visit Florence and Tuscany, numers 2 aqnd 3 are fine.

The train system is no more or less confusing than the Long Island Railroad.

You can do any of your choices very easily on your own without signing up for an escorted tour. If you are concerned about prices changing, you might look into independent package tours that some airlines and tour companies offer. One set price will include airfare, hotels, and trains between cities. The key for these independent packages is the hotel location: the cheapest hotels are usually the furthest from the center, so check locations carefully and hotel reviews at Tripadvisor. You could probably find hotels for about the same price on your own, but since you'd pay for the indeppendent package ahead of time, you'd know exactly how much you'd be spending if that is your concern.

A typical itinerary for 10 nights might be Venice 3, Florence 3, Rome 4.

I think based on your interests, I'd suggest Florence 5, Rome 5, with a few daytrips to the countryside from Florence.

First, 10 days is not enough to see everything you want.

second staying in one place (florence or Tuscany) and doing day trips to Venice and rome is not really feasible. Way too much time spent on trains for very limited time actually doing/seeing something.

I do not reco a tour for several reasons. They do tend to skew older (I took a trip to Scand/Russia when that was how you had to go - and in my early 30's everyone else but one single guy was at least as old as my parents. Not an issue - except that the trip was skewed to things they seemed to like (a lot of shopping for souvenirs and looking out of bus or boat windows - versus actually doing stuff).

Also not in their favor - lots of early starts (you need to be up at 6 am), hotels not near city centers, many meals not included (negating you saving idea) and way too many drive bys and 5 minute photo ops of sights - versus actual tours.

You will have a much better time limiting yourself to 2 places in 10 days - perhaps Rome and Florence OR Venice, seeing the sights you want, but also leaving yourself some time for La Dolce Vita (cafe sitting, nice strolls by floodlit fountains after dinner, much better food, better hotel location) - and it won"t cost you any more.

> My hubby and I are in our late 30's <

You'll have many opportunities in the future to visit Italy, so stick to a limited agenda this time. Your trip will be more focused and thus you'll enjoy it much more...

I agree, in 10 days pick two places...Rome and Venice, Rome and Florence, Florence and Venice...and enjoy!

As a 30 something myself I've taken several of those tours and actually enjoyed them. Even if I was one of the youngest on the trip.

To me it depends on what you want to spend you time doing. When I go on vacation I am trying to think as little as possible (I do that in my job) so I like the fact that they take care of all the transportation and quite truefully I've seen far more than I would if I'd have had to plan it on my own.

To me a hotel on the "outskirts" isn't to prohibitive. A 10 E taxi ride will put me where I want to be, or a quick train ride so to me that isn't a problem.

My question to you is what do you want to see? It is old ruins? Art? Great architecture? Figure out what matters to you and then decide on your trip.

Maybe a hybrid tour. Where you buy a package for a week through a tour operator where you get air and a week in Rome, a day's orientation tour and the rest of the time on your own. Then take an extention up to Florence. They will work with you.

Or you can do it entirely on your own. I've just found it easier for some one else to handle hotel and travel arrangements and let me just worry about what flavor of gelatto I am going to have.

I also agree - pick two places. You sadi your main goal was Rome and Florence (with day trip) and 10 full days (that's 10 nights, right?) is about right for those two destinations.

Save your money and skip the organized tour. It has nothing to do with "touristy". It's for ease of seeing what YOU want, stay in the neighborhoods you want, schedule, pace, etc.

You can easliy do these cities without an organized tour and it will be cheaper to boot.

Just tell us your budget and we'll help you plan everyhting exactly as YOU want. The cheapest option will likely be to fly into and out of Rome and take the the 90 minute train to/from Florence from Rome. Using the train for a daytrip out of Florence will only cost a fraction of a car rental.

I think you're getting the idea
by now your plan is just too ambitious to be worth doing but TuckH sums it up best for me... Italy will still be there for another visit!

And contrary to all the doom and gloom out there, we likely won't be running out of oil any time soon so airplanes will still fly and global warming won't make Italy too hot to visit!

So cut back on destinations, relax and enjoy your trip!

Rob

>>To me a hotel on the "outskirts" isn't to prohibitive. A 10 E taxi ride will put me where I want to be,<<

A 10E taxi ride in Rome & Florence will only take you a couple of blocks. A 10E water taxi ride in Venice will take you about 10 meters.

Stay in the middle of things.... You don't want to spend most of your 10 days commuting.

Stu Dudley

Hi, Mikkih,

what Stu said - he knows whereof he speaks.

please be brave enough to accept that you can't see everything and limit what you try to see to a max of two places in 10 days. remember, everytime you move, you lose at least half a day. and then there's jetlag.

for your first trip, I suggest arriving in Venice, staying 4-5 nights, then train to Florence, finish your trip. Venice in april would be lovely, and it is the most romantic city in the world to arrive at. also a good relaxed place to get over jetlag if it strikes.

Tuscany and Rome, and indeed the rest of Italy will still be there in a few years time when you come back - Venice may not be.

It is surprisingly easy to plan such a trip independently, and there are many lovely fodorites who will recommend their favourite hotels, restaurants, sights, etc .etc.

happy planning,

regards, ann

I 3d what Stu said, especially in Florence, where if you're in the central area, you're also within walking distance of a lot of things. Look at it this way. If you stay on the outskirts and spend 25 euros/day for transportation (and that's a low estimate), that's 125 euros you could have put toward an apt. in the central area.

BTW, instead of the full-blown tour, you could hire a tour guide for a day to take you through Tuscany and maybe Siena. Lucca at hillsandroads.com is an excellent guide and a nice guy. You'll see him recommended several times on this forum.

I would plan the trip myself. I would go to just Venice and Florence with the 10 days you have.

Why? It would be a relatively easy trip to plan... all you need ahead of time is plane tickets and two hotel reservations. (You can get train tickets at the train station after you are in Italy.) Seeing these two cities is WAY easier than renting a villa and a car and WAY less touristy than taking an organized tour.

...and because I'm scared of Rome myself since many people seem to consider it "overwhelming" (and since it is your 1st trip to Europe).

Also suggest you get an "open jaw" flight,i.e., into one city, and back from the second. Into Rome, perhaps, and leave from Venice? Saves time and money back tracking.

:-)

Hi M,

>will be traveling to Italy in April for about 10 days. Our main goal is to see Rome and Florence-

The go to Rome and Florence and stop dithering about tours, villas in Tuscany or anything else. :)

You can

A: Fly into Florence or Pisa - 4 nights Florence (daytrip to Siena or Bologna), train to Rome - 5 nights with a daytrip to Orvieto, fly home.

B: Fly RT Rome. Train to Florence upon arrival - do A.

What's your budget for hotels?

((I))

Hi

My wife and I went to Florence and Tuscany for 10 days in July this year. We went for 4 days in Florence first without a car...and then we picked up a car and drove to Castellina in Chianti and we sued this as a base to check out parts of Tuscany. Here is my trip report with pictures from Florence http://gardkarlsen.com/florence_italy_travelogue.htm and from Tuscany http://gardkarlsen.com/tuscany_italy_travelogue.htm . Maybe you can find some useful information there :d

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

If 10 days is your limit, I'd say do 4-4-2 Rome-Florence-Venice if you've never been to Italy before. Rest assured that you're not going to get deep into any of the cities but you'll get a sense of what it is that catches your fancy. Forget the countryside for this trip.

If it were me, I'd do 3-7 Rome-Florence but I'm personally rather taken with Florence and its environs. Take the train wherever you go because it'll involve less investment of time and give you an appreciation for how fast something on rails can go.

As far as tours go, how comfortable are you with doing your own research and just walking around? Florence and Venice lend themselves very well to wandering and are part of their attraction. Rome's a bigger target in that department by virtue of its size.

We stayed in this apartment near the Ponte a Santa Trinita in Florence and were glad of the proximity to everything worthwhile.

http://tinyurl.com/339zhb

That said, I think it's safe to say that there's nought such a thing as a seedy area in Florence. Walk wherever you'd like.

hth