LauraDH

My 20 YO daughter and I are headed to Florence early May and out of Rome 9 days later. We have never been to Italy, so we are wide open for ideas and knowledge. Need ideas where to stay, best way to access sites (Roma card?) best way to take side trips if at all possible.

Looking for ideas on where to stay close to bus routes in both Cities; Budget hotels that are super clean with free wifi and private bathroom in safe area. We are not concerned with room size and other amenities. Just access to transportation, private bath and unltd wifi are a must.

Highlights we are interested in is all of the historical sites in both cities, we are planning to do with tons of walking. Is the Roma card a good opportunity for access to sites in Rome? What about other good ideas for getting around easily in either location?

We would love to do a day trip from Florence to Siena area / to see countryside, winery, etc . We also would love an opportunity to make a side trip from Rome to Positano. Any advice in that regard would also be appreciated.

annhig

hi laura,

this sounds like a super trip, which you and your DD will enjoy a lot.

also, you've asked some very sensible questions [if I may say so] which bodes well for a successful holiday.

First of all, Florence. you don't really need to be near to a bus route in Florence, as the city itself is very walkable. Any pension [B&B] in the centre will enable you to walk to most everywhere else, though if you want to go up to Fiesole you would want to catch a bus [from the piazza San Marco at the top of via Cavour]. You can easily do a day trip to Siena or San Gimignano from Florence [catching the bus from the bus station next to the main SMN train station]

There is now a Firenze card which for quite a price will give you access to virtually every museum and gallery in the city plus all buses - it is valid for 3 days. you may not actually rack up €72 each in museum entries, but it will save you queuing up to get into places, including the Uffizi and the Accademia. An alternative is to book entry to those two most popular museums separately, though that does tie you down to particular dates and times, and just pay as you go for any other places you visit. This would be a much better option if you plan to use one day to visit Siena as it would be difficult to get full value or anything like it from the Firenze card if you're only using it for 2 days.

for accommodation in Florence [and indeed Rome] I suggest that you search this board for ideas [there have been lots of threads on these subjects] and/or go onto Trip Advisor, put in your dates and other requirements, then see what comes up within your price range. The centres of both cities are pretty safe, and there are loads of hotels to choose from, depending on how much you want to pay. for cleanliness records, look at a hotel's ratings on TA and booking.com.

The Roma Pass is equally restricted to 3 days, but is cheaper [about €35] as it only gives free entry to the first 2 sights you visit, plus discounts on others, and free use of all the buses etc for 3 days.
http://www.romapass.it/p.aspx?l=en&tid=2

I wouldn't advise trying to do a day trip to Positano from Rome - it's a very long way to go there and back in a day, when you've only got 4 days in total. There are other places you could go - a 1/2 day trip to Ostia antica [or even a full day to Pompeii] Tivoli to see the Villa D'Este, Orvieto..but with only 4 days you might decide that you want to stay in Rome.

the only thing left is to advise that you get a good guide to both cities - the Michelin guide to Italy might be a good place to start.

Happy planning!

nytraveler

I would encourage you not to spread yourselves too thin in the limited time you have. To see much of Rome for a first trip IMHO you need 4 full days (5 nights) and you need 2 days (3 nights) to see much of Florence (3 days/4 nights if you want a day trip to Siena).

as for lodging - without a specific budget in euros it's hard to provide recos. For both cities you will want to stay as close to the center as possible so you can walk to as many sights as possible.

LauraDH

Great feedback. Maybe I will change my plan to three nights in Florence and then on Monday when museums are closed, go to Siena, then head to Rome for five nights there. I guess I need to account for time to sleep. I am so excited and appreciate your input.

annhig

Hi Laura,

do you mean to spend a night in Siena? That sounds like a great idea; even one night would give you a flavour of the place.

DebitNM

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