Florence, Rome, Venice for 10 Days (+/-)
Jan 5th, 2012, 06:42 AM
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Florence, Rome, Venice for 10 Days (+/-)
Ok, hubby and I finally decided that we would like to be in Italy (first timers) for our 10th Wedding Anniversary, October 8-16, 2012 flying out of Chicago (ORD). We have agreed to stay in Florence (4D/3N), Rome/Vatican (3D/2N), and ride the gondola in Venice (2D/1N). Please, advise what you think would be the most economical itinerary. I have not bought our plane tickets yet. We plan to stay in convents but have not made any reservations yet. Please, advise. Thank you very much. I have found the people here to be very helpful 
Jan 5th, 2012, 06:53 AM
#2
hi ruisa,
glad to see that you have managed to dump your first plan - this looks much more practical.
due to the magic of flying into venice and the fact that most flights out to the US are early morning ones, the usual advice is to fly into Venice and out of Rome. that may not work for Chicago of course - you will have to check - you want "open jaw" or multi-destination flights.
however, so that you have a chance to adjust, and recover from jetlag, I would suggest and extra night in Venice.
this would give you this itinerary:
Oct 8 - Day 1 - fly into Venice.
Oct 9 - Day 2 - Venice
Oct 10 - Day 3 - train to florence.
Oct 11 - Day 4 - florence
Oct 12 - Day 5 - florence
Oct 13 - Day 6 - train to Rome
Oct 14 - Day 7 -Rome
Oct 15 - day 8 - Rome
Oct 16 - Day 9 - fly home.
this gives you 2 nights in venice, 3 in each of florence and Rome. not long enough to really get to know any of those places, but a decent taster. if you feel that's too rushed, suggest dropping florence this time, which would allow you 3-4 nights in Venice and 4-5 nights in Rome.
then you could leave Florence and tuscany for another trip.
happy anniversary!
glad to see that you have managed to dump your first plan - this looks much more practical.
due to the magic of flying into venice and the fact that most flights out to the US are early morning ones, the usual advice is to fly into Venice and out of Rome. that may not work for Chicago of course - you will have to check - you want "open jaw" or multi-destination flights.
however, so that you have a chance to adjust, and recover from jetlag, I would suggest and extra night in Venice.
this would give you this itinerary:
Oct 8 - Day 1 - fly into Venice.
Oct 9 - Day 2 - Venice
Oct 10 - Day 3 - train to florence.
Oct 11 - Day 4 - florence
Oct 12 - Day 5 - florence
Oct 13 - Day 6 - train to Rome
Oct 14 - Day 7 -Rome
Oct 15 - day 8 - Rome
Oct 16 - Day 9 - fly home.
this gives you 2 nights in venice, 3 in each of florence and Rome. not long enough to really get to know any of those places, but a decent taster. if you feel that's too rushed, suggest dropping florence this time, which would allow you 3-4 nights in Venice and 4-5 nights in Rome.
then you could leave Florence and tuscany for another trip.
happy anniversary!
Jan 5th, 2012, 07:55 AM
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I believe annhig said use the train. It makes much the most sense for her suggested itinerary. Which I think is good. I quibble with the number of days in Venice. Since you're flying from Chicago, you need to allow a day or two to get over jetlag. So, unless you are great Renaissance art and architecture enthusiasts, I'd take a day from Florence and give it to Venice.
(Actually I'd say skip Florence and just do Venice and Rome with, at most, a same-day stopover in Florence between the two. But I'm prejudiced.)
(Actually I'd say skip Florence and just do Venice and Rome with, at most, a same-day stopover in Florence between the two. But I'm prejudiced.)
Jan 5th, 2012, 08:00 AM
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If you mean transportation between the three cities, the train is very easy and almost certainly the best way for you. If you follow annhig's itinerary, the train trips will be three hours-ish each, I believe. Go to trenitalia.com to check schedules and prices (they have an English version, but you'll need to know the names of the train stations in Italian: Venezia Santa Lucia, Firenze SMN, and Roma Termini).
Things to remember about taking the train: You are completely responsible for your own luggage, so packing light is an excellent idea. You might be able to save some money by buying tickets ahead if you can get the "Mini" fares. If those are no longer listed when you go to buy, you don't get any advantage really in buying ahead, so at that point it's personal preference. You can pick up all your train tickets at once - say, when you get to Venice, you can buy or pick up all your tickets for your trip at the Venice train station.
You may already know this, but when you do book plane tickets, look for open-jaw or multi-city tickets. Again if you follow annhig's itinerary, you would fly from ORD to Venice, take the train to Florence and then to Rome, and fly home from Rome. These tickets are usually about the same price as a round-trip and save you a day of backtracking.
Looking back to your other thread - is the reason for your proposed longer stay in Florence due to the prebooked villa you had there? Just curious - most people advise first-timers to give more time to Rome than Florence, unless there's something of particular interest.
Things to remember about taking the train: You are completely responsible for your own luggage, so packing light is an excellent idea. You might be able to save some money by buying tickets ahead if you can get the "Mini" fares. If those are no longer listed when you go to buy, you don't get any advantage really in buying ahead, so at that point it's personal preference. You can pick up all your train tickets at once - say, when you get to Venice, you can buy or pick up all your tickets for your trip at the Venice train station.
You may already know this, but when you do book plane tickets, look for open-jaw or multi-city tickets. Again if you follow annhig's itinerary, you would fly from ORD to Venice, take the train to Florence and then to Rome, and fly home from Rome. These tickets are usually about the same price as a round-trip and save you a day of backtracking.
Looking back to your other thread - is the reason for your proposed longer stay in Florence due to the prebooked villa you had there? Just curious - most people advise first-timers to give more time to Rome than Florence, unless there's something of particular interest.
Jan 5th, 2012, 08:03 AM
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A very good plan from Annhig, and the only transportation you will need is the train. Believe me, you don't want a car in Florence or Rome, and you can't have one in Venice!
So take the bus from the airport in Venice into the city, the train from Venice to Florence, and the train from Florence to Rome. When you get ready to go to the airport in Rome, you can take another train or a bus.
In Venice you can walk or take the vaporetto (water bus); in Florence, you can walk everywhere; and in Rome you can walk or take a bus, either a regular city bus or the minibus that goes through most of the narrowest historic areas.
You will need to get good directions to your hotel in Venice (where there are no street numbers) and Florence (where there are multiple street numbering systems -- in the same block. Rome is a model of rationality.
Have a great trip. They are all magical places.
So take the bus from the airport in Venice into the city, the train from Venice to Florence, and the train from Florence to Rome. When you get ready to go to the airport in Rome, you can take another train or a bus.
In Venice you can walk or take the vaporetto (water bus); in Florence, you can walk everywhere; and in Rome you can walk or take a bus, either a regular city bus or the minibus that goes through most of the narrowest historic areas.
You will need to get good directions to your hotel in Venice (where there are no street numbers) and Florence (where there are multiple street numbering systems -- in the same block. Rome is a model of rationality.
Have a great trip. They are all magical places.
Jan 5th, 2012, 09:15 AM
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I'm sorry - but I think you have your days and nights confused and are counting days twice.
If you are in Venice for one full day that is two nights (not 2 days for 1 night). Similarly for your other destinations.
You should make a list of your dates and put in the name of the place you will be sleeping (and indicate if that day is travel from another city). That will show you how much you really have. (Your way you are counting several days twice.)
If you are in Venice for one full day that is two nights (not 2 days for 1 night). Similarly for your other destinations.
You should make a list of your dates and put in the name of the place you will be sleeping (and indicate if that day is travel from another city). That will show you how much you really have. (Your way you are counting several days twice.)
Jan 5th, 2012, 11:17 AM
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Just a few random comments:
Train travel: Yes.
Allotment of time in each city: Less in Florence, more in Venice and Rome. If you're not going to spend a lot of time in museums, you can see a lot of Florence in a short time.
Into/out of: Don't know the flight schedules out of Chicago, but there are plenty of East Coast evening flights to Venice and other parts of Italy, meaning you'd have to connect someplace like PHL or JFK. You'd arrive in Venice midday Italy time.
Not so sure about the bus from Venice airport. A lot depends on where you're staying. If you take the bus, it will drop you near the bus/train area, and you'll have to take a vaporetto to your hotel. It can be a little daunting after a trans-Atlantic flight. The Alilaguna (water bus) goes to several spots near the heart of Venice, including San Marco, so you might be better off with that. Depends on where you're staying.
Train travel: Yes.
Allotment of time in each city: Less in Florence, more in Venice and Rome. If you're not going to spend a lot of time in museums, you can see a lot of Florence in a short time.
Into/out of: Don't know the flight schedules out of Chicago, but there are plenty of East Coast evening flights to Venice and other parts of Italy, meaning you'd have to connect someplace like PHL or JFK. You'd arrive in Venice midday Italy time.
Not so sure about the bus from Venice airport. A lot depends on where you're staying. If you take the bus, it will drop you near the bus/train area, and you'll have to take a vaporetto to your hotel. It can be a little daunting after a trans-Atlantic flight. The Alilaguna (water bus) goes to several spots near the heart of Venice, including San Marco, so you might be better off with that. Depends on where you're staying.
Jan 5th, 2012, 11:33 AM
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niente, yes we will spend more time in Venice and Rome, and less in Venice. I'm sorry I don't understand what you meant by "The Alilaguna (water bus) goes to several spots near the heart of Venice, including San Marco, so you might be better off with that.".. please, explain. What is vaporetto?
Jan 5th, 2012, 12:12 PM
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Ruisa - sounds like your trip is shaping up! I think now would be a good time to invest in or borrow a guide book on Venice, Tuscany and Rome to fill in alot of the gaps for you. That way you can get a big chunk of info and things may start to fall in place for you. I dont particularly like Rick Steves but his Italy guidebooks are good for beginners: http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/ca...&parent_id=155
The Alilaguna is a form of transport - from the airport and around the islands: http://www.alilaguna.it/index.en.html
The vapretto is like a water bus that runs within and around Venice - hits more local spots than the Alilaguna above.
Happy Planning!
The Alilaguna is a form of transport - from the airport and around the islands: http://www.alilaguna.it/index.en.html
The vapretto is like a water bus that runs within and around Venice - hits more local spots than the Alilaguna above.
Happy Planning!
Jan 5th, 2012, 12:40 PM
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Hi Ruisa -
We did a very similar trip a couple of months ago. Flew into Venice (had been in the UK so no jetlag issues). Two nights in Venice, train to Florence around noon so we had a little more time in Venice that morning. Three nights Florence, train to Rome around noon. Three nights in Rome. Too short for some people but for us it was just right...time to see most of what we wanted to see and give us a taste of what we might want to catch on another trip. We are pack-it-in travelers, not so big on sitting in cafes (although Italy is a great place for that!).
We did a very similar trip a couple of months ago. Flew into Venice (had been in the UK so no jetlag issues). Two nights in Venice, train to Florence around noon so we had a little more time in Venice that morning. Three nights Florence, train to Rome around noon. Three nights in Rome. Too short for some people but for us it was just right...time to see most of what we wanted to see and give us a taste of what we might want to catch on another trip. We are pack-it-in travelers, not so big on sitting in cafes (although Italy is a great place for that!).
