Lots of great advice! Thank you. I have narrowed down and rearranged some of our plans. Now onto some of the events in locations.. I have a few more questions and would love advice..

Colosseum Tickets in Rome- I’m tempted by the Arena floor option as one of the tour options- what’s the scoop with the underground tour? Suggestions?
Beat to book with Viator?

Pisa- I have looked on the site to purchase tickets (June) site only has up to March dates available. How does rhe release of tickets work? I seem to be able to purchase tickets through a tour- much more expensive, but dates are available. To tour and walk up Pisa tower doesn’t seem like a tour is much needed to me for the cost difference- opinions?

Capri? Or Boat tour? While staying in Amalfi, should we ferry to Capri for the day or board a private boat?
If doing a boat tour- what suggestions do you have?

As for dinners/restaurants- I have read to make reservations, how far in advance are they needed? Family of 6. Any suggestions in the above areas?


Thank you so much!!

You can take a gondola straight across a canal for about 1 Euro, no need to sit down.

Getting to Venice from Marco Polo Airport. [Make sure you have seats on the right/starboard side of the aircraft, for a view of Venice as you fly into Marco Polo.]



A paper map of Venice is the best three euro you will ever spend. Sure, people say that getting lost in Venice is fun. Getting lost, hauling your luggage and not being able to find your hotel is nobody’s idea of fun. Buy that map at the Tabac or bookshop at Marco Polo.



Do take a look at your hotel website – there may be info there. Otherwise,

Water taxi will get you close, maybe to, the door of your hotel. Can carry about ten people, will cost about €140 for the boat. No need to book, taxis are waiting at the Marco Polo dock.



Shared water taxi. Minimum of two people. Book in advance, wait at the desk in the terminal for the others sharing the taxi. Costs about €30 per person. Google “shared water taxi Venice”, use the venicelink dot com web site. Will get you to a vaporetto stop near your hotel.



Alilaguna ferry, as per below.



Bus to Piazale Roma, then walk to your hotel, or take vaporetto to the nearest stop. Buses leave from the outside the terminal, tickets at the machine.



Water transport in Venice.

Gondolas. Only for pleasure, not for transport. 90 euro for half an hour for the boat, more for evenings.

Traghetto – big gondolas, two oarsmen, about ten passengers, for crossing the Grand Canal. Found at Rialto, San Toma and a couple of other places. Cost 2 euro per trip, can save a heap of walking.

Water taxis, which are like a floating limo, costs to match.

Vaporettos - ACTV. Are like a floating bus, operate on a bunch of routes. Get the app Chebateo for routes and schedules. Vaps do not service the airport. Vaps are not water taxis.

Alilaguna ferries, service the airport, run from Marco Polo via a bunch of stops to the main part of Venice, Murano and Lido. They stop at some, but by no means all, vaporetto stops.

Peter, we arrive in Venice this coming Wednesday afternoon. I was considering the shared water taxi but wasn’t sure how long we’d have to wait at the desk. Would we have to wait for someone going to the same stop we want (Zaterre)? Do you know how many people they generally put on a shared boat? Thanks for your help.

Thank you!

In our experience, three trips. Had to wait at the desk for maybe five or ten minutes. I think the maximum number of people on the boat in our experience was half a dozen.

When you go to Rome, consider staying in the Trastevere neighborhood - it's beautiful, has tons of great restaurants, super lively, and really fun for people your kids' age. Make sure to go to Piazza Trilussa for street dancing in the night - it's like an impromptu dance party. Or if you don't stay in that neighborhood, consider at least checking it out for the nightlife.

Thanks Peter!

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Many cities, and even small towns have ZTLs ( limited traffic zones). With small towns, you are often best advised to park in a lot outside the centre and walk in. In cities, you should do some advance research.

If someone lives inside a ZTL, they normally are allowed to enter the zone. If you're staying in a hotel inside the zone, you can ask the hotel to register your vehicle with the police, which would allow you to drop off passengers and luggage, before parking the car outside the zone. You should check with the hotel, because sometimes you have to take a particular route to reach the hotel.

​​​​​​​I don't think any city with a ZTL has a blanket exemption for local residents, though. It's usually the local residents who are creating the major traffic problems.

From the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
United States of America: Official passport holders are required to have visa to enter Türkiye. Ordinary passport holders are exempted from visa up to 90 days in any 180-day period.

Why is Turkey being discussed here in the last two responses? Or visas? The OP is going to Italy and did not ask about visas.