Help with itinerary please?
 

Help me plan a trip to Italy please?

My mom and I are just starting to plan a trip to Italy late this summer (end of August/early September). I've traveled quite a bit, mainly with tours as I generally travel alone. My mom hasn't traveled internationally much and is hesitant to let me talk her into going on our own and wants to travel with a tour. I've been to Italy before but it was 10 years ago and I don't remember much. I'm 25, she's 53 so health/fitness levels aren't a problem.

I mainly want to see Rome, Florence, Pisa and Venice. I'd like to see Assisi, and two of these three tours fit all my other wants and stop at Assisi, but the third is by rail and would give us more time in the other cities instead of a day on a bus.

<b>Trafalgar - Great Italian Cities</b> - http://tinyurl.com/ygd4q6f (3 nights Rome, Assisi, 3 nights Florence, Pisa, Bologna, 3 nights Venice).

<b>Trafalgar - Contrasts of Italy</b> - http://tinyurl.com/yjuu4gd (3 nights Rome, train to Florence for 3 nights and daytrip to Pisa, rail to Venice for 3 nights).

<b>Gate 1 - Crown of Italy</b> - http://tinyurl.com/yl9kxyt (2 nights Venice, Pisa, 3 nights Florence, Assisi, 3 nights Rome).

I know it would be cheaper to do it on our own, but Mom would prefer a tour. I've bugged her for long enough to get her to go with me, if she wants a tour then we'll do a tour. :) I'd like to add a day or two to each side of the trip. I've got her talked into about 13-14 days total. Is it reasonable to add a day trip to Pompeii from Rome? Are there any other day trips to look at adding?

Has anyone traveled with Gate 1? Does anyone know of any other good tour groups that are fairly budget? I wasn't wild about any of the Cosmos tours.

Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations (other than do it on our own please :) )?

Thanks in advance :)

Not from personal experience but others, check out Perillo Tours, they have been doing Italy since Caligula.

Go-Today offers air/hotel/train combos also. There have been reviews on this board for Gate1 so try using the search to see if you can find them.

I know people who have very poor experiences with Perillo tours in Italy -- nutty things, like running people up to Venice on buses from Florence for an afternoon, and back again.

I think the time of year you are going it's too hot in Pompeii, even for people who are fit. A day trip would be fairly exhausting.

I haven't used any of these tour companies but I would keep away from Cosmos/Globus tours as I find they do not hire the most knowledgeable guides. Many people like this company but it depends what you want to get out of your trip.

All three tours you've mentioned seem to be very similar. Does your mother realize the tours give you quite a bit of free time on your own that you will have to plan for? You won't always be with a tour guide.

It's a good idea to give an extra day at each end of the trip since there is so much to see that the tours do not cover.

I agree with the comment on Pompeii, above. It is a long day trip but there are companies that run tours from Rome. If you do decide to go then bring good sun hats/umbrellas for shade, sun screen, and backpacks full of water bottles (as much as you can carry) to prevent dehydration. Wear long trousers and long sleeve shirts (you will feel cooler if the sun isn't scorching your skin) and sturdy lace up walking shoes. There is very little shade at Pompeii and only one cafe within the site but it is not central.

Well Mom has nixed the train idea, she'd rather be on a bus so she can see more. That cuts out one of the Trafalgar tours.

Adrienne, my mom does realize that we'll have a good amount of time on our own but I think she's hesitant to let me plan the entire trip. She's afraid, with good reason, that given free rein I'd be dragging her around from 6am until midnight. In a tour, that would be curtailed a bit. I don't do slow and relaxed very well. :)

I just looked up Perillo Tours. They're about $1000 more than the other tours and yes, they really do run up to Venice from Florence for a day trip. Ack.

If Pompeii would be a bad idea for a day trip from Rome, what would be a good idea? :) The two bus tours both stop at Assisi and that was my main idea for a day trip other than Pompeii.

Thanks all!

Ostia Antica and Orvieto are both good day trips from Rome. But you really don't have much time right in Rome on any of the tours, so you should probably stay flexible and see whether you just want to spend more time there

Iowa - I have only taken one tour and that was to Russia so I can't really speak from experience about tours. However, this is what I have noticed with tours. They walk fast and you better keep up or get left. I have noticed older people panting and red in the face trying to keep up. This may not be true of all tours but you go where they take you.

In Italy I think you would absolutely be better off on your own. You can rest when you want to - take a day to do nothing.

You could fly into Rome and be picked up at the airport and transferred to your hotel. When you want to go on to Florence, take a taxi to the train station. In Florence, there are hotels close enough to walk to with no problem. Then take a train to Venice and fly out of Venice for home.

Our last trip we stayed 2 nights in Assisi - it is hard walking as the streets are so very steep. A couple of times I felt I could fall over backwards. :) For a day trip you could take the train to Assisi and the bus or taxi up the hill to St Francis Bascilica. That would not be so steep as walking up the hill if that would be a problem. We liked Assisi and got around okay.
It is easy to take the train to Pisa from Florence for a day trip. And there are many tours available as day trips from Florence to wineries or San Gimignano or Siena, Lucca etc.

September would be better than August. We were there in October and it was very nice weather.

Do try to wit until mid-September to go. August is beastly hot.

Waiting any longer into September isn't an option due to my job. We're starting into busy season at that point and if I ask for vacation during busy season a second year in a row my boss might kill me. I have to wait until after July 1 this year and can't go much past Labor Day. End of August is as best as I can do. On the upside, we're used to Iowa weather with 100% humidity and 90+ degree temps.

Brats, I've talked to her about not taking a tour but that's what she wants. I've been on multiple tours and while they are fast paced they're plenty do-able. My mom is only 53, and she's in better general health than most. I'll ply her with gelato and she'll be fine. :) I've been bugging her for so long trying to get her to go with me that if she wants to do a tour, then we'll do a tour.


I cornered my poor mom today and made her make some decisions on what she wants. She's now said that she likes the Great Italian Cities tour with Trafalgar so we'll do that one. I've talked her into adding about 2 days in Rome on before hand and an extra day or so in Venice at the end.

Any other ideas for day trips from Rome? Pompeii creeped her out a bit (and I can't blame her, the pictures online are kinda creepy). I'll definitely look into Ostia Antica and Orvieto, thanks! :)

<< Well Mom has nixed the train idea, she'd rather be on a bus so she can see more. That cuts out one of the Trafalgar tours. >>

I find you actually see more from a train as you will see fields, hills, and trees whereas on the bus you see cars, trucks, and highway (and exhaust fumes). Think of a highway at home and then think of where the train lines run. Usually not near the cars and trucks.

I know you'll have an extra 2 days in Rome but you are seeing the smallest sampling of what Rome has to offer. If you love churches Rome has an amazing assortment, each lovelier than the one before. There's the Borghese Museum (outstanding - I've been 3 times) and a couple of interesting civic museums. Rome is more than the Colosseum and Vatican Museums.

Since you won't be going to Pompeii, Ostia Antica gives a good view of a Roman village and is close to Rome - you can take the train there. Again - sturdy walking shoes, bring water, and sun hats although there is more shade here than at Pompeii. Along the way you can stop for 90 minutes and see St. Paul Outside the Walls - another magnificent church (as you have probably figured out I'm a church freak!).

Pompeii is definitely not creepy.

You're smart to take the tour as things often go a bit awry on self-planned vacations and you don't want to stress your mom and have her never want to travel with you again. Once she sees that you can plan your own time, and things go well, perhaps she will do another trip w/o a tour.

Bring along those small battery operated fans to cool yourselves as you won't find many places with AC in Italy.

I have found that Insight Vacations, which is a sister company to Trafalgar (same parent company) offers really good value for the money. They are a bit more than Trafalgar, but their hotels are usally more central, and more things are included in the tour that you do not have to pay extra for.

Here is their main website: http://www.insightvacations.com/us/

Here is a list of their Italy tours: http://www.insightvacations.com/us/i...re_code=IVISUS

I have traveled with them several times, as well as Trafalgar, Globus, Image and others, and much prefer Insight.

While I have not traveled with Gate 1, I've done enough research on them to know that almost everything is an "extra" with them, so while it may seem cheaper on the surface, after you add in the things that are inlcuded with Insight/Trafalgar/Globus etc., the cost will be the same or higher, IMHO.

Hi Iowa!

I went on a Trafalgar with my parents and had a great time! As your mom is the same age as my folks I think this might be a bit better as it seemes Insight skewed a bit older (65+)from the research I did. There was a mix of ages on ours so it was nice that my parents had some others around there to chat with, then we could go on our own. (There were a few mother daughter pairs as well really fun gals!)

I did the train from Rome to Pompeii via Naples which wasnt bad. You take the train from Rome to Naples(which I would just get a ticket when you arrive at the train station) - then take the local metro to Pompeii. It is a full day - I think it is worth it as when will you have a chance to go back?! Try to just bring a backpack as you dont want to lug all of your stuff!

Good luck on your trip! Have fun!

Depending on your interest- Villa d-Este and Hadrian's Villa (I wasn't sure if your tour went there), tour of the Vatican gardens (book online directly through the Vatcian.
Another fun thing would be the Frascati wine tour (includes wine and olive oil tastings). There is a nice half day tour through Dark Rome Tours.
Enjoy this with your Mom!

Maybe you should rethink your travel partner. She seems pretty rigid and may make your trip miserable. Her perceptions aren't reality.

Pompeii creepy? Don't know how anyone could even get that idea.

>>>Well Mom has nixed the train idea, she'd rather be on a bus so she can see more. That cuts out one of the Trafalgar tours.<<

On a bus you get to see the autostrada and new construction that builds up along it although there are some vistas. Trains go through the center of towns plus you get to see the countryside. Buses aren't allowed in many of town centers because traffic is restricted and you will be dropped at the edge.

"Pompeii creepy? Don't know how anyone could even get that idea."

I bet she saw images of the plaster bodies of the fallen. She may think the streets will be strewn with them. Those figures are actually few and far between.

Others have mentioned getting to Pompeii on your own by train or using a bus tour that also stops at cameo factories. One company, Enjoy Rome, offers a simple, direct to Pompeii and back shuttle bus twice a week during the busy season. It is just the bus trip--no tour included at Pompeii. If you don't want to be stuck shopping for cameos, this might be a good option for you.

http://www.enjoyrome.com/walking/shu...r_pompeii.html

I agree with kybourbon about train rides showing you more, especially because train rides give you a better view of Italian people as they come and go on the train. I don't think a bus is configured to experience people-watching as well.

The OP's mother sounds like she's unsure about new things and concerned about dealing with things that could go wrong in a foreign land. Plus she is the Mom so she can exert pressure and make demands of her child that another travel partner might not be able to get away with. It's admirable that the OP loves her mom and wants to travel with her, even in a situation that is not her ideal . . . must be frustrating. I'm hoping that once they are in italy, Mom realizes the silliness of her initial fears and has a great time.

I've been thinking about your plans. My 21 year old son and I are also soon going to Rome, we travel quite a bit together. I'm close to your Mom's age (okay I'm a "little" bit older!)
I would enjoy Villa d'Este and the wine tour but mostly what I enjoy is spending the time with my son.
I'd encourage you to not try to squeeze in long extra day trips, but rather to just enjoy being in these special cities. You will see plenty of historic sights, etc. on the tour. Perhaps your two extra days in Rome could be spent exploring the neighborhoods, wandering markets, looking in windows,going to a nice dinner (perhaps Romolo in Trastevere),etc.
After the memories of the artwork, ruins and so on fall into the background I retain vivid memories of having Bellinis with my son, him buying a funny straw hat (he thought it looked cool), purchasing picnic supplies in a grocery, sitting on the hotel terrace as the sun set laughing...you get the picture. You and your Mom will get to know each other in different ways.
My own mother can't remember what museums she visited in Rome many, many years ago but she sure remembers the Easter cake boxes and the pizza in the windows.
Tips: have her use the map (don't always lead her around), book a hotel with rooftop terrace or a nice courtyard, search out a fun restaurant with history/outside seating, stay up late strolling, buy something together at a market (example:purse or wallet, you each get a different color. When you use it in future you will remember the time you had.)
Book the tour, relax, and go for it!
Please update us when you come back.

I'm not sure why that little funny face showed up above, it should read "purse".

Ellenem, you nailed it! :) We looked up Pompeii online and the pictures that came up were the gray bodies - creepy! If those are few and far between, I can talk to her again about that being a possibility.

<<the OP loves her mom and wants to travel with her, even in a situation that is not her ideal . . . must be frustrating. I'm hoping that once they are in italy, Mom realizes the silliness of her initial fears and has a great time.>>

I love my mom dearly and have a LOT of fun with her. However, right now she's a bit stressed and I'm throwing things at her that she's not familiar with and asking for decisions. She'll be fine once we get things booked and I quit asking her questions she doesn't know the answers to. :)

We booked the Trafalgar tour Great Italian Cities and our flights. We'll have 2 days in Rome before the tour starts and an extra day at the end to spend between Venice and Rome. At some point that last day we'll take the train from Venice to Rome. I want more time but she can only be gone for so long.

<<Maybe you should rethink your travel partner. She seems pretty rigid and may make your trip miserable. Her perceptions aren't reality.>>

Kybourbon, of course her perceptions aren't reality, she hasn't traveled internationally very much and never to Italy. She knows the little bit she's seen online. When pictures of Pompeii come up and most of the pictures are gray bodies, of course the thought is Pompeii might be a bit creepy.

She's not rigid, she's unsure of what would be "best" and knows that when I travel I'm going 24/7. She's afraid I'll try to do that to her so she's nervous about how much she lets me plan. :) As for rethinking Mom as my travel partner, no way! I may not get to see as much of what I want to see on this trip, but I get to see it with my mom. How could I pass that up?

I think Pompeii is creepy. Tens of thousands of people were annihilated there. It gave me nightmares the day after I saw it.

I'd go with the tour with the best/most central located hotels and least amount of included dinners. Breakfast is usually included with hotels even if not on a tour, but you can probably eat best if you venture out on your own for dinner.