MelissaBF

Hi! We are going to Italy May 26 - June 6. Itinerary is as follows.
Fly into Rome May 27.
Rome to Florence Sat May 29.
Florence to Venice May 31.
Venice to Cinque Terre June 2.
CT back to Rome June 5.

My question is: what is the best way to get place to place? All train? Are any of these better to go by plane or have a "driver"?? Money isn't that much of a concern so if it's easier to have a car for some of the places, I'd rather do that. And if we do train - when do we get tickets? same day? ahead of time?

I want it to be as less hectic as possible, all things considered.

Thanks!

bobthenavigator

Yes, Trains will be best.

I would start in Florence--end in Rome.
See trenitalia.com for schedules and prices, but buy them in Italy.

Have fun !

rex

I agree that Florence first is wise. And ordinarily, I would certainly agree that trains are best for Rome-Florence and Florence-Venice. But I recommend inserting some leisure at Lake Garda between Florence and Venice.

I would propose that you substitute any of several locations around Lake Garda instead of Cinque Terra - - you'll gain almost a whole day by not making the long train rides Venice-CT and CT-Rome.

And as a corollary, I <i>would</i> recommend you rent a car upon your departure from Florence, and turn it in, once you arrive in Venice.

Thus...

May 27 arrive in Rome, immediately train to Florence

May 29, rent car, drive to xxx on Lake Garda; stay two nights in one location or two.

May 31, Lake Garda to Venice. Arrive early; there is a lot to do in Venice, and since lodging is expensive, it makes sense to give yourself three days with two nights, not merely two days with two nights.

June 2, train to Rome (leave at supper time)

June 6, fly home


Note that I have suggested three nights in Rome/two nights at Garda, whereas you had three nights CT/two nights Rome. You could reduce Rome of course back to two, and put an extra night anywhere (an extra night in Florence might allow you to day trip to Siena).

Verona or Orvieto would also be easy to incorporate.

But I stick with the recommendation to give Rome the extra night.

Best wishes,

Rex

MelissaBF

How long is train ride from Venice-CT and CT-Rome?

offwego

Although Lake Garda is fabulous, I don't think it's quite the same experience as being in the Cinque Terre. It may take longer to get there, but you'll soon forget the train trip and never forget the Cinque Terre. Find a way to go there. Eat lots of pesto and do the hike. Incredible.

16dog

Made the Rome/Florence/Venice trip for our honeymoon a year ago. Found the trains to be very easy. For me personally, I prefer avoiding the rental car experience altogether and just paying the usually reasonable train fare. We found the price to be cheaper buying the ticket at the station rather than in advance. Guess it depends on how much you want to see between the major stops.

pears43

Since you are traveling between cities, and the CT towns are linked by trains, you are probably better off going by train. We just returned from 2 weeks in Italy--Rome, CT, Lucca, chianti country, Assisi, Gubbio, Todi. Despite the rain, Cinque Terre was marvelous--we had an apartment in Manarola for 3 days for 65 euros per day. Only glitch was a one-day train strike, which happens periodically. We rented a car for part of our trip, but Hertz was expensive, and the Ford Focus SUV was too big for the tiny streets. We managed okay, but next time will look into Autoeurope or Europcar and get a really tiny car--a little Fiat or similar. By the way--getting an automatic is difficult and expensive, so it helps if you drive a stick shift, and are very proficient at it. I had some hairy moments stopping and starting on the many steep streets in the small towns.
One caveat--there are no signs at the Rome airport for rental car returns, and after much difficulty we finally found them in parking building C, 4th floor. So to sum up--the trains are fine, and cheaper, but a small car gives you more flexibility. We found the road signs were generally good, and even when we got lost in small villages, people were very helpful. They didn't speak English, but with our rudimentary Italian and a lot of sign language we managed to get to our destinations. If you decide to go by train, try to take only one carry-on bag per person, as the train doors are narrow and steep. My husband and I were so glad we did that, as a full-sized bag would have been a real pain.
Italy is fantastic--beautiful, great food, friendly people. Have a great time!

rex

&lt;&lt;How long is train ride from Venice-CT and CT-Rome?&gt;&gt;

Venice-Vernazza - - Never less than 6 hours, and usually three train changes; sometimes two. One change (at 5:20 am in Genoa) if you take the 22:51 departure, arriving at 08:15

Vernazza-Rome - - pretty much all connections at La Spezia Centrale; usually 5-5.5 hours.

Thus, 11.5 hours on a train to go to Vernazza, versus 4.5 to take in Orvieto, for example (Venice-Orvieto; Orvieto-Rome).

I stand by my advice to go by car between Florence and Venice via Sirmione and/or Malcesine and/or Riva del Garda

KathrynT

I'm sorry but I can't help myself and feel I must mention you are doing an awful lot in a very short period of time. You will be spending much of your time in transit and will not have much time to spend in each location. You do not mention where you are flying into Rome from, but if it is from far away, there is the issue of jeg lag to also consider. You might want to consider eliminating a destination (or two.) Now, I'll get of my soap box...

MelissaBF

I know - we are doing a lot... I just don't know what to cut out. We fly into and out of Rome so we are doing that. I really want to do CT so it's cutting either Florence or Venice. Both are intriguing to me, but neither am I that excited to spend 3 + nights there.
I don't mind losing the last day on a train. By then I will be so exhausted I will be done! I was thinking the travel days would be &quot;relaxing&quot; once I'm on the train since I can't do anything&gt; am I mistaken?

MelissaBF

Ok we may ditch Rome. So when we arrive at Rome airport - we then catch a train to Florence? How far is it from Rome? Thanks!

ira

Good idea, Melissa.

When you clear customs at FCO follow the signs to the train station. You want the Leonardo daVinci Express to Roma TE.

At the FCO station you can buy all of your train tickets at once.

You can purchase your tickets in advance from www.trenitalia.com.

See Trenitalia Tickets Online
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34465647

For Uffizi and Academia Museum Reservations

The easiest and cheapest way is to call Florence 011 (U.S. international access code) 39 (Italy's country code) then 055-294-883 8:30-18:30 M-F and 8:30-12:00 Sat. Florence time. You will get an English speaking operator and in 2-3 minutes YOU CAN RESERVE FOR BOTH. This is through the reservation service at the Uffizi and costs beyond the normal entry fee only about 1.60 euro for the service. This is MUCH cheaper than the commercial booking services.

I recommend Il Ritrovo
Via de? Pucci 4/A Best food for the price Full dinner w/wine abt 40E pp Closed Monday
From Pzza San Giovani (NW corner of the Pza del Duomo) walk one blk East to Via dei Martelli. Go left to Via dei Pucci. Turn Right. Look very carefully on left. No sign. Door could be locked. Ring bell.

Enjoy your trip.