Hello again friends:
We are considering a change in plans. We arrive on April 14 and will stay in Rome until April 18. Leaving that morning for Civitavecchia where we'll catch the Costa Pacifica for a seven night cruise.

Returning on April 25 we plan to travel to Florence / Pisa and then on to Venice. We'll probably leave Venice on April 27 and go to London until April 30 and then on to Paris for a couple days. My question is transporation from Civitavecchia. What is the best way to get from here to Florence? We're considering a rental car and if so, can we leave the rental in Venice? Is that wise or should we take the train or fly?

Thanks for your replays.

Warm regards,
Larry

April 25 is a holiday so be sure to factor that into your plans (extra traffic/things closed).

Do I understand correctly?

Apr 14 arr Rome
Apr 15
Apr 16
Apr 17
Apr 18 dep Rome -- on cruise
cruise 18-25
Apr 25 arr Rome -- head to Florence
Apr 26 head to Venice
Apr 27 fly to London
Apr 28
Apr 29
Apr 30 fly home

If this is true, then I say don't bother with both Florence and Venice. You won't get a chance to see anything in the short time since so much time will be taken up with travel PLUS April 25 is a huge holiday so it will definitely cause problems with your plans--another reason not to rent a car and get stuck in holiday traffic.

I suggest just going to Florence, and then flying from there to London. (By the way, is London a must?) April 26, your one full day in Florence would be a Monday, when many museums there are closed. Perhaps you could get an afternoon flight on April 27 to London to maximize your time in Florence.

Dear Larry, why are you going to Venice if you plan on leaving there August 27th? You will be going to Florence on the day of the 25th..and stopping in Pisa as well. You are travelling by train I assume. So you will have say late afternoon and evening in Florence on the 25th, travelling by train to Venice on the 26th (about 3 hours plus the time to get to your hotel) and leaving Venice the next day. May I suggest that your itinerary is not practical and you will not be able to enjoy either Florence or Venice.

LoveItaly is exactly right.

From London we go to paris until May 3. Obviously we're trying to do too much. My understanding was that Italy was about the size of Arizona. I figured the travel would be a manageable timetable but now I'm reconsidering. That's the nice thing about these boards, we can get lots of imput. What holiday is April 25th?

April 25 is a national holiday celebrating liberation day in Italy. Some services may be closed but there will be festivals and concerts in many places.

http://goitaly.about.com/od/festival...april_fest.htm

THANK YOU.