Italy - end of May - questions: en route stopoff to Venice - and - car or train for 1st leg of trip - GPS anyone?
May 5th, 2008, 07:26 AM
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Italy - end of May - questions: en route stopoff to Venice - and - car or train for 1st leg of trip - GPS anyone?
Will arrive in Italy on May 26, flying out June 6 (flying in & out of Rome -frequent flyer tickets). It is our 25th anniversary - I am so excited. My husband has left all of the planning to me - I have already travelled there in my mind by reading the guides and reading this wonderful site! You wonderful Fodorites have helped me before, but I have a couple of questions.
Day one of our itinerary may need to be changed, but right now it stands as:
Day 1 "arrival at 11am, Rome Airport - this is a travel day" (1 night en route to Venice)
Day 2 & Day 3 (2 nights Venice)
Day 4 & 5 (Cinque Terre -2 nights)
Day 6, 7, 8, 9 (Tuscany 4 nights)
Day 10, 11, (2 nights - Rome)
Day 12 (fly home).
The "travel day" at the beginning of our trip is because you might have flight delays etc so even if we deadheaded into Venice, we might not arrive until late evening. So I thought it best not to lock ourselves into an expensive overnight in Venice when we would have little or no time to enjoy it (plus potentially trying to find the hotel in the dark)
So my questions:
1. Is there a village, town (or small city) that would be fun to spend the evening/night in en route to Venice that is along the train route?
2. Can you just roll into Rome airport and pick up a train directly from there? (with no reservation?)
3. I want this vacation to be as stress free as possible. On our other trips to Europe/Britain we have always rented a car (once we are outside of the first major centre. Maybe it is worth the $$ of a rental just to get the car in Rome airport and park it on the outskirts of Venice for 2 days, so we don't have the hassle of the train system.
4. We are open-road kind of people - my husband can drive anything - anywhere - he is smart and fearless (and I am a pretty good navigator). We managed Ireland a couple of years ago - without a GPS, so do we consider it this time - I've heard that they are a target for thieves?
Note; just saw the Rick Steves car rental site - is car rental really such a ripoff in Italy? - we did fine with AutoEurope in Ireland.
Day one of our itinerary may need to be changed, but right now it stands as:
Day 1 "arrival at 11am, Rome Airport - this is a travel day" (1 night en route to Venice)
Day 2 & Day 3 (2 nights Venice)
Day 4 & 5 (Cinque Terre -2 nights)
Day 6, 7, 8, 9 (Tuscany 4 nights)
Day 10, 11, (2 nights - Rome)
Day 12 (fly home).
The "travel day" at the beginning of our trip is because you might have flight delays etc so even if we deadheaded into Venice, we might not arrive until late evening. So I thought it best not to lock ourselves into an expensive overnight in Venice when we would have little or no time to enjoy it (plus potentially trying to find the hotel in the dark)
So my questions:
1. Is there a village, town (or small city) that would be fun to spend the evening/night in en route to Venice that is along the train route?
2. Can you just roll into Rome airport and pick up a train directly from there? (with no reservation?)
3. I want this vacation to be as stress free as possible. On our other trips to Europe/Britain we have always rented a car (once we are outside of the first major centre. Maybe it is worth the $$ of a rental just to get the car in Rome airport and park it on the outskirts of Venice for 2 days, so we don't have the hassle of the train system.
4. We are open-road kind of people - my husband can drive anything - anywhere - he is smart and fearless (and I am a pretty good navigator). We managed Ireland a couple of years ago - without a GPS, so do we consider it this time - I've heard that they are a target for thieves?
Note; just saw the Rick Steves car rental site - is car rental really such a ripoff in Italy? - we did fine with AutoEurope in Ireland.
May 5th, 2008, 07:40 AM
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2. Can you just roll into Rome airport and pick up a train directly from there? (with no reservation?)
Yes, but you have to take a train from the airport to Roma Termini, the main Rome train station, where you can get a train elsewhere. 30 mins by train from FCO to Termini. You can buy the tickets when you arrive.
1. Is there a village, town (or small city) that would be fun to spend the evening/night in en route to Venice that is along the train route?
You might opt to head to Orvieto your first night, a hilltown about one our from Rome on the main train line.
3. I want this vacation to be as stress free as possible. On our other trips to Europe/Britain we have always rented a car (once we are outside of the first major centre. Maybe it is worth the $$ of a rental just to get the car in Rome airport and park it on the outskirts of Venice for 2 days, so we don't have the hassle of the train system.
I don't find the train system a hassle.
Yes, but you have to take a train from the airport to Roma Termini, the main Rome train station, where you can get a train elsewhere. 30 mins by train from FCO to Termini. You can buy the tickets when you arrive.
1. Is there a village, town (or small city) that would be fun to spend the evening/night in en route to Venice that is along the train route?
You might opt to head to Orvieto your first night, a hilltown about one our from Rome on the main train line.
3. I want this vacation to be as stress free as possible. On our other trips to Europe/Britain we have always rented a car (once we are outside of the first major centre. Maybe it is worth the $$ of a rental just to get the car in Rome airport and park it on the outskirts of Venice for 2 days, so we don't have the hassle of the train system.
I don't find the train system a hassle.
May 5th, 2008, 08:18 AM
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I know how to spell "hour"--just not how to type it . . .
I love Verona, but I still suggest Orvieto. Verona is about 4 hours from Rome while Orvieto is just 1 hour. By the time you leave FCO, by noon if you're lucky, you might catch a train by 1PM, but it might be later. Traveling 4 hours to Verona, you'd just be an hour short of Venice. I'd just as soon continue on to Venice. The trip to Orvieto would be shorter and you could still enjoy part of the daylight.
I love Verona, but I still suggest Orvieto. Verona is about 4 hours from Rome while Orvieto is just 1 hour. By the time you leave FCO, by noon if you're lucky, you might catch a train by 1PM, but it might be later. Traveling 4 hours to Verona, you'd just be an hour short of Venice. I'd just as soon continue on to Venice. The trip to Orvieto would be shorter and you could still enjoy part of the daylight.
May 5th, 2008, 09:48 AM
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It hasn't been mentioned yet, but for a stress-free vacation, you're doing a lot of moving around. Use the rule of thumb that each time you change lodging/location, you lose half a day. If you want a more relaxing trip, you might want to drop a destination - as difficult as that may be, as all of your locations are wonderful! Venice and Rome both deserve more of your time. Also, at this date, you may have a challenging time locating hotels in all those locations.
Some people find train travel a hassle, and some don't. Like you, it sounds like, we are primarily car travelers. We find that to be the less-stressful option for us. To me, getting to the train station at the right time, getting tickets, finding the correct track, etc., is somewhat stressful. However, we do take trains when (i) it's between big cities, where we won't need a car; (ii) we don't have to change trains; and/or (iii) it's cheaper or more efficient. And we've never had a problem traveling by car or train. In your situation, IMO, it's a tossup. To take the train to Venice or an intermediate destination, you'll have to go into Rome to the train station there, which will add time and a hassle factor, and you'll be more or less stressed about making it to a given train in time. But to rent a car from the airport, someone will be driving while jetlagged, and you'll then have to pay for parking in Venice. I'd say to check the price differential on those two options, and let that help you decide.
If you rent a car, consider staying in Orvieto, as it's closer to Rome (as already pointed out).
If you decide to take the train, another intermediate destination would be Bologna (a lovely non-touristy small city). Doing a quick check on the trenitalia website (and remember, I'm no pro at train travel), it looks like most of the trains from Rome to Bologna are high-speed, whereas from Orvieto to Venice, on some routes, you'll have to change trains.
Have a great time, whatever you do!
Some people find train travel a hassle, and some don't. Like you, it sounds like, we are primarily car travelers. We find that to be the less-stressful option for us. To me, getting to the train station at the right time, getting tickets, finding the correct track, etc., is somewhat stressful. However, we do take trains when (i) it's between big cities, where we won't need a car; (ii) we don't have to change trains; and/or (iii) it's cheaper or more efficient. And we've never had a problem traveling by car or train. In your situation, IMO, it's a tossup. To take the train to Venice or an intermediate destination, you'll have to go into Rome to the train station there, which will add time and a hassle factor, and you'll be more or less stressed about making it to a given train in time. But to rent a car from the airport, someone will be driving while jetlagged, and you'll then have to pay for parking in Venice. I'd say to check the price differential on those two options, and let that help you decide.
If you rent a car, consider staying in Orvieto, as it's closer to Rome (as already pointed out).
If you decide to take the train, another intermediate destination would be Bologna (a lovely non-touristy small city). Doing a quick check on the trenitalia website (and remember, I'm no pro at train travel), it looks like most of the trains from Rome to Bologna are high-speed, whereas from Orvieto to Venice, on some routes, you'll have to change trains.
Have a great time, whatever you do!
May 6th, 2008, 11:41 AM
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Laurelh,
We stayed for two nights last month at Hotel Corso in Orvieto. We liked it. www.hotelcorso.net
It isn't elablrate, but it has it's own charm, and is very clean. Everything is our room and bathroom looked new.
It is easily walkable from the funicular stop.
We had dinner at Antica Cantina and Osteria San Patrizio. The former is casual, the latter more upscale.
Both are fairly close to the hotel.
Byrd
We stayed for two nights last month at Hotel Corso in Orvieto. We liked it. www.hotelcorso.net
It isn't elablrate, but it has it's own charm, and is very clean. Everything is our room and bathroom looked new.
It is easily walkable from the funicular stop.
We had dinner at Antica Cantina and Osteria San Patrizio. The former is casual, the latter more upscale.
Both are fairly close to the hotel.
Byrd
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May 6th, 2008 11:48 AM
