neglex

My daughter will be studying abroad for five weeks in May/June. She will be in Florence, Rome and the Marche. She will have 3-4 days free at the end of her stay in Rome. I am going to visit her with my other daughter. We will not have a Car so would take trains. Where should we go for three nights?
Thanks!

adrienne

Venice

aganagirl

If you don't stay in Rome then go to Venice. We've been all over the world and Rome is one of my favorite places ever!

fmpden

Florence or Rome.

kja

What are your interests?

neglex

Thanks everyone. I was thinking of Venice but someone told me not to spend more than a couple of days there. We will meet her in Rome. We have been to Rome and Florence before and she will be spending one week in each place during the trip. Is there anywhere between Venice and Rome where we could spend a night or two? Easily accessible by train? Doesn't have to be a big city. We just want to spend good time together, walk a lot and eat good gelato and pasta!!!

Also, what do you recommend that she do for a phone? She will be there for five weeks. Buy a cheap phone there, get a SIM card there,meta. She has an iPhone.

Thanks.

cathies

Bologna.

No idea Re the phone, sorry.

sandralist

I guess I don't understand your question. Are you looking for somewhere in Italy to stay for 1 to 3 nights in June with both your daughters or are you looking for places to go in May with one of your daughters before meeting up with the daughter already in Italy?

Personally I am not all that fond of Venice, but as for someone telling you not to spend more than a couple of days there, did they mean less than 3 nights? If you had bumped into someone else, they would have told you not to go unless you could spend at least 3 or 4 nights there, and ideally more like a week. I'm serious! Did this person explain to you what he or she thought the problem with Venice is after a few days? (Fish and visitors stinking up the place?) Venice is more expensive, so if you need to watch pennies, you might prefer someplace cheaper. But I am curious if they gave you an explanation of their advice.

Someplace along the train line between Venice and Rome where you could spend a night or two would be Orvieto. It is very hilly so if you would prefer someplace flat then consider Arezzo. Best wine and food and least number of tourists is Chiusi, but it is hard to find accommodations there.

But if you are not going to Venice, then you could go anywhere, including south (where the food and gelato is definitely better).

adrienne

<< I was thinking of Venice but someone told me not to spend more than a couple of days there. >>

You asked for a recommendation for 3 nights which equals 2 days. Why did that person say to only spend 2 days in Venice?

vincenzo32951

It's difficult to give you recommendations w/o knowing your interests.

bvlenci

You might also consider Assisi, which is a lovely Umbrian town, apart from the associations with Saint Francis and the art in its basilicas. Spello, very near Assisi, is a little jewel of a town, but rather small. Spoleto is another lovely town in Umbria. Perugia is a bit larger than any of these, but has a university, including a faculty for foreigners, so it has a big student population from all over Europe, and the rest of the world. All are easily reached by train.

Ackislander

Go to Venice. There is nothing else like it in the world.

If the first and last nights touch on travel days, you really have only two days there: one day for the Big Sites, one day for walking around and hitting the second tier sites.

If you really have more time, take the ferry to the Lido or Torcello, or do a day trip to Padua or Vicenza.

socaltraveler

Go to Venice; 3 nights is hardly long enough and it is the perfect place without a car since you can't have one there anyway.

bvlenci

For the phone, if your daughter's iPhone is a GSM phone, as all AT&T phones are (or if it's a hybrid) AND if it's unlocked or can be unlocked for the trip, the simplest thing to do would be to buy a SIM card in Italy. If that's not the case, your daughter might want to buy a cheap unlocked quadband GSM phone on Amazon or EBay. If she also wants to use data services, there are cheap Android phones, without all the latest features, but perfectly functional, that have all those features.

The best providers are TIM and Vodafone. They have very similar prices and features, but TIM has one option that's very attractive for foreign visitors or residents. For the same price as a normal SIM card, your daughter could get a TIM International New SIM card, which would allow her to make calls to other EU countries, and also to the USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand for 20 cents a minute, plus a 16-cent connection charge.

There is a monthly bundle available from TIM that's good for people under age 30, called TIM Young & Music, which costs 15 euros per month, and would give her 100 minutes of calls, 1000 text messages (both only within Italy) and 1 gb of data, to be used within the month. This bundle gets renewed automatically from her monthly credit, so she would need to put at least 30 euros of credit on the card, plus whatever she might use for making calls to the US with the TIM International New option. This plan also includes something called Cubo Music, which I think allows streaming music without eating into your data allowance.

There is a similar monthly bundle, called TIM Special Limited Edition, for the same price, for people over 30. It has 200 minutes, 200 texts, and 500 mb of internet. There are lots of other options, many of which serve only to confuse you. Here is the web site, only available in Italian, but fairly easy to decipher:

http://www.tim.it/tariffe/chiamate-sms-internet

Your daughter should also look into getting a Skype account. Apart from the free internet account, if she pays a minimum amount ($10, I think), she can make calls to any US phone number for a few cents a minute. The Skype credit never runs out, so she could even use it years later when she makes another trip overseas.

She could also get a Skype US phone number, which would allow others to call her without paying international rates or figuring out how to make an international call. I have a US Skype number; if I'm online and connected to Skype when somebody calls me, I can pick up the call on my computer or Android phone at no additional cost. I have it set up so that if I don't answer in 5 rings, it transfers the call to my Italian cell phone. The transferred calls cost me 30 cents a minute, deducted from my Skype credit. I usually keep the call brief and call back later when I'm connected to Skype. I forget what the Skype number costs, but I think it's something like €15 (or $15?) for three months.

kja

I'll cast my vote for Venice! Go, before it sinks! Venice is extraordinary, and I honestly can't understand why anyone would say that 3 nights would be too much there. I spent 4 nights, and did NOT have time to see everything I wanted to see there!

There are beautiful places to see and charming walkways and canals to roam. (And roam you will - just about everyone gets lost at least once in Venice!) Consider spending a day visiting Murano, Burano, and Torcello. What better place to "spend good time together, walk a lot and eat good gelato and pasta!!!" Well, maybe fish rather than pasta in Venice....

neglex

Thanks for all the great advice. I have a lot to consider. We will actually have 4 nights and 4 days. We will meet in Rome and then she has to be back in Rome. I will arrive in Rome with my other daughter the day before so I will have one night in Rome before we go to Venice or wherever. Any suggestions on nice comfortable hotels in Venice? Day trips sound like a good idea. Spoleto also sounds nice for something different.

I appreciate all the information about the phone. Good to know. She probably already has a skype account. I will check.

Thanks again.

sarge56

Another vote for Venice. This is because, if you do decide you've had too much, you can take a day trip to Verona or Padua or Bologna.

But, I think you'll find plenty to do in Venice. It is a very unique place, and made for wandering and wine.

We stayed at a lovely B&B owned by an American mom/daughter. Lovely, lovely place. And great location (close to vaporetto, but buffered from all the noise!). http://www.corte1321.com/en/description.htm

txhomes

I would suggest going south to Sorrento. After time in the big cities your daughter might enjoy a change of pace. You could do day trips to Capri, Positano, Pompeii. Get a hotel room with view of the water. I think you'd enjoy it.

neglex

That's another interesting idea. Is it easy to get to sorrento by train and then do day trips by train also? Do you have any favorite hotels you can recommend? Thanks

adrienne

It's very easy to get to Sorrento from Rome. Take the train to Naples Centrale, walk downstairs and buy a ticket for the Circumvesuviana to Sorrento. You can take the bus to the Amalfi Coast towns, boat to Capri, train to Pompeii.

However...Sorrento in no way compares with Venice. Venice is like a small town. No cars. You walk or take the vaporetti. It's quiet and peaceful once away from St. Mark's square and there are tons of things to see and do apart from the things on the square.