Italy, June, 11 nights, Flights arrice and depart from Rome (Ciampino)
Apr 28th, 2015, 06:51 AM
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Italy, June, 11 nights, Flights arrice and depart from Rome (Ciampino)
Hi all,
I'm new to this forum and looking for advice please. Have never been to Italy before and going for 11 nights. We are traveling into Rome on the 14th of June and will arrive early so have the full day here. We have booked 3 nights in a hotel near the Termini Train station. We are not sure were to go from here. Was thinking maybe train to Pisa (2 nights), Lucca (2 nights), Tuscany (2 nights), Florence (1 night) then train back to Rome and stay our last night here. Any thoughts or advice on our trip would be really appreciated. Thanks in advance, Ger
I'm new to this forum and looking for advice please. Have never been to Italy before and going for 11 nights. We are traveling into Rome on the 14th of June and will arrive early so have the full day here. We have booked 3 nights in a hotel near the Termini Train station. We are not sure were to go from here. Was thinking maybe train to Pisa (2 nights), Lucca (2 nights), Tuscany (2 nights), Florence (1 night) then train back to Rome and stay our last night here. Any thoughts or advice on our trip would be really appreciated. Thanks in advance, Ger
Apr 28th, 2015, 07:20 AM
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I wouldn't move hotels as frequently as you propose, and for those destinations there is no need. Pisa and Lucca are both easy day trips from Florence, in fact many people (myself included) combined them in a single day trip. I took the train from Florence to Pisa, spent a few hours, then stopped in Lucca for the rest of the day on the way back. I personally felt that was enough time in both those towns. So I would do 3 or 4 nights Florence and see Pisa and Lucca as day trips.
Technically they are IN Tuscany, but I assume what you mean is 'small town' Tuscany. For that you really need a car - everything else can be done easily by train (and is in fact easier by train). If you are willing to rent a car then pick a small town in Tuscany as a base for another 3 nights or so and so day trips to other hill towns from there.
If you are not interested in renting a car I'd extend the time in Florence by another couple nights and do a day trip to San Gimignano or another smaller town that is reachable by bus from Florence. Trying to hop between small towns by bus or train is difficult, but there are a number you can do from Florence. Siena is another town easily reached from Florence, larger than some of the other small towns but still it IS a hilltown in Tuscany.
Another suggestion is to go to Florence on the day you arrive (only an hour and a half by train from Rome) and then combine all your Rome time at the end of the trip. I'd give Rome at least 4 full days.
Technically they are IN Tuscany, but I assume what you mean is 'small town' Tuscany. For that you really need a car - everything else can be done easily by train (and is in fact easier by train). If you are willing to rent a car then pick a small town in Tuscany as a base for another 3 nights or so and so day trips to other hill towns from there.
If you are not interested in renting a car I'd extend the time in Florence by another couple nights and do a day trip to San Gimignano or another smaller town that is reachable by bus from Florence. Trying to hop between small towns by bus or train is difficult, but there are a number you can do from Florence. Siena is another town easily reached from Florence, larger than some of the other small towns but still it IS a hilltown in Tuscany.
Another suggestion is to go to Florence on the day you arrive (only an hour and a half by train from Rome) and then combine all your Rome time at the end of the trip. I'd give Rome at least 4 full days.
Apr 28th, 2015, 07:27 AM
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If you can change that reservation in Rome, it would be better to go straight to Florence on arrival, and spend the last four nights in Rome. It would be one less change of hotel.
Rather than spend 2 nights in Pisa, two nights in Lucca, and one night in Florence, I would choose just one of those places. They're all fairly near each other, and you can make day trips to the others. It sounds as though you're not terribly interested in Florence, so maybe you could spend three nights in Lucca, which is two full days. On one day you could see the sights of Lucca (which are not likely to take more than one day), and on the other day, you could go to Pisa.
Pisa, Lucca, and Florence are all in Tuscany; I'm not sure where you meant by two nights in Tuscany. Will you be traveling by public transportation? If so, you'd want to stay in a place near a train station or bus stop. Siena would be a possibility, but it's a small city rather than a country village. You could take a day tour to the Tuscan countryside from Siena, in which case you should spend three nights there. You can also take a day trip from Florence, but that would mean you should spend at least two nights there, subtracting a night from Lucca.
So here are a few possibilities:
Plan A
Go straight to Florence on arrival, spend three nights there, on one day take a tour of the Tuscan countryside.
Then spend three nights in Lucca, visiting Pisa on one day.
Then spend two nights in Siena.
Take the bus to Rome and spend your last three nights there.
Plan B (If you can't change your reservation)
Spend 3 or 4 nights in Rome
Take the train to Pisa, and leave your bags in the station left luggage facility while you visit the city. Then take the train to Lucca. Spend 1 or 2 nights in Lucca (depending on how many you spend in Rome).
Go to Florence and spend 2 nights there
Go to Siena for 2 nights.
Take a tour of the countryside one day from either Florence or Siena, maybe adding a night to whichever city you take the tour from.
Take the bus (or train) to Rome for your last night.
You can play around with these nights. Since Pisa, Lucca, Florence and Siena are all fairly near each other, you can leave one city early in the morning and see a lot of the next city the same day. In other words, in Plan B, you'd arrive fairly late in Lucca if you stop in Pisa en route. If you spend only one night there, you might not see a whole lot unless you ask your hotel to hold your bags after checkout. (There's no left luggage facility at Lucca train station.) However, after two nights in Florence, you could leave early in the morning for Siena, and see a lot of the city on that day. So two nights might be enough there, even if you take a day trip from Siena.
I know there are several highly rated companies that make day tours to some of the Tuscan towns, usually focusing on wine and food. I've never taken one, so I can't make recommendations, but I would choose one that doesn't try to pack too much into a single day.
Rather than spend 2 nights in Pisa, two nights in Lucca, and one night in Florence, I would choose just one of those places. They're all fairly near each other, and you can make day trips to the others. It sounds as though you're not terribly interested in Florence, so maybe you could spend three nights in Lucca, which is two full days. On one day you could see the sights of Lucca (which are not likely to take more than one day), and on the other day, you could go to Pisa.
Pisa, Lucca, and Florence are all in Tuscany; I'm not sure where you meant by two nights in Tuscany. Will you be traveling by public transportation? If so, you'd want to stay in a place near a train station or bus stop. Siena would be a possibility, but it's a small city rather than a country village. You could take a day tour to the Tuscan countryside from Siena, in which case you should spend three nights there. You can also take a day trip from Florence, but that would mean you should spend at least two nights there, subtracting a night from Lucca.
So here are a few possibilities:
Plan A
Go straight to Florence on arrival, spend three nights there, on one day take a tour of the Tuscan countryside.
Then spend three nights in Lucca, visiting Pisa on one day.
Then spend two nights in Siena.
Take the bus to Rome and spend your last three nights there.
Plan B (If you can't change your reservation)
Spend 3 or 4 nights in Rome
Take the train to Pisa, and leave your bags in the station left luggage facility while you visit the city. Then take the train to Lucca. Spend 1 or 2 nights in Lucca (depending on how many you spend in Rome).
Go to Florence and spend 2 nights there
Go to Siena for 2 nights.
Take a tour of the countryside one day from either Florence or Siena, maybe adding a night to whichever city you take the tour from.
Take the bus (or train) to Rome for your last night.
You can play around with these nights. Since Pisa, Lucca, Florence and Siena are all fairly near each other, you can leave one city early in the morning and see a lot of the next city the same day. In other words, in Plan B, you'd arrive fairly late in Lucca if you stop in Pisa en route. If you spend only one night there, you might not see a whole lot unless you ask your hotel to hold your bags after checkout. (There's no left luggage facility at Lucca train station.) However, after two nights in Florence, you could leave early in the morning for Siena, and see a lot of the city on that day. So two nights might be enough there, even if you take a day trip from Siena.
I know there are several highly rated companies that make day tours to some of the Tuscan towns, usually focusing on wine and food. I've never taken one, so I can't make recommendations, but I would choose one that doesn't try to pack too much into a single day.
Apr 28th, 2015, 02:21 PM
#4
I agree about going straight to Florence upon arrival. I would stay in Florence and do day trips. Pisa and Lucca don't have the transport options that Florence does if you want to do day trips.
As Isabel pointed out, you can easily visit Lucca and Pisa in the same day from Florence. I've reversed it before (taking a bus to Lucca and then train from Lucca to Pisa before heading back to Florence). To me, Lucca pretty much shuts down in the afternoon so I would put it in the morning. Pisa always seems more crowded in the morning so visiting in the afternoon might give you a shot at less crowds.
Siena is an easy day trip from Florence by bus (Florence bus station is across the street and around the corner from the train station).
If Florence doesn't interest you that much, you could spend 3 nights there and then head elsewhere in Tuscany such as Siena for a few nights, but transport can be difficult in some areas.
There are a lot of companies running hill town/wine tours from Florence or Siena. It's also possible to visit a small town or two by bus, but these rural buses have limited to no service on Sundays so keep that in mind when planning.
Another thing to plan around is closing days which vary from town to town. For Florence, many museums are closed on Monday.
This is some of the more budget day tours from Florence, but the tourism office has a list of others.
http://www.caftours.com/excursions-and-day-trips.html
As Isabel pointed out, you can easily visit Lucca and Pisa in the same day from Florence. I've reversed it before (taking a bus to Lucca and then train from Lucca to Pisa before heading back to Florence). To me, Lucca pretty much shuts down in the afternoon so I would put it in the morning. Pisa always seems more crowded in the morning so visiting in the afternoon might give you a shot at less crowds.
Siena is an easy day trip from Florence by bus (Florence bus station is across the street and around the corner from the train station).
If Florence doesn't interest you that much, you could spend 3 nights there and then head elsewhere in Tuscany such as Siena for a few nights, but transport can be difficult in some areas.
There are a lot of companies running hill town/wine tours from Florence or Siena. It's also possible to visit a small town or two by bus, but these rural buses have limited to no service on Sundays so keep that in mind when planning.
Another thing to plan around is closing days which vary from town to town. For Florence, many museums are closed on Monday.
This is some of the more budget day tours from Florence, but the tourism office has a list of others.
http://www.caftours.com/excursions-and-day-trips.html
Apr 28th, 2015, 11:06 PM
#5
Yes, Lucca and Siena are next to each other catch a bus or train to get between. Florence, similar, is a bit further away. Choose one base. You can even take the train south from Pisa towards Siena to see some of the valley entering Tuscany. (use Google maps)
Apr 29th, 2015, 12:23 AM
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Bilbo, No problem, really. Mixups are easy when we are writing and thinking ahead to what we want to say. I knew only because I have taken the train from Lucca to Pisa to Florence. The OP and anybody traveling should be looking at a map anyway.
Apr 29th, 2015, 01:49 AM
#10
http://www.virail.com/train-pisa-lucca
Palanque put me on to it as I had ridden a bike between the two and assumed it was not possible.
Bus takes longer the R008
bike takes even longer
Florence is a good hub, but, it depends if you like pictures and stuff .....
Palanque put me on to it as I had ridden a bike between the two and assumed it was not possible.
Bus takes longer the R008
bike takes even longer
Florence is a good hub, but, it depends if you like pictures and stuff .....
Apr 29th, 2015, 01:53 AM
#11
just a note, Google is "giving Italian great transport links at the moment" not sure what they have done but as long as you put the two towns in and how you want to travel you get great stuff.
Still useless in the UK
Still useless in the UK
Apr 29th, 2015, 04:08 AM
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I agree about getting from Siena to other places by public transportation is not so easy. I just based there for a few days in March with the intention of doing some day trips - if you look at a map there are lots of places 'close' by. But if you need to use public transportation it's difficult. So staying in Siena to see Siena is a great idea, but for day trips it makes more sense to base in Florence. And of course, Siena from Florence as a day trip also works.
Apr 30th, 2015, 02:19 AM
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Wow thank you so much everyone for your advice. I really appreciate all your help. I don't have a great sense of direction at the best of times so really terrible when its a country I've never been to, I think sometimes I could get lost at a roundabout hahaha.
We're really looking forward to our trip to Italy
So have 3 non refundable nights booked in a 4 star hotel in Rome near Termini Station so unfortunately I can't go straight to Florence. I think we will stay in Florence for maybe 5 nights and do a few day trips from here. We won't be renting a car but I know the transport system is supposed to be fantastic. I think we might make our way back towards Rome then for the last 3 nights and maybe even do some day trips from here. We can always just take it easy one or two of the days and relax in the hotel, it would be great if they had a pool but I'm noticing there are not a whole lot to choose from that are not miles away from the city or are either overly expensive. Now that's something else I would appreciate your recommendations on hotels and nice restaurants...Really glad I found this forum, thanks in advance for all your help
We're really looking forward to our trip to Italy
So have 3 non refundable nights booked in a 4 star hotel in Rome near Termini Station so unfortunately I can't go straight to Florence. I think we will stay in Florence for maybe 5 nights and do a few day trips from here. We won't be renting a car but I know the transport system is supposed to be fantastic. I think we might make our way back towards Rome then for the last 3 nights and maybe even do some day trips from here. We can always just take it easy one or two of the days and relax in the hotel, it would be great if they had a pool but I'm noticing there are not a whole lot to choose from that are not miles away from the city or are either overly expensive. Now that's something else I would appreciate your recommendations on hotels and nice restaurants...Really glad I found this forum, thanks in advance for all your help
Apr 30th, 2015, 04:56 AM
#15
If you haven't booked the rest of your hotels yet, check here first. Most people would suggest staying somewhere more central (and walkable) than Termini.
Three nights in Rome at the beginning will only give you two sightseeing days. Even if you arrive early on day 1, you will probably be jetlagged and not want to do much. The extra nights in Rome at the end would let you do a few more things.
Another option would be stop at a hill town a couple of nights between Florence and Rome such as Orvieto (just to get a taste of something other than cities). Orvieto is on the regional train line between Rome/Florence and you take the funicular (across the street from the train station) up to the hill town to stay/sightsee. Last night would still need to be in Rome to catch your flight.
Three nights in Rome at the beginning will only give you two sightseeing days. Even if you arrive early on day 1, you will probably be jetlagged and not want to do much. The extra nights in Rome at the end would let you do a few more things.
Another option would be stop at a hill town a couple of nights between Florence and Rome such as Orvieto (just to get a taste of something other than cities). Orvieto is on the regional train line between Rome/Florence and you take the funicular (across the street from the train station) up to the hill town to stay/sightsee. Last night would still need to be in Rome to catch your flight.
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