edhodge

I posted a short time ago and received wonderful feedback (as usual). Now we have tickets purchased and one hotel booked. I need help though.

We leave NW Ark Oct 7th and arrive Venice Oct. 8th, Sun. Have reserved 2 nights at Pensione La Calcina. We fly home from Rome on Thurs, Oct 19th.

This gives us 11 nights in country with 2 in Venice. This is probably more ambitious than some will like but tell me what you think:

10/7 Sat travel
10/8 Sun Venice, wander aimlessly
10/9 Mon Venice
10/10 Tues travel via train to Florence, then wander Florence aimlessly
10/11 Wed Florence (maybe a cooking class?)
10/12 Thur Florence
10/13 Fri pick up car on outskirts of Florence, drive to Siena or Pienza via Chianti area
10/14 Sat Tuscany
10/15 Sun Tuscany
10/16 Mon drop off car in Chiusi or Orvieto, train to Rome
10/17 Tues Vatican tour
10/18 Wed Rome
10/19 Thur fly home

What do you see as problems with the itinerary?

Our hotels of choice are
Florence: Tourist House Ghiberti
Rome: Daphne Inn
Tuscany: who knows? I have tried to narrow my search to apts. outside of Siena or Pienza. Suggestions? Our budget is $175/$200 a night for Tuscany. Do you have other favorites for Florence or Rome?

Where would you station yourself in Tuscany? What daytrips would you take? Where would you pick up and drop off your rental car?

Thanks, in advance, for your expert advice.
Diane

StuDudley

Seems fine to me. Unless you are a serious art fan, I think there is more to see & do in Rome than in Florence, so perhaps I would add a day to Rome & 1 less in Florence. Also, I would vote to stay in/near Pienza instead of in/near Siena. If you stay in Venice, Florence, Siena, and Rome - that's all "big city" and you might want to throw a little slow-paced countryside or small village in there.

If you decide to stay in Siena, there really is not any advantage to staying near Siena instead of in Siena. It may be eisier for day trips From Siena by staying just outside, but harder for wandering around in town and relaxing on the Campo any time you feel like it.

Stu Dudley

MikeAndMichelle

I've heard of Hotel Daphne in Rome...but I would highly recommend Hotel Santa Maria. Its great! It is in the Trastevere neighborhood of Rome, but close enough to everything. Its like a sanctuary in the middle of a chaotic city! My husband and I couldn't recommend it more. We've known several people who have stayed at the Hotel Lancelot and like it. I'd still recommend Hotel Santa Maria.

tuscanlifeedit

edhodge: I like reassurance, too. For now, my best advice is if you absolutely want to visit all these places, leave your itinerary just as it is.

I think staying in Piena is nice because the rest of your trip is cities, and basing in a small town for a few days could be a great change. Siena is a small city, but has a city feel nonetheless. Piena feels entirely different.

I don't know exactly what your price range is, but if it is around 125 to 150 Euros, after an exhaustive search, and several trips to Rome, I think I've decided to give the Hotel Arenula a go. Fabulous location, and I've heard a lot of really good things. Also consider the Parlamento. Both these hotels have more central locations than some mentioned to you already. Arenula has AC.

If you are looking for a great one day cooking school, try Good Tastes of Tuscany. We had a great time there last year.

tuscanlifeedit

I meant to add that Good Tastes of Tucany is in Florence. They pick you up and take you to a real palazzo outside the city.

ira

Hi E,

Your itinerary is more traveling than I would do, but it is quite OK.

I think I would add a day to Venice drop the Florence cooking class.

Uffizi and Academia Museum Reservations
The easiest and cheapest way is to call Florence 1016868 (dial around number), 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 3 euro for the service. This is MUCH cheaper than the commercial booking services.
You will not be charged for the reservations unless you use them.

Dayle

Hi E,

I totally agree with Ira, I would skip the cooking class in Florence and add that day to Venice. You'll be glad you did!

I would recommend the Hotel Giardino Rome, 2* for a great location, friendly owners, and inexpensive. My single room in Sept was 90E per night.
Buon viaggio!

edhodge

Thank you all for your help! From planning 2 trips to Ireland, I have found that the more information I have from folks here, the better my trip. Please continue to give me feedback.

nessundorma

Consider doing Siena as a day trip from Firenze and renting a car afterwards. Siena simply doesn't allow car traffic in its center.

For Rome accommodations, do a Google search for Nicolas Inn, which is near the train station and the Colliseum in Rome. Also in your budget is La Rovere, quite near the Vatican, and Teatro Pace 33 near the Piazza Navona, probably the best, most central location for touristing. Santa Maria in Trastevere is lovely, but may be out of your price range and it does mean a bit (but just a bit) of extra effort to get to many of the major tourists sites.

Since the Vatican is a major part of your interest in Rome, try checking out La Rovere. If you are renting from Europcar, they have an office near the Vatican, which means you could drive down to Rome instead of dropping off your car in Orvieto.

If you hate the thought of driving anywhere near Rome, drop off the car in Orvieto. The cathedral there is, of course, very much worth seeing.