Italy/Prague 14 days?
Mar 4th, 2006, 11:00 AM
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Italy/Prague 14 days?
O.K. I need some real help here. My husband and I have about 16 days in May to go to Europe. We have never been anywhere! (kids, work, same old excuses!) We don't want to kill ourselves (husband has some endurance/health issues) but on the other hand we want to see more than one country. We wonder about seeing the major cities in Italy (Rome, Florence, Venice??) and then going up to Prague. Does this sound doable? Any help/advice/details is greatly appreciated!
Mar 4th, 2006, 06:29 PM
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If your husband has endurance issues, you've picked 3 very strenuous cities to visit.
How long do you plan to spend in Prague? Why did you pick Italy as the other country to visit? What do you hope to get from visiting it other than seeing another country?
How long do you plan to spend in Prague? Why did you pick Italy as the other country to visit? What do you hope to get from visiting it other than seeing another country?
Mar 4th, 2006, 07:30 PM
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I guess we picked Italy first, but really wanted to get outside of just one country and looking at the map thought maybe Prague was realistic. Husband can walk o.k., just not a lot of climbing etc. It's hard when you've never been to Europe and don't know when you might go back. That is why I wanted to see more than one area. Any advice really appreciated. Thanks!
Mar 4th, 2006, 07:46 PM
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Venice has a lot of stairs. Rome is tricky because many of the museums and monuments have lots of stairs, and walking is just plain tough in Rome, with no good public transportation system.
How about flying to Pisa, and then moving on to Firenze? It's a nice time to go, not too hot.
What also might be nice, just in itself or in combination with Pisa and Firenze is to stay in a very small Italian town in the vicinity of Pisa and/or Firenze. The steepest hilltowns would be no good, but some of them are quite flat in the historic core. Maybe some of the other Tuscany mavens around here could suggest some towns if you would like a very small town experience of Italy.
Do you have to return to Prague to fly out? I was thinking if not, you might enjoy just a night in Milan, to see the Duomo and Da Vinci's Last Supper.
How about flying to Pisa, and then moving on to Firenze? It's a nice time to go, not too hot.
What also might be nice, just in itself or in combination with Pisa and Firenze is to stay in a very small Italian town in the vicinity of Pisa and/or Firenze. The steepest hilltowns would be no good, but some of them are quite flat in the historic core. Maybe some of the other Tuscany mavens around here could suggest some towns if you would like a very small town experience of Italy.
Do you have to return to Prague to fly out? I was thinking if not, you might enjoy just a night in Milan, to see the Duomo and Da Vinci's Last Supper.
Mar 4th, 2006, 09:25 PM
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Go easy on this first trip. Rome is hard work, it'll still be there next time.
Suggestion: Fly on an "open-jaw" ticket (look it up under multi-city on www.kayak.com etc.) into Venice and home from Prague.
You lose a day going over, so you get there on day 2, pretty tired, and tempted to sleep during the day but don't or you'll be forever turned around. Venice is great for walking a bit, taking a boat-bus, and walking some more. Be tough on yourselves that day and go to sleep after dinner, then you get into sync. Everybody has to do it, and there's no traffic to watch out for in Venice, just relax.
Here's the trip:
Day 1 fly out of US
Day 2 arr. Venice, sleep Venice
Day 3 in and around Venice, sleep Venice
Day 4 in and around Venice, sleep Venice
Day 5 train to Florence, sleep Florence
Day 6 in and around Florence, sleep Florence
Day 7 in and around Florence, sleep Florence
Day 8 in and around Florence, sleep Florence
Day 9 train/bus to Bellagio, sleep Bellagio
Day 10 in and around Bellagio, sleep Bellagio
Day 11 in and around Bellagio, sleep Bellagio
Day 12 fly Bergamo-Prague, sleep Prague
Day 13 in and around Prague, sleep Prague
Day 14 in and around Prague, sleep Prague
Day 15 in and around Prague, sleep Prague
Day 16 fly home from Prague
Bellagio is a lovely peaceful place on the Lake of Como, a perfect place to take a vacation from the vacation. You'll need a restful place away from the exciting cities and the throngs of people (can't be helped, nice places attract lots of people...).
In May the first blossoms will appear, it should be a nice time.
www.smartwings.net/en is a Czech budget airline that has very reasonable flights if you book real soon, the sooner the better. Cheaper than the train, and the fastest train trip from Italy, from Lecco for example, takes 14:37 hours and involves four changes of trains! Book the air tickets real soon and look forward to an easy transfer from Italy to Prague!
I picked this itinerary because it involves no stress and covers no long distances, but involves three absolute gems of Italy, plus Prague on the cheap.
Distances: Venice - Florence by fast train 3 hrs
Florence - Lecco: 4 hrs (then a short bus ride to Bellagio)
or you can get to Bellagio via Varenna and a ferry boat, also about 4 hrs by train from Florence.
Lecco - Bergamo about an hour, plus the bus ride, and a shuttle to the nearby airport.
Bergamo airport is often called Milano-Bergamo but is not really that close to Milan.
Smartwings flies some days at 14:05 (arr. 15:20), other days at 16:45 (arr. 18:00), both comfortable times to get to the flight and from the airport into Prague. You'll need pre-arranged ground transportation in Prague, the taxi drivers on the ranks cannot be trusted.
Also: As first-timers you are likely to overpack grossly - traveling light is an art and has to be learned. If you bring too much, like a big suitcase each and some other bag, you'll curse yourselves for having done so everytime you have to move. And you'll pay back the savings that Smartwings provides, because in Europe the baggage allowances are not the same as in the US, and excess costs a lot:
From the Smartwings website:
Baggage Allowance
Cabin Baggage Allowance:
Smart Wings allows each passenger (excluding infants) to carry one small piece of hand baggage on board. The hand baggage must not weigh more than 5kg and be larger than 55cm x 40cm x 20cm, in dimensions. For the safety and convenience of all passengers, hand baggage must fit underneath the seat or in the overhead compartment.
Checked Baggage Allowance:
Checked baggage allowance is 20kg per person (no infant allowance). Passengers may not use the unused allowances of others. Only passengers traveling within the same reservation may pool their baggage allowance. For health and safety reasons Smart Wings will not accept any individual item exceeding 40 kilos.
Excess Baggage:
Checked baggage in excess of 20kg will be charged at the rate of 3 EUR (or local currency equivalent) per kilo in excess on all routes up to 4 hours. Rate for flights longer than 4 hours is 6 EUR per kilo.
Check in times:
If you are planning to travel with excess baggage we suggest you check in 2 hours prior to your scheduled departure time.
See if you can do it with a roll-away carry-on of the size that's legal as a carry-on in the US (it will have to be checked in Europe). That, plus a shoulderbag or small backpack each, will be manageable, on and off trains, and over rough surfaces you'll have to carry it. Anything more and the trip will be an excruciating chore.
Still, if you can manage to travel with a minimum (washable garments that you hang up at night and wear in the morning, that sort of thing), you can make this a very relaxed and healthful trip.
WK
Suggestion: Fly on an "open-jaw" ticket (look it up under multi-city on www.kayak.com etc.) into Venice and home from Prague.
You lose a day going over, so you get there on day 2, pretty tired, and tempted to sleep during the day but don't or you'll be forever turned around. Venice is great for walking a bit, taking a boat-bus, and walking some more. Be tough on yourselves that day and go to sleep after dinner, then you get into sync. Everybody has to do it, and there's no traffic to watch out for in Venice, just relax.
Here's the trip:
Day 1 fly out of US
Day 2 arr. Venice, sleep Venice
Day 3 in and around Venice, sleep Venice
Day 4 in and around Venice, sleep Venice
Day 5 train to Florence, sleep Florence
Day 6 in and around Florence, sleep Florence
Day 7 in and around Florence, sleep Florence
Day 8 in and around Florence, sleep Florence
Day 9 train/bus to Bellagio, sleep Bellagio
Day 10 in and around Bellagio, sleep Bellagio
Day 11 in and around Bellagio, sleep Bellagio
Day 12 fly Bergamo-Prague, sleep Prague
Day 13 in and around Prague, sleep Prague
Day 14 in and around Prague, sleep Prague
Day 15 in and around Prague, sleep Prague
Day 16 fly home from Prague
Bellagio is a lovely peaceful place on the Lake of Como, a perfect place to take a vacation from the vacation. You'll need a restful place away from the exciting cities and the throngs of people (can't be helped, nice places attract lots of people...).
In May the first blossoms will appear, it should be a nice time.
www.smartwings.net/en is a Czech budget airline that has very reasonable flights if you book real soon, the sooner the better. Cheaper than the train, and the fastest train trip from Italy, from Lecco for example, takes 14:37 hours and involves four changes of trains! Book the air tickets real soon and look forward to an easy transfer from Italy to Prague!
I picked this itinerary because it involves no stress and covers no long distances, but involves three absolute gems of Italy, plus Prague on the cheap.
Distances: Venice - Florence by fast train 3 hrs
Florence - Lecco: 4 hrs (then a short bus ride to Bellagio)
or you can get to Bellagio via Varenna and a ferry boat, also about 4 hrs by train from Florence.
Lecco - Bergamo about an hour, plus the bus ride, and a shuttle to the nearby airport.
Bergamo airport is often called Milano-Bergamo but is not really that close to Milan.
Smartwings flies some days at 14:05 (arr. 15:20), other days at 16:45 (arr. 18:00), both comfortable times to get to the flight and from the airport into Prague. You'll need pre-arranged ground transportation in Prague, the taxi drivers on the ranks cannot be trusted.
Also: As first-timers you are likely to overpack grossly - traveling light is an art and has to be learned. If you bring too much, like a big suitcase each and some other bag, you'll curse yourselves for having done so everytime you have to move. And you'll pay back the savings that Smartwings provides, because in Europe the baggage allowances are not the same as in the US, and excess costs a lot:
From the Smartwings website:
Baggage Allowance
Cabin Baggage Allowance:
Smart Wings allows each passenger (excluding infants) to carry one small piece of hand baggage on board. The hand baggage must not weigh more than 5kg and be larger than 55cm x 40cm x 20cm, in dimensions. For the safety and convenience of all passengers, hand baggage must fit underneath the seat or in the overhead compartment.
Checked Baggage Allowance:
Checked baggage allowance is 20kg per person (no infant allowance). Passengers may not use the unused allowances of others. Only passengers traveling within the same reservation may pool their baggage allowance. For health and safety reasons Smart Wings will not accept any individual item exceeding 40 kilos.
Excess Baggage:
Checked baggage in excess of 20kg will be charged at the rate of 3 EUR (or local currency equivalent) per kilo in excess on all routes up to 4 hours. Rate for flights longer than 4 hours is 6 EUR per kilo.
Check in times:
If you are planning to travel with excess baggage we suggest you check in 2 hours prior to your scheduled departure time.
See if you can do it with a roll-away carry-on of the size that's legal as a carry-on in the US (it will have to be checked in Europe). That, plus a shoulderbag or small backpack each, will be manageable, on and off trains, and over rough surfaces you'll have to carry it. Anything more and the trip will be an excruciating chore.
Still, if you can manage to travel with a minimum (washable garments that you hang up at night and wear in the morning, that sort of thing), you can make this a very relaxed and healthful trip.
WK
Mar 5th, 2006, 03:05 AM
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Hi D,
>It's hard when you've never been to Europe and don't know when you might go back. That is why I wanted to see more than one area. <
This is a common error for first timers.
Once you go, you will go back.
Mid to late May will be beautiful in Italy.
However, if you think that this will be your one and only visit, I suggest
A:
Fly into Paris - 6 nights
Fly www.myair.com to Venice - 3 nights
Train to Rome - 6 nights
Fly home
B:
Fly into London - 5 nights
Take the Eurostar to Paris - 5 nights
Fly Paris Orly to Rome Ciampino - 5 nights
Fly home
Have a nice visit.
>It's hard when you've never been to Europe and don't know when you might go back. That is why I wanted to see more than one area. <
This is a common error for first timers.
Once you go, you will go back.
Mid to late May will be beautiful in Italy.
However, if you think that this will be your one and only visit, I suggest
A:
Fly into Paris - 6 nights
Fly www.myair.com to Venice - 3 nights
Train to Rome - 6 nights
Fly home
B:
Fly into London - 5 nights
Take the Eurostar to Paris - 5 nights
Fly Paris Orly to Rome Ciampino - 5 nights
Fly home
Have a nice visit.
Mar 5th, 2006, 03:07 AM
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PS,
See www.kayak.com for overseas flights
See www.eurostar.com for London/Paris. The cheapest tickets are the one-day RT fares
See www.whichbudget.com for Paris/Rome
See www.kayak.com for overseas flights
See www.eurostar.com for London/Paris. The cheapest tickets are the one-day RT fares
See www.whichbudget.com for Paris/Rome
Mar 5th, 2006, 04:02 AM
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I think your original plan is doable. I did Italy and Prague in 17 days a few years ago. It wasn't my first trip to Italy, and I don't have health issues but if you don't try to see everything you should get a nice taste. I see your reasoning in wanting to see something different from Italy (as wonderful as Italy is, not all of Europe is like that and it would be interesting to see a little of another area). You would have at least three nights in each of the four cities, less than a three hour train ride between Rome and Florence and between Florence and Venice. You'd need to fly Venice to Prague (which I did) and it only takes a couple of hours (plus the getting to and from the airports which does take time).
Adding in Paris instead of Prague is also a good suggestion, but since you suggested Prague you must have some reason so I'd go with that.
If you do decide your plan is too much, then Rome would be the city I'd drop from this itinerary.
Adding in Paris instead of Prague is also a good suggestion, but since you suggested Prague you must have some reason so I'd go with that.
If you do decide your plan is too much, then Rome would be the city I'd drop from this itinerary.
Mar 5th, 2006, 04:15 PM
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I ahve a policy of never arguing with ira but this time I don;t agree. Sorry ira.
If you have never been anywhere then whats the chances of coming back whilst in good health?
Given what you ahve said i would say italy and prague wins over paris and london.
4 days in praha is great. 3 is the absolute minimum in my mind, no need to spend more than 5 days
If you have never been anywhere then whats the chances of coming back whilst in good health?
Given what you ahve said i would say italy and prague wins over paris and london.
4 days in praha is great. 3 is the absolute minimum in my mind, no need to spend more than 5 days
Mar 6th, 2006, 03:34 AM
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There really aren't any guarantees that anyone will be able to go back, even if they want to do so. Many people never return, for a variety of reasons--money, health, family or career issues, etc.
Venice is really quite easy to get around in as long as you're not using a walker or wheelchair bound. No traffic to contend with while strolling through the city, and there are always the water buses (vaporetti) if you get tired. There are bridges to get over periodically, but we're not talking huge structures like the Golden Gate Bridge.
Venice is really quite easy to get around in as long as you're not using a walker or wheelchair bound. No traffic to contend with while strolling through the city, and there are always the water buses (vaporetti) if you get tired. There are bridges to get over periodically, but we're not talking huge structures like the Golden Gate Bridge.
