My husband, my son (12YO) and myself are planning a trip to Italy and a final stop in Paris and would like any suggestions you seasoned travelers may have. Our itinerary is as follows (so far...):

May 26: arrive in Rome (3 days)
Rome to Naples (3 days) (day trip to Herculaneum, Pompeii & Pasteum)- may stay in Sorrento or Salerno for better placement for these day trips ?
Naples to Florence (2 ? days) day trip to Pisa? Maybe on the way back to Rome?
Florence to Rome - Night train to Paris
Paris (5 days)

We are going get a 4 day Italy and France rail pass then use the local transportation as we can. Any suggestions are welcome!

Are you really returning to Rome from Florence in order to take a night train to Paris? Doesn't the train stop in Flroence on its way to Paris? Pisa is not really "on the way" from Florence to Rome.

Is there a necessity for you to fly into Rome? You could instead fly to Naples:

Fly to Naples (3 days), maybe hotel in Sorrento as you suggest.
Then train to Rome (3 days)
Then train to Florence (2 days), with daytrip to Pisa if you must.
Train from Florence to Paris. (perhaps you have checke the schedule and known something I don't about the night trains...)

OR check on flights from Florence to Paris. The Florence airport is very close to the city--easy to get there. You might be able to get a good fare if you book all your flights together, including the intermediary leg.

ellenem: I have only been researching for a week for our trip but from what I have understood the night train to Paris runs from Venice or Rome. This must be a misunderstanding on my part which I will definitely check out, if they run from other cities that would be great to not have to back-track. Thanks for that info!

As far as flying into Rome, I have not purchased anything for the trip so we can fly into anywhere. The plan you have suggested looks better as far as not going in a circle since we are planning on flying out of Paris anyway. Just flying into the southern most point and heading north from there. Great suggestion!

Thanks again!
Michelle

Mabem- I don't mean to be a kill joy, but I took that night train from Florence to Paris and it was brutal, you are not considering taking the train and then flying without at least one night of R&R?? There is a small airport in Florence,as a matter of fact I am flying from Paris to Florence next week and I assume you could do the reverse, it might be worth some investigating.
Happy trails
Fluffy

mabern2

I suspect the night train from Rome goes to Paris, passing through and probably stopping in Florence. I, like fluffy, would rather fly from Florence to Paris and avoid the agony of a night on the train.

I agree with the above post. I am planning a trip next summer also. After my visit to Paris this summer, I found several budget flights for less than half the train costs and look at all the time you save. I would look into airfares with valuejet. There are a few others also, but this is the one I saw with flights really cheap.

fluffy: No, we are not getting on the plane with no traveling break. We are flying into Italy (Naples?), seeing Naples, Rome and Florence for about 8-9 days, then taking the night train to Paris where we will be for about 5 days. Then head home.

Originally we talked about the idea of flying in and out of Paris, cheaper flights, which would have caused us to hop off the plane and onto a night train. But that idea was tossed to the side quickly......to much traveling. We figured that would be exhausting!

This may be an over asked question, but..... where would I look to find flight information from Florence to Paris. This might be a better ride than the night train.

Thanks for the info! And hope you have a GREAT trip!

Michelle

I have never understood spending a vacation in Italy and then jumping thru hoops to try to see a major city in a different country. It takes 6 weeks to see Italy well--why not enjoy it while you are there. Spend that time in Tuscany and Venice and avoid the hassle.

Basically I agree with Bob, but if you are committed to seeing Paris, I'd actually cut out Florence and fly from Rome to Paris. Two days in Florence with a possible day trip to Pisa doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but then Florence isn't my favorite part of Tuscany by a long shot. But I too would try to fly into Naples and do that part first, then train to Rome for your stay there before going to Paris.
And add me to the group who hates night trains. I know some swear by them, but I find nothing worse than trying to sleep on a train (which I can't seem to do) and then arriving in Paris in the morning unable to shower, check into my hotel, or feel human.

Honestly my first love is Paris. We decided to add Italy to our trip this time since our son will be joining us for his first trip. We are trying to find "kid friendly" things for him to enjoy and the Coliseum, Pompeii and such seemed like good ideas. Things that he would be familiar with. But for me Paris is it! Then again I have yet to see Italy!

I get the feeling Pisa could be left out of the plans???? I also get the feeling that the whole train idea is a bad one. I will definitely be checking into the flights between Italy and Paris.

Thanks for all of your traveling wisdom, it is much appreciated!

Michelle

Your trip sounds exhausting to me, especially with a night train thrown in. You'll be spending the majority of your time traveling, checking into hotels and checking out of hotels. I'd eliminate at least one of your destinations and stick to flying.

Hi there,

You asked for suggestions so I'll give you mine too I would consider dividing the trip into 2 cities Rome and Paris only - or your choice of cities. There is so much to see and hoping on trains every other day can crazy making.

If you do deicide to take a night train I'd make sure you get first class - I've done both first and second and it made a huge difference in the sleeping cars. I traveled from Paris to Venice on 2nd class and I was tossed around like crazy on an upper bunk.

Best of luck & enjoy... Eileen

Your itinerary looks good but I had a couple suggestions....I stayed in Naples for 9 days last month (August) and went to Ercolano Scavi (Herculaneum) since I had been to Pompeii and Paestum last summer. I would not recommend doing all 3. If you would like a more controlled space that makes it easier to see all the ruins, I would go to Ercolano Scavi (Herculaneum) over Pompeii. Paestum is worth seeing because of the remarkable preservation of the ruins so definitely keep that on your itinerary. If you can, try to see at least one of the Amalfi coast towns. They are just magical and certainly should be an excursion for 1 of your 3 days in the area.

Last summer I stayed in Salerno which made it very easy and accessible to go to both Pompeii and Paestum. Sorrento is a bit more out of the way. This summer, I stayed in Naples and found that to be the perfect locale for getting to Ercolano Scavi as it was only 30 minutes away on the Circumvesuviana Train.

Frankly, Pisa is do-able in a 1/2 day even as the Campo de' Miracoli with the Duomo and Campanile (Leaning Tower) are right next to each other. I have been able to see those sites within a 2 hour train lay-over window (between cities), so you might consider that an option.

To concur with the other posters, Florence is north of Rome so that would be a better jumping off point to head to Paris. There are numerous trains leaving Florence - no sense going back south to Rome.

I use the trains all the time and find them to be most efficient. I don't buy a train pass but get point-to-point tickets as I go. You can download and print out all your train schedules in advance from Trenitalia.com and take those with you to the ticket office in the train station. It makes it very easy to show them with the time printed on it already, etc. Have a wonderful trip!

Took the night train from Florence to Paris - one word - yuck! Would never do it again...granted the Italian train crew was on strike so it was a little filthy...when we arrived in Paris - we were instructed to go to the office and they refunded everyone's money for the trip. Flying would be the way to go IMHO.

Thank you to all and for the great info! We have adjusted our trip a bit, but remember it is still in the works:

Fly into Naples home base in Sorrento.
Day 2: day trip to Naples and Pompeii.
Day 3: Sorrento and the Almafi coast
Day 4: possibly Paestum, but don't know about that 3hr bus ride from Sorrento. This part is still up in the air!
Next day: onto Rome 3 days, Florence 3 days, and head to Paris by plane for the end of the trip.
We have a few days to add if we want to stay longer in a city or take off some time in others, which is how we did it last time and it worked out great. I may still be trying to do too much, but I hope we will have a good idea of the timing for these sites before we go. And adjust as needed.

Again, thanks for the help! It is much appreciated!!

- Michelle