Itinerary for Rome-Florence-Venice and train ticket question
 

Hello. Please bear with me. I am planning a solo trip to Rome-Florence-Venice starting in last week of March. Due to change in flight plans (airline just stopped offering direct flight from my US airport to Venice), I will not do open jaw of flying into Venice and leaving Rome b/c after checking ticket prices, it is much, much more expensive. Rather, I'll probably take the inconvenience of arriving in Rome, then off to Florence and Venice and then train back to Rome for flight home. Unfortunate waste of a day.

My current plan is:
Day 1: Arrive in Rome
Day 2: Rome
Day 3: Rome
Day 4: Rome
Day 5: train to Florence to arrive by late morning, stay 3 nights (2.5 days).
Day 6: Florence
Day 7: Florence
Day 8: train in morning to Venice to arrive by noon, stay 2 nights (total of two days in Venice)
Day 9: Venice
Day 10: Have a a couple of hours in the morning in Venice. Take afternoon train from Venice to Rome, stay in Rome overnight and fly home next day (Day 11).

Other option is to take train on 4th evening from Rome to arrive in Florence so that I am not traveling on day 5. I am open to suggestions. Time allocation is always the hardest decision. If a must, I have time to add an extra day to my trip, but from past experience I tend to start getting drained after day 10. I guess I'm just looking for advice regarding any major snags or omissions in my current plan.

My general interests: My favorite type of art just to give you an idea = late 19th century European paintings, I'll hit a few great sculptures but otherwise not as interested in sculptures, I enjoy the picturesque strolls through narrow European streets for photos (a la Paris, Prague). Not interested in seeing every church -- just the absolute must-see(s) (aware that opinions vary but I am not a big church person). Not into wine.

Venice - not sure if I am cutting time too short in Venice, particularly if I lose time by getting lost. In Venice I would like to mainly stroll through picturesque streets hoping for great photos, no side trip to island, get around by walking or vaporetti, possibly visit Gallerie dell' Accademia if I am not already worn out by art museums. Not too interested in Guggenheim. Not sure what to expect with Doge's palace.

In Florence I am still trying to grasp how much time I'll need. Seems like I should do Accademia, Uffizi, not sure about Galleria Palatina (vs doing Accademia in Venice), maybe try to stay in hotel near Duomo. Would like time for wandering. I do not plan on a day trip (Pisa, Siena) as of now.

Rome - Coloseum, Forum, Pantheon in one day, then Vatican for one day maybe combined with catacomb, still wondering if I should do Galleria Borghese.

Also, I visited the website to buy train tickets ahead of time in Italy but have heard things about it not taking foreign credit cards and that i should just buy the tickets when in Italy. However, it seems like the prices would be higher if I did the latter compared to buying in advance. I see PayPal options on the website. Does anyone have advice on this?

What time does your flight arrive in Rome? If possible, I would maximize your time in Rome and more time in Venice by putting all your time in Rome at the end of your trip. This also eliminates one hotel change.

Day 1: Arrive in Rome; train to Florence
Day 2: Florence
Day 3: Florence
Day 4: train to Venice
Day 5: Venice
Day 6: Venice
Day 7: train to Rome
Day 8: Rome
Day 9: Rome
Day 10: Rome
Day 11: fly home

Totally agree with the above! Head to Florence right away and put all your time in Rome at the end!

Too bad about not being able to open jaw your trip.

What time does your plane leave on Day 11? I'd feel better getting to Rome the day before if the flight is early.

In Florence, the Bargello is pretty special. And I wouldn't miss the Pitt Palace. I don't see how you can cut any days. Same with Borghese in Rome--not to miss if possible.

In Venice, I fell in love with the artist, Sorolla:

http://gailsauter.com/a-painter-on-p...-sunlight.html

Saw the above in Ca Pesaro and was astounded. We never got to the Accademia in Venice but the Scuola Grande dei Carmini was amazing. The Doge's palace was interesting but didn't grab me the way it could have. Google it for the artwork--no furniture to speak of when we were there.

Others will have different/better info.

Agree with the above - especially if you are flying directly into Rome. I think it is better to suck it up and take a connection on arrival ( a bit of a wasted day anyway) than lose a day at the back end trying to get back to your original departure city.

If you are lucky you might even find a one-way fare from FCO to either Florence or Venice so that you don't even have to make the train connections.

You all are great! -- invaluable advice as always. I will definitely work on changing the plan and go straight to Florence from Rome. My flight should arrive in Rome at 7:55 a.m. Will have to do some research about airport and train connections or the off chance of a good flight connection.

TDudette - thanks for the art advice. I was thinking of skipping Doge's palace, because I have been underwhelmed by palace stuff in the past. I looked into Sauter's works -- reminds me of Degas and Sargent, two of my favorites.

Will do some more research . . .

As your travel date approaches, you might check the following websites for current exhibitions in Rome and Venice to see if there is anything focusing on a period that matches your interests (19th c art):

http://www.inromenow.com/site%20temp...tsMuseums.html

Also, http://www.veniceconnected.com/

I love art and architecture from Gothic to Baroque, but after several weeks in Italy, I was so happy to see the Manet exhibit that was being held in Venice last year. Felt like a breath of fresh air.

It's 2.5 hours by train from FCO to the main train station in Florence, and there are at least 2 departures an hour (and more between 9:00 and 10:00a. You can check, but I doubt there would be a connecting flight FCO-FLR that would save you any time as there are only a couple of flights a day.

Search Fiumicino Aeroporto to Firenze S.M. Novella. (Use Italian spellings when searching trains to Venice and Rome, too.)

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...0080a3e90aRCRD

There is a daily 10:10 Alitalia flight to Florence (1 hour) that is priced at 69 Euros, one way, for late March.

There is also a 10:10 (and 12:30) Alitalia to Venice for 51 Euros, just in case you wanted to work backwards from Venice to Rome in one direction.

The risk of missing this ongoing flight is yours as it is not a true connection, as others will no doubt want to to inform you. It is a calculated risk, certainly, but for about $70, I would consider taking the chance on the Venice flight 2:15 hours after your direct flight (no other connection to delay you) is scheduled to arrive in FCO.

You will have to pick up your bags and check in again, but that beats lugging them to the FCO train station, onto the train, off at Termini, long walk, back on a train to Florence. And then you only have 2 train legs on your trip instead of 3. That saves about 4 hours of train travel and 2 more sets of "lugging".

Are you sure you looked at open jaws (multi-destination) tickets rather than 2 one-way tickets? They are rarely any more than a rt ticket.

Thanks Aramis and thanks to nytraveler for bringing up the open jaw problem again. Yes, I have flown open jaw before and looked at multidestination. My biggest turn-off with this trip is that I had planned on the nonstop flight to Venice, which they just stopped offering. I just checked again and found more options if I take the connecting flight to Venice ($135 more compared to going in and out of Rome).

So, right now I see an option to fly to Venice to arrive there at 11:45 a.m. Layover in Brussels is 3 hr. Then when I leave, it is nonstop from Rome to back home. I'm not happy about the layover. In combination with the tedious travel from Venice airport to the center, it makes for a very long journey.

Is this plan better than flying into Rome, train to Florence, and then eventually flying home from Rome?

I forgot to mention that choosing a flight to Venice with a less than 3 hour layover for the connecting flight costs $1600 more. That is why I had changed my plan to fly in and out of Rome. Should I stick to flying in and out of Rome and taking train to Florence on arrival to Rome? Or is the 3 hour layover before connecting flight to Venice, followed by 1 hr 40 min. flight to Venice, followed by an over 1 hour ordeal from Venice airport to center better? The latter option makes me feel weary.

For me, sitting on a train is a lot less stressful than sitting in an airport. Since you can get a train to Florence, I would avoid the Brussels layover, and do Florence, Venice, Rome.

Given your interests, in Florence do not miss the Gallery of Modern Art at the Pitti Palace. Lots of late 19th century stuff.

In Rome, I would skip the Coloseum and the forum (I know I'm in the minority about that). Do visit the Borghese Gallery. The Capitoline Museum is jawdropping but it is the sculpture part that is really good. For picturesque streets try the Ghetto, and Trastevere. Three adjacent sights are Piazza Navona, San Luigi dei Francese church with 3 Caravaggios, and the Pantheon. Keep walking east and you come to San Ignacio, and the piazza in front of that church is wonderful, like a stage set.

In Venice, the Accademia is really great. And for picturesque streets you cannot beat Venice. The Doges Palace is good for the art. And even if you are not a church buff, San Marco is incredible, dripping with history.

The Uffizzi in Florence is unmissable if you like paintings. The Bargello is fantastic, but just for the sculpture masterpieces, so maybe not for you. For me, the streets are not as picturesque in Florence, the reall good stuff is indoors. But it's cool to wander the area around the duomo and get peeks of its dome hovering every couple of minutes.

If given a choice, I ALWAYS prefer a non-stop flight at the front end of a trip. Two flights (even with a long layover) present two opportunities for delays/problems and having to deal with two airports.

Like Sassafrass, I'd rather be sitting on a train than in an airport. You can doze on the train, whereas nodding off between flights could be disastrous. And, as you know, arriving and departing Venice at the main train station is much easier than at the airport.

Sassafrass, I am relieved by your answer and agree about feeling less stressed on a train rather than waiting in an airport.

danlev, thanks for all of the recommendations. Especially for the picturesque streets - that is what I have most enjoyed on all of my vacations. You are not alone regarding the Coloseum and Forum. Ruins do not draw me in, but I have been told that I just have to do it b/c of all of the history. Will need a good guide if I do it.

I'll look into Capitoline, too. I can appreciate jaw-dropping sculpture.

Hi nomadder
Regarding purchasing train tickets I'll share my recent experience.
I bought tickets for Milan-Venice and Venice-Florence as I wanted to take advantage of the super special E9 tickets as soon as they became available for my travel dates.
I paid by an overseas credit card and did not register.
The tickets/information were forwarded by email to me immediately.
I could have used Paypal but chose not to in this case as I could keep watch of my credit card online.
I will be making further purchases and wouldn't hesitate in recommending the site.

Sorry, forgot to mention I purchased the tickets from www.trenitalia.com

Jean, thanks. I'll go with direct flight to Rome.

Travelnut, do you mean that although your credit card did not register, you still were sent an email proving that you purchased tickets? Maybe the Paypal option will work -- I'll see as the time approaches.

FCO connection to VCE - 4 hours
VCE collect luggage get to vaporetto - 1 hour (luggage)
Vaporetto to hotel - 1 hour (luggage)

Total - 6 hours

FCO to FCO train station - 1 hour (luggage)
FCO Train to Termini 0:30 hours (luggage)
Termini - Florence - 1.5 hours (luggage)
Florence to hotel - 0:30 (luggage)

Total - 4 hours

At face value it should take about 2 hours less to end in Florence , rather than Venice. That is appealing, but you are handling and carrying your luggage at each leg, which you are not doing going on to Venice with a booked through connection.

However, you lose those 2 hours because of the necessity of traveling from Florence to Venice, and back to Rome;

Venice to Florence - 2:05 hours
Florence - Venice - 2:05 hours (+30 minutes at either end for getting to and from the train)
Florence - Rome - 1:30 hours

Total - 6:40 hours

versus

Venice - Florence - 2:05
Florence - Rome - 1:30

Total 3:35 hours

and the "ending in Florence on arrival" option involves another 2 legs of luggage handling and getting to and from a train station on the Florence - Venice leg. Overall, ending in Florence on arrival takes about an hour more, in the end, to do all the traveling and you have to handle luggage on 4 train legs if you train to Florence from Rome versus flying on to Venice.

It may make you feel tired on the first day, but sitting in an airport lounge for 90-120 minutes on the front end of a wasted day (and dealing with a VCE to hotel transfer) would beat the extra travel legs and 4 more trips hauling luggage for me.