itinierary in italy
 

 We are a family of six and our son's girlfriend for part of the time.  They are studying in Rome together and we are planning on meeting them in Rome.  She will join us for 13 days and then she will fly home from Rome and then our family will have an additional seven days.   I am struggling somewhat with our itinerary, and trying to put together a trip that everyone will enjoy and not have to back track too much.  <BR><BR>  We are considering getting the kilometric pass for our train travel.  What do you think?<BR>Our itinerary is as follows so far:<BR>rome-4 days and then take train to:<BR>sorrento/naples/capri-4 days and then take train to:<BR>florence-3 days then take train to:<BR>siena-1 day: then take train to:<BR>escort girlfriend back to Rome<BR>she flies home<BR>We take train to Venice-  5 days, including day trips to Padua and or Verona<BR>and then back to Rome .<BR>I noticed that you had very informative and interesting posts, so I truly appreciate any advice you may have.  <BR>Does this itinerary sound feasible?<BR>Would you cut out anything or add anything?<BR>sorry, i am rambling on, but i do have to make a few decisions, soon.<BR><BR>

It sounds like a very good itinerary. Well thought out. <BR><BR>A couple of things I would suggest: check out San Gimignano while you are in Tuscany. It is a just the coolest medieval town. You will not regret it.<BR><BR>One side trip from Venice that not many people make, but really should, is Ravenna. I only spent 3 or 4 hours there, but I wish I had spent the entire day. San Vitale, this amazing church there, has fantastic mosaics. <BR><BR>Have a great time.

Hello Jeri,<BR><BR>Your itinerary sounds wonderful - can I come? You seem to be back-tracking a lot to Rome, though. Here are a few thoughts on the logistics:<BR><BR>- You've probably thought of this, but ... an open-jaw ticket, flying into Rome (or better still, Naples) and out of Venice would save you a lot of travelling.<BR><BR>- It would be better to continue from Florence to Venice rather than backtracking to Rome. <BR><BR>- If all six of you backtrack to Rome, this will take a big slice out of your Kilometric ticket.<BR>(Maybe your son could re-join you in Florence - or Venice?)<BR><BR>- Siena is only 75 mins. from Florence, so it would be easy as a day-trip from there.<BR><BR>- Siena-Rome travelling time is 3 hours.<BR>Florence-Rome travelling time is only 95 mins. by Eurostar, (plus 35 mins. to FCO) - so leaving from Florence would be more convenient for the airport trip.<BR>i.e. So if you want to stay a night in Siena (if that's the plan), it might be better BEFORE Florence.<BR><BR>Let me know if I can be of more help ...<BR><BR>Steve<BR>

Thanks for such great advice-Steve. We are locked into flighs into and out of Rome, but next time.....<BR>I think you're right..we will have our son escort gf back to rome while we await in Florence, do a daytrip to Siena from Florence and then travel on to Venice.<BR>I was going bonkers trying to fit it all in, your insight was invaluable.<BR>And Eddy, thanks for the tip on Ravenna, we will also plan a day trip there as well. <BR>And I found that i have an extra day to tack on somewhere to this itinerary::<BR>rome 4 days<BR>naples/sorrento/ capri 4 days<BR>florence - 4 days<BR>venice 4 days<BR>back to rome- 1 day.<BR>Where should we stay???<BR>Thanks so much!!!!

just recently stayed at the hotel ceasar augustus on capri and hotel hermitage in florence. i would recommend both...clean, great staffs, and good locations. i believe the augustus is a 4 star and hermitage is a 3 star. worth investigating....some may argue to only do the day trip to capri, but it is quiet at night and very romantic...good way to spend time with your girlfriend.

Ravenna would be a long trip from Venice - about 3 hours.<BR>

My opinion: <BR><BR>You have 3 weeks in Italy and your itinerary is pretty much consumed by mid-to-large size city visits. I would recommend that you consider renting a mini-van for your group and doing some driving to smaller hilltowns in Tuscany and/or Umbria to balance out your city experiences. Stay a few days in an agriturismo and consider visiting some of these towns: Orvieto, Assisi, Spoleto, Montepuciano, Pienza, Lucca, San Gimignano...<BR><BR>I think if you do some calculating, you'll find that your current itinerary more than consumes your kilometric ticket and renting a car with a larger party will generally be more economical than trains anyway. Also, you pretty much need a car to see the countryside, except for some of the easy day trips from Florence such as Siena would be. Also, you'll find Venice is the most expensive place for accomodations and I personally wouldn't make it my base for touring other areas. Better to visit Padua or Verona using a car. You might find a weeks car rental equal in price to a 3 day rental, in which case you could just park the car in Florence for 3 days while you don't need it. <BR>

Do not use the kilometric pass. Being more than 3 you can use the "minigruppi" offer, that will grant you a 30% discount (except for seat booking) on every kind of italian train, including Intercity and Eurostar, while the kilometric pass is only fine if you are travelling exclusively with the slowest and less comfortable Regionale, Interregionale and Espresso trains, while for Intercity and Eurostar trains you would have to pay for a suplement. As you buy your tickets, ask for the "minigruppi" offer and you will be automatically granted a 30% discount. Moreover, the Kilometric ticket only coverso groups of max 5 people, so one of you would still have to pay full price for the trains.

Since you'll have already visited Rome, you might compare the cost and hassle of a one-way flight from Venice to FCO to connect with your return flight on your last day vs. the cost (and loss of a day) involved in returning to Rome for one night and then having to get out to FCO for you flight home. Just a thought.