mayilove

My plans have changed and now I will be taking a Transatlantic Cruise from Miami to Spain. We will be arriving in Barcelona April 29th, 2007. What to do next? I only have 9 days. We are a young family of 2 adults and 2 children ages 7 and 11. Should we stay in Barcelona for a couple of nights and spend only a week in Italy or should we flight to Venice that same day. We would be flying from Barcelona to Venice. I was thinking...

2 nights in Venice
5 nights in Siena
2 nights in Rome

and then flight home out of Rome.

As you can see I need your help one more time. Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks!

bobthenavigator

But you are in Barcelona, which is a long way from Italy. That time of year I would enjoy Spain or the south of France. Do Italy when the boat takes you to Rome or Genoa.

sglass

What an amazing oppportunity for your family! I would agree with the previous post- do you have a compelling reason to go to Italy in general and those cities in particular? It sounds like a lot of travel once you are off the ship, especially with children. Will you be using the train between cities in Italy? All that said, at a family reunion with my younger nieces and nephews the age of your kids, they had a blast in Siena- we spent one day there, which was plenty. Will you be using Siena as a base for other Tuscany destinations? Another possibility to consider is to stay for a week at an "agristourismo" farm. My sister did that a few times with her children- especially if there is a pool. You could do that in Provence as well. Check out www.initaly.com- they are a wonderful and reputable resource!

mayilove

Thank you so much for all your suggestions. Venice is only a 3 hour flight from Barcelona ($200). It will cost me the same to go to Madrid a 2 hour flight from Barcelona. Do you still feel the same way?

mayilove

Dear Sglas,

Yes, this will be our base for Tuscany. The place we are staying is not really in Siena. Is about 15 minutes from San Gimignano. I think it might be to cold for a pool though. I have never been to Barcelona nor Madrid, but thought about Italy because my original plan was to spend 3 weeks in Italy. I have been preparing to go to Italy for the past 6 months. Learning Italian an all. I have invested so much time and about $400 in deposits that I will loose if I stay in Spain. Other than that I have no problem visiting Barcelona and Madrid after the end of the cruise. We both speak Spanish, no need to learn it and my husband favorite football(soccer) team is Real Madrid. I just thought that we could enjoy the 2 ports in Portugal, 3 ports in Spain and then we could also enjoy Italy. From Venice I was planning to rent a car and return it when we arrive in Rome after Tuscany.

mayilove

Dear Bob,

You are right but would it be very wrong to after enjoying 3 ports stops in Spain to want to see Italy? My husband does agree with you ($$$).

ira

Hi M,

>I have been preparing to go to Italy for the past 6 months. ...<

I expect that your boat will dock in the early morning.

That will give you plenty of time to fly to Venice.

Go.

>From Venice I was planning to rent a car and return it when we arrive in Rome after Tuscany.<

You might want to drop the car in Orvieto, visit the town and take the train to Rome - 1hr.

See
http://gram.eng.uci.edu/~alberto/orvieto/en_seeing.html


YOu could also drop the car in Chiusi and train to Rome.

mayilove

You are right Ira. 5AM to be exact. Your suggestions sound wonderful. I am not to thrilled to have to drive in Rome. Do you think that my itinerary of 2-5-2 is OK. I really thank you and all the others who with their knowlegde and experience help the ones in need.

mayilove

jabez

More time in Rome,less in Siena.
Rome really needs more time.

bobthenavigator

See Italy some time--just not this trip. Why fly anywhere. I have spent 8 weeks in Spain and still have not seen it. Go to Andalusia that time of year.

ira

Hi May,

If you want to see Rome, see Rome.

Myself, I would skip Rome this visit. It does need about a week.

You could spend the 2 nights in Florence instead and fly home from FLR or PSA.

mayilove

Thank you all for your help. I am still not sure if I should stay in Barcelona and see Spain or fly to Italy. If I do the first option and stay in Spain I would still need transportation (plane,train,car) to travel to Madrid or backtrack to Andalucia wich I have already visited while on the ship as ports of call. I am not saying that after that I have seen it all but there are other places to see and other things to do.