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-   -   Need advice on our current plans (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/need-advice-on-our-current-plans-790688/)

looking4advice Jun 18th, 2009 05:22 PM

Someone has to have some input

jetsetj Jun 18th, 2009 05:36 PM

Prague, Vienna, Venice, Florence,
and Rome in 15 days is INSANE

ellenem Jun 18th, 2009 05:38 PM

"Prague, Vienna, Venice, Florence and Rome we will be leaving 9/4 and returning 9/19"

You arrive 9/5. 9/19 will be all about departing--no time to do anything.

14 days, 5 cities, 3 countries--

The same comments from before are true. Delete one more country if you want to remeber something besides modes of transportation.

looking4advice Jun 18th, 2009 05:40 PM

Please elaborate. I have been to Prague and 3 days is enough.
The other four might be a stretch...

looking4advice Jun 18th, 2009 05:46 PM

My wife really want to see Italy and the city prague. So, would Prague, Venice, Florence, Rome be better or would the reverse be a better option?

Lexma90 Jun 18th, 2009 06:50 PM

I'd probably start with Prague, then fly from there to Venice, then take the train to your last destinations. Sounds like you only want to visit cities, not the countryside.

If the air fares are better if you start with Rome, then do it in reverse order.

ellenem Jun 19th, 2009 04:47 AM

Yes, I think Prague-Venice-Florence-Rome would be reasonable. A bit rushed for me, but you are not me. Also take into consideration that it your wife's first trip to Europe, so you have no idea how her body will deal with the time change--the first day may be a wash.

Here's a possible schedule that could adjust a day or two for specific destinations, depending on your interests. it also leaves room for a daytrip from any of theitalian cities if you feel you have seen enough within the city and want a taste of something else--without changing hotels or countries.

arrive 9/5 Prague
9/6 Prague
9/7 Prague
9/8 Prague to Venice
9/9 Venice
9/10 Venice
9/11 Venice to Florence
9/12 Florence
9/13 Florence
9/14 Florence to Rome
9/15 Rome
9/16 Rome
9/17 Rome
9/18 Rome
9/19 depart for home

bobthenavigator Jun 19th, 2009 06:50 AM

I agree with Ellen---4 destinations is all you should plan. From Prague to venice is a long way--I would fly.

Amanda23 Jun 19th, 2009 07:55 AM

I think the plan Ellen put together for you is perfect. More rushed that some of us might do, but still manageable.

suze Jun 19th, 2009 08:24 AM

Do what Ellen said. Seriously it's a good plan.

Your original itinerary was not just "aggressive" it was barely do-able.

Are you serious about places to stay for 30-60 euros? THAT is going to be extremely difficult to find. Even a bed in a youth hostel typical would cost 30 euro, and that's per person.

looking4advice Jun 19th, 2009 08:27 AM

Thanks Ellen. I'll pass this on to my wife.

jamikins Jun 19th, 2009 08:38 AM

ellenem has a great schedule for you!

As for cheap places to stay...check out www.eurocheapo.com

Michel_Paris Jun 19th, 2009 08:40 AM

Perhaps some more ingo on your budget (beyond airfare) and what accomodations you would like might help nail down the possibilities (or impossibilities). The temptation is always to want to 'do it all'. Experience says the 'some' is better than 'all'. IMHO travel is to "be" there, not "see" there.

If it wasn't September, I'd almost 'wing it' Pick a landing city and book 3 nights, pick departure city and book 3 nights and play it by ear from there. You like first city, stay longer...But I'll leave it to others to quantify the risks in that.

nytraveler Jun 19th, 2009 08:48 AM

First, a reality check. 30 euros will not get you a room anywehre - not will it pay for 2 beds in a hostel. Even 60 euros is an extremely small budget.

Second, by traveling all over hell and gone you will blow a major portion of your budget on train tickets.

Third, you don;t have enough time to see any of the places you will be in.

In 14 days you should have no more than 4 hotels (I would probably do 3 with days trips).

You need to do some research on:

lodging rates
train costs
time and distance between places
minimum time to see anything besides train stations

suze Jun 19th, 2009 10:59 AM

I don't mean to sound negative, but you really need to take a minute before you do anything else and get realistic about your lodging budget!!!

30-60 euro is NOT enough money for two people to stay in major cities of Europe like Prague, Venice, Rome. If you can't afford more than this, I would seriously reconsider the entire trip. It's just not really reasonable imo. Wait another year and save up some more money before you go. A 50 euro room is going to be a pretty scary place, if you can even find one.

I'm not extravagant by any means, but even for a very modest room or apartment you need to budget more like 75-95 euro per night. And that's NOT for anything fancy.

looking4advice Jun 19th, 2009 11:06 AM

That is 30 - 60 each sorry for the confusion. I have checked there are plenty of places to stay in this range. If it ends up being hostels that is fine. All we need is a place to rest at night.

suze Jun 19th, 2009 11:41 AM

OK then, 120 euro is more than adequate for a hotel room for two people to share.

60 euro, I'm still not so sure about but will take your word that there's "plenty of places to stay in this range".

looking4advice Jul 14th, 2009 05:49 PM

Current Plan 15 days

Rome 3 days > Civita 1 day
Civita > Assisi 1 day
Assisi > Siena 2 days
Siena > Florence 2 days
Florence > Vernazza 2 days (Cinque Terre)
Vernazza > Venice ( 2 days)
Venice > Milan ( 1.5 day)

The concern is the train time almost 20 hrs. Anyone have any suggestions.

Train Time Train Leave Arrive Place
1.5hrs 21740 , 10:44 11:48 ROME>Orvieto>CIVITA
2.5hrs 2310/3157 12:24 14:40 Orvieto > Assisi
4.5hrs 3162/2311/6880 13:18 17:52 Assisi>Siena
1.5hrs 11760 1118 12:50 Siena>Florence
2.5hrs 23355/24462 10:57 13:47 Florence>Vernazza
6.5hrs 24504/662/9727 10:27 16:58 Vernazza>Venice
2.5Hrs 9714 10:50 13:25 Venice>Milan

Apres_Londee Jul 14th, 2009 06:11 PM

Everyone is different but for me personally that is too much. If I'm reading your itinerary correctly, you will be staying in 8 different places over a period of only two weeks.

I assume you're flying into Rome and out of Milan? And you have 14 nights?

If it were me, I would probably do this:

5 nights Rome (daytrip to Orvieto or Assisi)
4 nights Florence (daytrip to Siena)
3 or 4 nights Venice
2 or 1 nights Milan

This cuts out Vernazza though. If the Cinque Terre are really important than I would cut something else out- in this case Venice would make sense.

If you really want to stay in some of the smaller cities in Umbria and/or Tuscany, then I would stick to Rome/Umbra and Florence/Tuscany and cut out Vernazza, Venice, and Milan.

I know it can be hard to cut back on destinations, but there is so much to see in these places plus I'm sure you'll want some down time as well. Some people do prefer a busier travel pace though- maybe some will chime in with their thoughts.

kybourbon Jul 14th, 2009 07:39 PM

What do you mean by Civita? Orvieto is a little over an hour by train from Rome so I don't know why you listed 5 hours.

Some of these are better done by bus (faster).


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