RitaZ

We scheduled our trip to arrive in Rome on May 1st. It was later announced that 2 million people are expected in Rome on May 1st for the beatification of Pope Paul II. We are extremely concerned that we won't be able to see all of the main sights due to the expected huge crowds. We planned to stay in Rome from May 1st thru the May 4th and then go on to Florence and Venice. We are scheduled to depart from Rome on May 11. We are questioning whether we should take the train to Florence first, then onto Venice and back down to Rome, hoping by May 6-7th that the crowds would be better. Any suggestions would be most appreciated. A decision has to be made so hotels can be booked. Thank you!!

kybourbon

May 1 is a holiday in Italy so everyone will be off work no matter where you go. Many things will be closed. I think I would train on to Venice since lots of things will be closed anyway. Might was well spend the day traveling. Spend a few nights in Venice, then Florence and head to Rome for the end of the trip.

Andrew

I agree - take the train directly to Venice. That's how I did it in 2007: fly to Rome, Eurostar up to Venice, then back down to Rome at the end. Of course, I didn't arrive on a holiday. You may wish to consider booking Eurostar trains ahead of time; reservations are required, and unless someone can assure you that an Italian holiday doesn't mean "busy trains" I would worry about the trains selling out. I have heard American credit cards don't work on the Trenitalia website anymore so I'm not sure how you'd go about reserving tickets.

You have to get from the airport in Rome into the city to connect to the Eurostar train north to Venice, too. So you might wish to plan for any possible delay in arrival into Rome - give yourself some wiggle room.

Zerlina

I would not worry about trains from Rome to Venice selling out the morning of May 1. People in Rome from anywhere north of Rome, whether for the beatification or just on holiday, are not going to be leaving Rome before the afternoon.

feda

Dont' worry about things being closed. It's a holiday but many Italian do like visiting Italian cities during such holidays, since it will be already very warm but it shouldn't be too hot. Hence, you'll find most places open. Nonetheless I also think you had better visit Florence and Venice first and then Rome, because of the beatification

kfusto

I would take the train directly to Venice upon arrival and visit Rome at the end of the trip. Since you are arriving on a holiday, it will be a good day to travel and then just relax, recovering from the trip.

After Venice, head to Florence then end with your time in Rome.

Check out cheap flights as well as the train: www.whichbudget.com.

RitaZ

I appreciate all of your responses and that you agree that we should avoid Rome on May 1st and head out to Venice. My husband is still insisting that we go on an escorted tour (Globus) as he is concerned about getting to the 3 cities on our own. He has visions of getting lost, walking the cities with luggage in hand, unable to find our way. I believe that you can order maps of Italy for a Garman, but the thought of using one on the streets screams tourist! I don't want to do the escorted tour bacause I don't want to spend my time sitting on a bus.
Would we have difficulty getting transportation from the airport to Rome and then to Venice on May 1st? Know of a reliable transportation company who would operate on May 1s? Thank you!!

Andrew

Rita, there's a direct train from the Rome Fiumicino (FCO) airport to Rome Termini - the central station in Rome - and then fast Eurostar trains up to Florence and Venice from there every hour or so. The trains in Italy are excellent all over Italy. The Eurostar trains are very nice even 2nd class. I suppose you could find other transportation to Venice besides the trains - flying directly to Venice from FCO is another option of course, booking the one-way flight on your own.

As I mentioned above, I would wonder about the trains to Venice selling out on May 1 but others here seem not to think you should worry about it.


You will definitely want maps for all three cities! I did not have any problem navigating any of those three cities on my own but I am savvy with public transportation and not afraid to get lost. Depending on your accommodations, your husband need not worry about getting lost on the way to/from your hotels and lodgings. In Venice I stayed at an apartment and the apartment owner met me at the train station. You can always take taxis of course in any city (In Venice, you'd be taking a water taxi - no cars or bikes on Venice, just boats on the canals...or walking place to place.)

Italians I met were very friendly in general. I know basically no Italian and many of the Italians knew at least some English - and even when they didn't, we always managed to communicate somehow. There are tons of tourists in ALL of these cities (no need to be afraid of appearing to be a tourist if you ARE one!), and you should be able to find other English-speaking travelers around if you get lost and know their way around better than you do.

nytraveler

Um - at the train staiton you just hop in cab - which will take you to a hotel. there is no need to haul your own luggage miles through the streets in a strange city.

And i f you take a tour what will you do in your free time? sit in the room and wait for the next scheduled activity? You just need to get map of each of the towns you will visit - the same as in the US.

Zerlina

Most hotels have detailed instructions and maps on their Web sites that tell you how to get to them. In Florence and Rome, you can take a taxi, but don't take a water taxi in Venice unless you have very deep pockets.

Garmins don't work very well in the historic centers of Italian cities: the streets are too narrow, the stone buildings too high to let signals through. Paper maps will do the job better.

socialworker

Have you read any guide books, or at least looked at some, Rita? I think that would alleviate some of the worries you express. Also, do not be concerned about looking like a tourist. What else would a foreign visitor to a country look like? It is fine to be a tourist! That is why we are here on Fodors, because we like to travel and be tourists!

RitaZ

I am doing alot of research for our trip. I was only expressing that my husband is the one who doesn't want to get lost in a country whose language he does not speak.I appreciate the words of encouragement.

What is the mode of transportation from the train station in Venice to the hotel if a water taxi isn't in your budget? Walking?

Would you recommend 3 days Venice, 2 days Florence and 4 days Rome? Aside from doing possibly an evening walking tour and of course, dinner, any recommendation on sights that are open in the evening?

Appreciate the responses!

ellenem

There are public buses that will get you close to your hotel. These public buses happen to be boats called vaporetti (vaporetto for singular) and cost 6.50 per ride. There are tourist travel cards available that will make riding the vaporetti much more affordable.

http://www.actv.it/en/movinginvenice/movinginvenice

The hotel you pick will show clear directions on its website for how to reach the hotel on foot, via vaporetto, and via water taxi.

In Venice there are many musical concerts offered in churches and palaces in the evenings.

Andrew

RitaZ: <i>I am doing alot of research for our trip. I was only expressing that my husband is the one who doesn't want to get lost in a country whose language he does not speak.I appreciate the words of encouragement.</i>

It's normal to be nervous if you haven't been to a country before and/or if you haven't been overseas much. For your husband's benefit, let him know that it's not hard to communicate in Italy even if you don't know any Italian. I think I knew three words. If you smile and are patient, you can communicate with people in Italy (or just about anywhere). But many Italians (particularly in Venice, Florence, and Rome) seem to know some English or even speak it well.

<i>What is the mode of transportation from the train station in Venice to the hotel if a water taxi isn't in your budget? Walking?</i>

Your other option besides walking is the Vaporetto boats - water buses, essentially, that take you all over Venice via the canals. It's common to buy a pass for unlimited rides for the time you are there - and you can ride them out to the other islands like Murano and Burano. Hotels and apartments should give you good directions to get from the nearest Vaporetto stop to their front door. Or, as I said, if you get an apartment, the owner may even meet you at the train station as he did me.

<i>Would you recommend 3 days Venice, 2 days Florence and 4 days Rome? Aside from doing possibly an evening walking tour and of course, dinner, any recommendation on sights that are open in the evening? </i>

That sounds like a decent itinerary. If you do three days in Florence, you could fit in a day trip to Siena (just over an hour by express bus), something I highly recommend. Then again, there are people who insist 4 days in Rome is barely enough. Really depends what your interests are and what you like to do.

Venice itself is the main attraction in Venice in my opinion. It's extremely mobbed with tourists during the day and early evening, but at night it's wonderful - also in the morning before the tour groups arrive from the mainland. I think I enjoyed Venice most in the morning, when it's pretty dead and the shops are just opening up, when the parents are walking their kids to school, when the supplies are arriving by boat to all the restaurants and stores. Venice is just magical (away from the crowds).

Of course, there is great art in the museums in all of these cities.

litefoot

It sounds like you are the adventurous type and your husband is more the structured type. My first trip to Italy was on a tour and it covered a lot of ground. I believe tours help you get oriented. They tend to take up a lot of time, your on and off the bus and you are with the same group of people for its duration. You don't have to think, everything is done for you. A tour barely scratches the surface of Italy but you do get a taste. Is May 1st a given (do you have tickets already?) or is your schedule flexible?

That said Italy on your own is an experience. I got terribly lost in Rome three different times and it was scary, but I found either a policia or someone in a Tabacchi shop who helped me get unlost. A map in hand with your hotel circled helps to explain where you need to go. I recently found a website (viator) in researching for my next trip which offers tours out of Rome, which appear to be more low key than an 'official' tour. I haven't used anything on the site yet so can't recommend it, but plan to on the next trip.

Just wanted to let you know there are options out there, a variety of tour groups to fit your needs, or opportunities where you can mix a tour along with being on your own. The only thing I can warn you about is to be prepared to fall in love with Italy. You will probably return, and the second time you will feel more comfortable and definitely be more adventurous. Oh, regarding the train from FCO to Termini, it is doable, but first time you may want to invest in a driver to meet you at the airport to take you directly to your hotel (unless of course you plan to take the train immediately out of Rome). It just helps take the edge off.

RitaZ

I am so impressed with the willingness of experienced travelers passing on such valuable information. I am new to forums and am thankful that I joined. Thank you, in particular, Andrew! We already tried to change our tickets to fly into Venice instead of Rome. Reasonable tickets are sold out so we will just take the train up to Venice. We are very glad to hear that there are concerts at churches and palaces in the evening.Is there a site that tells of the locations of the concerts and are tickets needed in advance or are there kiosks in the cities to purchase tickets?

I have talked my husband out of doing the escorted tour via bus but will be doing some tours in each city. I have read mixed reviews on ThroughEternity, Angel Tours and EasyItalyTours.Context is out of our budget. Any suggestions?

Lastly, we love the ambiance and charm of Olde World Hotels. I have been searching on Venere . I found the Bed and Breakfast Palazzo Duodo in Venice and would love to stay there, but every review comments on how difficult it is to find. Seeing that my husband is so concerned about getting lost, I think I'll have to keep looking. Any suggestions? Contemporary hotels are not appealing to us. Once again, thanks so much!

laurie_ann

A great way not to get lost on arrival in Europe is to ask your hotel to arrange to pick you up at the train station or airport. Yes it will likely cost more than what a local person could arrange for himself but so much less stress. The hotel will likely use a company they regularly deal with who will know where they are, have a reputation, etc. Email your suggested hotel and ask what they might be able to arrange and for how much.

ellenem

"Is there a site that tells of the locations of the concerts and are tickets needed in advance or are there kiosks in the cities to purchase tickets?"

There are some websites to consider, but especially in Venice your hotel will have a full collection of information about all the offerings. Plus as your walk through Venice during the day you will see posters in front of churches advertising concerts there. Some of the concerts are in period costumes, although many would say that those that do not rely on costumes offer better music.

Here's one website that shows some of the concerts and sells tickets:

http://www.classictic.com/en

ellenem

By the way, here's a link to the events listing at the official City of Venice website. You can search for your dates to find out what's on.

http://www.comune.venezia.it/flex/cm...N/IDPagina/148

DRJ

Rita: It sounds kind of silly, but "getting lost" is what Venice is all about.