adesign

This post will probably be a little lengthy, so please bear with me. My husband and I are going to Italy the first two weeks in May (although those dates can be flexible). I am researching and planning and have many questions.

Airline tickets: I read on another travel website that you get the best rates on tickets purchasing them 4 to 6 weeks before your trip, not before. Waiting this long makes me a little nervous. I've been checking Kayak.com and right now, tickets from IN to Venice and then back from Naples are around $1100 a piece. I would love to find tickets for around $800 a piece. Is this realistic? Any advice on other websites and finding lower priced airline tickets is helpful.

itinerary: I know I will get some flack for this one. My husband and I are young and don't mind moving around a lot, and we want to see as many places as possible. That being said, I'm not sure if my rough itinerary is doable. Here are the places I want to see - in this order: Fly in to Venice, then to Cinque Terra, down to Florence, spend a few days in Umbria taking day trips to Assisi and Spoleto, then Rome, then the Amalfi coast (Positano or Sorrento. Which is better?) I have been to the above places except for Cinque Terra and the Amalfi coast, but that was an organized trip for school and I didn't have to do ANY planning. And my husband has never been to Italy. I can't think of a place I can leave out? Any advice?

Hotels: Help on hotel recommendations in the above cities and towns is appreciated too.

Transportation: I'm thinking it will be best to travel by train. How far in advance do I need to book tickets? I see there are several lines. Which is best, Eurail, Trenitalia? What should I do when trying to get out to smaller hill towns that may not be as accessible? Rent a car, take a bus?

Sorry for the long post. Just writing this out helps a little. Thanks in advance for your tips!!!!

ira

Hi ad,

1. There is no way to know when you will get the best prices on tickets.

>I would love to find tickets for around $800 a piece.

So would I. My upcoming trip in May cost $960 pp and the price has risen to $1180.

Airfares are up about 30% over last year.

Go to www.kayak.com, www.1800flyeurope.com and www.mobissimo.com and get the best price you can.

>we want to see as many places as possible.

Typical newbie mistake.

With only 2 weeks, your proposed itinerary is much too full.

In 2 weeks, you can have a very nice visit to 3 of Venice, Florence, Rome, Tuscany or Umbria, and the AC or CT.

I recommend against both AC and CT on the same visit.

>How far in advance do I need to book tickets?

The day before, usually.

You will pay more, usually, through Eurail than through Trenitalia (the Italian train system).

Many folks here recommend a car for visiting small towns in Italy.

See www.autoeurope.com, www.gemut.com and www.novacarhire.com.

What's your hotel budget?

TuckH

Here's my flack...

"My husband and I are young"

Will this be the only trip to Italy in your lifetimes?

Will you not return again and again in the future?

Why must you cram all this into two short weeks?

adesign

Thanks ira. $960 is pretty decent for airline tickets. Which one of those sites did you use - if you don't mind me asking?

So you would recommend going to only 3 places total? Man, it's hard for me to cut out places, because I know it will be a while before we get back. I do want to have a nice vacation though.

Which do you prefer between Cinque Terra and AC? I have to admit part of the reason I want to go to AC is from the movie Under the Tuscan sun : )

My hotel budget is between $100 - $150 a night I guess. We don't need to stay anywhere super luxurious, but definitely want decent, clean hotels.

Thanks again!!!!

AD

kybourbon

I think you are misinformed about airline tickets being cheaper 4-6 weeks before, but I do think the prices start climbing at that point (usually). Tickets are cheaper when you see a sale and you must be prepared to jump (buy) at that point without hesitation. Many people check flight prices several times a day and you can sign up for alerts of price drops on some web sites. In past years, there seem to have been sales for May in January and February. With the increase in oil prices, I'll be surprised if we see any real deals. If your dates are flexible, you can use the month long search function on www.itasoftware.com. This just searches flights and then you muse book on the airlines web site. You don't need register, just check guest and continue.

Two weeks can mean 12 nights or 14 nights. How many nights will you have in Italy not counting your overnight flight? I agree with Ira. You've planned too many stops and too much of your time will be used getting too and from locations and checking in and out of hotels. Six stops would have you moving/traveling every other day. When would you have time to see things?

TuckH

> Which do you prefer between Cinque Terra and AC? <

The AC is too distant; choose the CT.

adesign

kybourbon,

Thanks for the advice on airline tix. I will definitely check out that website.

To answer your question, we will have 14 nights in Italy, not counting our overnight flight. I'm getting that I may have too many places on my list. Do you have recommendations on which ones are keepers and which places I should scrap?

- AD

ellenem

Part depends on what you mean by "first two weeks." Does that mean 14 days total (for example, Sunday to Saturday = 14) or two weeks with the weekends tacked on (for example, Friday to Sunday = 17 )?

Your travel day (Day 1) from the US is usually an overnight, arriving mid-day the next day (Day 2) at your first hotel. Most travelers need to take this day a bit slow because of jet lag. Therefore, two days of vacation are already used up and you've barely done a thing. The very last day, departure day, is usually all about checking out of the hotel, getting to the airport, and flying home . . . another lost day. Therefore, just getting to Europe and getting home will use up about 3 days of your vacation.

If you have 14 days total, this means you really only have 11 days of quality vacation time. If you can tack on the weekends for 17 days total, then you have 14 days of quality vacation time.

Every time you change hotels, you use at least half a day checking out of the hotel, getting to a train station, taking the train, getting to the next hotel, checking in. For your proposed itinerary, Venice to Cinque Terre to Florence to Umbria to Rome to Amalfi, you will change hotels 5 times--there goes 2.5 more days to travel rather than vacation.

Since you are young and energetic, I suggest you eliminate at least one destination, probably Cinque Terre or Amalfi, since they are similar. Amalfi would be easier to delete and would clean up you travel, giving you a Rome departure which might find you cheaper air tickets. If you delete CT and keep Amalfi, I suggest you go from Umbria to Amalfi, and finish up in Rome, again as a way to find a possibly cheaper ticket, since Rome has more departures to the US.

adesign

ellenem,

Yes, ideally we will arrive in Venice midday Saturday, and depart (possibly from Rome) two weeks from then on a Saturday morning. So that gives us about 13 days.

Thank you for the advice. We will probably eliminate at least one destination - Amalfi or Cinque Terra.

-AD

SusanP

Only eliminating 1 destination will still make the trip too busy. With 13 nights:

Fly into Venice and stay 3 nights
Train to Florence for 3 nights
Rent a car for 3 days in Umbria
Drop car at Orvieto and train to Rome for 4 nights.
Fly home from Rome

If you really want the Cinque Terre, then leave out Florence or Umbria. Probably do 3 nights Venice, 2 nights Cinque Terre, 4 nights Florence with a daytrip to Assisi, 4 nights Rome.

annhig

Hi, adesign,

we aren't saying these things just on a whim you know! we're saying them because we hve learnt from [sometimes bitter] experience.

IMO the best trip is one of contrasts - each makes the others more enjoyable.

for your first trip, you can't do much better than Venice, a stay by a lake like garda or maggiore [and the boats should be running by May] and then florence.

5 nights in venice, pick up car from piazzale Roma car hire agency, drive to lake using it a touring base [6 nights], drive to Florence, return car, stay 3 nights. go home happy.

you can tweak these as you like, but remember you need an extra night in Venice to recover from jetlag.

regards, ann

JBX

If you want additional feedback (and different perspective), go over to the Lonely Planet's Thorntree forum. Although you'll find crossover visitors between this forum and theirs, overall the demographics on Thorntree are younger and consequently, have no trouble w/ what some (including myself) consider a "frenetic" itinerary.

As the posters above suggest, many prefer a schedule that affords the opportunity to 'stop & smell the capuccino' . . . and including all your proposed destinations wouldn't allow that.

Regarding the Cinque Terre vs. Amalfi Coast, there's been a recent discussion on that very topic. In your situation (age/cost/timeframe), I think the CT would be a better option. In that case, flying INTO Venice and OUT from Rome will also enable you to get a better ticket price (vs. flying out from Naples).

ira

Hi AD,

Ditto SP

I got my tickets through www.1800flyeurope.com.

knickerbocker

adesign,

You might want to look into venere.com for accommodations be they hotel or apartment. It allows you to plug in your dates and see what's available in different price ranges and types. Everything I booked for a 3 1/2-week trip last year was through it and I was quite satisfied.

HTH
Knick

michelleNYC

No one has yet mentioned your hotel rates which at E67 - E100 are extremely low for the places you want to visit.

WillTravel

I think the hotel rate is doable - if you are willing to consider double rooms in hostels, if you book convent rooms, if you are willing to consider shared bathroom situations, and most importantly start your search far in advance. Almost any cheap, good place will be booked up quickly, particularly at the time you are going.

butnotrmpt

Re airfare - I tracked the cost of my chosen non-stop flights (JFK-VCE, FCO-JFK) for several months, always nervously, peering at the computer screen through my fingers (like going to a horror movie) . I ended up booking my April flights 5 days ago. The fare had dropped from approx. $1050 to $950 inclusive of taxes and fees. I booked directly with Delta - those third party sites make me nervous. At least now I can relax and not obsess over the fares - and if they go down some more - well, that's life.

nwbniteowl

Not sure where you're flying from, but our flights from Phila. to Rome, Venice to Phila. May 14-May 29 cost $806. I guess I got a better price than I thought. They are non stop on USAirways.
My plans are as follows: 4 nights in Rome, drive to Tuscany and Florence for 4 nights, drive or train to Cinque Terra for 3 nights, drive or train to Venice for 3 nights. Still haven't made any hotel reservations. Really need to know whether to drive or train as mentioned above--how long each trip would be. Also don't know whether to stay somewhere in Tuscany and make daytrip(s) to Florence, or whether to stay in Florence 2 nights and somewhere else in Tuscany for the other 2 nights. Also could use some help with where to stay in CT. Any comments?