Any holidays during May and June that we need to worry about things being closed? We are thinking of going mid-May or late May early June.

Hi I would like to jump in on this conversation, I am also leaving out of Newark or NYC JFK. I wanted to know can you fly into Naples on any airline in JFK or Newark? then to travel one way to one city and one way from another city is that alot more $. We are going the 3 of us late May also, early June and bringing our 9 year old daughter. That is why I need non stop. Any advise on this? Thank you.
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Eurofly (www.euroflyusa.com) will resume its seasonal service 5/11/2006, non-stop JFK to Naples (3x weekly), Bologna (2x weekly) and Palermo (2x weekly). They started up this past summer.

It was (may still be) a subsidiary of Alitalia. That's the only airline to fly US-Naples non-stop.

Thank you. too bad it doesn't go to Rome. Do you think it would be worth going Eurofly one way and Continental the way home from Rome.
Or just go rome round trip. ?
Thank you.
Wendy

My first trip to Italy--flew into Venice, stayed 3 nights; then took train to Florence and picked up car to drive to farmhouse in Tuscany, where we stayed for 6 nights. We used as a base to visit Siena, Pienza, Lucca, and numerous other hilltowns by car and to go into to Florence twice (once by train and 2d time to drop off car). Then took train to Rome and spent 3 nights, then home. Went at end of April beginning of May, lovely time of year. Flew Virgin upper class (miles) from SF to Heathrow; BA to and from Italy.

Well I don't think any of the big Italian cities are relaxing. They all move very fast.

I think Rome is one of the most exciting cities in the world and shouldn't be missed. The culture and sights are amazing. Out of all the Italian cities I have visited, Rome had the most delicious food. The people are very nice and the city moves at 1000 miles an hour. I suggest no less than 5 full days to see Rome.

After that they say everyone should see Venice once in their life. It's like no other city in the world. I think 3 days in Venice is fine. It tends to be more expensive and touristy. I didn't care for the food in Venice.

You can also take a day train to Venice from Rome, its a bunch of hours but give you a bit of rest time inbetween. We bought cheese, bread, salami's and treats to eat along the way.

I am not a big Florence fan but if you must I also think 3 days is enough. Again I though Florence was too touristy and the food was only average.

In my opinion, I hate Continental. In coach the seats are as hard as a rock.

When I go to Europe I always use Lufthansa and fly through Frankfurt or Munich. If you want to fly thru Munich the flight will go from JFK. I have to say that Lufthansa flight attendants are professional, the food is decent and the airline is known for leaving on time. When I just did my recent trip to Europe on Lufthansa it was funny, the safety film was still playing in German AFTER we took off, we never saw the English version until a bit after take off. They weren't going to jeapordize their departure for some silly film!

Didi, I know you are going to Italy but should you want to make a short side trip and stop on the way home consider 2 or 3 days in Munich, I think its a lovely city and the friendliest I have ever been to!

Another side trip option for a few days could be Amsterdam because Continental and KLM are partners and you can fly through there from Newark. It could be a tricky way to find a free ticket on KLM using Continental miles.

On our first visit to Italy we spent a few days in Rome, and several exploring Tuscany. We thought it was a great trip until the next year when we went to Venice for the first time and became instantly smitten with the charm and magic of that unique city. We have made two trips there in the past two years and now have scheduled one for April and one for October in 2006. I am sure all areas of Italy are beautiful but there is something so special about Venice, I would heartily recommend that you not miss it!

We recently returned from 16 days in Tuscany/Rome/Amalfi. We flew from EWR into Florence via Paris and out of Rome, which was a mistake. Now I would fly nonstop from EWR to Rome and back. You can take the train north to Tuscany or south to Amalfi from Rome. You can take an express train about 1 hr north of Rome to Chiusi in southern Tuscany and the Hertz office is right across the street from the train station. We found it really helps to have a car in Tuscany, though we have done it with just public trasportation before. We also took the train from Rome to Salerno and then a taxi (or you can bus it ) to Amalfi, where we used cabs and ferrys to go everywhere. our schedule was as follows:
7 days in Tuscany
4 days in Rome
5 days in Amalfi
We have spent a lot of time in Rome, so the 4 days was fine. It was a great trip, and we would have loved more time in each place, but were happy with what time we did have. We rented a villa in Tuscany and Amalfi and a hotel in Rome, which gave us great bases to explore from.

I don't have much to add, but I really don't think two weeks is an inadequate amount of time. The itinerary you describe sounds very do-able and if it were me, I'd add more spots.

Five days in Tuscany would be too much for me. You'll get more than enough "flavor" in two or three. If you decide you like it there, then plan to come back and spend more time next trip.

And to go to Italy and not see Venice is unthinkable. Check out Ryan Air. They fly Rome to Venice (at random I typed in a one way trip for 31 December and it came up as .10!!!!!)

Since this is your 1st trip to Italy I think you might want to get a sampling of what Italy offers. Besides Venice, Rome, and the Amalfi Coast, you should try to see Florence and Pompeii.

I probably opened-up a can of worms here as the Fodor Italian vets will say that that is too much running around, but I like to see as much as I can when I travel. I stay away from museums and operas. I'm not a kid but I'm not a Senior Citizen either so laying about in Tuscany for 5 days seems like a waste of valuable vacation time. You could also see the best of Rome in three days. You won't see everything but you could spend a day seeing the Vatican, and Hadrian's Tomb. The next day see the Colisseum, Forum, Victor Emmanuel's Tomb, Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. That leaves a day fro shopping and/or soaking up the local neighborhood. I can sit on my butt at home and I'm doing that quite well right now, thank you. When I'm on vacation I move, move, move.

wendylyn - I doubt you can get a one-way ticket on CO for very cheap. But you can try orbitz.com and see if you can find that itinerary.

Train between Rome and Naples are frequent and the trip isn't that long. I guess you're going to Naples for a specific reason. You can then travel to Rome and then fly back from Naples.

That is, if you want to fly non-stop. If you must fly into Naples and out of Rome, then you'll be connecting to Naples. Amsterdam may be an okay choice.

Zeus - I can understand what your saying about laying around on vacation. I too like to see everything I can and do not like to waste time. I just thought there would be a lot to see in Tuscany with all the little towns it has. I had noticed that some of the villas only offer a week stay so that is why we were thinking 7 days. If we were to stay a few days in Tuscany, can anyone suggest the best area to stay in to see the best little towns in Tuscany? Also, would love villa or apartment suggestions in a good area to drive to these little towns as well. We would love something with a balcony looking out to the countryside if possible. It just sounds like something that would be nice while staying in Tuscany.

We are now thinking of flying nonstop into Rome and flying out of Venice. I agree with those who say flying non-stop there is less stressful do to not worrying about losing luggage on the way.

Thanks for your suggestions! :)

Didi, sounds as if you're in the "overwhelm" phase of planning your trip. It happens to me every time, and it'll get easier when you start narrowing your options. Bob the Navigator is a long-time Fodorite and trip planner. Here are his favorite Italy itineraries. I copied this from a 2001 post, so he may have refined his faves a bit in the interim.

BOB the NAVIGATORS’ FIVE FAVORITE ITINERARIES
__________________________________________________ ______________________

MAGICAL FAIRYLANDS:
* Arrive and depart from Munich--14 nites--May thru Sep.--car travel
* ITINERARY: Salzburg, Dolomites, Venice, Lake Garda, Bavaria
============================================
BELLA ITALIA:
* Arrive Milan, depart Venice--15 nites--car & train travel--April thru Oct.
* ITINERARY: The Lakes, Ligurian coast, Tuscany, Florence, Venice
============================================
CLASSIC ITALIA:
* Arrive & depart Rome--12 to 14 nites--car & train travel, all year
* ITINERARY: Florence, Tuscan & Umbrian hilltowns, Rome
============================================
LA DOLCE VITA:
* Arrive & depart Rome--12 nites--car & train travel--March thru Oct.
* ITINERARY: Amalfi coast, Tuscany hilltowns, Rome
============================================
OF ALPS & LAKES:
* Arrive and depart Zurich--12 nites--train travel--June thru Sep.
* ITINERARY: Berner Oberland, Lugano, Lake Como, Luzern

Suze: Ditto!

Thanks Betsy and thanks to Bob for putting these itineraries together!

I like the Classic Italia or the La Dolce Vita but would like to know if there is a possibility to fit Venice in there somewhere? If so, is it easier departing from Venice rather than going back to Rome to fly home?
We would like what's easiest and less stressful since this is our first trip to Italy. :)

Why not use your Continental miles on the Delta Skyteam family and fly out of JFK to either Venice,Rome or Milan? You can use the same or different routing back home to JFK? It sure saves time.

Hi dutyfree,
Are you saying you could use Continental miles on Delta? We don't have to use our miles but thought we would fly Cont. since they have a nonstop to Rome out of Newark airport.

You can use CO Onepass on all its partner airlines, including all Skyteam partners. That include CO, DL and Alitalia (AZ) that fly from JFK/EWR to Italy non-stop. Plus Air France, KLM, etc with a connection. Many alternatives.

All 50,000 Onepass miles in coach, standard award.

Of those three with non-stops, CO use fairly new 767s with individual screens on its MXP and FCO services. Pretty comfortable. DL uses older 767s with no personal screens. AZ's 777 are new, but they also use other older planes.

CO also is the least likely of the three to have operation problems like union strikes, at least in the next few months.

Disclaimer: I am a loyal CO FF.
IMHO anytime you can cash in those hard earned FF miles without undue modfication to your desired itnerary it is a good thing. The SkyTeam partnership has increased the possibilities for FF redemption, though as always there are restrictions. The OnePass agents have been great to work with, really going the extra mile (OK - bad pun) to come up with something to meet my needs and wishes. My favorite thing is to use FF miles to upgrade on long flights - CO's BusinessFirst is excellent.
Venice is great, and worth a visit if only for a couple days. Likewise Florence. Rome fails to impress me the way it does others, but it is a tremendously historic city and worth visiting for at least a few days. Have not visited Amalfi so can't comment.