Our itinerary; hotels and flights are booked
Apr 16th, 2013, 12:22 PM
#1
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Our itinerary; hotels and flights are booked
Hello,
I have posted here before and received lots of do's and dont's. After taking All comments into consideration, here is what we and another couple came up with:
May 11th: arrive in rome at 8am. Take train to our florence Apt near the ponte vecchio. Roam streets and have a leisurly day to recooperate frim the flight. Dinner and bed early.
May 12: sightseeing (please let me know which sights need advance reservations).
May 13: train to venice for day trip
May 14: train to pisa/roam florence
May 15: rent car(will rent the night before) to drive through tuscany stopping at wineries and off the beeaten track towns
May 16: train to bologna
May 17th: depart for Capri in afternoon
May 18th: capri sightseeing
May 18: pompeii day trip
May 19: sail along amalfi coast making stops in sorrento, positano, and other stops(please recommend some stops and how to go about this)
May 20th: leisure day (recommendations for this day are appreciated)
May 21st: leave for rome
May 22: rome
May 23: rome
May 24: rome
May 25: rome
May 26: rome
May 26: rome
May 27: leave for home
All our hotels have a free cancellation/change policy except for the apartment in florence. We will be there until may 17th. We can add/subtract a day to carpri or rome? Should we??
Advice on Day trip recomendations from rome are appreciated.
Advice on Walking Tours in rome are appreciated.
How can we make the most of our day trip to venice?
Should we go see Pisa? Is there much to do besides the leaning tower?
Thanks!
I have posted here before and received lots of do's and dont's. After taking All comments into consideration, here is what we and another couple came up with:
May 11th: arrive in rome at 8am. Take train to our florence Apt near the ponte vecchio. Roam streets and have a leisurly day to recooperate frim the flight. Dinner and bed early.
May 12: sightseeing (please let me know which sights need advance reservations).
May 13: train to venice for day trip
May 14: train to pisa/roam florence
May 15: rent car(will rent the night before) to drive through tuscany stopping at wineries and off the beeaten track towns
May 16: train to bologna
May 17th: depart for Capri in afternoon
May 18th: capri sightseeing
May 18: pompeii day trip
May 19: sail along amalfi coast making stops in sorrento, positano, and other stops(please recommend some stops and how to go about this)
May 20th: leisure day (recommendations for this day are appreciated)
May 21st: leave for rome
May 22: rome
May 23: rome
May 24: rome
May 25: rome
May 26: rome
May 26: rome
May 27: leave for home
All our hotels have a free cancellation/change policy except for the apartment in florence. We will be there until may 17th. We can add/subtract a day to carpri or rome? Should we??
Advice on Day trip recomendations from rome are appreciated.
Advice on Walking Tours in rome are appreciated.
How can we make the most of our day trip to venice?
Should we go see Pisa? Is there much to do besides the leaning tower?
Thanks!
Apr 16th, 2013, 12:50 PM
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Most people prefer Lucca to Pisa if you have a choice of day trips - but the Tower of Pisa is iconic for many of us and kind of a "must see" (at least, it was for me). I didn't even climb it - just needed to see it!
The Field of Miracles where the Tower is located has some other significant buildings you can tour, but the surrounding area is an ultra-tacky tourist pit, obnoxious. Paradoxically, once you get away from this area, Pisa is not touristy at all, but it's also kind of gritty. I stayed two nights close to the Arno river, which has some interesting churches and and some nice views but nothing at all like, say, Florence.
If you do day trip to Pisa, just for the Tower, find out about the smaller train station really closer to the Field of Miracles instead of the larger Pisa Centrale that is a long walk away.
Considered a day trip to Siena from Florence? Super nice town.
Venice didn't make your itinerary? But many days in Rome? Just wondering.
The Field of Miracles where the Tower is located has some other significant buildings you can tour, but the surrounding area is an ultra-tacky tourist pit, obnoxious. Paradoxically, once you get away from this area, Pisa is not touristy at all, but it's also kind of gritty. I stayed two nights close to the Arno river, which has some interesting churches and and some nice views but nothing at all like, say, Florence.
If you do day trip to Pisa, just for the Tower, find out about the smaller train station really closer to the Field of Miracles instead of the larger Pisa Centrale that is a long walk away.
Considered a day trip to Siena from Florence? Super nice town.
Venice didn't make your itinerary? But many days in Rome? Just wondering.
Apr 16th, 2013, 01:29 PM
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Just a couple of thoughts:
On your day trip to Pisa, stop in Lucca also.
Drop Bologna and spend another day in Florence.
To "sail along the amalfi coast" you will likely need to rent a boat, which you can do in either Capri or Sorrento.
On May 20, if you don't want to relax on Capri, you could take the ferry to Naples for the day, have pizza and see the wonderful museum.
Tivoli and Hadrian's Villa are a good day trip from Rome.
On your day trip to Pisa, stop in Lucca also.
Drop Bologna and spend another day in Florence.
To "sail along the amalfi coast" you will likely need to rent a boat, which you can do in either Capri or Sorrento.
On May 20, if you don't want to relax on Capri, you could take the ferry to Naples for the day, have pizza and see the wonderful museum.
Tivoli and Hadrian's Villa are a good day trip from Rome.
Apr 16th, 2013, 01:32 PM
#4
Your only full day in Florence is a Sunday. Not everything is open every Sunday (Medici Chapels are closed on May 12th, for instance), have reduced hours on Sundays (Baptistery, museum of the Duomo, for instance) and some sights are not open on Sundays at all (dome of the Duomo). You need to list the things you want to see and then investigate what's open when. If you want to go to the Uffizi and the Accademia or climb the Duomo (other than Sunday), make reservations. There are other sights that you can buy tickets in advance (Bargello museum, for instance) or which offer a reduced-price combo ticket (Baptistery + dome of the Duomo + Bell Tower + duomo museum, for instance).
We enjoyed exploring the area around the Leaning Tower and climbing the Tower itself (reservations required), but I wouldn't be surprised if you need the time to see more of Florence.
Rather than rent a car for just a day in order to drive a bit in Tuscany, you should look into hiring a guide who will show you around. Most wineries don't accommodate drop-in visitors, so if you were on your own you'd need to make reservations.
"How can we make the most of our day trip to Venice?" You're not going to see much in the time available, so I'd make a short list of your top priorities and find them on a map. Make reservations wherever possible.
It sounds like you want to hire a boat for a day out of Capri. I don't know about sail boats, but motor boats (with and without crew) are available, as are group excursions.
http://www.capri.com/en/s/tour-of-the-island
We enjoyed exploring the area around the Leaning Tower and climbing the Tower itself (reservations required), but I wouldn't be surprised if you need the time to see more of Florence.
Rather than rent a car for just a day in order to drive a bit in Tuscany, you should look into hiring a guide who will show you around. Most wineries don't accommodate drop-in visitors, so if you were on your own you'd need to make reservations.
"How can we make the most of our day trip to Venice?" You're not going to see much in the time available, so I'd make a short list of your top priorities and find them on a map. Make reservations wherever possible.
It sounds like you want to hire a boat for a day out of Capri. I don't know about sail boats, but motor boats (with and without crew) are available, as are group excursions.
http://www.capri.com/en/s/tour-of-the-island
Apr 16th, 2013, 01:40 PM
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Sorry I missed the "Day Trip to Venice" - personally, I wouldn't bother unless you can do a night, when Venice is truly magical. (And in the morning too!) During the day, there are Disneyland lines and crowds all over the place. You can get away from them, but you won't have much time. If you're going to do Venice, I encourage you to find a way to do a night there.
Apr 16th, 2013, 03:05 PM
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I agree with what others mentioned about hiring a guide/driver to take you to wineries/towns in Tuscany. It will definitely be the best way to see the most with your day.
I am not a huge fan of Florence, but even I would have to say that you are spending too much time doing daytrips from there and not enough time in Florence, and I think you will be a bit exhausted from all that. I would cut out either Pisa,Venice or Bologna. Everyone will have their opinion on which one - only you can decide which one you will save for another visit.
May 20th: leisure day (recommendations for this day are appreciated) - REST! If the weather is nice lay at the beach or pool with a good book or magazine!
Not a full day trip from Rome, but just outside the city - but be sure and visit the catacombs.
I am not a huge fan of Florence, but even I would have to say that you are spending too much time doing daytrips from there and not enough time in Florence, and I think you will be a bit exhausted from all that. I would cut out either Pisa,Venice or Bologna. Everyone will have their opinion on which one - only you can decide which one you will save for another visit.
May 20th: leisure day (recommendations for this day are appreciated) - REST! If the weather is nice lay at the beach or pool with a good book or magazine!
Not a full day trip from Rome, but just outside the city - but be sure and visit the catacombs.
