Planning my trip to Italy
May 21st, 2013, 06:41 PM
#1
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Planning my trip to Italy
I will be traveling to Rome with a teenager(15) and then have 9 days. Need advice on the logistics and advice on traveling on our own is a better idea or taking day tours from Rome. We would like to stay in Rome for 3 days, go to Florence for 2 days/1nt, then to Venice for 2days/1nt, travel to Naples/Amalfi Coast 2 days/1nt and back to Rome. How would I book transportation from one place to the next, transfers to and from hotel and sightseeing in the city. Open to ideas and suggestions.
May 21st, 2013, 07:39 PM
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I believe you need to plan to see Rome and Florence in your 9 days and you could possibly get to Venice. If you try to go to all the places listed you will only be traveling and not seeing much of anything. Train travel would be good and very simple to do. Check out www.seat6l.com for helpful train information.You also need a good guidebook and might start with Rick Steve's Italy although many Fodorites are not fans of Rick. His books are always very helpful to me.
May 21st, 2013, 07:43 PM
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May 21st, 2013, 08:24 PM
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When do you actually land/depart Rome?
Are you arriving from some other place in Europe, or the US, etc.
It is a lot of travel time for the sight seeing time you have. Six days with only 3 nts doesn't compute. Add in your travel time and hotel check in & out.
It is often best to put all your time in each place together, not staying in the same place twice, not staying in Rome at both beginning and end of trip.
You are using a lot of time (and money) backtracking: Rome to Venice and back through Rome to the AC and back to Rome for departure. If you have not already purchased tickets, look at multi-city: Fly into Venice and out of Naples or Rome.
Are you arriving from some other place in Europe, or the US, etc.
It is a lot of travel time for the sight seeing time you have. Six days with only 3 nts doesn't compute. Add in your travel time and hotel check in & out.
It is often best to put all your time in each place together, not staying in the same place twice, not staying in Rome at both beginning and end of trip.
You are using a lot of time (and money) backtracking: Rome to Venice and back through Rome to the AC and back to Rome for departure. If you have not already purchased tickets, look at multi-city: Fly into Venice and out of Naples or Rome.
May 21st, 2013, 08:41 PM
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Do you already have the fixed arrangement to arrive in Rome and depart from Rome?
I think the first order of business is for you to grasp how long it takes to move around.
If you are planning to use trains, you can get the timing at www.bahn.com. It is a German railroad site, but it has all the relevant European train schedule. If your travel is many months away, just use the same day of the week next week. The schedule does not change that much and the essence of this exercise is for you to grasp the timing.
How long does it take from the train stations to your hotel? You can ask the hotel, you can read the guidebook, or you can make an estimate using online tool such as Google map. The Google map will give you the taxi trip time if there is no traffic light and no traffic jam, so whatever travel time it spits out must be inflated to get realistic time. Others can't possibly help you with specific hotel and sightseeing info -- you have not posted any info. And finally, if the cities you mentioned are in sequence, you can free up 1/2 to a full day by not staying in Rome twice.
What you need to find out is just how much usable time you have at each destination. It is not difficult at all. For each day 24hrs minus sleeping time minus getting ready time minus eating time minus transportation time is what is available for sightseeing.
I think you are worrying about how to do it before identifying what you are doing.
And finally, if you are determined to hit both Venice and Rome, by landing in Venice and departing from Rome, for example, you free up a half day trekking across Italy.
I think the first order of business is for you to grasp how long it takes to move around.
If you are planning to use trains, you can get the timing at www.bahn.com. It is a German railroad site, but it has all the relevant European train schedule. If your travel is many months away, just use the same day of the week next week. The schedule does not change that much and the essence of this exercise is for you to grasp the timing.
How long does it take from the train stations to your hotel? You can ask the hotel, you can read the guidebook, or you can make an estimate using online tool such as Google map. The Google map will give you the taxi trip time if there is no traffic light and no traffic jam, so whatever travel time it spits out must be inflated to get realistic time. Others can't possibly help you with specific hotel and sightseeing info -- you have not posted any info. And finally, if the cities you mentioned are in sequence, you can free up 1/2 to a full day by not staying in Rome twice.
What you need to find out is just how much usable time you have at each destination. It is not difficult at all. For each day 24hrs minus sleeping time minus getting ready time minus eating time minus transportation time is what is available for sightseeing.
I think you are worrying about how to do it before identifying what you are doing.
And finally, if you are determined to hit both Venice and Rome, by landing in Venice and departing from Rome, for example, you free up a half day trekking across Italy.
May 21st, 2013, 08:43 PM
#7
Four destinations in 9 days is too much moving around.
Just so you know, here are the train journey times between the cities you mention:
Rome-Florence
90 minutes plus time between hotel and station in each city
Florence-Venice
2 hours plus time between hotel and station in each city (which may be longer in Venice unless you stay near the station)
Venice-Naples-Amalfi Coast
5-5.5 hours to Naples depending on the train you take, plus as much as 2 additional hours to reach your final destination on the Amalfi Coast)
Amalfi Coast-Naples-Rome
Time to get to Naples plus 1-2 hours to Rome depending on the train you take
As you can see, getting to and from the Amalfi Coast takes a lot of time. Which you don't have a lot of.
Just so you know, here are the train journey times between the cities you mention:
Rome-Florence
90 minutes plus time between hotel and station in each city
Florence-Venice
2 hours plus time between hotel and station in each city (which may be longer in Venice unless you stay near the station)
Venice-Naples-Amalfi Coast
5-5.5 hours to Naples depending on the train you take, plus as much as 2 additional hours to reach your final destination on the Amalfi Coast)
Amalfi Coast-Naples-Rome
Time to get to Naples plus 1-2 hours to Rome depending on the train you take
As you can see, getting to and from the Amalfi Coast takes a lot of time. Which you don't have a lot of.
May 21st, 2013, 10:58 PM
#8
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In 9 days I would pick my top two locations and actually see those areas rather than spending so much time and money on logistics and travel between destinations. Rushing around like that eats into your valuable time and money and you end up seeing more on train stations than the actual places you travel to. Consider less locations to see more.
