Please Critique My Italy Itinerary!
 

Hi all! Thanks so much for the help w/my last post. We decided to go it alone, and here is our itinerary. Please pick it apart all you like!

November 10th Monday Depart USA to Rome

November 11th Tuesday Arrival in Rome.

November 12th Wednesday Wake early, take train to Naples (3 hrs.) Take bus to Pompeii (30 min) 3hrs in Pompeii. Take bus to Mt. Vesuvius (1hr.) climb Mt. (30 min) Take bus, train back to Rome (4.5 hrs.)Naples Archaeological Museum?

November 13th Thursday Vatican, Sistine Chapel, Nero's Golden House, Catacombs

November 14th Friday Coloseum, Forum, etc.

November 15th Saturday Check out of hotel. Train to Florence (2 hrs.) Check in hotel.

November 16th Sunday Florence

November 17th Monday Take train to Pisa (1 hr.)

November 18th Tuesday Check out of hotel. Take train to Venice. Check in hotel.

November 19th Wednesday Venice

November 20th Thursday Murano-Burano

November 21st Friday Check out of hotel. Depart Venice back to USA


I think it might be a little too ambitious! Thanks again, Amber

Pisa is not worth a day - some famous sites, but worth only a couple of hours.

I'll try to offer up some suggestions on your first four days in Rome and leave the rest to others. Why take an excruciating day trip (travel-wise) to Pompeii from Rome the day after arriving from a transatlantic flight? Why not go through your interests in Rome before you decide whether or not to visit Pompeii? There's so much to see and do, you might feel better served by continuing your exploration of Rome on your fourth day rather than visiting Pompeii. Or you may decide to visit the ruins at Ostia Antica instead. If you still wish to visit Pompeii, which is very worthwhile although much more tiring as a day-trip from Rome, a train ride to Naples may only take 2 hours. I've seen many Fodorites suggest visiting the Archaeological Museum before visiting Pompeii. Circumvesuviana from Naples to Pompeii Scavi station may be an option to consider. IMO, trying to see much of Pompeii, including the amphitheatre, in just 3 hours is much more exhausting than it's worth. Better to stretch it out over 5-6 hours at a leisurely pace than trying to rush through the immense ruins. You're not leaving much time to refuel. You might be better served by taking the bus tour offered by enjoyrome.com, which is an affordable alternative considering the cost of RT train tickets.

As to the rest of your Rome itinerary, why not include Domus Aurea (Nero's Golden House) with your Colisseum & Forum visit instead of on the day of your visit to the Vatican since it's near the Colisseum? And which catacombs are you refering to? There's several throughout Rome? You may just want to stick to the Scavi (excavations) tour at St. Peter's.

I strongly encourage you to save the Pompeii visit for another trip, maybe one that includes the Amalfi Coast. There are so many wonderful sites and areas in Rome that you might miss out on: Galleria Borghese and the expansive villa, Campo de Fiori, Trastevere and the Janiculum, the churches, and so much more.

Hope this helps!

Don't miss St. Peter's Basilica in Rome! Also don't miss Piazza Navona. You may not want to go to Murano, Burano. I have been to Venice twice and still haven't had time to get over to the islands... so much to see! The Archaeological Museum in Naples has all the best preserved items from Pompeii, Herculaneum, etc. , try to go there if at all possible, it will take apx. 2 hrs. to go through it. Be sure to see the House of Mysteries in Pompeii.

Murano and Burano are nice, but with only 2 days in Venice I'd stay in the historic center of the city. You'll be hard put to take in just the most well known sights. Save the islands for when you have more time--we had 4-1/2 days on our first trip to Venice and didn't have time to even think about going to Murano, Burano, Torcello, San Michele, etc. Heck, we didn't get to the Accademia or the Guggenheim on that trip.

Bluefan offers some wise advice. To me, your Nov. 12 looks like the day from hell! And, it takes you in the opposite direction form which your overall trip is going (ie, Rome-Florence-Venice). Pisa definitely isn't worth (to me) an overnight stay, especially on a trip this short. Give the time to Venice. Or, make it a quick stopover of a few hours if your heart is set on seeing the leaning tower. Or, better yet, give the time over to a day trip into Tuscany from Florence.

On a relatively short trip like this, I would try to minimize checking in & out of hotels on a close to daily basis. Wandering through wherever you are in the early morning hours (especially in Venice), is part of the joy of being in Italy. As are those late afternoon/night cafe & people watching stops, etc.

Did you notice you are giving yourself only a Sunday in Florence as your full day? Sundays and Mondays can be problematic for tourists if you have your heart set on a particular attraction. There will be plenty to do and see, but perhaps not what you'd planned. I found Venice to be least affected by this problem.

If you can leave Pompeii/Naples till another time, I would agree this is best. Unless you can begin there & work your way up rather than going back & forth.

I've been to Burano. In April. Actually, I think I'd skip Burano/Murano in Novemeber unless you REALLY had your heart set on it. Wander through Venice instead. Take a day trip to Vicenza or Verona.

Most of all, relax & have fun!

Hi guesa,

Your Nov 12 is a lot of work. Do you really plan to go up and down Mt Vesuvius in 30 min?

I agree that the Pompeii trip is out of the way, and to do it you are skimping on Florence.

You can make a day trip out of Pisa and Lucca (a walled city that has gotten good recommendations).

You will probably find that, with such a short time in Venice, Murano and Burano can be done on your next rip.

I think that you would enjoy taking the #1 Vaporetto from the train station to the Lido at dusk and back in the dark. The lights of Venice are quite lovely.

YIkes, I think you might want a day or two in Rome after a long flight before you go all the way to Naples. Personally I'd skip the whole Naples/Vesuvius part and enjoy Rome. I'd also go to Siena or San Gimiganno for a night from Florence (vs. Pisa). If you do visit Pisa, just stop there briefly and stay in Lucca.
Final suggestions, use your 2 days in Venice for Venice. Don't bother with the islands.
Good luck!

~
As already expressed, your itinerary for Nov-12th is very ambitious, plus you're not allowing yourself sufficient time to get over jetlag. If it were me, I'd stay in Rome on the 12th (Wednesday) and do your Vatican, Sistine Chapetl, etc. itinerary. Then on Thursday, the 13th, trek down to Pompeii --- also, leave out the Mt. Vesuvius climb. You'll already have a full day going to/from Pompeii, exploring the ruins, and the museum in Naples.

On the 17th (Monday), your trip to Pisa needs only be for the day (or half-day really). Doesn't make sense to stay overnite in Pisa. Stay in Florence for both Sunday & Monday nights.

Thanks for all your help so far!
I really want to see Pompeii, can anyone suggest a better way to do it?

-Amber

Amber, if your heart is set on it, you could take the ES* (Italian Eurostar) train down to Naples, splurge on a taxi to Pompeii (CV train Naples-Pompeii can be slow, and you want to minimize stress; just be sure to negotiate with cab driver before setting out...) and arrive before lunch. Reverse procedure for the return. But I agree with the others, don't try and do this on 12th November. And make Pompeill your sole activity for the day you do go, i.e. no Vesuvius climb, no Naples museum. You could wait until you get there before making a final decision. Bon voyage.

Sue - Do you know about how much a taxi from Pompei to Naples train station would be?

I am with everyone else in regards to Nov 12 Pompeii. I would also skip it and add a day elsewhere such as Siena or Rome or Venice or Florence. Agree with 1/2 day Pisa via train from Florence. Would see Pompeii on another visit with the Amalfi coast and possibly Capri. Cannot imagine going to the Naples area and skipping Amalfi if you have never been there. One suggestion if you really want to do the Pompeii bit is to hire a car and driver to take you from the Naples train station to Pompei etc. to maximize your time. We have been in Italy two out of the last three years and have found it to be a nice time to visit Italy. No crowds, cool weather with occasional rain, but mostly partly cloudy weather in the mid 40's to mid 60's and cheaper hotels. Your itinerary actually looks pretty good to me except for the day from hell,

hey guesa, I realize I was discouraging re Pompeii in an earlier post, but now that I've seen your past posts and that this will be your honeymoon, let me once again stronly encourage you to skip Pompeii!! You'll feel rushed to do all the things you desire that day before the sun drops, which is early in November. Why kill yourselves right after enduring the stress of a wedding and a tiring transatlantic flight?

Because it's a honeymoon, many Fodorites would advise you to reverse your city order and visit Venice first since it's supposedly more relaxed and romantic than Florence and Rome so that the two of you can catch your breath. Then gradually immerse yourselves in Italy before tackling the fabulous but bustling Eternal City. But hey, if you have the energy and excitement, your original itinerary can still work but it'll be far from a relaxed, stress-free honeymoon.

You still have plenty of time to modify your itinerary and work on logistics, so keep asking for input on this forum...one of the most invaluable and non-commerical resources available. Believe others here, if you take the time to enjoy Italy in small portions and slow steps, you will continually plan to revisit in order to explore the regions you missed the 1st, 2nd, 3rd...time around. Save Pompeii along with Naples, Capri and the Amalfi Coast for your 1st Anniversary!!!

Hope this helps.

I agree that PISA only takes about 30 minutes!!! There is NOTHING to do except look at the leaning tower. I would definitely add more time in Florence.
Pompeii is nice, but we didn't climb the mountain... just looked at it!

Also, we skipped Murano... they have plenty of glass in Venice.

Your day of Vatican sounds kind of full. You may want to do that by itself. It takes several hours just to go through the Museum to get to the Sistine Chapel.

Enjoy!

Hi guesa,

For your trip to Pompeii: a previous poster wrote

Message: If you look at www.enjoyrome.com you will find they offer a shuttle bus tour from Rome. It leaves at 7:45 am and you're back in Rome at 6:00 pm. Once in Pompeii you're left to your own devices. It costs 55 euros. You could undoubtedly do it cheaper by putting it together yourself, but this certainly does present the easiest route.

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I looked at the Enjoy Rome shuttle to Pompeii -- http://www.enjoyrome.com/shuttle_tour/pompeii.html and it certainly does offer the easiest & simplest way to get down there & back. They're only providing the transportation; maybe you'll get info as you ride down there. Looks as though they drop you off at entrance and then you're on your own for paying entry fees or any guided tour. They arrive at Pompeii at 11am and leave at 2:30 pm.

Thank you all for your input.

We have decided to skip Naples/Pompeii an add an extra day in whichever city we like the most once we get there.

Thanks again,
Amber

Axelrod and guesa, I must apologize to you. My suggestion of taking a taxi from Naples to Pompeii was based on information I'd misfiled: It's about Euro 25 from Naples AIRPORT to NAPLES, not Naples TRAIN STATION to POMPEII.

Next time, I'll check my notes more carefully. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Hi guesa,

Good idea to skip Naples this time. You can do Pisa and Lucca in the same daytrip from Florence.

May I suggest that you are giving short shrift to Florence and to add your extra day there?