Hello everyone,

I'm planning a fall trip to Italy for my wife and I and I'm having trouble figuring out a good itinerary. I originally wanted to take an escorted tour but I think I'd rather do it on our own. We're both about 40 so we can handle a rather busy schedule but we don't want to overdo it either. We will most likely be flying in/out of Rome. I'm thinking about 10 days +/- and would like to see Rome, Florence and Venice. Is it possible to get half day tours from any of those cities to places like Pompei and Pisa? I was thinking about traveling by train between the 3 main cities, is that the best way? How many days in each city is appropriate to see the main sights and get a feel for the town?

I really appreciate the help of those who have been there/done it and are willing to take the time to help out.

I welcome all suggestions.

Thanks

I might suggest you look into a package that we used with American Express a few years ago. I'm not sure if they still have it. It's called an "Independent" tour. The three cities are covered--the hotels, trains between the cities and a half-day tour in each city. You can book your own air tickets or have them do it.
The tour was for 10 or 11 days. We went three days earlier to have the extra time in Rome and allow for a sidetrip to Pompeii and the Amalfi coast.
It was our first trip abroad, and, like you, we didn't want an escorted tour, but were a little nervous about doing it on our own. (We've since taken three trips on our own.)
For us, it was ideal and we were very happy we had done it that way.
However, I think it might be overdoing it a bit to include side trips to Pompeii and Pisa unless you extended your stay as we did.

Hi Chris,

Do you have your plane tickets yet? It's getting late for a Fall trip.

You can easily do Rome/Florence/Venice in 10 days, but you won't have much time for day trips.

There are ES* trains between the cities about hourly. See www.trenitalia.com.

You will want 3-5 nights in Rome, 3-4 nights in Florence, 2-3 nights in Venice.

You might want to consider flying into Venice and out of Rome.

Hi
First I'd look into flying into either Venice or Rome and flying out of the other so that you don't have to backtrack. It may involve a layover somewhere but is probably worth it in terms of time saved on the back and forth thing.
If you have ten days, I'd say
4 days Rome, 3 days Florence (or, 5 & 2)
and three days Venice, keeping in mind that you easily lose half a day getting from one place to another. The trains are good.
With that short a trip for that many places, I wouldn't also work in daytrips away from Rome or Florence, at least not from Rome which has a LOT to see.

I'd also plan on at least one or two sightseeing walking tours in Rome--there are several good agencies, Scala Reale is one (my favorite), Enjoy Rome is another which has less expensive, shorter tours.


I have files on those cities, if you'd like to see them, email me at
[email protected]

You'll get all sorts of personal opinons on this, but unless you are a big fan of Renaissance art and architecture 2 days in Florence would be more than enough.

I agree that you should fly into one city and out of another. Alot more time for fun !!!

Hi ChrisNJ - This is just another thought about your trip - renting a car and driving is the best way to go IMO. Whatever you do, don't do a tour where you have to go where someone else tells you to go. My husband and I have driven the past 2 yrs. in Italy and we'll be doing the same in Sept. in Ireland. It is so easy and you get to see the countryside whereas you'll never see the same things taking the train.
I used ideas from this web site for hotels, restaurants, tours, etc.
You will LOVE Italy - Ciao

Driving through Italy sounds great if you want to make stops off the beaten (Railroad) track along the way.
But to go from one major city to another within a short time, trains (or planes) are a better idea imo.
No parking or breakdown worries, no having to drive into or out of very busy cities, no dealing with detours or getting lost or driving craziness.
I just don't think you have enough time to begin with to risk losing any.

ChrisNJ- Hi and also from NJ and I'm 40, but my husband is 34, and we are planning a trip to Italy in 2004 for 16 days. I've done the "escorted" tour of Europe with Italy (Trafalgar) about 8 years ago and as much as it was fun and affordable (and convenient) and you got to see many sights, I felt I was rushed and didn't really have enough time to enjoy things on my own (restaurants, neighborhoods). Since you're only going to see 3 cities, you should be able to do it on your own. You could squeeze in some day trips, but I wouldn't recommend it since all the places you're going to have plenty to see... Have fun!!!!

Howard R.- That's a great idea about getting a "package" price from American Express for the major city hotels since they are the most expensive.

We just did our own trip in Italy visiting those same cities. We had to fly in and out of Rome because we were using airline miles and didn't have a lot of flexibility. We arrived around noon on a Thursday into Rome. Spent two full days there enjoying 4 hour tours with Scala Reale on each day which gave us the remainder of the day to explore on our own which was very nice. Left early Sunday morning on the Eurostar to Venice arriving early afternoon. Spent two nights in Venice leaving around noon on Tuesday to Florence, again using Eurostar. With 3 full days we were able to take a day trip to Siena from Florence and still visit the Uffizi and the Duomo, shop and relax on other days. Then left late Friday via train back to Rome to catch an early A.M. flight Saturday morning. We didn't feel rushed at all although I would have liked one more day in both Rome and Venice just to enjoy more restaurants. The problem gets to be there are just too many interesting retaurants and not enough nights to enjoy them. Have fun. Whatever you miss the first time will give you an excuse to go back. I'm planning for 2005 and I'm bringing back alot more wine and olive oil.

IM, I am interested in your trip. That is what we want to do in Fall, 2004. Do you have a trip report I could read?

HowardR, i think I have read other reports from you, and I do respect your opinion as well. I really do have mixed feeling about doing it all on our own...seems like it would be easie to have AmEx or another company handle hotel, transportation, flight,,,if it is reasonable. In hindsight, you really thought it was a wise use of time and money?

Wren, we definitely felt we had made a wise move. We definitely did not want a complete tour, and this "Independent" seemed ideal to us. (Incidentally, other companies, American Airlines and Delta, I believe, also used to offer similar packages. With Delta, however, you had to buy your airline tickets as well, and we were using FF miles.)
Having them take care of the basics like hotel and especially train tickets between the cities eliminated any first-time jitters that we might have had. While the hotels weren't in ideal locations, they were excellent facilities and were certainly convenient and suited our needs.
At the same time, except for the half-day tour in each of three cities (we ended up not taking the one in Florence), we planned our entire schedule. And, even the tours were taken when they were most convenient for us and were quite good.
And, we think it was worth the money.
Interestingly, the other dozen people is our "group" were great fun and had signed up for this "tour" for pretty much the same reasons. By choice, we ended up doing some things together at various times with various members of the group.

Definitely train, you can buy your tix when you get there. Eurostar 2nd class is fine, any other type of train pay the extra for 1st class. I'd say 4 days Rome, 2 Florence, 3 Venice.
Bella Italia! Enjoy!

I planned a trip for my daughter and 3 of her friends on an AX Independent tour. It was the first time in Europe for them. All went very well and at least someone is expecting them at each location. I thought it was a good value. They did pay a little extra for the upgrade hotels and were glad that they did. Have a great trip.
WT

Hi Chris,

I forgot to mention, www.enjoyrome.com has buses to Pompeii from Rome. They give you about 2 hrs to see the site. Guides are available. Takes the whole day.

Hi

My wife and I just came back from Venice. I have posted some pictures and a long trip report on my homepage www.gardkarlsen.com. Maybe you can find some useful information there

Have a great trip

Regards
Gard
Stavanger, Norway

Sorry, Wren I didn't do a trip report.We picked up a lot of tips from this forum but did go against the grain and prebooked our train tickets though Rail Europe and had them mailed to us ahead of time. We just felt a little more prepared doing it this way. It cost a little more but we were lucky enough to travel using airline FF miles and used AmEx Rewards points for two of our hotels so we had already saved tons of money. We also pre-booked our Scala Reale tours and the Uffizi gallery tickets and two of the restaurants that we dined at. In Rome we wanted a roof top dinner so ate at the Hotel Raphael and in Venice we celebrated an anniversary so dined at the Cipriani Hotel. Other than that we just found restaurants that appealed to us. If you read about a particular restaurant on this site that you really want to try, I would definitely recommend making reservations. I can't remember the name of it, but posters raved about this place in Rome and after finally finding it they were booked solid. I cursed my husband because he was the one that said we shouldn't need reservations and the place looked and smelled wonderful. I'll look the name up if you are interested.

My wife and I spent a week in Florence and a week in Venice in May. Travel by train was quick and convenient. While we enjoyed the trip, we both agreed that we could have easily spent more time in each town, as we didn't get to see all we had planned, but then we both like art and architecture, and tend to take our time in the museums.

Were I to do it over, I would allow more time in each place, and rent an apartment, rather than stay in a hotel. The apartment gives you more room, laundry facilities, and, often, greater flexibility (our hotel in Venice closed at midnight, and the hotel breakfasts keep you from getting an early start).