Rome, Florence & Venice First Time
 

This may be a lot of information, but I want you all to get the gist of what we are doing, so here goes.

We are a family of 4 with 2 teenage daughters age 18 and 15. Leaving Los Angeles on June 9, 2007 and returning on June 26. We want to fly into London on a non-stop flight and transfer to Rome. Staying at the Ponte Sisto for 5 nights.

Booked Luca Garrapa to take us to Florence. Staying at the Hotel Davanzati for 4 nights.

Take the Eurostar to Venice. Staying at the
Westin Excelsior Lido Resort for 4 nights.

Back to London for 3 nights. May stay at The Anthenaeum. Still looking.

Okay, now for some questions.
What is the best way to get to Rome once we are in London and the best way to get from Venice to London?

When we are in Florence, we want to take a day trip to Bologna by renting a car. On a different day, we want to go to Pisa also. How long will these trips take?

I'm sure I will have other questions as time goes on, but I am trying to work out the flight now.

Thanks for your help.

I can only comment about Pisa. We took the train from Florence SMN station; the nonstop journey was approximately an hour. Ticket cost per person was a very affordable 10.40 euro roundtrip. Sadly we did not enjoy Pisa, but it was worthwhile to see the tower and the Campo dei Miracoli.

We did a similar trip last August with our two teen boys. However, we'd already been to Rome, so we flew from Chicago to Florence, stayed there for 4 nights at hotel accademia. Make advance reservations for the Uffizi Gallery and Accademia Gallery as you'll be there in high tourist season. We then rented a car and drove to Montalcino; stayed at an agritourismo/vineyard for three nights. Drove back to Florence via Pisa - its not a far drive at all. We took the train from Florence to Venice. Since we were not familar with Venice and the public transportation system, we took a water taxi to the Westin Lido. there is a water shuttle from Lido to the city all day long. It stops at three places in Venice so you can pick and choose where to be dropped off or get back on. VERY convenient!! I don't have any advice on the London/Rome transportation - look into Ryan Air, Easy Jet, etc if you have the time to get to Stanstead or Gatwick airports. I'd also look at those options back from Venice. Keep in mind that you're a fair hike from the Venice airport - we had to take a water taxi back to the airport and then its maybe a 10 minute walk to the terminal. It will cost you around $90e each way - but may be a necessary expense if you have an early morning flight as we did. We did rome on a separate trip - stayed at the westin excelsior which was wonderful. Enjoy!

You can fly Ryanair from London Stansted to Rome and from Venice back to London Stansted. They are a cheap no frills airline. Stansted is north of London. What airport will you arrive at? Heathrow is to the west of London and Gatwick to the south. All airports are an hour or so travelling time from central London.

http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/

However you may want to book a connecting from your LA flight so to get to Rome ASAP.

Bologna is about 60 miles almost north of Florence (Firenze) and Pisa about 40 miles west. There will be long queues at the Tower of Pisa which you can avoid by booking online, which is more expensive. You will also want to book the Uffizi gallery in Florence online to to avoid their long queues.

http://www.rome.world-guides.com/

http://www.florence.world-guides.com/

http://www.pisa.world-guides.com/

http://www.bologna.world-guides.com/

http://www.venice.world-guides.com/

From a website:

Bologna is one hour by train from Florence - catch the airport shuttle bus to Bologna Railway Station: trains run regularly to Santa Maria Novella.

Everyone above has offered up some good suggestions to your questions.

Is Luca going to be making some stops with you on your way to Florence?

The reason I ask is because our day with him was invaluable. He really was one of the highlights during our journey.

Take the time if you can to stop in some non-touristy areas that you have interest in, if you can, while you have him with you. He was a delight.

Best wishes, Tiff

If you are flying into Heathrow, which I assume you are, taking Ryanair from Stanstead to Rome is not worth the amount you save in airfare in my opinion. You will need at least 4 hours between arriving at Heathrow and departing from Stanstead, as Stanstead is 65 miles from Heathrow.

Kayak.com is currently showing a couple of Alitalia 1-way flights LHR to FCO, June 10 for $106. One leaves 9:10am, the other 12:15pm. British Air has some flights, too. Ryanair, Easyjet may be cheaper, but you have to factor in the transfer to a different airport.

Flybmi.com shows a flight Venice to London around 3pm for 59 euros.

I saw those three cities while on a European tour with Contiki Holidays. We took a bus, which may alter the travel time a bit, but we were able to see Venice, Florence and Rome in 6 days. Plus we made stops in Pisa and San Gimignano. I recommend both these places as additional day trips. They are amazing. To check out some pics and what we did you can read my blog: http://rae-does-contiki.blogspot.com/. Sorry I can't be more helpful with travel times, but I know these two sights are doable with what you have planned out so far.

Hi aj,

Have you looked into the cost of flights LAX/FCO-LON/LAX or LAX/LON-FCO/LAX?

I don't think that it would be more expensive than LAX/LON RT and certainly more convenient.

((I))

- francophile
Sounds like the train is the way to go to Pisa.

- cmeyer
I will make the reservation for sure at the Galleries. I heard about the water taxi from Lido. Sounds great!!

- kaneda
We are flying into Heathrow. Thank you for all the links, very helpful. Sounds like the train is the way to go to Bologna as well.

- tiff
Yes, Luca has a 12 hour day planned for us and we can't wait!!!

- jeanne b
Thank you so much for checking

- ira
We did check on the multi destination thing. Just looking at other options. My husband would prefer to fly Virgin or British Airways. We'll see!!

Thanks to you all!!! The help here is invaluable!!

Hi ajkarlin, you are welcome. Yes. The train is very handy. Oh, btw, one quirk (or perhaps it's just an Italian thing as we never noticed this in France) about the train. Be aware that while the departure signboard may show a specific track number the train may depart from a different track.

For our journey from Pisa back to Florence we were waiting at track 4 (not the actual track #, just an example) and there was a huge crowd waiting there too.

A train arrived on the next track but at the scheduled time of our train. Next thing we saw the crowd run into this train so we asked a lady who boarded if it was headed to Florence SMN. She said 'Yes!'. And it was the correct train, but it arrived on a different track! So be careful.

I'm not knowledgable about travel times but wanted to add a bit about Pisa.

Pisa is the one place I felt I had to watch my belongings very carefully.

On a brighter side do pay attention to the stone work in the Cathedral in Pisa. The stones have been recycled and it's fun to note the print that is upside down and the markings on some stones in the building that are obviously from some other older building.

Outstanding, ajkarlin! He is worth every penny. (or every Euro, in this case, ha.)

Enjoy! Your family is going to have such a wonderful time.

- Thanks francophile for the train tip.

- Timlin - thanks for the info on the sontes.

- Tiff - Thanks, we can't wait!!!!

Your hotel should be able to make the gallery reservations for you - it was just added to our bill and the confirmation numbers were emailed in advance.

You really ought to look into open jaws tickets into Rome and out of Venice. So you'd fly LAX - FCO and Venice - London - LAX, with a stopover in London. If you book your outbound flight as all one ticket, you can check your bags through and are covered if you miss your connection. And you can book open jaws tickets using frequent flyer miles; I've done it several times.

Otherwise, you haven't said how you will get from Venice to London. Another flight?

Regarding Pisa again it is very crowded in the area where the leaning tower is. There are quite a few souvenir stalls across the way and that drew crowds plus the passageway between the field and the stalls were busy with passersby. I didn't feel unsafe but, I'm always aware of my surroundings. The area near the train station had some guys loitering around but it was fine. That area itself sure isn't charming. Btw, again, I'm not sure if this happens anywhere else but a woman we bought souvenirs from switched one of our items when we were not looking. It was irksome finding it out when we got back to Florence. Anyway, it wasn't a huge loss, but I suggest viewing your items as they are packed to make sure you get what you wanted before paying.

- cmeyer - Thanks for the advice. I will contact the hotel.

- Mimar - Thanks for that. I will look into it. Venice to London would be another flight. I checked British Airways and we can do all of the flying with them, but they are not part of our rewards club. I will keep looking at options.

- Thanks francophile. It is a good idea to check.

Are you sure you want to stay at the Westin Lido instead of within Venice itself? Since you're from LA., staying in a beach area probably isn't a big draw for you. I think you'd enjoy Venice at night and in the early morning. So much of its true character comes out then, when few tourists are out and about. Have you ever been to Venice? There are lots of beautiful four-star hotels on canals that will give you an experience no other city can offer. Just my opinion.
:)>-

We also stayed on the Lido - it was fine. We didn't see the beach or pool! Took the shuttle over to the city each day and back in the evening. One day our boys did want to go back by themselves and sleep - they are fairly seasoned travellers in Europe so we thought it was fine and we met up for dinner later. Watch out for some of the canal side restaurants near the Rialto Bridge - when we wanted to buy 3 pizzas to share between the 4 of us, they refused to allow it...each had to order a separate entree so we left and the next place was just fine with the concept. also - if you're having lunch along the canal..be prepared to get your feet wet at high tide! Move packages to the far end of the floor under the table..its funny to see!

- MaureenB - My husband really wants to stay at the Lido. I would prefer to stay in the city, but I had to give him something since I pretty much planned everything else.

- cmeyer - Glad to hear it, because if I can keep my husband away from the beach at least for a while, that would be great. If not, I can take the girls and venture into the city.

Do you know what time the last shuttle is back to the Lido?

If I remember correctly, the last shuttle back was around 1:30am.

thanks cmeyer.

Just wanted to give you another thumbs up for reserving a day with Luca. We had 2 days with him back in March and they were the highlight of our week!! Enjoy !!

thanks, flame.

We just booked Luca to take us from Florence to Venice as well. Decided against the train. Can't wait.

Happy New Year to all!!!

Can someone please provide email contact for Luca? Thanks!

I am also interested in Luca. Any information would be appreciated. I was thinking about having him drive me from Rome to Florence.

http://www.hillsandroads.com/

The is Luca Garappa's site.

Grazie!