I have a company trip to Rome this summer, but it's a quick trip. It's 5 days in all, including travel days from the U.S. I'd like to extend an addtional 2-3 days, but I'm trying to decide what would be the easiest option. I don't have a lot of planning time so sample 2-3 iteniaries would be greatly appreciated!!! Venice, Tuscany, Sorrento, Sicily, Florence - Cinque Terre, Florence - Pisa?? I don't want to have the anxiety associated with driving, so transporation is key here... how will we get around, where to go, where to stay? Having to plan this at the total last min since trip is in August, and I need suggestions!! HELP PLEASE!!!

Hi!
The easiest, and least complicated travel option on your list is Florence. It is an easy train ride from Rome (1.5 hours). It's a good place to spend 3 days, and you can visit pisa or tuscany as a side trip from there. Are you planning on a full 3 days? or traveling on day 3 back to the states? that will cut your time to 2.5 days. If it's a full three, you can spend two days in florence and include a day trip to tuscany. If not, you can skip tuscany and just do Pisa. If you provide more details, I can be more specific. Thanks!

oh good! Tuscany was really my first choice just based on books and movies... shallow I know!! So that's a start. So we leave the U.S. on a Sunday, and arrive on our pre-trip, before the company trip. I guess we can start out in Florence and plan to go to Tuscany. How long is that trip? Then on Wed. we travel to Rome for the company trip. We fly back on Sunday. Suggestions of where to stay in Florence?

Florence is in Tuscany. If you want to take a day trip somewhere, you just need to decide where, e.g. Siena, San Gimignano, Pisa.... However, if you don't arrive until Monday morning and leave for Rome Wednesday morning, presumably, you will barely have enough time to devote to seeing Florence much less other destinations.

I enjoyed the Westin Excelsior in Florence on Piazza Ognissanti. It is on the bank of the Arno and close to everything you would want to see. However, for accurate recommendations, you need to state a budget.

oops, shows how little i know of the area. totally planning this last min as we were only notified yesterday so i scrambling around! Our departing date is somewhat flexible, so now i'm thinking we should leave on sat. and that would give us sun, mon, tues there. my dream is to stay in a villa in tuscany!! but don't want to get a car, so is that unrealistic? price range maybe in the ballpark of $200 or less per night? Thanks for your help!! Truly appreciated!!

Most villas rent for a week, Saturday to Saturday. And you usually need a car, Plus most villas book up well ahead of time. Maybe save that dream for another time.

August is the month when all Italians go on vacation. So all the resort locations are chock full. If your work will fill your days, maybe just stay in Rome for your free time. Lots to do there.

Or base in Florence, as daneilla and Delaine suggest, and do daytrips by bus or train.

what if we stay in rome the whole time and just take a day trip or two to tuscany. is that easy enough to do? is it more expensive to stay in rome?

I would base in Florence. When I said day trip to tuscany, I meant visiting Siena/San Giminiano, which I did as a day trip. But as Delaine mentioned, you don't have much time. If you're arriving Monday morning, and leaving Wednesday-there's plenty to see in Florence itself. You can also take a train to Pisa (1 hour) one afternoon, to see the tower. If you have a full day Wednesday as well, you can see what you're interested in doing in Florence and plan from there.

Hi Camsi. How nice to get a company trip to Rome! Have you been to Rome before? If not, I'm not sure why you want to go elsewhere in such a short time frame? Why not just stay in Rome - so much to see, do, & enjoy. With so little time, why lose at least 1/2 a day to check-out/travel/check-in to another place? Also, would you need to return to Rome to fly home = another 1/2 day lost, at least.

Regarding cost - Rome hotel vs another city - by the time you add in transport from Rome hotel to train + train + transport from train to new city hotel + repeat to fly home from Rome, would Rome hotel cost that much more? Plus, staying in Rome, you wouldn't lose so much precious time & you would definitely reduce travel hassles? Have you determined if your company's hotel will give you a price break for staying the extra nites?

If you decide to leave Rome, I would think where you go depends on what you want - Tuscany countryside, Florence history & museums, or elsewhere?

Another option, if you prefer a unique vibrant city with history, is Venice. It's 4 hours by train from Rome. If you can switch your air tickets for flying home from Venice instead of Rome, that gives you a chance to see another Italian iconic city & save some travel time.

Good luck, & let us know what you decide & give us a trip report of your great opportunity. Enjoy!

Julie

Personally I would stay in Rome the whole time, taking day trips to Florence and even Venice.
I did that several years ago and it worked out great.......no changing hotels, moving around etc.

camsi - have you researched where you can most easily fly into?

that may influence which city you want to base yourselves in for your pre-trip stay.

your choices are likely to be as follows:

Rome - either Fiumicino or ciampino

Florence

Pisa

Milan

Venice.

if you fly into Rome, you could hire a car from there, spend a day or two in Umbria, then return your car to somewhere like orvieto, and get the train back to Rome.

in Florence or Pisa, you have the choice of staying in florence itself, or hiring a car and basing yourselves somewhere in the countryside, making day trips to various places. [but please don;t try to drive into Florence - the traffic is horrendous and you'll probably end up with a fine for driving into the central no-drive zone]

if you fly into Milan, you could get the train to florence and use that as your base - plenty to see in the city plus easy access by bus to Siena, San Gimignano, and then by train to Rome

fly into Venice, you could stay there and then get the train to Rome.

whichever option you take, giving yourself an extra day so that you arrive on the sunday, would be a very good idea!

Camsi, don't know what your dates are in August, but went to our favorite B&B in Rome & found 1 person, checkin 8/13, 2 nites = $254 total for the 2 nites (don't know if there is a tax). Sounds like good price to me.

It's about 1 1/2 block from P.Navona & Campo de Fiori; owned by expat dentist & his Italian wife; in-room fridge is stocked with some food & drink (counts as continental breakfast), free maid service (don't know if offered for a 2 nite stay), daytime front desk person (speaks good English), private baths, clean, tv with limited English channels (mostly CNN reruns), telephone, several "suites" available at different prices; don't know about internet service. We like it & always stay there. Only negative - there are a couple of suites located on the back side of the building that get a lot of nite time "party" noise from a local hot spot. If interested, be sure to indicate that you do not want those. No noise in the other units.

http://www.navonagallerysuites.com/rates/
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For Venice, our favorite spot is running a special for August in their hotel - starting at 100 euros per nite, including breakfast. http://www.pensioneguerrato.it/promotions.asp

We stay in their apartment (Piccolo Guerrato), just a few blocks from St. Marks. The hotel is on the other side of the Rialto.

Julie