areinert

Hello again everyone, its been a few years since the forum helped my wife and I with a europe trip. This year we will be in Italy May 22 - May 27 prior to leaving on a med cruise.

We could use some help with hotels, trains, and a tour.

We fly into FCO Rome and want to take the train from the airport to Venice. Could someone help me navigate the train site. I thought I would be able to figure it out after having used the trains in europe before but the italian site stumped me. I couldnt figure out if there was a station at the airport or make sure I was picking the right airport. I couldnt figure out the kind of trains, we would perfer a high speed non-stop from Rome to Venice.

In Venice could someone recomend a hotel on the canal? Under 200E a night, less if possible.

In Florence any hotel recomendations for under 150E a night? We will be coming in by train. In the Florence area is any one fimilar with a tour of the parma area the includes cheese, balsamic vinigear and anything else?

In Rome any recomendations on hotels? Again we will come in by train and on May 27th we will need to get back to FCO so we can get our transfer to the cruise ship.

Please let me know if I missed any details.

Thanks!
Aarron

ekc

You will need to take a train or taxi from the airport to the main train station in Rome - Termini. From Termini you can catch the fast train to Venice.
Use www.venere.com to search for hotels - you can search by price.
Have a great time!

nytraveler

First , you must take the local train from the airport to Termini in Rome, where you can pick up the ES train to Venice. The non-stop trains to Venice take about 4 hours and leave once an hour. High speed trains from Venezia Santa Lucia to Firenze take about 2 hours and also leave on an hourly basis.

For these trains you will need seat reservations - but you can buy them in the station right before you depart. (These trains are very rarely full - except on major holiday weekends - so you should be able to get tickets and reservations for the next train once you have arrived at the train station.)

Sorry I can;t help with hotels - this isn't our price point.

areinert

Thanks. On the train site what is the name for the station at the FCO airport? Whats the name of the high speed train that I should look for on the train website choices? Are you suggesting that we not buy tickets in advance, we just buy them once we arrive in rome? Same day as we want to travel by train? nytraveler, am I too high or to low on hotel prices?

ellenem

For the transfer between FCO and Rome, you want a special train that is not part of that Trenitalia system, the Leonardo Express, which shuttles back and forth between FCO airport and Roma Termini from about 6AM until 10PM. Here's a link for that train.

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...003f16f90aRCRD

High speed trains will be AV or ES. You can tell they are high speed also by looking at the trip duration. Yes, you can wait until you arrive in Rome. I would not purchase ahead for a train that depends on my airline flight arriving on time. Only after you clear immigration and baggage claim and arrive at the FCO train station will you be sure which train to Venice you can actually take. You can buy both you Leonardo Express tickets AND you Roma Termini-to-Venezia SL ticket at the FCO station. Allow at least 15 minutes between the time the LE gets to Termini and your departing Venice train to find your way through this very large station.

I think nytraveler's point is that nytraveler stays at higher-priced hotels than you do, and so can't offer ideas.

For me, with only six days, I would pick just two of your three destinations, especially since you will use up at least half a day every time you change hotels/cities.

Hotel Al Ponte Mocenigo in Venice is my favorite and should be within your budget, though may already be full for your time period.

HowardR

I can't help you with the train or hotel questions. But, I can question whether you're planning a bit too much for such a relatively short stay in Italy....Three major tourist cities in five-six days? That's barely touching the surface in any of them. Have you thought about cutting to just two of the three? And even that is crowding it!

joannyc

Can you fly into Venice and out of Rome (open jaw)?

Or, how about flying from Rome to Venice instead of taking the train?

mamcalice

I definitely agree with cutting your destinations to 2. You won't have time to see much of anything if you try to stuff 3 cities into 6 days.

areinert

Thanks for the thoughts on the heckticness of the trip. We have been to Italy and few times before, clearly not seen everything, this trip is about a 12 day med cruise and as long as we were coming for that we wanted to hit a few of our favorite places before the cruise, hence Venice, Florence for a cooking class and parma tour, and rome for the Vatican.

Thanks for the train advice!

Any additional advice on hotels would be great. In Rome does anyone know of a hotel at a reasonable price close to the airport? After the cruise we need a one night overnight before we fly home. Prior to the cruise we need something we can get to and from the hotel from the trains and is easy to get to the sites.

Anyone know about food tours in the parma area? Parma cheese, parma ham, and balsamic vinegar?

Thanks everyone!

anothertravelinsong

Wouldn't you rather stay a night in Parma? Rushing around leaves no time for enjoyment.

areinert

If we stayed in venice as base camp could we do day trips to Parma one day and Florence another day? Or is it too far or is there not high speed trains running non-stop from venice to the parma area and or florence?

italynovice

I highly recommend hotel Albergo Cesari in Rome ( near Pantheon) and Hotel Burchianti in Florence (near Duomo). I have stayed in each twice, and they are central in location, elegant, and good value.

italynovice

We are traveling to Venice in September 2011, and are staying at Hotel Al Ponte Mocenigo. It seems to be good value, highly recommended, and slightly off the beaten tourist path. I see it is also recommended above.

areinert

Based on suggestions, we are considering staying in Venice and doing day trips to places like parma for a food tour and florence for a cooking class.

Is it reasonable to use the trains for day trips to parma and florence? How far is it by train to parma and florence? Is there a high speed train to each location?

Any hotel suggestions for Rome, any suggestion for a seperate hotel for day after the cruise that is very close to the airport?

PeaceOut

For good train info and fares, try BudgetEuropeTravel.com. Call their 800 number. They are very helpful.

ellenem

Yes, you could get a high speed train to Florence for a day trip. Or you could take a cooking class in Venice and not have to spend money and time on the train trip to Florence. Check train schedules and prices at this site.

http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/homepage_en.html

Venice to Florence: 2 hours each way
Venice to Parma: 2.5-3 hours each way (must change at Bologna)

Someone posted here in the last few months about a day tour to cheese, prosciutto, and vinegar producers near Parma with this company that they really enjoyed. It also included a magificent meal. The poster was staying in Bologna, but perhaps you could train to Bologna and be picked up from there for the tour.
http://www.italiandays.it/
Here's the trip report that described the actual tour:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm