SLCLibrarian

I have been reading your postings and have already learned so much! You all seem so experienced in travel. I have been to Italy before but on a guided tour. My husband and I are going for 9 days in November.
Day 1: We fly into Rome-sightsee
Day 2: Vatican/catacombs
Day 3: Pick up the rental car and jaunt down to Pompeii, back to Rome to drop off some friends, then head as far north as possible.
Day 4: San Gimignano/Tuscany/spend night in Florence or outside
Day 5:Florence/Uffizi, Duomo, and Accademia (we are pretty quick museum user "yep, nice, ok moving on&quotNight in Florence
Day 6: On to Venice-the real meat of our trip.
Day 7:Venice
Day 8: venice
Day 9: Get up and say goodbye to Venice and head back for Rome.
Day 10: Early flight out of Rome.
So that is my plan. I"m posting it here to see if anyone has any advice/must do's/ must NOT do's, etc
Specific Questions:
1) Any advice with the rental car? Good company? Good Maps?
2) Drive time from Venice to Rome...really. (Hubby averaged 200kph in Germany-drives like a New York cabbie)
3) Catacombs? Any suggestions on which one?
4) How do we get from the airport to our hotel in Rome (which we havn't picked yet)
5) Cothes? We want to be warm and comfortable without wearing something that screams slobby American. We both got Ecco boots to wear. (money belts-no purses or fanny packs this time-I got mugged 2x in Milan last time! Small camera that will slip in our pockets)
6)Anything else you can thing of?

Thanks!! I"m sure I will post more questions in the next few weeks before we go! Thanks in advance for your advice!! I"m so excited to go!!!

HowardR

Day 3 looks a bit tight. Just driving back and forth to Pompeii will consume 5 hours. Add another 3-4 to do justice to Pompeii, plus lunch and you've consumed 10 hours. And you're only as far as your return to Rome!

LoveItaly

Well, since you asked SLCLibrarian, this seems rather like a "This is Tuesday it must be Belgium" trip.

Probably some here will disagree but if I had do to the trip you have planned I would rather stay home.

It makes my head spin.

If nothing else, why not fly into Rome and fly home from Venice (called open jaw flight). But assume that you have already bought your airline tickets.

I don't know what to say but I would sure skip the Venice part this trip, save it for the next time.

I just can't speed through Italy like that, but that is me. Am sure other travelers will share their thoughts with you.

panucci

That is a lot to do in 9 days. For starters how about Ostia Antica instead of Pompeii. Some say as good and much closer to Rome.

Eloise

I also think it's too much for nine days. Drop Pompeii, as Panucci suggests.

Then decide whether you want to do Rome and Venice or Florence and Venice. I suspect you would choose Rome and Venice, since you tend to go through museums fast and, let's face it, Florence is mostly museums.

Then you can forget about the expensive rental car -- which is frustrating in Rome and useless in Venice -- and take a fast Eurostar train from Rome to Venice (five hours, if I recall correctly).

And if you still can, book open jaw: into Rome, out of Venice.

ssachida

I agree that it's a lot to do, but since you've already been there, I assume thats the way you like it - quick glimpses of a lot of things.

Good auto rental company - AutoEurope.com

I sewcond the open jaw flight, into Rome and out of Venice. Actually, if you haven't yet got flight tickets then I'd reccommend, into Venice and out of Rome. Here's why:
1. In november you want to travel south as the temperatures are dropping.
2. You'll have a shorter car rental - pick up car in Florence and drop off in Rome. Do Pompeii by train and not have to worry about driving anywhere else on the same day.

Drop your car off in Florence and take the train to Venice (its just going to be sitting in the parking lot for 2 days). Take the overnight train back to Rome and save on car rental expenses and a nights hotel stay and 5-6 hours of sight seeing time.

What to wear - long johns (I prefer silk), nice slacks and long sleeved shirt/t-shirt, wool/cashmere sweater, raincoat (unlined or with a zip-out lining depending on your resistance to cold weather)

Since you've been to Italy before - did you go to Florence last time? If so, and since you aren't big on art, why not skip Florence and add it to either Rome or San G?
Rome -airport to hotel
You take the train to Termini and then walk/cab/bus to your hotel or arrange for a car to pick you up. One often recommended company is www.limoservicerome.com

dwzemens

We just returned from Italy three weeks ago. We were only there for nine nights, just like you. We received quite a bit of good advice from members of this forum, most notably from "Eloise".

Based upon this advice, we chose to slow down and on ly visit Rome and Venice. We flew into Rome and spent five nights, and then took the Eurostar to Venice.

We were *delighted* that we decided to only see the two cities. Five nights in Rome was terrific, but we could have used one more night. Four nights in Venice was also about a day short, but it gave us an opportunity to experience quite a bit of each city.

My simple advice is 1. Only do two cities in nine nights. 2. Take the train if possible. A rental car looks like a real headache in Rome. 3. Slow down. 4. Enjoy each city at it's own pace. 5. Slow down. 6. Eat gelato every day, especially in Rome!

jabez

I assume you have your tickets,but please listen to overall advice to slow down some. I'm one that does not mind movingaround some,but with a plan.
Try to have your first night in Venice. Either train or fly there.
Stay your first 3 nights there.Train to Florence and stay 2 or 3 nights there or in Tuscany (with a visit to Florence).
Finish with your last 3 nights in Rome.
If you have spent a lot of time in Rome or want to see very little of it (although I can't imagine that),add a night to Tuscany.
Pompeii really is too far under your circumstances.
While this would not be a perfect trip, it would give you most of what you are looking for.

ira

Hi SLC,

It's not what I would do, but I assume you know what you are doing.

There is good info at this link
Helpful Information: Italy http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34443340

Are you picking up friends in Pompeii and driving them to Rome?

If Venice is what you really want to see, it would be a lot easier to skip Rome.

>We want to be warm and comfortable without wearing something that screams slobby American. We both got Ecco boots ...<

Why do you need boots?

Traveler863

Thats too much distance to cover in 9 days, even at 200 clicks. I'd drop Pompeii and/or Venice. Or perhaps look into an open jaw, as Loveitaly suggests, and fly out of Venice. Autoeurope is great for car rental, usually the best rates. But do check with Hertz, last time I got a better rate with them. When you are rate shopping do make sure you are comparing apples to apples, some rental companies can quote just the base rate while others include taxes, insurance and other fees.

Melissajoy

Italy is amazing and there are layers upon layers of experiences to discover, so the longer you stay in one place, the more riches you uncover. For 9 days, consider staying in only 2 or 3 places. I know, I know, it's so hard to choose!

We had 13 wonderful nights in Italy, and our favorite place was Rome...which was also the place we spent the most number of nights in...4 nights. Rome received a unanimous family vote for the most fun, and this includes my teens.

We had 2 too-fast days when we whipped through Pompeii, Mt. Vesuvius, Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello. It was like watching previews of coming attractions, but not getting to actually see the movie!!!

I fell in love with Italy and plan to return. Next time I'll stay for 2 weeks and choose only 2 hotels...one week in each hotel. Yeah, it'll be hard to choose, but it will be worth it. I think I'll spend a week in Tuscany next time, and maybe return to Rome for a week.

sognatrice2

Hi SLCibrarian-

You have already gotten much good advice here. Love italy is right- An open jaw ticket makes sense, if you haven't already bought the tickets.

But with the plan you listed;
It seems you are kind of giving up day three just so you can drive Rome to Pompeii (meeting friends?) and back to Rome, then north in the same day. If your husband drives like a NY cabby, of course driving will be a breeze, unless traffic gets in the way.
Touring Pompeii, even the abbreviated version, would take at least a couple of hours after you arrive. If Pompeii is necessary, perhaps you could work out a way to travel Rome to Pompeii by train (easier and more relaxing, I think), or your friends could meet you in Rome before your drive North.

It's never a mistake to to give some time for a slowdown in Italy, even for high speed travelers!

When I have traveled in Italy in the months Nov-January, I just think layers and silk long Johns.
I bring gloves , just in case, and I love to pack a big shawl that I think is one of the most versatile things to pack. socks that dry out quickly- Venice be cold and damp.

On getting from Fumicino to your hotel, there is a train that goes direct from the airport to Termini Station, and is easy to find. Then you can get a cab from there. There's alot of information on this board about getting taxis and what to watch out for.
Good luck in your travels, Sorry you only have 9 days. At times, I've gone there myself with only 7 days available and still returned feeling that it was time well spent!

SLCLibrarian

Thanks everyone for the responses!! This is a great resource!

TC

Just spent 10 days in Italy. Three nights in Venice (more than enough) - EuroStar to Florence - two nights in Florence (might have spent three there, but we came back for a day later to catch one more museum) - rental car (AutoEurope) - four nights in Tuscany - back to Florence (its only 20 miles) - spent day at Bargello Museum - EuroStar back to Venice for overnight and fly home the next morning.

In Florence we worked with a wonderful guide to see the "Genius of Michaelangelo". It was a great tour with just enough history and only three hours long. The Duomo is an easy walk-thru in Florence. The tour got us into Academia ahead of the lines. You would need to pre-reserve to get into the Uffizi.