ooodsie

We are going to France/Italy for our anniversary in late Sept/early Oct. I have the flights booked, not nothing else so far. I need suggestions on 1) am I spacing the days out to maximize our time each location and b) the best way to get between each city (train, drive, fly). Here is the general plan so far:

Sept 27 - Arrive in Paris (flight gets in at 1pm)
Sept 28- Paris
Sept 29 -Paris
Sept 30- Leave Paris to head to Venice (easyjet.com? Flights are expensive right now. Or Train?)
Sept 30 at night, arrive in Venice
Oct 1 - explore Venice during the day before leaving. Head to Venice (drive or train?) Sleep in Florence?
Oct 2 - Florence
Oct 3 - Florence
Oct 4 - Leave to head to Rome, rent a car? Drive through Tuscany on the way to Rome - stop and sleep somewhere in the countryside at night.
Oct 5 - Arrive in Rome
Oct 6 - Rome
Oct 7 - Rome
Oct 8 - Leave Rome to head South - (train or drive?) to Almafi Coast
Oct 9 - Explore Almafi/Positano/Pompeii etc
Oct 10 - Same as above
Oct 11 - Head back to Rome to catch our flight at 1pm


So.. before I book transportation between cities, or book hotels - I want to make sure our timeline is good? Would you deduct days from one place, add them to another? Am I missing anything on the way that is a MUST SEE? And what are the methods of transportation you suggest to get from each destination to the next? Thanks so much! I am overwhelmed with planning this trip!

ooodsie

Oops I can't edit this and I realized I made a typo... On Oct 1 I said "leave venice / head to venice" .. I MEANT Leave Venice, Head to Florence.

charnees

Use the train or bus on this trip. Except perhaps the Paris to Venice leg. I suggest you take a day during your stay in Florence and take the bus into the Tuscan countryside to Siena. Then when you leave Florence take the train straight through to Naples/Amalfi and then consolidate your Rome days at the end. That way you avoid wasting another half day changing hotels.

Actually, don't stay in hotels anywhere except Venice. Rent apartments for more room and a mini-kitchen so you have someplace to relax after your busy days besides a tiny hotel room.

wlzmatilida

Hi Oodsie,

A couple of things about your itinerary that popped out to me - if you're checking flights on a carrier like Easy Jet, make sure you know what their baggage policy is -- they LOVE charging over "over" luggage limits.

My mantra for Italy is to take the train from Point A to B, and never EVER drive in any major city. The only place I drive is in Tuscany!

It's a very short trip from Venice to Florence. You should allow 2 full days for Venice, so depending on when you arrive in Venice from Paris, plan accordingly - maybe take a later afternoon train to Florence.

October 11 - there are so many variations of things that could go wrong when planning on returning BACK to where you need to catch your international flight, that I wouldn't chance it. If you're flight leaves at 1PM, you should be STANDING at the gate, getting your boarding pass, by 11AM (and some would say that was pushing it - to be sure, by 10AM). If you're renting a car, that means figuring the driving time from the South to the airport (in rush hour traffic). Taking a train - what if there's a strike? Much better to allow yourself that "cushion" and be in Rome the night before your flight.

Also, apartments in Europe typically rent from Saturday to Saturday in week-long blocks.

Hope this is helpful!

Melodie

ooodsie

Oops I should clarify - our flight on the 11th is from Rome to Dusseldorf, where we have a day lay over and dont leave from Germany till the 12th. Not sure if that makes a difference in amount of time needed to get to the airport early or not. But that could be smart, going straight from Florence to the coast and finish in Rome so we're close to the airport.

Jean

This is a lot of geography to cover in 2 weeks. I would skip Positano and the Amalfi Coast on this trip and add the time to Venice. IMO, you're not spending enough time in Venice, especially if anything delays your arrival from Paris.

If skipping Positano, I wouldn't rent a car for one day to drive from Florence to Rome. You could use public trans to go Florence-Siena, spend the night, and then public trans Siena-Rome. IMO, you don't have enough time for anything else.

If you keep Positano in the itinerary, go there after Florence and put all your days in Rome at the end.

charnees

wizmatilda is wrong about apartments only renting Sat. to Sat. There are many in the cities that will rent to you for 3 or more days, for whatever day of the week you need them. We have done that several times.

ooodsie

I don't plan to REMOVE any cities from my list - this is our only trip to Europe, and we want to see as much as we can. We know we will be on a limited timeline in each place, but in our opinion it's better than never seeing that place to begin with. I just wanted to know the best route to take (train, bus, car) from each place to the next, and if you would add a day or subtract from certain places, but NOT remove a city all together. I appreciate the tips about going straight to Positano from Florence, thats a smart idea, and I will change that accordingly.

ellenem

It's a bit too much moving around for me, but here's the way I'd set your itinerary with Rome at the end, transport options suggested. Considering how much money you will be spending on the entire vacation, I think a flight between Paris and Venice is a small expense to maximize time actually visiting Italy (and I can't sleep on trains).

Sept 27 - Arrive in Paris (flight gets in at 1pm)
Sept 28- Paris
Sept 29 -Paris
Sept 30- Depart Paris; fly to Venice as early in day as possible; sleep in Venice
Oct 1 - Venice
Oct 2 - afternoon/evening train to Florence; sleep in Florence
Oct 3 - Florence
Oct 4 - Florence
Oct 5 - Pick up car and drive through Tuscany; sleep somewhere in the countryside
Oct 6 - Drive to Amalfi Coast
Oct 7 - Explore Amalfi/Positano
Oct 8 - Drive to Rome; see Pompeii on the way; might leave car in Naples and train from there
Oct 9 - Rome
Oct 10 - Rome
Oct 11 - Rome; flight at 1pm

aimeekm

Oodsie - I understand that you want to see as much as you can, but the more cities you visit during a set time frame actually means you see less. So by encouraging you to cut out a city, it's so you can see more.

You have 14 days in Europe. With your plan, you are spending six of those days in transit. Not only do you have the actual commute times, but the time spent finding the hotel, checking in, unpacking/packing, checking out, getting to the train station/airport etc.. That is a huge amount of time IMO that you are not seeing anything.

Checking in and out of hotels is not the same as the US. I travel extensively for work in the US. Getting to the hotel just means programming the GPS, pulling into the valet, speedy checkin process where they already have all my info on file. If I'm really pressed for time I can even tip the bellboy to put the luggage in my room. Checking out is just a matter of picking up my bill from under the door. This is so not the case in Europe! Just finding the hotel usually takes longer than all the steps above. Then the hotel has to take all your info, including your passport info. Long story short, it is far more time consuming to change cities & hotels in Europe than it is in the US.

So please consider taking this board's advice. We all want you to take home great memories of these amazing cities, not memories of train stations and stress.

If you are really determined to see that many cities during your two weeks, then I would suggest a tour. With a tour your transit will take the same amount of time, but it will save you time finding your accomodations, etc..

JeanneB

Ditto what aimeekm said!

janisj

ditto ditto DITTO what aimeekim said.

Look at Paris for instance:

Assuming you arrive on time @ 1PM -- you won't be at your hotel until probably 3PM at the earliest -- and will be jetlagged so that day is just about shot. Leaving you 2 full days to "see" Paris. In 2 days you won't see squat. Well maybe a bit more --but not much.

Every single time you move from one city to the next you lose a minimum of a half day -sometimes a full day.

So in your two weeks you are traveling on 6 days and using up nearly 5 FULL DAYS worth of sightseeing time. When you factor in travel to/from Europe, nearly 50% of your total vacation time will be on planes, in trains, at airports, in train stations, on buses or in taxis, checking in, checking out, packing, unpacking . . . Instead of seeing/enjoying being anyplace.

Don't shoot the messenger --you really WILL see more if you go to fewer places . . . .

Lexma90

I would make the same suggestion as previous posters; you're visiting so many (lovely) destinations that a bigger proportion of your vacation time will be spent in transit.

One way to help you decide whether you do, indeed, want to spend so much time travelling is to make a list of the things that you feel are "must-sees" for you in each location. Then think about how many of those must-sees you could get to in the time that you have. That will also help you compare whether your must-sees in one place outweigh those in another. For example, if you plan to stay a night somewhere in Tuscany, is there something in particular that you wanted to see or experience in Tuscany? Or just enjoy the beautiful landscape? Is that more important to you than, for example, seeing the ruins of Pompeii?

If you're keeping to the same destinations, consider your time in Florence. It is a treasure trove of Renaissance art, and the Uffizi is amazing (as is the Pitti Palace art, and Michelangelo's David, at the Accademia), but if you're not so much into Renaissance art, then consider taking a day from there and spending it in Venice.

Also, I agree with ellenem's suggestion of visiting Rome at the end.

Sassafrass

This is another idea.
Paris - 3 Nts
Fly Paris to:
Naples (AC) - 3 Nts.
Fly Naples to:
Venice - 3 Nts.
(only a bit over an hour flight +, of course, time getting to and from airport, but cheap)
Train to
Florence - 3 Nts
(Do day tip to Siena from Florence so you see a bit of countryside and smaller town.)
Train to Rome 3 - Nts
Skip any driving

Sassafrass

This is another idea.
Paris - 3 Nts
Fly Paris to:
Naples (AC) - 3 Nts.
Fly Naples to:
Venice - 3 Nts.
(only a bit over an hour flight +, of course, time getting to and from airport, but cheap)
Train to
Florence - 3 Nts
(Do day tip to Siena from Florence so you see a bit of countryside and smaller town.)
Train to Rome 3 - Nts
Skip any driving

JeanneB

2 days in Paris...you're breaking my heart! Maybe we're just totally different, but "being in Paris" to me means wandering the narrow streets drinking in the city's charm. Not to mention those fabulous aromas wafting from boulangeries! Stopping at a sidewalk cafe. Sitting on the fountains at St Sulpice, eating ice cream, watching the world go by. My happiest times in Paris were totally unscripted moments and involve no major landmarks.

ooodsie

I definitely understand everyone is going to say "2 days in this city, no way, you need 2 months there!" .. however, to us it's either 2 days, or NO days. and I'd rather have a few hours and "see" the town, than to never have seen it to begin with. I know most won't agree, but we're okay with this. Last year we did 10 days on the coast of CA, driving from San Diego to Napa, stopping in 8 cities along the way and we did not feel rushed at all.

I was not aware of the check in and check out process at European hotels, so thats good to know that it takes more time. We won't be unpacking/packing - we live out of our suitcases when we travel, so thats fine.

I need to sit down and make a list of things that are 'must sees' as we honestly don't know what we want to see. I suppose the major tourist attractions, even if we don't go in, just to be near them. We are interested in history, as well as wine, food, etc. We mainly just want to 'experience' the areas, no set tours or intineraries.. if we could play it by ear, we would - but we know that's hard in another language/culture, so I am trying to lay out a plan ahead of time. In CA last year we just winged it - stopped at a hotel when we felt like stopping, and stayed longer somewhere if we were enjoying ourselves.

janisj

"<i>. Last year we did 10 days on the coast of CA, driving from San Diego to Napa, stopping in 8 cities along the way and we did not feel rushed at all. </i>"

TOTALLY apples and Oranges. You simply cannot compare a night or two in small CA coastal cities like Santa Barbara, Monterey, Morro Bay, or Napa w/ Paris, Rome, and Venice.

Monterey has a population of 25,000 and maybe 2 or 3 "don't miss" sites. Rome has a population of nearly 3 million and has literally scores of world famous sites. Paris -- 2,000,000 and even more major sites than Rome.

You are seriously underestimating times, distances, logistics.

But it IS your trip-- I just think it is ironic that you say you are into history, good food, wine, and "experiencing" the places --none of which will you have time for . . .

aimeekm

Ditto janisj!

Your CA vacation sounds lovely, and 10 days is a very generous time frame for exploring the CA coast. It is not at all comparable to Paris, Venice, Florence, Rome & Amalfi/Postino/Pompeii. I think AC/Postino/Pompeii all by its self is more comparable to the CA coast.

I think you are misinterpretting why we are encouraging you to rework your itinerary. It's not really about the cities needing more time. It's about how much of your one and only trip to Europe you are going to waste on logistics, instead of experiencing the cities, like you say your goal is.

As janisj said, it's your vacation. I just really think it would be a more enjoyable vacation if you took some of our advice!

Sassafrass

Janisj is so right! We have also driven the coast of CA, from San Diego, through lots of small towns, up Big Sur, to Mendicino, way North of San Francisco. It is absolutely nothing like visiting big cities in Europe. It is easy up and down the CA coast to find hotels just off the highway, lots of chains and you pretty much know what you are getting. Ten days on the CA coast is leisurely. You are in one country, going in one direction with one mode of transportation, visiting small towns that are easy to find, easy to park in, and frankly, usually with only one or two places (like the missions, old canneries or landscapes) that are also easy to find. No lines for tickets for anything except the museum in SF.

In big European cities, you have lots of walking, using buses or subways, etc. plus getting from city to city by either plane or train - toting luggage in and out of the stations.

That is not to say you can't do your trip as you choose, and it will be wonderful. The logistics are just in no way comparable to driving the CA coast.

Do rethink the idea of just being near famous sights. For example, you can't get any feeling at all for the Sistine Chapel or Pompeii or the Louvre from the outside, if they are of any interest to you. Many things are like that in Paris and Rome. Venice is different. You could spend weeks walking without going inside, and still feel you have really seen Venice.

If you carefully select the sights you want to see, not rush to hurry past everything, and give yourself some time to wander in the evenings with some cafe sitting time, your trip should be fun, even if it wouldn't suit many of us.

The advice people are giving you is spot on.