Suggestions for 5 days Venice/Florence +?
 

<BR>This is our first time to Italy. We arrive in Venice the afternoon of May 3rd after a cruise. We will have 5 days before we leave from Florence on May 9th. Suggestions as how to split the days? Would 1 1/2 days in Venice be enough then, 4 days in Florence? We were planning on taking the train from Venice to Florence. How would the driving be?We looked into leasing a car and it looks to be about $100 per day because of mandatory insurance! <BR><BR>I would love any suggestions as to seeing any other great towns. Is it driving distance from Florence to say Siena, where we could go for a day trip? Or there trains/excursions that would do this? <BR><BR>Since we have spent so much on the cruise, we are trying to not spend a fortune.... Thinking of Hotel Mario, Hotel Balestri and Morandi alla Crocetta in Florence. Any comments on these (last is more expensive-is it worth it?) <BR><BR>Venice seems to be quite expensive-especially we would be there maybe Sat/Sun. Any suggestions? I was looking at Palazzo Duodo (a 4* B&B)which is 100 meters From St. Marks square. Is this good location? Rums around $185/night. Anyone heard of it? <BR><BR>Any help would be greatly appreciated-we are trying to arrange for hotels and need to book soon. <BR><BR>

Ginny<BR>You arrive May 3, and have 5 days so I assume you are leaving Florence on May 9th. I would spend the afternoon of 3rd, the 4th and 5th in Venice, take early morning train to Florence on 6th, spend the rest of 6th, 7th, and 8th in Florence. Both cities will keep you occupied for that time and there won't be much need to go day tripping.<BR><BR>Driving is feasible. Italy is not hard to drive in, but you would have the hassle of the car once you got to Florence. I would take the train and enjoy these two cities and plan on returing to Italy to see more.<BR><BR>Hotel in Venice that I like is the Locanda Sturion (they have a web page located at http://www.locandasturion.com/inglese/). One word of caution, it has no lift and requires climbing long flight of stairs so if you can not handle that do not use it. Otherwise it is quite right on Grand Canal and close to all. We really liked it a lot.<BR><BR>In Florence we used the Hotel Machiavelli which we found to be nice. It is on web at <BR>http://www.venere.it/it/firenze/machiavellipalace/index.html.en<BR><BR>Enjoy two wonderful cities.

You can easily drive all around Florence but it is easier to take the train.<BR><BR>I've driven all through Italy, and while the driving is easy, the parking and getting lost in every town or city is a time waster.<BR><BR>From now on it's trains and taxis for me.

We loved the Hotel Colomba in Florence, more of a pension. A couple owns/runs it and she is Australian and having her to translate some things was very helpful! Fax 055284323. We took the bus to Siena for the day, it was great.

So you land in Venice on a Friday afternoon, May-3rd? Stay the weekend in Venice. Depart on Monday for Florence. Do be aware that many museums/sites are closed on Monday. Take the Eurostar train from Venice to Florence. Easy, efficient & much cheaper than renting a car. If you feel more comfortable doing so, buy your train tickets prior to departure on Monday. A day or two ahead is fine. Buy them directly at train station or thru most travel agencies there. Once upon a time, the American Express office sold train tickets, but they may not be doing that any longer. <BR><BR>Monday afternoon in Florence -- not everything is closed, but alot is. Plan ahead. Tues & Wed (May 7 & 8) in Florence. Although you will find much to keep you occupied staying in Florence, Siena is a really neat little city (old, medieval, charming, cobblestones, walls, the whole shebang). Can easily find an excursion or do it yourself via train or bus. It's an hour away. If opting for public transport, the SITA bus is way to go.

Thank you so much to all of you for having taken the time to help. Your info. was greatly appreciated.