Venice and Florence Italy
May 20th, 2016, 05:16 PM
#1
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Venice and Florence Italy
My husband and I are going on a Mediterranean cruise in late October that will leave from Rome and do Naples and stops in Greece. We would like to go to Venice and Florence or other sites suggested before the cruise so that we can see more while we are there. I am concerned about doing the tour on our own, but we have been on a bus tour and they can be too scheduled. How do I go about finding transportation to and from cities (train) and guides in those locations? I would appreciate any suggestions on those and also on booking through airnb.com. Is it a reliable service for accommodations?
May 20th, 2016, 05:25 PM
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Getting from one city to another is very easy. For discounted tickets (but for fixed trains - no changing schedules) go to trenitalia.com. If you go to bahn.de (which may be easier to understand) you can see all of the train schedules but can't buy tickets only within Italy.
You can easily fly into Venice, then train to Florence and then on to Rome. There are high speed trains between al of them in a couple of hours.
You can easily fly into Venice, then train to Florence and then on to Rome. There are high speed trains between al of them in a couple of hours.
May 20th, 2016, 08:23 PM
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What you want to do is very easy to do on your own. Plus, you have plenty of time to get comfortable with doing it yourself.
Book multi-city or multi-destination tickets, (not two one-way) into Venice and home from wherever your cruise ends.
Take a train from Venice to Florence and from Florence to Rome. It is pretty straight forward, and not long trips. Stations in all the cities are central and/or easy to find.
Save money by booking trains ahead, but if you don't care too much about the extra cost, you can book when you are there.
Little important note. Validate tickets before boarding trains in Italy!
I have used Airbnb and had very good luck. Look at pictures and locations carefully. There are plenty of nice hotels in all locations though. Browse through some of the threads here about trips to Italy. You will find lots of suggestions. If not, just ask for recs here. Book on line directly with the hotel.
Go for doing it yourself!
Book multi-city or multi-destination tickets, (not two one-way) into Venice and home from wherever your cruise ends.
Take a train from Venice to Florence and from Florence to Rome. It is pretty straight forward, and not long trips. Stations in all the cities are central and/or easy to find.
Save money by booking trains ahead, but if you don't care too much about the extra cost, you can book when you are there.
Little important note. Validate tickets before boarding trains in Italy!
I have used Airbnb and had very good luck. Look at pictures and locations carefully. There are plenty of nice hotels in all locations though. Browse through some of the threads here about trips to Italy. You will find lots of suggestions. If not, just ask for recs here. Book on line directly with the hotel.
Go for doing it yourself!
May 21st, 2016, 03:37 AM
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I think the transportation question has been answered. As for guides:
Local travel agents run tours of the various attractions, or if you're staying at a hotel, they can set you up with someone. Or you can go to the Viator website and book tours online.
Local travel agents run tours of the various attractions, or if you're staying at a hotel, they can set you up with someone. Or you can go to the Viator website and book tours online.
May 21st, 2016, 07:16 AM
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It's good to get some idea of the sights in Venice and Florence before you go. You can borrow guidebooks from the library, watch travel shows on TV (or borrow them on DVDs from the library), and search the Internet. Rick Steves' book, Europe By the Back Door, is good for first-timers.
If you want to go to the Uffizi or Academia museums in Florence, it's best to get a ticket ahead of time. That's true also for St. Mark's cathedral in Venice as well as the Secret Itineraries Tour of the Doge's Palace.
Once you know what you want to see, you can figure out a convenient location to stay. For hotels in Europe, I look first at booking.com. There the reservations are cancellable and the reviews are all by people who have stayed at the hotel. Then, for my short list, I read the reviews on tripadvisor.com (but take these reviews with a grain of salt). Finally I may book directly with the hotel if it offers a better deal.
For very helpful information on train travel in Europe including how to buy tickets from home, go to seat61.com.
It takes planning time to do a trip by yourselves, but you get to see exactly what you want to see for as long as you want to stay there.
If you want to go to the Uffizi or Academia museums in Florence, it's best to get a ticket ahead of time. That's true also for St. Mark's cathedral in Venice as well as the Secret Itineraries Tour of the Doge's Palace.
Once you know what you want to see, you can figure out a convenient location to stay. For hotels in Europe, I look first at booking.com. There the reservations are cancellable and the reviews are all by people who have stayed at the hotel. Then, for my short list, I read the reviews on tripadvisor.com (but take these reviews with a grain of salt). Finally I may book directly with the hotel if it offers a better deal.
For very helpful information on train travel in Europe including how to buy tickets from home, go to seat61.com.
It takes planning time to do a trip by yourselves, but you get to see exactly what you want to see for as long as you want to stay there.
