First trip to Italy: Should we go to Venice or Florence? We are definitely going to Rome and wanted to include one other city. Unfortunately, we only have 8 days to spend and the flights are in and out of Rome. We are both really looking forward to Rome, but can't decide where else to go. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Hi JM

With only 8 days, stay in Rome; more than enough to see and do.

You can visit Orvieto and/or Ostia Antica as daytrips.

Florence and Venice can be combined for a week on your next trip.

Since your flights are in and out of Rome, the logical chose would be Florence. You can't go wrong with either city, but Florence makes more sense. Have a great trip !!! Mike

Since your flights are both Rome, how about a few days in Florence on this trip. Then next trip you can make sure that you go to Venice. I haven't been to Rome in over 30 years, so maybe my feelings would change if I went again as an older person, but I'm one of those people who MUCH prefers Venice and Florence to Rome.

Thanks for your responses! FYI. We also have a 4 day Eurail pass. Any ideas?

Can you return the Eurail passes? Waste of money for you.

Florence is an easy trip from Rome - either 3 hours or 90 minutes on the express [although I don't know if the pass works on the express]. While you could certainly spend 8 days in Rome, I think Florence is a fine and reasonable idea. Save Venice [my favorite Italian city] for the next time.

Regardless of your choice, you'll have a wonderful time!

I'll have to agree that logistically, Florence makes a lot more sense.
I'm curious, why did you buy a Eurailpass, especially since your itinerary hasn't been finalized?

Hi JM,

You have 8 days in Rome. Where will you go that you will spend 4 days on train travel?

I suggest you turn in your railpasses.

You can get train schedules and costs at www.trenitalia.com/en

Click on the number of the train that you want to take for prices.

My opinion/advice is too late since you've already booked plane ticket and bought a railpass. I would have suggested flying open jaw into Rome and out of Venice (or vice versa) taking the train in between the two.

That said, I'd stick to Rome with day trips on the train and save Florence and Venice for the next time. 8 days is not all that long, and I always (in my mind) subtract the 1st and last day which are basically lost to arrival and departure logistics.

Thanks so much for the advice. We tried to do the open jaw in Italy, but since we are tagging on the end of a business trip, the open jaw has already been used (and they will only allow 1). Also, the train passes are Trenitalia pass savers that were purchased when we did have an itinerary. Since then, our plans have kind of changed (we are as indecisive as can be). We were thinking that they could be used to travel to and from the second city and for 1 day trip to Siena or Pompei. Should we still look into turning the passes in?

I must be dense tonight as it occurs to me that I do not understand what you are trying to do in your vacation schedule. Where are you coming from, where are you going, do you have 8 full days in Rome or do the 8 days include the day of arrival and day of departure etc. More information might help us help you.

Well since you got stuck with a useless rail pass, you might as well get some benefit out of it, so I'd opt for two nights in Venice. It's worth it for the extra 3 hour train trip from Rome (4 1/2 hours total). Go early in the morning and you'll have a full afternoon, the whole next day, plus two nights), and as much time as you want the following day before returning to Rome. Spending 4 1/2 hours twice, relaxing on a train might just be a nice way to break up your exhausting trip if you are trying to pack in a lot.

While it seems a lot to some, I don't consider 6 days in Rome and 2 days in Venice too much for a trip!!!

In fact, I would not be opposed to going to Florence early one morning, spending all day there, that night, and half a day the next day, then go on to Venice for two nights and back to Rome. That makes 5, 1, and 2. In the better part of two days you can see all the major sites in Florence. And since you have the pass, the train travel will all be "free".

Florence is my favorite city in Italy and easy to reach from Rome, as everyone else has said.

I would not do more than 2 cities in an 8 day trip, too much time moving around.

Hi JM,

>...to travel to and from the second city and for 1 day trip to Siena or Pompei. Should we still look into turning the passes in?<

Yes. If you train to Florence, stay 2 nights and daytrip to Siena, costs pp are 60E on the ES* and 13E on the SITA bus. This is $65 pp less than the Trenitalia Pass Saver.

If you really want to go to Pompeii from Rome, I suggest www.enjoyrome.com. I think they charge $60 pp to take you there and back.
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