Wedding in Italy May 2010
 

My husband and I will be traveling to Italy to attend a wedding. The actual wedding will be held near Perugia, but we will be flying into Rome to start the trip. We have about 2 days to enjoy Rome, my husband wanted to check out the beaches there, and I wanted to see Florence. The rough idea for the trip is to fly in to Rome on a Monday, arrive Tuesday- rest up a little if needed- start wandering around Rome for the rest of the day. Wed possibly squeeze in a trip to the beach?? (I'm not even sure what's close to Rome by train) Thurs take train to Florence for the day. That evening take the train into Perugia where we will stay for three days for the wedding. The majority of everyone will be flying out of either Rome or Florence on Sunday. I was trying to understand the train system to see if it is even possible (or sane!) to try to catch the train on Sunday back to Rome to catch our flight out. I was talking to my brother about transportation options and he was trying to get more info about a shuttle ( like a van or some equivalent) to get us to the airport in time. I'm almost tempted to just stay another night in Rome on Sunday and try to fly out Mon.
So I have a couple questions...
1) Is there a beach somewhat close to Rome that we could take a train to visit- and is it even worth it to make that trip?

2) How far in advance can you book train tickets ( it was looking to me like about 2 months?? Is that right?)

3) Anyone know of some sort of chauffeur system in Italy that I could recommend to my brother to utilize to help his guests get around while we visit Italy?

4) Can you recommend a good itinerary for visiting Florence in one day?

Thanks!

What month are you talking about?

The beaches around Roma are not scenic or particularly well-loved. They are urban beaches, reachable by a short commuter train. In recent years, the beaches of Fregene (buses depart near the Vatican) have been spruced up somewhat. Longer train trips to places like Sperlonga or Gaeta are possible, and fun, but you may feel swamped by the logistics.

You don't need to buy your tickets in advance unless you are traveling during hoildays or the last 2 weeks of August.

I recommend staying the extra day, but I believe there is a direct bus from Perugia to FCO. You can look on the FCO website.

Driving in Italy is not difficult if you are going to the airport.

Perugia is a great city, and its museum of art is one of the very finest in Italy. It is not huge, and it is beautifully labeled and arranged. It is very worthwhile to see.

The standard itinerary for Firenze includes seeing Michaelangelo's David, the Uffizi, and the Cathedral and Bapistery, but if you have special interests -- like jewelry, the angelic paintings of Fra Angelico, perfume, gardens, fine leather goods, or classical sculpture, internet-recommended itineraries often bypass the unique offerings of Firenze that would most fascinate you. You are really well advised to look at guidebook. Everything in Firenze is reachable on foot in a compact area, and there are taxis if you get footsore.

Thanks so much for your reply!
We will be there from May 3rd through 10th (if we stay the extra day). I was looking at other sites about the beaches around the area. Sperlonga looks perfect for a day trip. My husband was the one to slip in the last minute trip to a beach, and I was thinking if we were in Rome or Florence we would have plenty to do. It's still negotiable. From what I've read so far, you need to make a reservation to see Michaelangelo's David. I haven't even looked at gardens yet. Oh man! Any recommendations about the gardens there?

The Boboli Gardens are historic. May should be a beautiful time to visit them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boboli_Gardens

May, however, is not considered beach weather in Italy by Italians, but if the weather is good, you sometimes see non-Italians enjoying themselves swimming in the Mediterranean, while Italians stare at them and predict early death. (I live by the sea in Italy.) Anyway, getting to Sperlonga is not wildly complicated, but requires some research into the train or bus schedules. Sometimes if you check out hotel websites -- hotels in Sperlonga -- they'll tell you how to get there.

You do need to make a reservation to get into the Accademia museum to see Michaelangelo's David IF you don't want to wait on a long line. (You surely don't want that.)

In Firenze and Rome in May, you will want an air conditioned hotel.

May 1 is a big holiday in Italy. If May 3 is a Sunday or Monday, you will need to book accommodations and travel in advance.

Do I understand this correctly? You have only one full day in Rome...and you'll spend it traveling to a beach?

Perhaps you could fly into Pisa instead. From there, stay in Cinque Terre for a couple of nights.

Actually- if we plan this right- we will fly in and arrive in Rome on Tues (so we have all of Tues minus a nap if needed) Wed is when we can take a day trip to the beach, but I'm not planning on staying there the whole day. And when we take the train back to Rome on Sunday we will have about half a day or so there as well.

@ zeppole I take it tides are wild in May then, eh?

I should also mention that we are a young couple and are interested in seeing what staying in a hostel is like. Any recommendations (ie- air conditioning)

beach....do the beach at home and enjoy rome one of the best cities of the world....depending on where you are coming from, you may be very tired upon arrival...

day tour to florence...skip it and stay in rome....you will spend all your time on the train going and coming...but if you must, just plan to stroll around the center of florence...there is plenty to see....its not a huge city...

Agree with staying in Rome. You will have to find a place to store luggage in Florence if you're just spending the day. Not impossible, but I'd stay in Rome and do round trip to Perugia from there.

I've got to add my 2 cents - going to Rome is not a beach holiday. It's not even a coastal city. Why waste the extremely short opportunity you have to experience one of the world's most incredibly historic cities in the first place? And you will end up spending the entire second day going to/from Sperlonga. It's a silly idea, IMO, but it is your vacation.

So now that you know all about NOT attempton to go to the beach (I only half agree, BTW-I LOVE Italian resort beaches off season, but its an acquired taste), lets tackle that Hostel booking...what is your budget? do you mean an actual hostel (like for students, sleeping in bunks and sharing a bathroom/shower) or do you mean as in inexpensive, but private bath et al?

I'm neutral as to whether you should go to the beach, but the issue is not the tides for Italians (although you can get storms in May). The issues is the water temp. Italians don't like chilly anything. Also, a trip to the beach in Rome is very likely to eat up a whole day. Transporation is not zippy.

I think you need to post your itinerary. My impression was that you would be in Perugia for a wedding for 3 days.

It's not a hostel, but check out the Pensione Barrett in Rome for something not stuffy. They have a website.

For everyone's clarity, I'll try to create the OP's intended itinerary:

dep Monday
arrive Tuesday - Rome
Wednesday - Rome (daytrip to beach?)
Thursday - train to Florence for day; train to Perugia in evening; stay in Perugia
Friday - Perugia (wedding)
Saturday - Perugia (wedding)
Sunday - train/shuttle to Rome for departing flight
OR
Sunday - train to Rome
Monday - depart Rome for home

I, too, would skip the beach for this short visit. I would probably also skip visiting Florence on the way to Perugia since it isn't really on the way to Perugia. For this brief visit, I'd concentrate on Rome and the wedding.

I think this may be worth repeating: If you're going to spend so little time in Rome, think about this:

Arrive Tues in Pisa--train to Cinque Terre (beach)
Wed - CT
Thurs - to Perugia, perhaps stop in Florence

ohmigosh. I live near Cinque Terre and I certainly wouldn't want to start out from here for Perugia by public transportation.

How about Lago di Trasimeno for a swim? (Can be done in May.) It's a stone's throw from Perugia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Trasimeno

By the way, Lago di Trasimeno is where Hannibal annihilated the Roman army in the Second Punic War.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lake_Trasimene

And you might want to read this about Fregene from the New York Times "Where Rome Goes for a Swim"

http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/07/09/travel/09day.html

and here's how to get to Fregene

http://www.frommers.com/destinations...064020290.html

I'd also skip the beach from Rome as you barely have time to make a dent in all that Rome has to offer and, depending on where you're flying from, you will likely be quite tired from jet lag.

However, I also love Florence and would encourage you to spend a day there. Why not spend the night there as well and travel to Perugia the next morning? If at all possible, I would try to add in extra days to your trip so you have a chance to enjoy Italy and the wedding.

zeppole:

Please enlighten me. How does one travel from Florence to Perugia? I had assumed train....no?

Yes, Florence to Perugia is good by train -- takes about 2 hours.

I was wondering why zeppole said:

"...I certainly wouldn't want to start out from [Cinque Terre] for Perugia by public transportation."

The OP said she wants to go Rome to Florence to Perugia. Seems to me the trip would be fairly cmoparable starting from CT.

It takes about 3 hours to get from Cinque Terre to Florence and requires at least one change of train somewhere. To continue on to Perugia, one would have to change trains again in Florence to the aforementioned 2 hour train to Perugia.

Rome to Florence is 1.5 hours north by fastest train, no changes required.

For Florence to Perugia, the train route heads southeast on a different train line than the Rome route, with only slower trains from which to choose.

Aw jeepers. I had left this thread, because I didn't want to best a dead horse, but I'm back because I couldn't resist beating this one.

I wouldn't dream of leaving Rome to spend a day at a beach within an easy commute of the city, in May. I would probably want to smack my husband if he suggested it. You simply can't get a sense of Rome in the very limited amount of time you have there.

Do you live in the USA? Where there are hundreds, if not thousands, of great beaches?

Will you be going back to Italy soon? Will you get to see the dozens of incredible sights in Rome in the next couple of years?

I just wouldn't do it; it doesn't make sense. However, it is your time and money, and if your husband wants to go to a just OK beach on a just OK train, eating up a day of a short trip to Italy, rather than see as much of Rome as you can squeeze in, I'm guessing he is going to do it. But if he were mine, I would still want to smack him.

Since I'm begging you not to go to a beach, I won't say anything about going to Florence. Get up extra early, hit the train from Rome to Florence, stay until things are closing, and then on to Perugia.

There are tons of drivers who will take you from Perugia to FCO. Your brother can search here for Italy drivers, or just google it. We can tell you which companies/drivers we know and could recommend. It is quite expensive.

Hostels in Rome: no air conditioning.

at LJ-
" lets tackle that Hostel booking...what is your budget?

do you mean an actual hostel (like for students, sleeping in bunks and sharing a bathroom/shower)

or do you mean as in inexpensive, but private bath et al?"

my husband and I have stayed at a hostel where we have community bunking, etc- not ideal- but definitely affordable

In terms of hostel vs inexpensive - whatever works. I'd say between 30 and 50 euro a night- but less is always better if we can find it and it is a safe place to stay. I don't know all of the hostels in Italy, and I've just begun my research about them around Rome and Perugia.

I've seen some hostels have private rooms but share the bath etc... we are both pretty low maintenance and are more excited about just being there. I want to be there for my brother's wedding- that is the first priority- everything else at this point is a bonus.



I have gotten a lot of do this and don't do this- back and forth about the beach and Florence.

"I wouldn't dream of leaving Rome to spend a day at a beach within an easy commute of the city, in May. I would probably want to smack my husband if he suggested it."

I would like this to be an enjoyable trip, not a "pain- in- the ass -my -husband- and- I- are- going -to -fight -the- whole- time- about -the -itinerary" kind of trip

"You simply can't get a sense of Rome in the very limited amount of time you have there."

I think this is inevitable. If we had tons of money to spend and unlimited paid time off days this may be negotiable, BUT... alas- we are your average working class citizens who can afford a small trip to a place that we both have been wanting to visit

"Do you live in the USA? Where there are hundreds, if not thousands, of great beaches?"

Texas actually, and the closest beach to us is PADRE which I desperately hate with a passion.

"Will you be going back to Italy soon? Will you get to see the dozens of incredible sights in Rome in the next couple of years?"

I have no clue- I know that we are planning to get to Ireland in the next year or so as well

Upon more research this it what it looks like tentatively

Mon- fly to Rome
Tues- arrive early, rest up a bit- start some exploring
Wed- explore Rome more (no Florence) at a reasonable pace
Thurs- early train to Gaeta or Sperlonga - give my hubby some beach time, then train to Perugia and stay their through Sunday
Fri/ Sat- wedding in La Preghiera
Sunday- train back to Rome stay overnight
Mon- fly back to US

Sperlonga is 1 hour 11 minutes by train south of Rome--station to station--does not include getting to station, getting from station to beach, and so forth. From Fondi-Sperlonga train station you will have to take a bus to Sperlonga that takes 15-20 minutes

For Sperlonga to Perugia, you must return to Rome and change to a different train there. A number of the trains will require another change at Foligno, Terontola, or even Arezzo to reach Perugia. Average travel time for this train route: 4.5 hours . . . add in the bus from Sperlonga and so forth

There's no train to Gaeta. It's further down the coast south of Sperlonga

Schmalls,

Instead of Sperlonga, you should probably head to Santa Marinella for your beach, It is just up the coast a bit and is easily reached by a train ride of less than an hour. There is a 4pm (or so) Eurostar that leaves Santa Marinella that will get you to Perugia in 4 hours, and other cheaper trains leaving earlier or later that take a bit longer to make the journey.

w.comune.santamarinella.rm.it/

I have never stayed in a hostel, but for Rome, your hotel budget is very thin. You might also use Rome b&b sites to find something, but make sure it is not very far from the center.

Lastly, I don't know when your flight home will leave FCO, but it sounds to me like you plan to take the train to the airport the morning of your flight. If at all possible, try not to leave before 10am so you aren't trying to get to the Rome train station in the dark. You will need to be at the airport at least 2 hours before departure.

Sorry, here is the whole link:

http://www.comune.santamarinella.rm.it/

And I wish I'd thought of Santa Marinella sooner!

Thanks, ellen. I was thinking the CT/Florence leg was only 2 hrs. Never mind.....

JeanneB,

It depends on where you are coming from in Cinque Terre and what may be the best way to connect. Yu might be able to do is fast than 3 hours, but I don't think as quickly as 2 hours.

You might be able to do it faster than 3 hours . . .

JeanneB,

Getting in and out of the small towns of Liguria by train is seldom a speedy proposition -- even less so now that an explosion down the line in Viareggio recently damaged tracks on the same line. Even without explosions, the trains along the Mediterranean are frequently unpunctual, and connecting to someplace like Perugia can mean several train changes in stations with stairs, sometimes with maddening short connections, sometimes with maddeningly long connections. And much of the ride is on pokey trains -- and in the spots where you can catch an ES or IC, the trains can be packed.

For hostels in Rome I can suggest either Fawlty Towers www.fawltytowers.org or Papa Germano www.hotelpapagermano.com

I have had friends stay at both these with positive reactions. They have the advantage of being in the centre of town which is something you have to be cautious of with hostels in Rome.

I will leave the rest of the debate to others...

It seems like the OP has never used public transportation. I sometimes think people can't understand it until they do. It also appears there is no interest in seeing Rome so they may as well be at the beach if they don't care about Rome.

While still a bit above your price range for hostels in Rome, I would suggest trying either The Beehive or Hostel des Artistes. Google should bring up sites for both. I believe a private room will run you in the 60-70 Euro range however.

I too can't imagine using a precious day in Rome for the mediocre beaches nearby, but to each their own I guess!

For Perugia, the challenge of a hostel is a little more complex...they are either outside the town and require a hike. Or they are not open as early as May.

However, students of mine once stayed at Il Giardino de Matilde and liked it...it is more of a B&B than a hostel, but within your budget.
www.ilgiardinodimatilde.it

Perugia is a fascinating city with a rich architectural and art history...one of the premiere centres of contemporary stained glass and, of course, Perugina, money (Italy's first exchequer), chocolate and students...Italy's oldest university (though that is an ongoing debate).

Cafe Perugia has great food and the cafe part (as opposed to the pricey bar/osteria/tratorria upstairs) is a good bargain...great people watching.

No beaches, though (LOL!)

I will freely confess I also care more about my marriage and having a good time with my husband than I do Rome.

I had gotten the impression the accommodations in Perugia were set in conjunction with the wedding, but I had a great budget stay at Hotel Rosalba, very convenient to the train station and the center of Perugia (by the escalators). Hotel Rosalba has a website. (They are more expensive than 50e)

(But I love Rome and am glad my husband shares that feeling! -- Of course, we live at the beach, so ...)

You can also try www.eurocheapo.com for cheap accomodations...

Zeppole: you may be right about Perugia and the wedding...its for 3 days, I think I read and perhaps that is paid for? but in any case, we have tried to assist and you, especially, have been most helpful! Maybe we lost the OP with all the fuss about the beach?

wow! people are quick to jab at you on here!
Yes- the stay in Perugia is paid for Thur-Sat night. Sunday we will find other accommodations in Rome Sunday night and will fly out Monday.
Thanks to everyone who had helpful recommendations -vs- slamming me for my choice of itinerary. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but I will say that that the criticism from some of you does not encourage me to come back to use this site to ask simple questions.
I believe there are better ways to give recommendations rather than to say :
-it's a silly idea
- I should smack my husband for adding a little variety into the mix
-it seems like the OP has never used public transportation
-it also appears there is no interest in seeing Rome so they may as well be at the beach if they don't care about Rome


really????!!!!!

This is our first trip to Italy. I was hoping to get some insightful feedback about traveling in Italy. I admit that I don't know how to travel in Italy, that's why I came HERE to ask- so spare me the judgments.

I didn't realize how many egos were going to get bruised by my personal choices.. so sorry to all of you who think that I'm a complete idiot for even daring to step foot in Rome.

Seriously...who cares if we go to the beach? It is completely impossible to see ALL of Rome.. period..let alone all of Italy...
instead of saying- " what in the name of everything holy do you think you're doing????"

I might recommend saying- "never been... I don't know... sounds like an interesting trip...never tried that before.... "

great impression made to a newbie, guys!