We are traveling to Europe as a graduation gift to my 18 year old daughter. This will be her first time in Europe so we are visiting London, Paris, Aix-en-Provence, Florence, Salzburg and Vienna. What mode of transportation would you recommend from Aix-en-Provence to Florence? We don't want to spend more than 5 hours in a train, but I haven't found any regional flights from Provence to Florence which would save travel time. Is this itinerary too ambitious for 21 days? Please help, we are leaving on July 8th and I fear we will spend too much time trying to find transportation rather than enjoying our vacation.
Posted by
Green Bay
20085 posts
Are you setting the itinerary or your daughter? Florence to Salzburg is no 5 hour train ride either. The best connection is 8 1/2 hours. If you do not want to do more than 5 hours a day on the train, I'd trim something. Maybe Aix-en-Provence. Fly Paris to Florence. Maybe stop in the Dolomites on the way to Salzburg, although even that has some bus riding involved. You can get a direct train from Florence Campo di Marte to Bolzano in 3 1/4 hours. Something's gotta give. Either suffer a few long train rides or change some of the stops.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32202 posts
bluque,
As there's such a short time until your departure, getting around may be somewhat more expensive. Have you got transportation links worked out for all the places you'll be visiting?
The trip from Aix-en-Provence to Florence is a long one by train, about 10 hours. However, this is one method you could use.....
- Travel by train from Aix-en-Provence TGV to Nice Ville (about 2H:39M if you use a direct train); spend one night in Nice.
- Take a budget flight with EasyJet from Nice to Rome (1H:15M plus usual airport times). Unfortunately, at this late date the EasyJet flight will cost more, but you may have to take what you can get at whatever price. If you decide to book with them, be sure to read the Terms & Conditions, especially relating to luggage.
- Take Leonardo Express from FCO to Roma Termini (DON'T forget to validate your tickets prior to boarding the train!). From Termini take the high speed Freccia train to Firenze SMN (it travels at up to 300 kmH - time 90 minutes).
There are undoubtedly other solutions, but this one is relatively easy. Some of the advantages....
- Quick, direct train ride from Aix to Nice
- Short trip from Nice to the airport
- Short flight from Nice to Rome
- Quick high speed trip from Rome to Florence.
Finally, I'd suggest setting your tipping point for rail vs. air a bit higher. Five hour train journeys with several changes are very common when travelling around Europe and these are often faster than travel by air, when all factors are considered. My tipping point is about 7 - 8 hours.
Good luck and happy travels!
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
What hotels and transport are already booked, if any? If you have not yet done so, I'd look at buying train tickets ASAP for London-Paris and Paris-Aix (or Paris-anywhere) to get any remaining discounts they may have, either through our Rail Europe link or try the new competitor, www.capitainetrain.com.
On www.skyscanner.com, I don't see many cheap flights from Marseille airport to Italy, which is probably why Ken suggested Nice airport. However, on a random date of July 17, I do see Marseille to Rome Ciampino for $90 on Ryanair, or Marseille to Venice for $105 on Air France. Work with that site.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you very much for taking the time to respond to my inquiry. Your suggestions are very helpful for an inexperienced traveler!