Hello all. Luv this community and forum. I've learned a lot reading RS's book on Italy and perusing the forum. But I'm rushed -- decided somewhat last minute to make a vacation out of my husband's conference in Rome. So heading there late June thru early July. Thinking Rome, Florence and Sienna. But do we have time to do them all? Some friends say skip Rome and visit Florence and Sienna. Some say spend the whole time in Rome. Or in Florence. Aaahh!! We don't have much time to plan and our work and family stuff consumes most of our time. Any tips to help us focus and decide on whether to do all 3 cities or just 2 or just 1? Any suggestions of Italy-based travel agents/guides who can help us deal with logistics of getting train tix in advance, reservations at major museums, etc.? Thanks for your wisdom and guidance!
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
11151 posts
Does the 11 days include the days in Rome for the conference, or are they 11 more days after the conference?
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
15794 posts
Does the 11 days include the days in Rome for the conference, or are
they 11 more days after the conference?
Or is your 11 days before the conference, meaning in reality you may only have 10.5 days if counting arrival day? Could you give us a little clearer picture of the broader itinerary? Have you purchased plane tickets yet?
Any suggestions of Italy-based travel agents/guides who can help us
deal with logistics of getting train tix in advance, reservations at
major museums, etc.?
Christine, IMHO you do not need or probably even want an Italian-based agent. I think you'll find that most of us make our reservations ourselves, and there are ways you can arrange your trip yourself with reasonably minimal effort.
Depending on how your itinerary looks, all you may have to prearrange are hotels in Rome and Florence, one or two train journeys - and that's only if you want to take advantage of any price breaks - and a reservation at the Vatican. Sightseeing passes for Rome and Florence can cover entry to some other "big" attractions* and you can easily day-trip Siena + maybe another location from Florence without pre-purchasing train/bus tickets: buy them when you get there.
*There is one really good museum in Rome that requires advance reservations even with a pass.
Posted by
OP
12 posts
Thanks for your initial thoughts, folks. I arrive to meet my husband at the end of his conference. So we will be in full vacation mode the whole time. Main reason I inquired about travel agents is that we have sooo little time to plan and we are going in high tourist season. I'm angsting that all the loveliest most delightful places to stay in each city will already be booked up and best times to reserve for visits to most popular museums will have already all been grabbed up. With no Italian speaking capabilities between the two of us, we prefer to find hotels/B&Bs with concierge staff able to give us tips and help us with restaurant reservations and the like. Anyone here have suggestions of their favorite hotels or B&Bs in these cities that have some local history or character and are kind and gentle with tourists lacking Italian?
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
11151 posts
Assuming your return flight home is from Rome, I suggest on your arrival day you go to Florence and base yourselves there. You can get to Siena for a day trip and saving moving from lodging to lodging.
OR you could spend 3-4 nights in Florence, 2 in Siena and the rest in Rome.
Depends on what interests you, on how much time you spend where.
Spend the end of your vacation in Rome and simplify getting to airport for your flight out.
Get a guidebook like RS Italy book and you will finds lots of info on 'how to' as well as advice/suggestions on what to see/do.
Posted by
3240 posts
My two cents:
When in Rome... don't miss the Galleria Doria Pamphilj or Santa Maria Sopra Minerva - both close to the Pantheon. The Galleria Doria Pamphilj is a wonderful small museum and Santa Maria SM is a wonderful small church with a Michelangelo sculpture of the risen Christ that you can almost touch - if you don't mind going to prison!
We loved the concierge at the Hotel Alessandra in Florence - the famous Monti. We already knew what we wanted to see in Florence, but his restaurant recommendations were outstanding, like his personality.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
15794 posts
Christine, Rome and Florence are used to hosting visitors from all over the world so a lack of Italian won't be a problem. We've learned just the manner words/phrases so far (please, thank you, good day, etc) + picked up a couple of good-to-know words and done just fine.
You will still find open hotel rooms. Whether they're the "loveliest" depends on your budget and taste. We don't stay in 5-star accommodations as our own budget can't handle the prices - we go to Europe for three weeks at a time so have to make the $ stretch - but get onto www.booking.com and do some searches for your dates and what you want to pay per night. Read the reviews. That site also provides a map to show you where the hotels you're looking at are located so that you don't end up way out on the fringes. Really, booking a hotel in Florence or Rome doesn't need to be any more difficult than booking in the U.S.
Figure as well that you're going to spend most of your time OUT of your room so be cautious of paying for amenities you will not use. Because you're going in July, the one thing I'd make SURE your accommodation has is air conditioning!
best times to reserve for visits to most popular museums will have
already all been grabbed up
There is often no "best time" during high season for the biggies - they'll all be busy - but don't assume tickets are already booked. Passes can also help you jump long ticket lines if you have the time and interest in what they cover. You will be faced with some security queues but no one skips those anyway. There are some workarounds for some of the museums if we know what it is that you want to see but timing IS a little crucial here so the sooner you can make your list, the better. No travel agent can tell you what YOU should be doing/seeing on this trip, and too many of them have never been to Italy themselves!
It looks like you need to fly into Rome to meet your husband so I'd look at flying out of Florence or Pisa if possible. If you have to fly out of Rome then so be it. Just get your flights down, maybe spend arrival night in Rome and then head off to Florence. Do Siena as a day trip from there, as it'll eliminate another hotel move, and end your trip in Rome.
We can help you with trains once you get an itinerary down but this is a really good introduction to what they're all about:
https://www.seat61.com/Italy-trains.htm
And use your guidebook to help you figure out what it is you want to do with your time. Both cities are wonderful in their own unique fashions!
Posted by
OP
12 posts
Joe, Traylaparks and Kathy, I really appreciate all your suggestions and advice. And Kathy extra thanks for that link to the guide on using the trains. Seeing the different station names for Rome and Florence on the trenitalia website threw me for a bit. Y'all have all reassured me I don't need a travel agent: I just need Rick Steves' guide, this forum, and willingness to stop fretting about getting the "perfect little B&B" when there are clearly so many highly recommended places to be found. And to know we can't "do" Rome in a day or two or three, to paraphrase a famous saying, but we can find a lot to whet our appetites to return and enjoy more in the future.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
15794 posts
Y'all have all reassured me I don't need a travel agent: I just need
Rick Steves' guide, this forum, and willingness to stop fretting about
getting the "perfect little B&B" when there are clearly so many highly
recommended places to be found.
Great! There are oodles of patient, knowledgable folks here ready to help with questions, and splitting your 11 days between just two locations will simplify the logistics. As far as hotels, those suggested in the RS guidebook are just a sampling of many - we actually never stayed in any listed in the book - so a search through past forum threads will pull up others travelers have enjoyed:
Enter "Rome, hotels" or "Florence, hotels" in the search box at the top of this page and hit "go"
Under "Filter by type" on the page that pops up, choose "Travel forum"
Under "Filter by date" on the next page, choose "1 year and newer"
You'll end up with recent discussion lists on the topic.
You've already figured out that on Trenitalia you need to use the Italian names for the train stations (see how smart you are?!) S.M Novella is the main one in Florence, and Termini in Rome. Along with Trenitalia, Italotreno is a private rail line servicing mostly the major cities, and they have nice trains and competitive rates so give it a look too?
You don't need to pre-order any transport tickets at all except for "fast" trains between Rome and Florence, and only if you want to try and cash in on any available economy fares. Siena is best done by bus from Florence, as the bus stop is closer to Siena center than the train station. Depending on how many days you set aside for Florence, you might want to day-trip to Lucca as well: that one is a fave amongst RS posters who've done it. That's done via direct regionale train (cheap tickets!) so again, no need to buy in advance.
Anyway, 11 days between two locations will give you a very nice intro to Italy without a lot of packing up and moving around, which eats time and energy.
OK, off you go to do some planning! We're here for all those questions you're going to have! :O)