Hi all
My friend and I have booked our first trip to Italy for this April. We are flying into Milan and staying for 2 nights, then 3 nights in Venice (w/opera at la fenice), 5 nights in Florence, 3 nights in Sorrento, and 5 nights in Rome. We will be doing a couple organized day trips in Florence (Cinque Terre hiking & Tuscany hill towns) and Pompeii from Sorrento, but we have decided to do day trips to Capri and one from Milan on our own. If anyone has suggestions/answers to my questions it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! My questions are:
Should we buy ferry passes from Sorrento to Capri ahead of time (online) or will it be easy to just catch a ferry while we are there? We want to try to see the grotto (weather permitting), mt.solaro/villa Michele, and possibly a little boat tour if we have time. We want to catch the 1st ferry in the am (around 7:30) and come back on one of the last. Any suggestions?
We will have 1 day in Milan and want to do a day trip. We couldn't get tickets for last supper (fine with that) & not really interested in hanging out in Milan. We want to do something independently (catch a train & just go) and are trying to decide between Verona, Lake Como, or Lake Maggiore. Suggestions? I am leaning toward Verona but not sure if we will have enough time to explore due to distance. We just want to walk around and see some of the main sites in the city. If we go to one of the lakes we want to do a little boat tour & just see the towns little. We mostly just want to pick the place is the most "must-see". Not sure if we should buy train tickets ahead of time or just show up to the station (our trains between cities on our itinerary are pre-booked).
A little about us: We are 2 female travel buddies from Cali who love art & history. We prefer museums, historical sites, markets and good food over scenic walks and lounging at the beach. We like to move around & we select our lodging based on location over luxury. We're not backpackers by any means but try to travel smart & light - our budget is moderate but not too constrained... we basically prefer to spend our money on experiences & for Milan we are looking to spend maybe 8 or 9 hours in one of the places mentioned.
Suggestions & advice are welcome - thanks again!