Hello all - I am planning a truly ridiculous trip this summer to Italy, Amsterdam and Dublin. We are flying NYC to Rome and will land at 10:30am - and plan to travel up to Siena that night to sleep. My husband wants to spend as much of the 4 days we have in Italy in Tuscany, but I want to see the Pantheon and the Colosseum before we jet-set out of there. My plan is to take the train into town from the airport, get on one of those hop on hop off bus tours around the city see those two sights then somehow get us out of town and up to Siena. Would it be easier for the culture shocked (first time in Italy) and jet lagged traveler to take a high speed train from Rome's Central Station to Florence then switch to bus for the ride into Siena, or take the metro to Tiburtina then get on the bus in Rome and travel up to Siena directly? I worry about finding the bus station and the right bus blurry eyed in the chaos of Rome. I am wondering if it would be easier in Florence after a nap on the train. Any suggestions gladly welcome!
Posted by
Napa, CA
3580 posts
I suggest you spend your first night in Rome. After landing, going thru passport control, etc., it will probably be early afternoon by the time you get into Rome. Park your luggage at your hotel near Termini, then return to Termini (the central train station) and take the Metro to the Colosseum. You can walk from there thru the Forum and on to the Pantheon area. Slow down a little and enjoy Rome. I don't think a HOHO bus would be the way to see the Colosseum and Pantheon. Have dinner, go to bed. Head out to Florence in the morning.
Posted by
OP
Austin, TX, USA
7 posts
You do have a point. It would be much easier on us if we took it easy and spent a night there. I was trying to honor my husband's request of not spending much time in the city - he really wants to be out roaming the countryside. His ideal trip is spending all the available time we have (which is not much, sadly) driving around the countryside, seeing hill towns, drinking wine and eating. Here is an option - we have tons of starwood points and could stay for free at the Rome Sheraton which (in addition to being a souless chain) is a bit far from the historical center - however it does have a shuttle to the town center and to the airport (and its free). If we were to stay there, we could take the shuttle from the airport, check in, tootle around Rome, sleep, then take the shuttle back to the airport in the morning and rent a car from there and head out to the countryside. However it gives us only have 2 nights to enjoy the countryside. We fly into Rome Sunday the 22nd and we are flying out to Amsterdam on Wednesday the 25th - we can either fly out of Pisa or Rome. Maybe if we choose the 'spend the night in rome' option we should base our countryside explorations around Orvieto? But then we wouldn't really have time for Siena... ouch, something has got to give! Perhaps I should post a general plea for help over in the travel planning/itinerary forum.
Posted by
Oak Park, Illinois
4535 posts
Do not over-estimate how tired you will be on that first day. And if you overdo it the first day, you'll pay for it the second day. I highly recommend staying in Rome the first night. Not far from the center because you'll be too tired to hop on shuttles and such. Stay near Termini, check in or drop off bags, get a nice lunch, take the bus and quick tour of the sites you want to see, have a nice dinner and go to bed early. Take the early bus to Siena, arrive before lunch and you will not have lost much of any time in Tuscany. And you'll feel more rested. Compare that to this scenario: Have lunch in Rome and then take the bus to Siena. Dinner in Siena. You would have the next morning in Tuscany, but would have missed seeing sites in Rome. In either case, DO NOT nap the first afternoon. It takes longer for your body to adjust if you sleep off schedule. The bus is the most direct and quickest way to Siena.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
No matter how you cut it, train, bus or rental car, it's a 3.5hr-4.0hr travel journey from Rome to Siena. The trains run out of Rome Termini and the buses run out of Rome-Tiburtina train station (across the street). Then, it's going to take 1.5hrs-2.0hrs to get to Rome Termini from the time your plane lands. You won't see much of Rome if you plan on spending the night in Siena. Spending your first night in Rome would be a good idea. Alternatively, you can rent a car at the Rome airport, bypass Rome and head directly for Siena. It's a 3hr drive according to www.viamichelin.com