Hi everyone,
I received so much help with my France trip (gratefully) and now I'm coming back to ask for your assistance again. My husband and I have been to Italy twice on tours, but we are planning on going again in late Sept/early Oct and meeting my son who will be coming in from China. Our plan right now, with frequent flyer miles is to fly into Rom,e via Heathrow and out of Venice (as son will be going on to Croatia). Could you give advice on this itinerary please?
Fri, 9/25 arrive from Boston via Heathrow into Rome at 4:00 PM (hotel/dinner/maybe a walk)
Sat, 9/26 tour Vatican sites
Sun, 9/27 ancient Rome sites
Monday, 9/28 AM in Rome and then rent a car or train to Siena (what's best-), hotel in Siena
Tuesday, 9/29 tour Siena and then maybe go to Volterra (overnight) and visit town next day
Wed, 9/30 Drive to Cinque Terre (hotel in Monterosso turn car in at La Spezia ?)
Thursday 10/1 Hike trails in Cinque Terre
Friday-Leave Cinque Terre and train to Lucca (spend day in Lucca)-evening train to Florence
Sat and Sun Florence
Monday - train to Venice overnight near train station
Tuesday and Wed in Venice
Depart for U.S. on Thursday
Does this sound like a pretty good plan, and do you have any suggestions about taking the train vs. renting a car (and where to pick-up and drop off?) If we train to Lucca, is there a place where we can store luggage? Is this itinerary too ambitious? Any suggestions would be SO APPRECIATED. Thank you. Sue
Posted by
Seattle, Wa, USA
663 posts
The earliest you will get into Rome proper from FCO will be 6:00, then you'll need to check into your hotel and refresh yourself. At that point you'll have dinner and then be ready for bed if you didn't sleep on the plane. Not much time for a walk that night.
I would probably pick to stay in either Florence or Siena (based upon which has more site you wish to see), and just day trip to the other. The bus takes just 45 minutes between the 2.
A better itinerary would be Rome to Cinque Terre to Volterra to Florence (or Siena) to Venice.
Dont stay near the train station in Venice, near Rialto Bridge you can easily get anywhere in Venice quickly by walk or boat. lots of great restaurants are in that area as well.
Posted by
Slidell, LA
553 posts
I don't know which airline you're taking but with mine (United) there were more fees to pay if we flew into or through the UK. If that is true with your airline, and if you can't get a direct flight to Rome from Boston because of using miles, consider a connection through Frankfurt, Munich or Brussels where the fees are negligible. Second, I was surprised at your arrival time because most flights from the US leave in the evening and arrive in Rome from 7:00-9:00 AM, giving you a night to sleep on the plane and a whole day to get into the city, check into your hotel and get some exercise which will help your jet lag. I have found it easier to sleep on the overnight flights than during my normal daytime hours. It's also easier to find your way around the city when you arrive early rather than get there after dark. As for your itinerary, I believe you're trying to do to much in a short time. Better to strive for quality over quantity. In addition to the above comment about your flight, you cannot see Rome in two days and do it justice. Tried it and failed. But if you stick to that schedule get a two day hop-on hop off bus pass which will stop at all the big sites and the entire circle through the city is about 2 1/2 hours. You might consider first taking the circle in its entirety to see where/what you want to stop and see and spend a little time, then stay on the bus and stop only at sites you are interested in. If you have more time to spare you can always go back to others. Buses run every 15 minutes or so and there are lots of shops and restaurants near most stops. I would not rent a car and drive to Siena, or spend the night there with the limited time you have. You can add that night to Florence and take a day bus tour from Florence to San Gimignano and Siena that includes lunch there. The Cinque Terre...you can not hike the trails in one day, or at least enjoy all they have to offer. They are only nine miles from end to end, but some are rugged and the views are spectacular, so much that you will want to spend time just pondering where you are, what you see and the locals you'll meet along the way. Each town has its own character and you will want to savor it all. I was there a few years ago with family and only hiked a bit, but I'm going back for three nights in May just to hike the trails and relax. You won't want to rush the CT. If you don't drive to Siena and instead take the tour I don't believe you need to rent a car. Trains to the places on your list typically run from city center to city center and are easy to use. If you arrive in the center of any town there are taxis that will get you where you want to go and are much less than rental cars, and parking. I think what I've suggested, all of which are things that we did, will allow for a more relaxing and quality sight seeing time. Don't forget to factor into your planning the amount of time you will spend behind the wheel of your car or on a bus or train. The regional trains are not high speed and stop often. Good luck.
Posted by
OP
DALTON, MA, USA
169 posts
Thank you for your replies. Have to go British Airways (using American miles) from Boston-we are on far western end of Massachusetts, which is 2 1/2 hours to Boston and 3 1/2 hour to JFK, but parking at JFK is very expensive and Boston means we can park at relatives' homes. So, that will probably come out equal to what we would pay in fees and taxes ? Does anyone know about lockers in Lucca at the train station? We could add a day on to this itinerary for longer stay in the Cinque Terre, but would probably want to play it by ear with that, in case it rains. I don't think we'd want to even go there, if we had bad weather - maybe stay in Florence instead, but that's a whole other issue with hotel reservations, etc.
I could re-think and maybe go to Florence for four nights from Rome and go from there on a day trip into Tuscany, then to Cinque Terre for 3 nights. Would you suggest drive or train from Cinque Terre to Venice ? (or maybe fly from Pisa ?) I'm thinking that tours are looking better and better.