I am traveling to Italy 7/2-7/12 and plan to arrive in Rome in the early am and leave from Venice on Sunday morning the 12th. This is our first trip and we are trying to get in as much as possible. Rome 3 nights, Florence 4 night depart Thursday eve. to Venice for 3 nights (2 full days) depart Sunday morn. I was wondering if it made sense to leave Rome on Sunday and take the train to Pompeii and then head from there to Florence. HAve almost 5 days in Florence to see the city and day trip Siena and maybe Chianti and then head by train to Venice. We are locked into arriving in Rome and Departing from Venice, if anyone has a better itinerary, I'd love to hear it.
Nancy
Posted by
Portlandia
3313 posts
Nancy - Pompeii is about 3 hours the other way from Rome if you want to go to Florence. You would need to go there, then come back to Rome and then continue on to Florence. A very long day.
Otherwise, your itinerary is reasonable.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32352 posts
Nancy,
With such an incredibly short trip, I would drop Pompeii from the list. It would be better to visit the south on a future visit and spend more time. Taking the train from Pompeii to Florence (via Naples) is going to use a lot of precious touring time. Especially as this is your first trip, you'll want it to be as enjoyable and stress-free as possible.
With the Itinerary you have so far, I'd normally suggest dropping a day from Florence and adding it to Rome. However, since you'll need time for the day trips to Siena and possibly Chianti, it would be best to leave your plans as they are. Have you determined a travel method from Florence to Siena?
You may have already considered this, but if you're planning on visiting the Uffizi or Accademia in Florence, reservations would be a good idea. Your Hotel may be willing to arrange these for you.
Good luck with your planning!
Posted by
Vicenza, Italy
319 posts
I agree with the others, I would drop Pompei. You could do some great day trips from Florence instead. We did a quick trip to Pompei, and i wish we had been able to send a lot more time there. 2 hours wasn't enough time.
Posted by
Columbus, OH, USA
2084 posts
I loved Pompeii but time constraints may suck the joy out of a day excursion from Rome, tho many people have done it. Ostia Antica is more convenient from Rome and might fulfill the ruins need. If you travel to Siena from Florence for the day I would suggest the bus over the train...convenient and faster I think than train connections. From Florence we also took a long train day trip to Lucca and then to Pisa before returning to Florence for the evening, but this was our second time to Florence. I thought Lucca was very nice---quiet with a capital Q after hectic Florence...and you can rent bikes to ride along the tops of Lucca's walls....that was a lot of fun. Good luck.
Posted by
OP
Marlboro, NJ, USA
3 posts
Thanks for all the great advice, I would say that Pompeii is out and some other great ideas have been shared. Thanks again.
Nancy