Itinerary Help for April 2011

I think you have a really great itinerary - without CT. Although I have not been there, I think it would be a big stretch to get to CT and back with your schedule and you would really miss out on Florence. Like you, our first trip to Italy we started with a few days in London to acclimate and it really worked great - especially when our plane was delayed for 6 hours! You have a wonderful trip planned, with just enough time in each city, especially considering the time it takes to move cities/hotels, etc.
You will have a great time and can save CT for your next trip because you WILL be back!

Hi Trevor. For 10 days (9 nights) in Italy, your itinerary looks good. I've never been to Cinque Terre so I can't comment on that. But since you have so little time in Florence (3 days includes travel time from Venice to Florence and then from Florence to Rome), I would either stay there or go directly to Cinque Terre from Venice. Also, did you already book your flight from the States to London? If not, I would recommend flying into Venice and out of Rome. You'll get 3 more days in Italy, during which you could go to Cinque Terre from Florence. If you did book the flight, you could book another on April 2 from London to Venice. You can't get used to polyglot Europe in an English-speaking country, so make the most of your trip and go directly to Italy. If you're worried about language issues in Italy, find a guide which has useful phrases ("Where is the bathroom?" "How much does this cost?") and memorize them or write them down for your trip.

My first comment is one I make periodically on this forum. I think the CT have been hyped beyond all reason by Rick Steves, to the extent that people now think it's a first- time-in-Italy must-see, along with Rome, Florence, and Venice. It's not. You should also be aware that the weather in April is extremely unpredictable. A few years ago, we landed in Rome, on April 12, with a morning temp of 32 degrees F. High that day was 40. The next day it reached 52 with rain and wind. At the end of our trip, three weeks later, people were swimming in the sea on the Amalfi coast. I suggest checking the long range forecast a day before your departure and packing accordingly. Even if good weather is expected, have something to wear for chilly evenings. I also think your time in Venice might be a day too long; but that's easily remedied. If you find it so, hop on a train for Padova or Verona. They're both a short ride away and very interesting.
Buon viaggio; Italy is wonderful!

I agree whole-heartedly with Rosalyn. I found CT disappointing and so did my traveling companion. Pretty yes, but overpriced and touristy. You're already squeezing your time, and I think it'd be sad to forgo those precious days in "the big 3" to see CT. You're young and you will want to go back. My first trip was 4 nights Venice, 5 nights Florence and 5 nights Rome. I did minimal day trips and only visited a couple of art museums and felt completely rushed in every city. and I am approximately your age. If you like strolling around and soaking things in, as you say, you would not be well-served to cut out any of your time in those three places. Short of shuffling around a night here or there just based on personal preference, i would leave it just the way it is; I'm sure you'll have a lovely time.

Trevor, I have a few comments to add to the others.... If this is your first trip to Europe, there's some logic in stopping in London for a few days, as it will be less of a "culture shock". In terms of the language issues, there's always some debate on the matter of "two peoples separated by a common language" (DON'T make any reference to "Fanny Packs"!!!). Have you already booked your flights? I agree with a previous reply that it would be a good idea to drop one day from Venice and use it elsewhere. Although the Cinque Terre is somewhat "touristy", that probably won't be the case in early April. I still feel it's worth a look (especially as that's important to your wife). As the others have said, it will probably be a bit "chilly" at that time of year, however if you dress appropriately that shouldn't be a problem (it could also be sunny and reasonably warm). I was in Tuscany in late May and it was somewhat cold and wet this year, so one just has to adjust to the circumstances. If you drop one day from Venice or other location, it should be easily possible to spend at least one night in the Cinque Terre. From Florence it's only a bit more than 2-hours to La Spezia (depending on which train you choose). You'll need to decide which of the five villages you'll want to stay in? That's also an easy fit for the next leg of your trip to Rome. There's a direct train from La Spezia to Rome with a travel time of about 4-hours (reservations compulsory). I'd highly recommend packing along a copy of the Italy Guidebook, so that you can plan your sightseeing as efficiently as possible. With such a short trip, you won't want to waste any time! Good luck with your planning!

Trevor, This last trip we visited CT as a relaxing 3 days between the other big cities on our itinerary. I agree that besides the beautiful scenary there isn't alot to do but relax. (but isn't that the point?) We were there in April and I wore hiking shorts the whole time, so weather wasn't bad. The reason we went was the hiking. It was something on my bucket list that we wanted to do while we are still young enough. We did it and it was amazing! The views are worth all the up and down steps and the scary parts of the path. We hiked from one end to the other end and took the ferry back to our hotel. With a stop for lunch and stoping to look around each town it took most if not all of one day. As far as being packed with tourists... We had a funny thing happen. We stayed in Monterosso Al Mare in April and one of the days happened to be Liberation Day. (An Italian Public holiday) One quiet sleepy morning we had already staked out our spot and were relaxing on the beach as we heard the morning train come in. We looked up a few minutes later and saw what seemed like several thousand day tourists hurrying down the boardwalk towards us. All rushing for prime beach spots around us! It became loud and crowded in seconds, mostly with Italians out for the day. A day trip could be overcrowded, but stay the night and you'll have the town to yourselves. Then get up in the morning and enjoy a beautiful day of hiking.

Well I've been thinking for quite a long time but never took the step to say. When Rick Steves introduced the Cinque Terre he said it was an example of where a hard pressed tourist could go to unwind on a "vacation from the vacation". Somehow this has changed recently to being a mainstream major destination along the lines of Rome, Florence, and Venice. I have been there. It is very very nice, the scenery is beautiful. But believe me, it not a Venice, a Florence or a Rome. It concerns me that people put the CT on a par with the others rather than the way it was presented by Rick. There is nowhere in the world like Florence, Rome, Venice or Tuscany or many other Italian places. While not the same, there are many beautiful places in the US to hike, like Monterey, Big Sur, the Maine coast, La Jolla, etc. If all the rest of Italy is exhausted, go for it.

IMO, Nigel's thoughtful comments are worth a careful read, especially by a first-time visitor to Italy who knows only or mainly what they've seen in Rick's CT videos.

Wow! I can't believe how much fantastic information I've been provided with in just one day! Thank you so much. It seems the consensus is that CT is probably not worth visiting at this trip. I'll save it for our next trip to Italy. For this trip we will focus on the big three of Venice, Florence and Rome. To answer some questions. I already booked the plane tickets. I booked them with a few day stay in London, because for some reason I cannot figure out, it was several hundred dollars cheaper on British Airways to do it that way. We have the added benefit of spending some time in London, which I know from experience, is a great place to visit. I have a few more questions for you. 1. I have used priceline in the past for rooms all over the USA, with great success. Does anyone have any experience doing priceline in Italy? I really want to have hotels in good locations. I notice Venice and Florence only have one zone on priceline. Is the zone too wide of an area to get a predictably good location? 2. Can you recommend a good day tour from Florence around Tuscany and a few hill towns. Something with a driver, preferably (I do not want to rent a car). 3. Any thoughts on Orvieto? Is it worth stopping on the way from Florence to Rome for half a day or so? What about Bologna? Worth stopping on the way from Venice to Florence? Is there somewhere safe at the train stations to leave our bags? 4. Ostia Antica? Is it worth the trip outside of Rome? Remember, I love history :-) Again, thank you for your help, Trevor

I'm responding only about Ostia Antica. It's a wonderful and very easy outing from Rome that you should keep as an option in your back pocket. (But remember it's closed on Mondays.) If you find yourself getting overwhelmed by the awesomeness of The Eternal City, then escape to Ostia. It's like Pompeii without the crowds. We absolutely loved it. And FWIW, I share the above consensus on the CT. Pretty but sadly overhyped and now overcrowded.

Hi Trevor, I agree that your itinerary sounds good as it is. Don't forget that the train journeys and getting from train station to hotel/ hotel to station, will eat up part of your travel days. If you want to see as much as possible, then yes - it's possible to squeeze in a stop in Bologna en route to Florence from Venice. Many trains per day run between the two cities. I believe there's a left luggage facility in Bologna station, but not sure about Orvieto station. Don't worry too much about language - when I was in Italy last year, I found that shopkeepers, waiters, hoteliers and many others, spoke English. If you're thinking of visiting hill towns near Florence, you can get to a few places easily and cheaply by the SITA bus from Florence - eg. Siena, San Gimignano. For guided tours, travelers on this board and Rick Steves, have recommended Tours by Roberto (they run tours out of Siena and Florence). I'm sure you and your wife will have a fabulous vacation!

Ostia Antica - you bet. Easy to get to, incredibly complete and as large or small as you want. Really, it just keeps coming and coming. For us it was Pompeii, Herculaneum and Paestum rolled into one. I can't work out how it has stayed relatively undiscovered so long. Pompeii has good PR folk I guess. Bologna, ah Bologna the fat, Bologna the red. Wonderful but I wonder if the dilution of your trip is worth it. Orvieto - yes. I agree about getting out into Siena and San Gimignano by public transport. We drove and that worked for us, buses work well though. Don't be tempted by trains for that one though. San G is overrun by not only Rikniks but tourists from around the world. It -is - still - worth - it. Really. Siena, see the Duomo, and the piazza where the palio is run. Well worth it. A great use of time. I'd take the Tuscan hill towns over Bologna any day, and like Bologna a lot.

London is one of the world's great cities, but if the focus of your trip is Italy then I would suggest saving the few days in London and using them to get outside of large cities for the 3 days you had planned for London. You can go to the CT if that's your wife's goal. Having been there twice I agree with the others that RS has over-hyped it (along with Hallstatt in Austria), but on the other hand we did enjoy our time there. The caution I would give is that in April the weather can be variable and you're unlikely to be swimming in the ocean, so perhaps you might want to save a beach town for a future trip in the summer or early fall. If it was me, and I guess that's why I'm writing, I would go from Florence to a hilltown and stay there for 3 nites with the extra days. You can use one as a base and make daytrips by train on perhaps 2 of those days. There is a book about exactly that, see http://www.amazon.com/Daytrips-Italy-Earl-Steinbicker/dp/0803820046 Also the RS book on Tuscany/Umbria will give you ideas. There's something special about a hilltown at nite when the tourists have gone (probably not that many in April, though) and it can almost seem like you've moved back a few centuries in time. Almost any hilltown can do if it has a train station at the base; you take public transit from the base to the hilltown top where you're staying. We've used Perugia, Cortona, Spello, among others. Renting a car and driving in the countryside is fun, but we've done some stays just using the train. Since you have almost half a year, I recommend getting the first 30 Pimsleur lessons from your local library and using them. It will be enough to do basic transactions in Italian, and people really seem to appreciate it if you start off in their language.

Lastly, you seem concerned about your time in each place. IMHO you're not spending too much time in any one place. Days go fast, plus there's the travel time place to place. What may look like a 2 hour train ride really takes 4-5 hours when you figure that you need to pack and check out, get to the station ahead of the train, travel, then find your new hotel at your destination. I try for a minimum 4 days in cities which allows for time to see the city, a daytrip or two if we feel like it, and flexibility to let things happen without having to rush somewhere to fit it all in. Talk to people who've been traveling for a while and I think many would agree that less is really more.