I got a phenomenal deal flying roundtrip San Diego to Pisa in September 2014. What I need help with is figuring out the best logical route for our 12 night trip. We arrive in Pisa at 7am on a Thursday. We return home at 10am on a Tuesday. We would like to visit Florence, Rome, Venice and the Cinque Terra. There are 3 of us traveling together so I am looking at VRBO apartments in Florence and in Rome. Staying 4 nights in each of those cities and doing daytrips in Tuscany. Maybe even a long daytrip to Venice. The last day/night we would stay in Pisa. If anyone has any ideas to share on which order to visit these places and how they would get there I would really appreciate it. If you have any experience with renting apartments in either Rome or Florence I would love to hear about it. And lastly, has anyone used Roberto in Florence lately for day trips?
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15798 posts
Honestly, I think you are trying to see too much in 12 days. I would drop Rome, Venice or the CT. Also, your first day won't be very productive after the long-haul flight and you'll be jetlagged.
Florence has good train connections to Pisa, Rome and Venice and is a good base for day trips to some of the hill towns. Also the historic center is small and only a few minutes' walk from the train station.
Venice deserves more than a few hours. Also it takes a lot of time to get around. Transport is either by water (slow) or on foot, which can actually be faster a lot of the time, provided you don't get lost. And getting lost in Venice is easy, even with a map (though a compass helps). It's a good 2 hours on the train from Florence. Given the choice between the CT and Venice, I'd definitely choose Venice, at least 2 nights.
Rome is hard to drop. Again, I'd have to say, Rome over the CT. But if the CT is a very high priority (though you live by the ocean . . . ), I guess I'd drop Rome rather than Venice.
There are two trains a day that take around 3 hours to get from La Spezia to Rome, one leaves at 7 a.m. and the other at 8 p.m. The others take over 4 hours. If you're staying in one of the CT, you will have to get from there to La Spezia first. It's 2 hours just to get to La Spezia from Florence. I think you will use up too much travel time getting to and from the CT, so that's another reason to drop them.
So you're left with the "big three." I'd go straight from Pisa to Venice. Venice is the best place to relax and get over the effects of the trans-Atlantic travel. 3 nights. That gives you 2 full days. Then go to Rome, finally to Florence. Or Florence, then Rome. It doesn't matter too much, since all the trains go through Florence.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
I agree with Chani. Unless you have a terminal illness and therefore know that you cannot return, you will have a much better trip if you just see three of the four places. Even then, you will only be getting a taste, but that's OK. Which one to drop? That's going to depend on your individual interests. Everyone who has been to these places will have a different answer, and there is no consensus about any of them (Rome is wonderful/Rome is awful, the Cinque Terre are beautiful/the Cinque Terre are boring, etc).
Whatever you do, don't see Venice as a long daytrip from Florence. That's a recipe to not enjoy it. Either settle in for a few days, or skip it and see it on another trip (and with Italy, there WILL be another trip - I'm going to take my 7th in April 2014).
For my first trip to Italy, I saw Milan, Venice, and Florence (with daytrips to Lucca, Pisa and Siena). I didn't go to Rome, and some were shocked or upset by this ("How can you go to Italy and not see Rome?"). But I just wasn't as interested in Rome at the time. However, this first trip made me very interested in seeing Rome, and I went on my second trip; it's now one of my all-time favorite places, not just in Italy, but anywhere. If I had gone on that first trip because I "had to" rather than going when I wanted to, who knows how I would have felt? Particularly on a short trip (and that's the only kind I get), seeing fewer places is the way to have a better time.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
360 posts
My husband and I did all four places that you're visiting in 13 nights in May and we thought we had just the right amount of time in each. I guess it all depends on what you prefer and enjoy doing. We are somewhat quick (maybe too quick) in our touring of museums, where others like to spend hours. We did two nights in Venice, three in CT, four in Florence, four in Tuscany and four in Rome -- and found that we preferred our time in CT and Tuscany where it was more relaxing (but have no regrets hitting the cities for this first visit, but I'd probably only go back to Venice).
I might suggest Airbnb.com to you as well for apartment rentals, as we used it for the cities and had a great experience with each. We were able to stay in great locations for a lot less than hotels.
Posted by
Minneapolis
1277 posts
Hi Iromero1. I suggest you keep all four destinations; you have a lot of time, they are all well connected by train, and the trains are easy and fast. If necessary, cut a night off of Rome. Enjoy your trip!!