So my trip is ALMOST here......hooray!!! My family and I are leaving on Sept.29 and making our way to Italy. Here is our itinerary: Starting in Florence we will arrive on Sept.30 and stay until Oct.2. We are planning to go to Pisa the day we arrive (our flight gets in around 9:30a)not sure of the time we will head out there. Is this realistic? How long do you think a trip out to Pisa will take and what is there to do other than the tower? Then we purchased tickets for a tour through viator.com for the uffize and accademia museums. We are also planning on just winging the rest of our time there by going to different museums or art galleries.
The second leg of the trip will be Siena arriving Oct.2 and leaving Oct.4. We have booked a bus tour through Sienaholiday.com. Has anyone ever used them? My mother was adamant about staying in Siena b/c she read about it in one of her wine magazines....lol. She wants to have a nice dinner on the piazza. Any recommendations?
For our last leg we are traveling to ROME!!! We will arrive on Oct.4 and depart on the 11th. We are staying in an apartment near/across from Piazza Dante. Anyone heard of that area? Is it nice and not skeevy looking? We have booked the Vatican and Heart of Rome tours through Angel tours. Thanks for all your previous posts on that. We are buying the Roma Pass.....and using that to tour the Colisseum and Borghese Gardens. We have managed to book Gaetano for Pompeii. Does anyone suggest spending time in Naples? Heard mixed feelings on that one? We have also decided to take a day cruise ship to Ostia Antica for a tour. Other than that we have tried to leave ourselves some free time to explore the local markets and shops. Has anyone been to anything kinda off the radar, but was really impressed with what they saw. Thanks for your help! Sorry for long post!
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
You're going to be in Rome for a week but then are taking a "day cruise ship to Ostia Antica"? Day cruise starting where? Ostia Antica is only a 45-minute Metro/train ride from Rome.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15585 posts
The train from Florence to Pisa takes 80 to 90 minutes. The bus is best from Florence to Siena, takes 75 minutes, per the schedule.
Posted by
Denver
787 posts
If you go to Pisa on your arrival day into Florence, and leave Florence on October 2, then you only have 1 full day in Florence. You might want to skip Pisa and spend that time in Florence. We stopped in Pisa, on a drive from Tuscany to the Cinque Terre, and while it was interesting, I wouldn't go out of my way to see it. I'd rather spend that time wandering around Florence.
In Siena, the restaurants on the piazza (I think you mom is referring to the main piazza, called the campo) are all very touristy; the quality may not be very good. I would suggest that you have dinner in some scenic little restaurant on a side street, and just have drinks on the campo. There is (or was several years ago) one wine bar on the campo, Liberamente Osteria Wine Bar. Very good wine selection, and nice little complimentary snack foods that come with it.
I have the same question about Ostia Antica - why a day cruise ship there - just take the train!
Posted by
San Francisco/Marin County
9420 posts
IMHO Pisa is absolutely not worth going to.
Posted by
Bay Area
3551 posts
Skip Pisa this trip. It is a fair distance from Florence and while the Bapistry and Pisa Tower are lovely to photograph, that is all there is. Better spend the xtra time in Florence. With all its knock out sights I spent 5 nights there and could have easily spent more. we bussed it to Siena, easy ride and a lovely town to wander around.
Posted by
Redondo Beach, CA, USA
22 posts
Realize that museums make you tired, traveling to different cities doesn't always time out as planned, and therefore try not to pack in too much, especially with multiple persons. You'll enjoy your trip more if you stay more time in one place, and absorb the atmosphere. I just did a 13 city trip in 3 weeks, and I wish I had seen less, and enjoyed more.
p.s. Sitting down to a meal, at any time, will take approximately 2 hours. Consider this when planning your time. They move very slowly, and expect you to dine, not eat and run. If you are short on time, grab pizza or a sandwich and go, you cannot rush Italians.