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Need help planning Honeymoon!

Leaving 3/6/14 and arriving next morning in Rome. Departing 3/21 also from Rome. I've basically imagined two possible routes:

Option 1:
3/7: Catch flight to Venice (would put us in Venice at ~330pm local time)
3/8: Venice
3/9: Early AM train to Riomaggiore (arrive 1230pm); catch local train to Monterosso; spend rest of day there
3/10: Hike from Monterosso to Riomaggiore in AM; train back to Monterosso; pick up luggage and train to Vendazza; spend rest of day there
3/11: AM train to Florence
3/12: Florence
3/13: Florence
3/14: AM train to Siena and spend rest of day there
3/15: Finish up Siena, Rent car (?) and explore "Heart of Tuscany" are that Rick talks about in his book
3/16: Heart of Tuscany; perhaps drive down to Rome
3/17: Drive to Rome (if didn't drive night before); return rental car
3/18: Rome
3/19: Rome
3/20: Rome
3/21: Flight back

Because we'd also love to see the Almalfi/Positano area, I had been trying to incorporate that too but it doesn't seem possible in the time we have to spend. The trek from Siena to Naples and then boat to Sorrento would eat up a lot of travel time. I've read a lot about Italy in March and it seems like Venice/CT could be cold/dreary and even rainy making the CT trail a bust if it is closed. So alternatively....

Option 2:
Cut out Venice/CT, Arrive in Rome, train to Florence --> Siena --> Tuscany -->Naples/Sorrento/Almalfi/Positano--> Rome

This option would make us miss out on Venice which would make us sad...

So...

Option 3:
Arrive in Rome-->train to Naples-->boat to sorrento--->some combination of pompeii/almalfi/positano/capris--> back to Naples--> fly to venice-->train to Florence--> Siena/Tuscany-->Drive to Rome

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Posted by
15043 posts

3/7: The best would have been to have an open jaw ticket to Venice. But if you already have a r/t ticket to/from Rome, so be it. Consider that the train to Venice might be faster than flying if you have several hours to wait for the flight to Venice. The train from Roma Termini station is only 3h50m and drops you right on the Grand Canal at the Santa Lucia station. Venice airport is at least one hour from the historical center of Venice. Could you give us the details of your flight arrival in Rome? And your flight to Venice?
3/8: Venice. One day only (2 nights)? Ok.
3/9: The best sequence would be Venice > Florence > Cinque Terre > Rome. From Venice to the Cinque Terre is a long trip and you have to go through Florence anyway, then back track again. Change your plan to follow the sequence above.
Also I'm not clear about your plans while you are at the Cinque Terre. Where do you leave your luggage? There are no luggage lockers at the Cinque Terre stations.

You should do this:
From Venice go to Florence, visit Florence, then rent a car as you get out of Florence and visit the rest of Tuscany by car. After you are done with your Tuscany by car, drive to La Spezia, return the car in La Spezia, then from there take a train to the Cinque Terre (5-20 min depending on which village).
Lastly from the Cinque Terre take a train to Rome along the coastal route (4 hrs).

For the Cinque Terre. From La Spezia (after you return the car). Take the train straight to the town where you have your accommodations and drop the luggage there.
Then get out and hike to wherever, however in March all trails are likely closed, therefore you'll end up going to the bar and just drink. For that Monterosso offers the best bar options so find a hotel in Monterosso.
If you happen to be able to hike, just go from Monterosso to Vernazza, the next village. It's almost 3 hours walk. You won't be able to walk from Monterosso all the way to Riomaggiore. It takes too long and in March Europe has not yet switched to Day Light savings time, therefore it will be dark by 6pm to go anywhere. Visit the other towns by train.

The Gulf of Naples area (Naples, Sorrento, Pompeii, Capri, Amalfi) needs at least 4 nights at the very minimum. There is a lot to visit. You don't have enough time for all. You will need to cut out 4 nights from elsewhere and that will basically eliminate both Venice and the Cinque Terre. Your choice but you can't have it all unless your ER Chief allows for 5 more days to be added to your vacation and change your rotation.

Posted by
906 posts

As I always do I agree with Roberto. He gives excellent advice and has helped me on a couple of occasions.

I would drop the Amalfi coast this trip. Too much to see from Rome and above (north). Leave Amalfi for your next visit when you can relax, that is what Amalfi/Positano/Ravello is for, relaxation.

If you can, do the CT by boat also, it is a great way to see all 5 towns.

have fun,

Posted by
10344 posts

March for hiking CT trails is not a sure thing, re weather and trail conditions. Some travelers assume they will be back and don't try to do everything on their list in one trip.

Posted by
119 posts

Thanks for all your great input so far!

We are arriving in Rome at 11:15 am. There is a flight to Venice at 230 from FCO that gets us in at 340pm...so according to your calculations that would probably put us in the main center of Venice around 5:00pm. The cost is $74 one way. Interestingly it appears there is only one carrier (Alitalia) that has any feasible flights from FCO to Venice. I'm thinking that trekking to the other Rome airport is too much of a hassle.

Alternatively there are a multitude of high speed trains that leave from Roma Termini (every hour on the :50)...if we were to make the 1250 that would put us in Venice at 1635. Is Roma Termini easily accessible from FCO? Would we be able to make the 1250 if our flight gets to FCO at 1115 or is the 1350 more feasible?

It probably makes sense to limit ourselves to Rome and north.

Do you think we need more time in Venice? If so, where would you cut time from?

If hiking is not a possibility in CT, is there enough to justify 2 full days there?

Thanks for your continued help!

Posted by
119 posts

Also, being that we are traveling in march, should we cut Venice/CT and try to do the south or should we cut the south and do the Venice-->Florence-->Tuscany-->CT-->Rome route?

Posted by
32173 posts

EmergencyDoc,

To begin with, congratulations! A few thoughts and comments on your travel plans.......

Flying inbound to Venice and outbound from Rome (open-jaw) would have been more efficient, but as you already have your tickets you'll have to work with what you have.

Visiting the Cinque Terre in early March may not be the best idea. The usual start of the season there is 1 April, so not all facilities may be open. The weather may also not be the best. I have an alternative to suggest, which is listed below.

Would something like this work......

  • Mar. 6 Fr - D1 - Flight to Italy
  • Mar. 7 Sa - D2 / N1 - Arrive Rome / FCO - use Leonardo Express from airport to Roma Termini (~32 minutes, €14 PP) - connect with Freccia high speed train to Venice (you can buy tickets for both trains at the airport rail station - NOTE that you MUST validate your ticket for the L.E. prior to boarding or risk a hefty fine, which will be collected on the spot - the ticket for the high speed Freccia train will have compulsory seat reservations, and you can ONLY use the one train/date/departure time specified on the ticket, or again hefty fines). Your destination station will be Venezia Santa Lucia. On the trip from Rome to Venice, the scenery is quite spectacular in some parts (however you'll be jet lagged so may not be too focused in watching it).
  • Mar. 8 - Su - D3 / N2 - Venice, touring
  • Mar. 9 - Mo - D4 / N3 - Venice, touring
  • Mar. 10 - Tu - D5 / N1 - Train to Florence (your destination station will be Firenze S.M. Novella - a mid-morning trip would be best, as your hotel may not be ready if you arrive too early).
  • Mar. 11 - We - D6 / N2 - Florence, touring (If you plan to see the Uffizi or Accademia, reservations are highly advisable - I'd suggest packing along a copy of the RS Italy guidebook in order to have information on hand - buy the book NOW so that you can use it for planning hotels, etc.).
  • Mar. 12 - Th - D7 / N3 - Florence - possible day trip to the Cinque Terre (do this trip only if the weather is good) - travel time will be about 3 hours each way, and I'd suggest starting in Monterosso as that's the largest town and more likely to find some businesses open - a departure at 07:08 will get you there just after 10:00. You can see the train details on the Trenitalia website. Some of the trains you'll be using are Regionale so DON'T forget to validate your tickets prior to boarding the train on the day of travel!!!
  • Mar. 13 - Fr - D8 / N1 - Use Bus to Siena (travel time via Corse Rapide is ~1H:15M - DON'T forget to validate your ticket prior to boarding the Bus) - check into your hotel and then start touring.
  • Mar. 14 - Sa - D9 / N2 - Rent car and tour hill towns - a GPS or at least a good map would be prudent - note that each driver will require the compulsory International Driver's Permit, and you'll have to be vigilant to avoid the dreaded ZTL (limited traffic areas) - parking is an issue in Siena, so choosing a hotel that offers parking would be a good idea - check the Guidebook.
  • Mar. 15 - Su - D10 / N1 - Drive to Orvieto (you could perhaps take a slight detour and visit Civita di Bagnoregio first). After that return car near station, and take the Funicular up to town.
  • Mar. 16 - Mo - D11 / N2 - Orvieto, touring
  • Mar. 17 - Tu - D12/ N1 - Train to Rome (~1 hour), check into hotel
  • Mar. 18 - We - D13 / N2 - Rome, touring
  • Mar. 19 - Th - D14 / N3 - Rome, touring
  • Mar. 20 - Fr - D15 / N4 - Rome - day trip to Sorrento & Pompeii - this will be a bit of a long day, but it's certainly possible - you'll have to change trains in Naples and take the Circumvesuviana from there to Pompeii and Sorrento.
  • Mar. 21 - Sa - D16 - Take Leonardo Express to FCO - return flight to U.S.

This is only one suggestion, and it still needs some "fine tuning" but shows one way you could structure the trip.

Buon Viaggio!

Posted by
119 posts

Wow this is great - a couple of questions..

1) Any particular reason for bus to Siena? The trains that I am looking at take about 1:30.

2) If I were to cut out that day trip on the last day in Rome that would give us about 3.5 days there. Is that too much?

Posted by
32173 posts

You may also find it helpful to have a look at these websites and a few short videos.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdvRkB7E-sY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4DZ-Z_6wjA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n8rITO1Eek

http://www.roninrome.com/transportation/train-travel-italy

http://seat61.com/Italy.htm

Some of the rail trips you'll be taking will involve "changes". That often involves going down into a tunnel (sotto passagio) to move from one platform to another. The electronic sign will indicate which platform (binario) your next train is departing from.

Also, you may be able to use the newer high speed Italo trains on some routes (ie: Venice to Florence). These don't always use the same stations as Trenitalia but something to keep in mind.

Posted by
32173 posts

Regarding your questions....

  1. The main reason to take the Bus to Siena rather than train is that the Bus drops passengers at Piazza Gramsci in the center of town, rather than the rail station which is at the bottom of the hill. Using the train is also good, but you'll have to take a Taxi from the station up to the town.
  2. IMO, more time in Rome would be good, as there's so MUCH to see. It would be better to tour the areas south of Rome on a separate trip, so that you can spend some time there and really enjoy them. I was just trying to include a small part of the southern stops that you had mentioned for a "taste" of the area. The day trip from Rome to Sorrento will be long and probably tiring, so spending your last day in Rome will be more relaxing. You might consider reservations at a really nice restaurant on your last night in Rome, as that will be a fine ending for your Italian honeymoon.

Finally, one minor detail - I assumed from your original post that your trip will be taking place in 2015 (your post stated "3/6/14").

Posted by
15043 posts

The bus to Siena takes 75 min vs 90 min with the train (the freeway has a more direct route). Also the center of the city of Siena is perched on top of a hill. The bus takes you there, while the train station is at the bottom of the hill, from which you will then take a bus or a taxi.

3.5 days in Rome (4 nights) in a 2 week trip, are adequate in my opinion. It also depends on your interests and preference. Some people might say you could do with 3 nights (2.5 days), which I'd say is the absolute minimum. Others could spend months in Rome without ever having enough of it. It's up to you. But I'd say you should spend at least 3 nights at the very bare minimum.

Posted by
119 posts

If we arrive at FCO at 1115 does that leave enough time to get bags, get through customs and make the 1250 at Roma Termini? Or should we aim for the 1350?

Posted by
32173 posts

Regarding your last question on what departure to use to Venice, were you planning to buy your tickets in advance for a specific train? If so, that's generally not recommended by most of us here as if your flight is delayed or whatever and you can't make that train, your ticket is worthless. I'd suggest just buying tickets when you arrive, using either a Kiosk or the staffed ticket office (although they will cost more if buying on the day of travel, as you'll be paying "Base Fare").

One other important point to mention is that there are two trains that serve FCO, the Leonardo Express and the FR / FM1, so be sure to check which one you're boarding. The Ron In Rome website that I linked earlier has good information on the two options. Either one will get you to Venice, but the route will be slightly different. The FR1 is slower and makes more stops, slightly cheaper and it goes to Roma Tiburtina station. From there you can still connect to the Freccia to Venice.

The easiest solution (IMO) will be to use the Leonardo Express to Roma Termini. If I were making the same trip, that's likely the method I'd use. For some reason the rail websites only display the Tiburtina route on a search from FCO to Venice. Tiburtina has had extensive renovations recently, so Trenitalia may be encouraging use of that to take some of the traffic load off Termini?

Buy a ticket for the Leonardo Express and take the first one you can get. As that train is a Regionale you can use any departure, as the ticket isn't in effect until it's validated (DON'T forget to validate!). Also buy a ticket for the Freccia train to Venice. Allow at least 15 minutes between arrival time of the Freccia at Roma Termini and the departure of the train to Venice, as you'll need to time to disembark from the L.E., find your next train and then get to your assigned car.

It's late so I'll have another look at this tomorrow.

Posted by
119 posts

Just changed our connecting flight so that we arrive in Venice at 230pm instead of Rome at 1115am. After factoring ground transportation costs it works out to be $95 dollars more with the added benefit of a lot less aggravation navigating the Rome area trains while jet lagged. Pretty happy :)

Posted by
32173 posts

Flying into Venice is a much more efficient method, and will give you more touring time there. Use the Alilaguna for transport from the airport to the main part of Venice. You may find it helpful to have a look at THIS short video.

If your flight arrives at 14:30, it will probably be close to supper time by the time you're checked-in and settled at your hotel. By the time you do a brief walkabout and have supper, that may be all that you have the energy for.