We will be in Italy March 9-23. Our travel style leans towards free and easy, wandering as the spirit moves us, so planning an itinerary and making advanced reservations is not what we usually do. That said, from the reading done so far, it seems like we may need to make reservations in Italy at Accadamia and Uffici (Firenzi) and perhaps Sistine Chapel (Roma). Which would commit us to being in those cities on specific days. Do you know if lines are quite long/reservations really necessary in March, for these sites? We'll do it if it seems the wiser move. Also, reservations for rooms necessary in Cinque Terre in March?
I'm assuming rooms in Venezia, Roma and Firenzi can be found in March, without reservations. Is this foolish thinking? Do we need to change our travel style for Italy?
Posted by
Austin, TX, USA
492 posts
Reservations for the sites you mention is never necessary, just sometimes recommended to help avoid lines and waits. If you can be flexible in how long you may need to wait or in going back to a site later in the day when lines may be shorter if they are long when you arrive you could still travel to way. In March you may even be able to call the day before and still get reservations if you want to plan a little in advance. We don't like to travel that way as we don't like wasting time hunting down accommodations, but you should probably be fine.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8135 posts
Never change your travel style. I see so many people on websites planning every detail for 2 to 4 weeks' travel. I too like to "wing it."
You never know when you run into interesting people or interesting places. And you never know when you're going to get bored and want to move on down the road. Every farm in Italy has rooms or apartments as a secondary source of income. And all the cities have a long list of hotels. March is not high time. If you can take a notebook or laptop with you, accommodations can be found on Hotels.com, Booking.com, AirBnB.com and other big web sites as you go along. When it comes to Rome, see RonInRome.com for the best website there is.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23261 posts
Unfortunately reservations for primer sites, especially the Accadamia, does make life a little easier. However, often the hotel can make reservations for you on pretty short notice. So if your in Florence for three or four days, your hotel can make the reservation for you on third or fourth day or maybe the next day. Room reservations are never a problem if you have some flexibility. It doesn't hurt to call ahead a day or two if you know where you want to stay and you know you are going to be there the next day. If not carrying a local cell phone, then use a phone card.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
You might want to take along the RS Italy book so you can make some informed options about lodging choices as you improvise your way through Italy. And you might want to rethink the CT in March. That's when it can be really rainy and doesn't exactly make for an enjoyable experience there. But with your style of travel, just check out the weather forecast. FWIW, my trip planning tends to make the D-Day invasion look like an impromptu outing. But that's what I enjoy doing. :-) Happy travels. (And I second the remark about RonInRome.com. He's awesome.)