A friend and I are taking a cruise and ending in Rome. We are flying out of Venice 4 days later and have to make our way there.
We want to see Florence as well but with the limited timeframe would it be best to use Rome or Venice as a base and just do excursions to Florence and the surrounding area. Looking for any advice.
Also, recommendations on Flornece and Venice hotels would be appreciated.
If the cruise ends in Rome, it will really end at the port of Civitavecchia. Take a train from there to Florence (changing trains in Rome) and stay 2 nights, then move on to Venice for the last 2 nights.
Karen, you don't really have time to see Rome, Florence AND Venice in 3.5 days, and Florence is too far (IMHO) from Venice for easy day tripping. You'd spend at least 4 hours of the day on trains back and forth. As you HAVE to fly out of Venice and apparently would prefer to see Florence rather than Rome, I'll vote with Sam's plan:
Train from Civitavecchia port to Florence: stay 2 nights. That's 1.5 days sightseeing with no time, really, for excursions outside of the city unless you are OK with seeing very little of Florence at all.
Train from Florence to Venice: stay 2 nights (1.5 days sightseeing).
Your arrival day at Civitavecchia is toast. You get off the boat mid-morning probably, catch a train (no matter where) and get somewhere and the day is basically gone. The departure day is likely to be only half day at best to see things.
My suggestion: Catch the train to Venice, spend the three nights there (2 full day to see things, 1/2 day to depart, 1 day to arrive). you won't be disappointed by Venice, only missing Florence. But, the truth is, you don't have enough time. Enjoy one place and enjoy it well. I would choose Venice.
With your limited amount of time consider going straight to Venice. Many will say you can't miss Florence (and it can be done), but Venice is a truly unique place that I'm sure you'll love. Remember, you almost always lose more time getting from Point A to Point B than anticipated. It's not just the travel time, it's also checking out, getting to the train station, getting to the new hotel, checking in, and so on. Don't mean to be a spoil sport, just food for thought.
If you do decide on a stop in Florence, we found this hotel to be charming.
http://mobile.hotellascaletta.it
Good location and a rooftop terrace.
You really need to choose between Rome or Florence. Trying to do both will just run you ragged.
Florence is really not a "day trip" from either Rome or Venice
