Greetings Fellow Travelers:
I had a wonderful -- so wonderful -- trip to Italy in May. I was there for about three weeks. Arrived in Rome. Stayed for about a week. Took the train to Florence -- stayed about five days. Then took the train to Venice -- stayed about five days. The final leg was the train Venice to Rome. Spent some freelance, unscheduled time in Rome for about three days. Then flew back to the USA West Coast.
I thought I would share some of my thoughts.
Transportation Passes --
For Rome, I arrived at the airport and then took a bus to Termini Station. It was there that I bought a 30-day transportation pass. Even though three of the major/touristy metro stations were closed, the transportation pass was worth it to me. I like to have the ability to get on any bus or metro when my feet are tired. I used the buses many times, and it was really convenient to have the pass on a lanyard.
For Florence, I do not recommend any transportation pass. At the main Florence train station, I bought a packet of 10 metro/bus tickets for 14 Euros. During my stay, I did not use one of the tickets. Florence is a compact city and I walked everywhere.
For Venice, definitely get the Vaporetto Pass. It is fun and wonderful to just get on any vaporetto and take a boat ride to get to your destination.
Technology -- The 30-day, 30 Euro TIM Tourist SIM Card was a disaster. Fifty percent of the time it did not work or partially. For my last three days in Rome, it did not work at all. I have a theory, that I will not go into now, on why this TIM Tourist card did not work.
Throughout Italy, for my nighttime emails, wi-fi was spotty -- some hotels very poor, some hotels very good.
For Florence, I recommend a three-day combination ticket which covers Uffizi, Pitti Palace, and Boboli gardens. Pitti Palace was outstanding.
OnLine Booking -- I highly recommend that you book reserved times and tickets with official website as much as you can.
Porters at Venice Train Station Santa Lucia -- The best five Euros that I had ever spent!
When I arrived in the Venice Train Station, I carried/pushed my very heavy luggage to my hotel. It was a short walk (i.e., .5 miles), but with the heavy luggage, the bridges, up the bridge steps, down the bridge steps, getting lost, etc., it was challenging.
When it came to departing, I had planned to carry/wheel my luggage back to the train station. I didn't know that you could call for a porter to get your luggage to the train station. It was 5 Euros per bag and really worth every penny. A porter just happened to be in the area serving an incoming tourist, and we waved him over to get my luggage back to the station. I was at the station in five minutes.
For porters, I am sure it depends on how far your hotel is, but if you are staying near the train station, a porter could save you. Just make sure to get an AGREED price before you use their services.
More to be posted....
(PS I do not understand why some of my print is coming out super large, bolded and in blue.!!!!
Does anyone know how I can fix this?)