Hello again all!
Having received great direction in the overall itinerary planning portion of our Italy trip (that thread is here https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/italy-slow-short-travel-help-me-narrow-down-please) I'm back with some more specific questions. First, here's our itinerary. All lodging is booked but change-able at this point. Note this is for this July.
Day 0: Arrive Rome 9am
Days 1-5: Rome. Apartment very near Plaza Navona.
Day 6: Train to Florence
Days 7-12 Florence. Apartment very near Ufizi.
Day 13: Train back to Rome. RS Recommended hotel near Campo di Fiore.
Day 14: Rome.
Day 15: Noon flight home
My questions are:
How did we do with general lodging locations? I want to be able to walk as much as possible/avoid the need for taxis. I'm fine with the metro as well.
What should we absolutely book ahead of time? I'm certain we must book the Vatican. We plan to do an early entry tour to beat the crowds and the heat (this trip is in July). It's not a cheap tour and this is a budget trip, but we are splurging on it. If we can get by without any other paid tours, that would be ideal. My husband thinks the Colosseum requires a tour as well for this purpose. Thoughts? Anything in Florence? I get that I need to book tickets online to avoid standing in line for the Accademia; is this tour-worthy or can this be done on one's own with just a little pre planning?
Any recommendations on getting out into the countryside from Florence? We obviously would need a tour. It sadly can't be a tour which involves food, as I cannot eat and travel by bus (medical issue; trust me.) I can sip wine and travel a bit. Feel free to tell me this is a terrible idea.
Are there better or worse days of the week to do certain things? For example: we were considering doing the Colosseum on a Sunday morning as we assume everything else will be closed. But is that everyone else's plan too? What about our Florence days? How would those best be utilized? See annoyingly detailed notes:
Wednesday. Day 0: Arrive Rome 9am.
Thursday. Day 1: Rome. No scheduled tours. Wander around day.
Friday. Day 2: Rome. Vatican tour at 7am.
Saturday. Day 3: Rome.
Sunday. Day 4: Rome. 8:15am Colosseum tour?
Monday. Day 5: Rome.
Tuesday. Day 6: Early train to Florence (not yet booked)
Wednesday. Day 7: Florence.
Thursday. Day 8: Florence.
Friday. Day 9: Florence. Day trip to Siena OR see below.
Saturday Day 10: Florence.
Sunday Day 11: Florence.
Monday. Day 12: Florence.
Tuesday. Day 13: Early train back to Rome
Wednesday. Day 14. Rome
Thursday. Day 15 Departure Day
Finally: I am considering surprising my husband with a super quick overnight to Venice. Yay or nay? Options include:
-Doing Venice as an overnight trip while in Florence. We did this when we visited Paris; we took the train to Amsterdam for just one night, taking barely anything with us.
-Stealing one night from each Rome and Florence in between each city. So that would be:
-Day 5. train from Rome to Venice, a late afternoon and evening in Venice
-Day 6: One full day in Venice.
-Day 7: mid-day train to Florence.
Of course, 'don't do this' is also an option. I realize Venice deserves more time. And I get that I may be over planning and thus can save Venice for another trip. But I'm also of the 'do nice things for your husband' mindset and he's always wanted to see Venice. I've never been to Italy; he's been to both Rome and Florence.
Ok. That was a lot! I'll stop now. Thanks in advance!