What should be purchased in advance, and what can or should wait until you're there

Just my take, with only a week left, prices will not change drastically, so the flexibility is worth it to me to just wait until I get there. You can even just get train tickets the day before, or when you arrive in a town. As for admissions, for the Uffizi, we stopped by the first thing in the morning (off season like you) and picked our entrance time, bought tickets, then went to see other things until our time. The only place I would reserve well ahead (several days or now) would be the Galleria Borghese...that one seems to be tough to just "get in" and it is out of the way, so when you go, you want to get in.

Very helpful. (Especially re: the Ufizzi.)

Thanks Paul!

Anyone else have any advice or experiences to share that could help?

What other cities do you plan to visit?

If you were posting this a month or two ago, I'd say purchase train tickets ahead of time to grab some of the Super Saver tickets. I don't like to stand in lines, so I usually purchase all of our train tickets on-line ahead of time; otherwise, at the first train station.

I'm perceiving that you like to be flexible, so you could always just purchase at each station. Some of the cities ~Verona have City Passes that include museums, highlights, etc. Those you can just purchase as you arrive.

Without more specifics about your trip itinerary and any special interests of yourself and your travel partner or group, it's hard to offer much guidance. But, based on what you've said so far, I'll just offer these ideas: (1) it's easy to get to and from Pompeii on your own from Naples, you don't need a tour or anything like that. However, based on my own experience, I highly encourage you to hire one of the local English-speaking guides at the entrance to the ruins. They know a huge amount, and of course they know their way around the very expansive ruins, which you will not. In addition, they generally know which streets or particular locations are closed for renovation or whatever, which neither you nor any written guide would know. I tried to visit Pompeii on my own, with just the RS book and audio guide, and I wish I had gone with a guide. I was lost or confused a lot. The cost is very modest, and you can talk to a few and choose a guide you like and whose English is easily understandable. You might want to include the nearby ruins at Herculaneum as part of the same day trip, they are much more compact. (2) You can find train schedules online, and then just buy tickets once you are in each city. But I encourage you to not leave your ticket purchase to the last minute, as various times I have found the process of buying tickets took enough time that I ended up missing, or almost missing, my desired train. Try to buy your departure tickets when you arrive in town, or the evening before your departure, or first thing in the morning, so you arrive for your train with your tickets already in hand. (3) yes, you should buy timed tickets for the wonderful Borghese Gallery in Rome online in advance, there are limited spots for each two-hour period; same goes for The Last Supper if you plan to spend any time in Milano and want to include that visit. Enjoy November in Italy, lucky you!

Get your Ufuzzi tickets now. The link is in the RS Italy guide. The lines can be long, even in November. Florence is a Big College Town, with lots of students there. You can even get a Florence Pass.

Where will we be going? The usual suspects: Rome, Naples (with a day-trip to Pompeii), Florence, Siena (hopefully with a day trip to some cool town in Tuscany, if we can find a good bus route or other means of transportation), and Venice. And a brief overnight stay in Milan, because we're taking a train from there to Paris where we'll spend a few more days.

Thanks for all the ideas!

Larry, what do you mean when you say "it's easy to get to and from Pompeii on your own from Naples"? Do you just mean it's easy to take the Circumvesuviano to get there? (Which I admit I'm feeling a little intimidated by after seeing that other post about people having their bag set on fire and getting spit on, etc..) As far as the local English-speaking guide, I'm torn. I think your advice is probably good, but we're really on a very tight budget, and there are only two of us.

As far as Uffizi tickets, if we bought them now, would they limit us to a certain time of day? Or are they just for a date, and so we'd be able to go at whatever hour works best on that day? (I assume they'd limit us to a date at least..?)

We visited Italy for three weeks in September, which is a very busy time. We reserved train reservations for all the high speed trains ahead of time and purchased point to point tickets while there with no problems. As far as sights go we booked a Vatican tour on the Vatican website, a Colosseum tour by calling the office directly. Lots cheaper and good tours. In Florence we got in the Uffizi by standing in door two labeled booking service and today and got in without waiting. Maybe we were just lucky. As far as Pompeii goes I agree with Larry. Hire a guide at the gate. We attempted to use the RS audio guide and were lost most of the time. We got Bourghese tickets by having our hotel person call for us. We were able to get tickets the day we arrived in Rome. If you want to see the Last Supper in Milan definitely reserve ahead of time. Since we were only in Milan one full day we booked a three hour tour to see the main sights in Milan that included the Last Supper. It was well worth the cost. Several companies are listed in the RS Italy book. As mentioned we traveled during a busy time of the year. Going in November might not present the challenges we faced. Have fun.

Nick, yes I did mean it is easy to travel from Naples to Pompeii (and also to Herculaneum) on the Circumvesuviana train. On a day trip you would not have baggage, just any valuables in a secure neck bag or whatever, and a daypack with water, travel guide, etc. I rode that train this past May without any problem, both from Sorrento to Naples with baggage, and from Sorrento to Pompeii and Herculaneum as a day trip without baggage. That train stops right next to the ruins in Pompeii, somewhat farther from the ruins in Herculaneum. If that train really intimidates you, I understand there is another Trenitalia line that goes from Naples Centrale to the town of Pompeii, but that stops somewhat further from the ruins, requiring either a longish walk or a taxi to the ruins. I've not taken that route, maybe others have the details about that. About hiring a guide at the ruins at Pompeii, the cost I remember hearing was about 12 euros for a two-hour tour, but I'm not sure if that was for your group, or per person, or per slot in a somewhat larger group. As I said before, I wish I had done that, but did not, so maybe again someone else here can explain better just how those guides work.

I would take the Circumvesuviana carrying only a daybag without hesitation. With lots of luggage, one would have to be a bit more vigilant. I've seen some disquieting behavior but never anything violent (fire-setting, spitting).

You can buy a few reserved train tickets at your first train station, to minimize ticket lines, or buy them as you go if you want to keep those options open. There's no deadline to reserve museums, either, and reserving will commit you to dates and times. In Florence, for instance, the next popular alternative to reserving is to buy a Florence Card upon arrival, but it's not cheap at €72 per person. Perhaps making a museum reservation for your arrival day in a city could be affected by train availability/selection to get you there, but if you make the reservation for your second day in town, then not much is going to get in your way.

Another option to the Florence card is the Friends of the Uffizi pass: 100 euro for a family pass covers both of you, and it'll last the length of your stay (good until the end of this year) versus just a couple of days - if you are staying longer than that.

http://www.amicidegliuffizi.it/diventa_socio.php?pg=8&ln=en

It does not have the transport piece - which is why it's less expensive - but Florence is compact enough that we never needed the transport system, or could have purchased individuals tickets for the few times we might have jumped a bus. Buy it online or at the Uffizi welcome desk when you get there (have identification along.)

As with any other pass, it's only worth the price if you have the time to use it, and would like to see the attractions it covers. And yes, if you buy Uffizi tickets in advance, you have to choose a day and time slot from what's available. Otherwise, either pass will get you in on any day, and a FOTU pass will get you in as many times as you wish to go; nice as it's a big place!