This was a short 2-week trip to fit the vacation time available to our daughter and son-in-law, who traveled with us. Two of us had been in Rome before, but the rest of the itinerary was new to all of us.
We knew we wanted to get out of town in February and like many of you, we thought we’d try someplace different this year.
Europe in February/March was a new experience! And we can report back that it can be a great time. Below are the Pros and Cons we came up with:
Itinerary: February 24 – March 10
3 nights in Rome,
3 nights in Salerno,
1 night back in Rome,
3 nights Ortygia Sicily,
2 nights Taormina Sicily,
2 nights Amsterdam
Pros:
- Because it was still the quiet season, there wasn’t competition for the restaurants. We never made reservations.
- Crowds were minimal and manageable, although if the Trevi Fountain is this crowded in February it must be completely nuts during the ‘busy season’. Easily booked tickets & tours for Vatican, Colosseum, Pompeii, etc.
- Didn’t have to go back to our hotel to rest in the heat of the day, so total hours out and about might work out to the same as summer travel.
- Didn’t need to pack sandals or multiple tops in case we sweated through two a day. Suitcase ended up the same weight as summer travel. Didn’t wilt while enjoying a 4-hour tour of Pompeii. Found out we actually like Rome when it’s not Hot, Humid and Overcrowded.
- Delta Premium Select tickets were a fabulous price but the planes were surprisingly full.
Cons:
- In Sicily some restaurants were still closed for the season and the tours for Mt Etna were limited.
- Not beach or boating season even though the water was clear and calm. Definitely ate more Cannoli than Gelato. (Sorry Jean!) But everything was green and flowers were blooming.
- Shorter days, and I’d think twice about going during the very darkest months. Stayed light until 6:00 or 6:30.
- Packed a couple of coats, scarves, sweater, an umbrella, hat and gloves instead of sundresses. Didn’t need the hat or gloves. Hotels had umbrellas to borrow. One of us carried a bag or backpack to stash our layers when out for the day.
- Limited selection of flight times compared to High Season. Meant we overnighted in Amsterdam to get a good flight home on Sunday.
Planes, Trains, and Taxis:
Flights: I wanted to warn folks that there were steps for all flights, which will be an unwelcome surprise for folks with limited mobility. Also, read on for our Ryanair and Transavia baggage experience. No-one at any of the airports had us take off shoes or show our liquids baggie. They did want coats off. Allowed bottles of water at all the European airports.
PDX to AMS, bulkhead seats in Premium Select. Nice to have the extra legroom but the noise and lights from the galley interfere with sleep. I still would probably choose this over the last row because of the extra space in front. Surprise in AMS: we had to walk down steps to exit the plane and get on a bus to the terminal. One passenger had a roll-on suitcase, large tote and a cane. Sometimes it’s OK to check your suitcase. AMS to FCO on KLM: Chose all 3 on one side and aisle of the other side. Wish we had done that for the Sicily flights.
FCO to CTA on Ryanair: Concourse at FCO looks new and very nice. Lots of shops. As stated previously by folks, security is VERY quick. We paid extra for priority boarding and two carry-ons, but by their measurements calculated that we would need to check our roll-on suitcases. However, when we went to the desk to check them, the Ryanair folks said our suitcases fit into the display thingy (which they really didn’t) and told us to carry them on. Surprise! Wish we could've gotten a refund for paying to check them! Plenty of leg room in the seats we paid a couple of dollars for. On arrival at Catania we had to exit the plane on stairs and then walk up 2 flights of stairs.