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Planning Trip to Italy - Need some advice and suggestions!

A

Annon2255

Senior member
Hello!
I have a few questions about traveling around Italy I was hoping someone could help me with.

My wife is going to a conference in Florence from March 25-30th and we want to add an extra week onto that for personal travel. We’re trying to plan an itinerary and figure out how we’re going to travel around Italy. So a few questions for those who may have some experience in Italy:
1. To travel we were thinking about getting the Eurail Italy pass. We’re looking at the 3 days within 2 months pass using the 2nd class family pass (based on the way I understand it we pay $218 and can travel any 3 days we choose as long as were together.) Is this a good way to travel around Italy?
2. Venice. We’re trying to decide if we should just take a day trip to Italy (Using one of our three days from our Eurail pass). Go in the morning, come back in the evening. Are we going to miss out on a lot?
3. Pisa. Basically if we don’t stay a couple nights in Venice we’re thinking we might want to stay in Pisa for a night or two before heading to Rome to finish off our trip. Would we be better off spending those days in Venice? Somewhere else?
4. Thinking about finishing off our trip in Rome. We’re thinking about four days or so here. Again, good idea? Or should we spend extra days somewhere else?
5. We’ve also heard the lake towns are popular vacation destinations among Italians. We wouldn’t mind experiencing how the locals like to spend their leisure time. Does anyone have any experience with these towns? Are the overly expensive? Any suggestions?
6. Credit card: We’re looking into getting a Chase Sapphire to use while we travel. Is this a good idea? I feel like this would be more convenient than stopping at ATMs all the time.
7. Does anyone have any recommendations on hotels in Venice, Pisa and/or Rome? We’re graduate students so we can’t pay for anything too expensive, and we’re not planning on being in the hotel much anyways but we still want someplace nice and conveniently located to attractions, train stations, etc.
8. What are the MUST SEE attractions people would suggest in each city?
Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions!
 
1. Worth it. I went to Italy a few years back and traveled exclusively by train, and it was awesome.

2. Venice was cool, but I think a day trip would be enough. I stayed for 2 days and I would have been fine with 1.

3. Didn't get to go to Pisa, so I can't comment.

4. There's a lot to see in Rome. Definitely worth an extra day or two over other locations.

5. Didn't go to any so I can't comment.

6. I used a Chase Sapphire while I was there. No problems whatsoever, and it was definitely easier than taking cash out (only did that a few times).

7. Let me get back to you on that. 🙂

8. See above. 😛
 
I spend a couple of months in Italy every year. I am traveling, but tomorrow I will answer to all the questions...
 
One week? Just rent a car and add on Rome. If you're near Florence you can add on Pisa for 3 hours or so and see the whole city. Siena is nice too and is close. One week is not very much time so see if you can maybe see Siena/Pisa while you're at the conference as little side trips and then just spend a week in Rome. I'm going to Rome this summer again and doing 4 days so it's doable but I know what I'm doing and don't need to see everything. If you want to just hit a handful of highlights and get a small taste that's great - do 4 days in Rome, 1 day in Pisa, and 2 days in Siena. Forget the train pass - totally not worth it and you're going to want to take advantage of the flexibility of a car. Pisa is small and you can see the whole city and the tower in less than 3 hours then jump in the car and leave.

Skip Venice. Skip heading to Milan and the lakes. Florence/Tuscany and Rome should be your priority and you are not there for very long.
 
I've been to Venice a few times, only because it and Trieste are the closest bits of Italy to slavia. I'd spend more time somewhere else, though I guess it's neat to see once. Sucks in august, too hot, no trees so no shade. a can of coke is $5 or something stupid like this. March is probably nicer.

Also trains suck unless you have a lot of time and little money. Renting a car for three days would be a similar price (+gas).
 
I lived in Rome for about 5 months and traveled around when I was there.

Pisa is enough for a 30 minute stop. There's not much to the city except for the tower.

Florence pretty small and you can pretty much get a great scope of the city in 2-3 days. I loved it but you don't need more than 2-3 days there.

I have more of a soft spot for Rome since I was there the longest. You can knock out all of the major sites in a day. They're pretty much all in walking distance and in a straight line. I would spend time stopping by small shops and food spots and enjoy the city and view. I can give you an entire list of restaurants, caffes, and other food spots in Rome.

BRING CASH. Italians do not like credit cards and most places will not accept them. NEVER pay for than a euro for any coffee drink unless its a caffe corretto, which should cost no more than 2 euros. Panini should be no more than 3.50.

North Italy should be a different trip IMO. It's a long travel time and its probably cheaper to fly there than taking a train.

This is a pretty quick run down. Lmk if you have more specific questions.
 
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Thanks for everyone's advice! I'll talk to my wife about renting a car, but I'm not too sure if we're keen on driving in another country. Might be fun to do though, so I'll run it past her.

Are there any coastal towns in Tuscany anyone would recommend? We might just take a day trip to Venice and spend some extra time in Tuscany then go down to Rome for the last few days of our trip.

Would we be better off getting a cheap flight from Tuscany to Rome than taking the train? I've heard flights around Europe can be pretty cheap.

Thanks again for all the advice!
 
Don't sweat renting a car in another country. Sign up for the American express insurance program for 25 bucks per rental and most European countries are covered. I have driven in most of the countries in western Europe and never ran into a problem. It is actually a lot of fun and you get to see way more than you would without one.

Def take flights everywhere. Very cheap and much quicker. Just be careful. Companies like Ryanair are very particular about how you check in. I missed a flight in Ireland because you have to get two stamps on your boarding pass. One from their counter and one from the government. I did not read the fine print and got burned. I was sitting at the gate waiting for the plane for over an hour and no one even mentioned it to me nor are there signs. Just be careful. Lost 500 bucks on that mistake but other than that everything was easy.
 
We just went to Italy for 9 days over Christmas.

I think Venice is overrated. It's worth seeing for a day, taking a gondola ride, getting in a water taxi, and visiting the Doge's Palace, but I couldn't spend 4 or 5 days there without being very bored.

Florence is really cool. It's more of a small town atmosphere than Rome. I could see actually living there. There are a lot of museums, churches, plazas, statues, etc. to see. Make sure you see David - it only takes a half hour or so, if you don't care to see the rest of the museum. The best food we had was around Florence.

Pisa is a stopover on your trip from Florence to Rome. You can see everything you want in an hour. If you want to tour the church and baptistery or climb the tower, give yourself a few hours. Lots of street vendors here as well.

Rome was my favorite part. So much history in one city that you could spend weeks and not see it all. Tour the typical places (Colosseum, Forum, Vatican). Also take time to see the super crowded free spots (Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps). Explore on your own and see the many plazas and smaller attractions like The Pantheon.

For logistics:
- I was on a bus tour, but I know several people who have rented cars in Italy without issues.
- Credit cards were accepted almost everywhere we went. Take a Visa and MasterCard, along with a few hundred Euro. You can exchange USD for Euro at your local bank before leaving.
- Watch for pickpockets. Use a front pocket wallet and have any women guard their purses or purchase an anti pickpocket purse.
- English is spoken by most people you'll need to interact with in the touristy areas, but you'll pick up some common phrases while you're there.
 
Watch our for gypsies, you'll stick out and be a target. I had the displeasure of wandering into a roving camp of theirs years ago. D:
 
Oh, also we already know where we're staying in Florence. We're at the Hotel L'Orologio for 5 nights. Anyone had any experience here or know the local area? It was one of the best looking hotels that the conference recommended.
 
Annon2255 said:
Hello!
I have a few questions about traveling around Italy I was hoping someone could help me with.

My wife is going to a conference in Florence from March 25-30th and we want to add an extra week onto that for personal travel. We’re trying to plan an itinerary and figure out how we’re going to travel around Italy. So a few questions for those who may have some experience in Italy:
1. To travel we were thinking about getting the Eurail Italy pass. We’re looking at the 3 days within 2 months pass using the 2nd class family pass (based on the way I understand it we pay $218 and can travel any 3 days we choose as long as were together.) Is this a good way to travel around Italy?
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The first thing I would ask you is: what kind of stuff are you interested in? Depending on that I would suggest very different approaches and itineraries. Maybe you are an art enthusiast and will get the most out of your trip going to the most important galleries and museums. Maybe you are into architecture. Maybe you prefer small hilltop towns and rural landscapes. These are all possibilities, it all depends on what you prefer.

That said, the Eurorail is a good idea for people who know will be using very many trains, especially for long distances, and do not care about time. In my opinion if you use trains you should use Frecciarossa fast trains, which are awesome and will take you Florence to Rome faster than anything else.

I do however think that the best part of Italy is in the small towns almost no tourist goes to. This might or might not be because I do already know pretty well the largest and most known cities, so I get more out of exploring different paths.
The point is, to travel to small towns you need a car. It is theoretically possible to go to most places by train, but it will then be unpractical once you reach your destination.

Overall, if I wee you, in Italy for my first time, I would concentrate in a couple of places and take your time to explore those, instead of trying to cover too much. One possibility could be seeing Florence, drive from there through Tuscany and Umbria to Rome, then spend the rest of your time in Rome.

2. Venice. We’re trying to decide if we should just take a day trip to Italy (Using one of our three days from our Eurail pass). Go in the morning, come back in the evening. Are we going to miss out on a lot?
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Venice is Venice. But if you decide to go from Florence you definitely need to budget one night at the least, possibly two. The logistics are complicated and you'll lose quite a lot of your first day getting in and out of the city.

That said, it is possible. I have done it, but I had a single objective in Venice: the Biennale of art.

3. Pisa. Basically if we don’t stay a couple nights in Venice we’re thinking we might want to stay in Pisa for a night or two before heading to Rome to finish off our trip. Would we be better off spending those days in Venice? Somewhere else?
Click to expand...

In my opinion Pisa is not worth going. It's fine if you were driving by it to stop for a hour or two, but that's it. The only thing worth visiting in Pisa is Campo dei Miracoli, which has quite interesting architecture and is mostly known abroad for the leaning tower (horrendously crowded with tourists in the summer).

4. Thinking about finishing off our trip in Rome. We’re thinking about four days or so here. Again, good idea? Or should we spend extra days somewhere else?
Click to expand...

Rome is amazing. There is so much to see you could literally spend the rest of your life in the city and still just scratch the surface. Again, depending on your interests there different things that would be more interesting than others to you.

5. We’ve also heard the lake towns are popular vacation destinations among Italians. We wouldn’t mind experiencing how the locals like to spend their leisure time. Does anyone have any experience with these towns? Are the overly expensive? Any suggestions?
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It's a very cute, very posh, very expensive and terribly boring area. Also, quite convoluted access from Florence, and you'll need a car once there to get the most out of it.

I think it's a very nice place to go to, if you are in your 50s or 60s...

6. Credit card: We’re looking into getting a Chase Sapphire to use while we travel. Is this a good idea? I feel like this would be more convenient than stopping at ATMs all the time.
Click to expand...

Italians really dislike plastic, and do not usually pay with cards anything cheaper than 50 bucks. So quite a few places do not accept credit, and others do not accept electronic payments for totals lower than 15 euros. ATMs are quite ubiquitous.

7. Does anyone have any recommendations on hotels in Venice, Pisa and/or Rome? We’re graduate students so we can’t pay for anything too expensive, and we’re not planning on being in the hotel much anyways but we still want someplace nice and conveniently located to attractions, train stations, etc.
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In Rome or Florence, if you stay out quite some time, I would rent an apartment. Thee a few websites where you can do it very conveniently. I always prefer this, as you get better accommodation, cheaper, often in the very center of the city, and you live a more immersive experience.

This is particularly true for Rome, where the more you act like a roman the more fun you'll have.

8. What are the MUST SEE attractions people would suggest in each city?
Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions!
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Tell me more about your interests/tastes and I'll be happy to suggest...
 
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Only 5 days? Why hopscotch? Go to one place (Rome), unpack, and enjoy!

Venice: overrated.

I can vouch for the Bellagio/Lake Como area. I can also vouch for Cinque Terre. Both awesome.

Europe does tend to be more cash focused than credit card focused. Make sure you can access cash. ATMs and credit cards will give you the best exchange rate. Your Chase card should offer you 0% foreign transaction fees. BUT they usually make their money by giving you a worse exchange rate. If you ever run your card and you are asked to pay in EUR or USD, choose the former (EUR).
 
Annon2255 said:
Oh, also we already know where we're staying in Florence. We're at the Hotel L'Orologio for 5 nights. Anyone had any experience here or know the local area? It was one of the best looking hotels that the conference recommended.
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That's literally next door to Santa Maria Novella Cathedral. In 10 minutes you can walk to the Uffizi Gallery and the Signoria Square (which could be considered Florence's centre).

Florence is small. You can walk anywhere, and probably should.
 
Forget Pisa, it's simply not worth the time you have.

5 days in Florence is pretty good. For me, that's not nearly enough time, but you can plan to see a lot in those days. Go ahead and look into reservations for the Uffizzi. Should be good in March, but it doesn't hurt to plan ahead. Make sure you get to:

L'Academia
Uffizzi
Museo Del Duomo
Santa Croce and...that Dominican cathedral...never can remember the name. it has an important Giotto.
Medici Tombs at San Lorenzo
and of course Santa Maria del Fiori


I think Venice is also a good idea. It can be very touristy, and it is quite expensive, but it's certainly worth the trip. With that amount of time, plan maybe 2 or 3 days for Venice, and divide the other week with various towns in Tuscany--like Sienna and San Gimingano, or even Lucca if you can get down there.

Cinque Terra is great if want to burn a few days and enjoy hiking. Totally worth it.

Rome: totally overrated 😀
 
Annon2255 said:
Oh, also we already know where we're staying in Florence. We're at the Hotel L'Orologio for 5 nights. Anyone had any experience here or know the local area? It was one of the best looking hotels that the conference recommended.
Click to expand...

You'll have a very short walk to see the Duomo and the Accademia. We didn't get to spend a ton of time in Florence due to the holidays messing up our schedule, but you can see most of the big attractions in that part of town in a day. Palazzo Vecchio has a lot of sculptures and you get to see the tower from the first chapter of Dan Brown's latest book. My wife went to mass at the Basilica of Santa Croce, which has the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli. There are a lot of shops in the area as well.
 
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