Italy anyone?

[donkiez]

Planning out my next big trip for next summer and could use some advice. I just booked the first leg of our Italian trip trip flying into Paris for a few days then to Venice. After that its pretty open but so far the game plan is to move down through Florence rent a car and drive through Tuscany, then Rome and finish in Naples all in about 3 weeks total. Italy is so vast though that I keep having to cut "wants" out of my trip, and Im having trouble balancing relaxation with seeing as much as I can. Im a very experienced traveler but my fiance has never been out of the country, so I really want to make this a special trip for her and keep it going as smooth as possible for her first taste of the rest of the world. Ive been to Rome once, but other than that I only know what Ive read. What says you guys? Got any recommendations? Am I missing something I shouldn't? Its going to be a long year......

 

[Further]

You've nailed it, but make sure to stay a couple nights in the small Tuscan towns, and plan ahead for wine tours, they are worth it, especially ones in old chateaus. I didn't plan the ones I went to, so I'm not much help, but I do know that our trips wine enthusiast planned well ahead to make sure the best vineyards were expecting us.

I've never been to Venice, but I've been to the rest of the places you mentioned, you are going to love it. So drink up and love life.

 

[maxiep]

Tons to do in Italy, so please provide more info in terms of time, budget, things you enjoy, etc.

 

[barfo]

Suggest you consider whether she'll really enjoy sleeping in a different bed every night - it may be less jarring and more pleasant for her if you visit fewer places and stay longer.

Your appetite for being on the move may be different than hers... or it might not, I certainly don't know.

barfo

 

[The_Lillard_King]

My #1 favorite place to travel!

I enjoy Northern Italy and the Tuscany area to Rome and Southern Italy, but it's all good.

Tuscany area's to research (my recommendations): Lucca, Sienna, San Gimignano, Florence (for Shopping).

Enjoy the sights, food, wine and people.

3 weeks in Italy, I'm eating my heart out . . . it's been too long for me.

 

[donkiez]

Tons to do in Italy, so please provide more info in terms of time, budget, things you enjoy, etc.

It will be late June early July, appox 2 and a half weeks in Italy, the return flight isnt booked as Im using miles and am booking as soon as they become available, but $36.50 in taxes for 2 tickets to Paris is a good start. Going for shoestring to moderate with sprinkles of splurges. Some good advice would be where to best splurge at. Im thinking Paris I go big to ease her into the trip, then Venice cheaper. Tuscany Im not sure, Im thinking of up to a week there for relaxation and to see some of the country side, could end up staying at a few places there. Ive got a good lead on a cheap spot in Rome, then Im lost again in Naples, I fear this part of the trip is the most likely to get time sacrificed but I want some beach time in Sorrento, and I would like to see Pompeii and the Alamfii coast if possible. I enjoy people, culture, food, and beaches. Seems to be more than enough of all of that there.

 

[donkiez]

Suggest you consider whether she'll really enjoy sleeping in a different bed every night - it may be less jarring and more pleasant for her if you visit fewer places and stay longer.

Your appetite for being on the move may be different than hers... or it might not, I certainly don't know.

barfo

Very good advice and a big consideration of mine. Yes we have different comfort styles for sure. This is a big source of inner turmoil for me.

 

[donkiez]

My #1 favorite place to travel!

I enjoy Northern Italy and the Tuscany area to Rome and Southern Italy, but it's all good.

Tuscany area's to research (my recommendations): Lucca, Sienna, San Gimignano, Florence (for Shopping).

Enjoy the sights, food, wine and people.

3 weeks in Italy, I'm eating my heart out . . . it's been too long for me.

Rome and Rio are my two #1's so far. After a small taste of Rome I'm actually afraid that I might like Italy to much and never go anywhere else again! The more I read about it the more I realize I actually need months to see it all and probably would still want to go back. So if it came down to Tuscany vs Naples area you say Tuscany? Anyone here for Naples?

 

[Run BJM]

What do you like to do? See touristy stuff? Historical stuff? Countryside? Wine tasting? Museums? Partying?

I studied abroad in Florence for a semester so I know it particularly well. Piazza Michaelangelo is a must. Incredible view of the city. Ponte Vecchio, il duomo, il ufizi are probably the biggest attractions. Boboli garden is pretty cool too. There are tons of great piazzas but you have to go to Piazza Signoria, Piazza della Republica, and Santa Croce is pretty cool too. There's also a big ass market every Saturday or Sunday (maybe both?), its a little north of the city center/duomo but I couldn't tell you exactly where. Tons of fresh local meat, pasta, EVERYTHING and you can buy hot food there as well. I recommend Gusta Pizza for some authentic and reasonably priced pizza. If you're into bars/clubs I could recommend several. Didn't go to almost any sit-down places because they're VERY expensive, but I know some good cheap spots too.

As far as Venice, its somewhat well known for being a place that has no nightlife. Its fun to walk around for a day or two but it has a reputation as a place you don't go to visit for more than a few days because there's really not much to do there. I went for a day trip and was plenty satisfied with that.

Was only in Rome for a weekend so I just saw all the big touristy stuff. My only real recommendation would be to see the Trevi Fountain at night. We arrived at about midnight and got lit at the hostel and started wandering and got to the Trevi Fountain at about 2 AM and it was awesome. Really gorgeous and apparently its flooded with people most hours of the day. Just don't try to bring smokes or liquor too close or security will yell at you.

I also recommend Cinque Terre. Google it. Its not too far from Florence.

 

[BigGameDamian]

Here's a tip for when you rent a car and start driving. Don't stop on stop sings. You will get rear ended because they don't expect it. So just do a California stop. Even when a car is coming you will get rear ended. The driving over there is much different. I just got back a few weeks ago. Siena is beautiful. I went there and I went to Rome. Just don't stop.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Venice:
*Wake up early before the cruise tours and their massive amounts of people come in. Do research on where to eat and stay away from any place with "Menu Turistico". I walked over to the Rialto market and bought some fruits in the AM.
*Take the water taxis to other islands around Venice. My personal favorite was Burano, which is really fucking cool with colored houses. I didn't really like Murano that much.

Florence
*If the budget affords, hire a private tour for the art work. They really explain it well and know how to skip the huge, hour long lines. Really efficient.
*When in Tuscany, try to stay a night in an Agraturismo, which is a small Inn with a restaurant using foods they produce on campus. I went here and it was storybook.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...l_Turco-Montagnana_Val_di_Pesa_Montesper.html
Food was fucking insanely good. Bistecca ala Florentina....best steak ever (and I just had Peter Luger last week).

*Go to Santa Maria Novella perfumers and get a bottle of expensive cologne. Really nice stuff.

I'd also recommend checking out the town of Assisi. Its really fucking nice, even if you're not religious.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

oh yeah they have Photo Radar everywhere on the freeways. In Florence, its hard as shit to drive as you can't go through certain streets at certain times.

 

[donkiez]

If we drive it will be in the country side of Tuscany only. I dont drive anymore because of health and she gets crazy anxious while driving. How doable is Tuscany doing trains? Is a car for that region a huge bonus? I am thinking of staying in Sienna also instead of Florence as a region base.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

If I were you, I'd just hire a driver for a day or two. Make florence your base and have the driver take you to Pisa in the morning for a few pics with the Tower of and then Sienna in the afternoon and night, then stop for dinner in Tuscany.

 

[BigGameDamian]

If we drive it will be in the country side of Tuscany only. I dont drive anymore because of health and she gets crazy anxious while driving. How doable is Tuscany doing trains? Is a car for that region a huge bonus? I am thinking of staying in Sienna also instead of Florence as a region base.

If you stay in Sienna you won't really need a car unless you want to go to the big Grocery Store. There are small stores in town though. Walking threw the little town is so much fun. A few steep hills.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

If we drive it will be in the country side of Tuscany only. I dont drive anymore because of health and she gets crazy anxious while driving. How doable is Tuscany doing trains? Is a car for that region a huge bonus? I am thinking of staying in Sienna also instead of Florence as a region base.

Driving is an experience for sure. But if you want to hit up a lot of those little town in the Tuscany area, I recommend getting a car.

I'm not an expert (done Tuscany twice), but finding a good place to stay and doing day trips by car was more enjoyable than going place to place and staying at each place (but that was just me) Why I didn't like staying at each place we went was lodging was so much hit and miss. It's hard knowing exactly what you are getting when booking from home . . . at least that was my experience.

If she is particular about accommodations, spend some time finding the right spot and adventure from there is my two cents. We stayed at a villa on top of a mountain with a beautiful view and very peaceful and then we would do our day trips to many of the places mentioned in this thread.

 

[Further]

Really consider cutting down the locations by 50% if you are only going for a bit over 2 weeks. It's a vacation, not a death march. Three nights minimum in any location is a good general rule of thumb.

 

[PDXFonz]

Ah yes, get to Venice before it sinks. Make sure to come back in this thread and let us know if the water really is as high as it is said to be.

 

[blue32]

I didn't really enjoy Venice that much. Stank, food sucked, and it was like you were a rat in a maze. Pretty cool looking city w/lots of places to explore though, the Lido island was legit. Buuuut, yah, I'd have rather spent more time in Germany.

 

[MarAzul]

I have been to Tortona several times. My daughter's marrage ceremony was in a 1000 year old church in a small village near there. Watch tower to keep an eye out for the Huns right across the street.

I think that is in Lombardia but it could be Piemonte or Emillia-Romagna. Geez, they make good wine there. My daughter's father in law was a master, you could go down in the stone cellar in his villa, cool naturally just right for his marvelous red wines.

Perhaps you are trying to see too much for one trip. I have never managed to get far from this area, once made it to Venice and another time headed for Florence but got side tracked in another small village of some forgotten name.

 

[donkiez]

Really consider cutting down the locations by 50% if you are only going for a bit over 2 weeks. It's a vacation, not a death march. Three nights minimum in any location is a good general rule of thumb.

Ive already cut my locations back by 50%!!!!! Im really considering skipping the Naples area actually, as much as I hate to but something has to give, and I dont want that to be my fiance. Like I said the only part that is booked for sure is my flight into Paris so everything is open, but heres my thought on my trips timeline.

Paris 4 days including my fly in day.
Paris to Venice travel day.
Venice 2 days
Venice to Florence travel day
Florence/Tuscany 6 days
Florence to Rome travel day
Rome 3 days (Ive done it already just going to hit the highlights with my girl)
Rome to Naples travel day
Naples 4 days ish.
Home, with a possible day lay over in London or Amsterdam, all the flight connect through on of those cities.

What do you guys think? To much or to little time in each spot?

 

[The_Lillard_King]

Ive already cut my locations back by 50%!!!!! Im really considering skipping the Naples area actually, as much as I hate to but something has to give, and I dont want that to be my fiance. Like I said the only part that is booked for sure is my flight into Paris so everything is open, but heres my thought on my trips timeline.

Paris 4 days including my fly in day.
Paris to Venice travel day.
Venice 2 days
Venice to Florence travel day
Florence/Tuscany 6 days
Florence to Rome travel day
Rome 3 days (Ive done it already just going to hit the highlights with my girl)
Rome to Naples travel day
Naples 4 days ish.
Home, with a possible day lay over in London or Amsterdam, all the flight connect through on of those cities.

What do you guys think? To much or to little time in each spot?

For first time in Italy, I like it. Get a taste of all areas and then if you go back you can really concentrate on your favorite area. First time I went I did something similar and copied an advertised tour guide trip for Rome, Florence Venice in 12 days. Lots of tour packages for Italy and I think you will find you are covering as much territory as these guided tours only you have more time. If it was me I would take a couple days off Florence/Naples and stick in a 2-3 days of relaxing at Cinque Terre.


I agree with other poster, Venice was not my favorite.

 

[speeds]

Not everyone likes Naples. It isn't the safest or cleanest place in Italy. But Amalfi and Capri are close and they are pretty amazing, easily my favourite spots in Italy.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Ive already cut my locations back by 50%!!!!! Im really considering skipping the Naples area actually, as much as I hate to but something has to give, and I dont want that to be my fiance. Like I said the only part that is booked for sure is my flight into Paris so everything is open, but heres my thought on my trips timeline.

Paris 4 days including my fly in day.
Paris to Venice travel day.
Venice 2 days
Venice to Florence travel day
Florence/Tuscany 6 days
Florence to Rome travel day
Rome 3 days (Ive done it already just going to hit the highlights with my girl)
Rome to Naples travel day
Naples 4 days ish.
Home, with a possible day lay over in London or Amsterdam, all the flight connect through on of those cities.

What do you guys think? To much or to little time in each spot?

If it were me, I'd subtract one day in Florence/Tuscany and then instead of Naples, hop on EasyJet to Barcelona (its like an hour flight or a little longer and pretty cheap) and just chill on the beach for a few days. You're going to be doing a lot of historical sightseeing, eating pasta and walking around stone steps. I'd cap off the trip in a nice sunny beach area like Barcelona where you can just decompress and do nothing for a few days. Take siestas in the afternoon, you'll need a break from the hyper agressive Italians who are always shouting and shit. Spaniards are chill and live life at a much slower pace. You can also take a ferry, but that takes like 8 hours vs like a 2 hour flight.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

I did like Venice, personally. I never did the gondola tours, its pretty expensive, like 100 Euros or something like that. Its overrun with tourists, but its just kind of fun to walk around and get lost, seeing the old stores in the back of the island, really fun actually. Like I said, take the Water Taxis to other islands, you can get a day pass and they're pretty cool and you'll get nice pictures on the boats, etc. Its a strange way of life, if you just hang around St. Marks Square there and stand in line for the museums and churchs and palaces and shit, you may get less out of it.

If you do go to Venice, and happen to go to Burano, go here. Da Romano. The Seafood Rissoto was fucking great, and it was historical, Hemingway ate there all the time I guess as well as many others throughout the years.

[video=youtube;AyQvTefwP48]

 

[TradeNurkicNow]

As far as big cities go, Turino is nice because there's not a million tourists and there is still some good shit to see, just not the ancient stuff you'll see in Rome.

Also if you're in Naples and it's too hot, hop a ferry to Ischia. It's like, 20 degrees cooler there and it's beautiful.

 

[Further]

Ive already cut my locations back by 50%!!!!! Im really considering skipping the Naples area actually, as much as I hate to but something has to give, and I dont want that to be my fiance. Like I said the only part that is booked for sure is my flight into Paris so everything is open, but heres my thought on my trips timeline.

Paris 4 days including my fly in day.
Paris to Venice travel day.
Venice 2 days
Venice to Florence travel day
Florence/Tuscany 6 days
Florence to Rome travel day
Rome 3 days (Ive done it already just going to hit the highlights with my girl)
Rome to Naples travel day
Naples 4 days ish.
Home, with a possible day lay over in London or Amsterdam, all the flight connect through on of those cities.

What do you guys think? To much or to little time in each spot?

Actually written out like that it seems busy, but not crazy. An awesome time for sure.

 

[donkiez]

If it were me, I'd subtract one day in Florence/Tuscany and then instead of Naples, hop on EasyJet to Barcelona (its like an hour flight or a little longer and pretty cheap) and just chill on the beach for a few days. You're going to be doing a lot of historical sightseeing, eating pasta and walking around stone steps. I'd cap off the trip in a nice sunny beach area like Barcelona where you can just decompress and do nothing for a few days. Take siestas in the afternoon, you'll need a break from the hyper agressive Italians who are always shouting and shit. Spaniards are chill and live life at a much slower pace. You can also take a ferry, but that takes like 8 hours vs like a 2 hour flight.

This was one of my original considerations, but I had discounted it awhile ago because of travel time/money budget. I think though that I would get more of what I want out of a last stop from Barcelona rather than Naples. At this point of the trip I figure we will be a little tired and looking more for relaxing on a beach before we go home. Missing Pompeii and Amalfi would hurt but the beachlife sounds so much better in Barcelona. Alternatively I could cut a day in Tuscany, bust ass through the sights in Naples and get to Barcelona for some chill out. From what I hear Naples seems to get mixed reviews though, people seem to like it and the area but it seems to be much further down the lists of Italys "must see's", is that a fair assumption?

 

[BlazerWookee]

Florence FTW.

http://deadspin.com/crazy-ass-italian-sport-combines-rugby-with-bare-knuckl-1612721772

[video=youtube;R3YYm7_5qvQ]

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

This was one of my original considerations, but I had discounted it awhile ago because of travel time/money budget. I think though that I would get more of what I want out of a last stop from Barcelona rather than Naples. At this point of the trip I figure we will be a little tired and looking more for relaxing on a beach before we go home. Missing Pompeii and Amalfi would hurt but the beachlife sounds so much better in Barcelona. Alternatively I could cut a day in Tuscany, bust ass through the sights in Naples and get to Barcelona for some chill out. From what I hear Naples seems to get mixed reviews though, people seem to like it and the area but it seems to be much further down the lists of Italys "must see's", is that a fair assumption?

I've never been to Naples. No real huge desire to either to be honest other than to go to the original pizza place for the Margherita pizza.

Barcelona is kickass though. I got an apartment in the Gothic Quarter (short walk to the beach), bought foods from La Boqueria and cooked, really dope. If you're a big soccer fan you can go to the Barca stadium tour, just walk around all over and see all the Gaudi architecture.