Best way to plan a vacation to Italy?
June 10, 2011 2:24 PM Subscribe
Best way to plan a vacation to Italy?
I am planning to travel to Italy at the end of July. I have one round trip ticket via my Delta-employed father. I am planning to book the trip in the next four days. I want 7-10 nights, with visits to Rome, Venice and Florence. I am trying to find the best possible website to book this vacation through. I am also looking for a package that offers trains to each city. Any suggestions on where/what to do would also be appreciated. I've looked through many of the Italy-tagged posts, but none have suggested the best method of booking the vacation. Thank you so much!
I am planning to travel to Italy at the end of July. I have one round trip ticket via my Delta-employed father. I am planning to book the trip in the next four days. I want 7-10 nights, with visits to Rome, Venice and Florence. I am trying to find the best possible website to book this vacation through. I am also looking for a package that offers trains to each city. Any suggestions on where/what to do would also be appreciated. I've looked through many of the Italy-tagged posts, but none have suggested the best method of booking the vacation. Thank you so much!
I think you'll find that booking trains ahead of time is 99% unnecessary, and it will be readily apparent when it is necessary. I wouldn't hinge anything on that, and I would just book hotels on hotels.com or expedia. If you were going to one of the islands by ferry (for example), that's where you actually need to reserve ahead of time.
posted by 2bucksplus at 2:32 PM on June 10, 2011
posted by 2bucksplus at 2:32 PM on June 10, 2011
Yes it is pretty easy to get a ticket and on a train without booking.
I would plan out your own tour as such and as 2bucksplus said book your own hotels. But I would also add that you should prebook and pay for any galleries you wish to go to. I used http://www.tickitaly.com/ and they were pretty easy to deal with - plus you will have a huge sense of relief when you see the massive queues to get tickets and you can just waltz right in and pick yours up and go in.
For day tours I would highly recommend Context Travel. They are perhaps pricier than others but we did the Underground Rome: The Hidden City tour and our docent was one of the archeologists who had been on the Crypta Balbi dig and she was awesome.
Florence is easy to walk around and explore by yourself. So is Venice actually if you enjoy being lost and discovering cool things!
The one thing I wish I'd done better is research restaurants - when you are hungry it's hard to make a good choice without a few options up your sleeve - perhaps someone else can recommend a good site for that?
posted by gomichild at 2:54 PM on June 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
I would plan out your own tour as such and as 2bucksplus said book your own hotels. But I would also add that you should prebook and pay for any galleries you wish to go to. I used http://www.tickitaly.com/ and they were pretty easy to deal with - plus you will have a huge sense of relief when you see the massive queues to get tickets and you can just waltz right in and pick yours up and go in.
For day tours I would highly recommend Context Travel. They are perhaps pricier than others but we did the Underground Rome: The Hidden City tour and our docent was one of the archeologists who had been on the Crypta Balbi dig and she was awesome.
Florence is easy to walk around and explore by yourself. So is Venice actually if you enjoy being lost and discovering cool things!
The one thing I wish I'd done better is research restaurants - when you are hungry it's hard to make a good choice without a few options up your sleeve - perhaps someone else can recommend a good site for that?
posted by gomichild at 2:54 PM on June 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
I've always just booked all my hotels independently. Look at the reviews on tripadvisor for ideas. I've never booked trains in advance either. You can check the timetables on the Trenitalia website http://www.trenitalia.com/
posted by interplanetjanet at 2:56 PM on June 10, 2011
posted by interplanetjanet at 2:56 PM on June 10, 2011
Nthing booking your own hotels, grabbing trains when you need them, and pre-booking busy galleries in summer. If you're looking for suggestions, I stayed at the Monna Lisa in Florence, which was wonderful and perfectly located. (Neighbourhood restaurants were all good to outstanding and we never ate with any kind of plan.)
posted by DarlingBri at 3:30 PM on June 10, 2011
posted by DarlingBri at 3:30 PM on June 10, 2011
I have had decent luck in the past with finding Italian hotels on Venere.com. They have a handy Google Maps interface that makes it easier to pick a hotel in a convenient location. Location matters a lot when you're a pedestrian.
posted by richyoung at 4:10 PM on June 10, 2011
posted by richyoung at 4:10 PM on June 10, 2011
I want 7-10 nights, with visits to Rome, Venice and Florence
I wouldn't do this if I were you. Granted Italy is not a huge country, but that's a lot to pack into a week. I think you could squeeze it into a 10 day trip, if you didn't do anything else.
But the best parts of my three trips to Italy have been the unexpected stuff, the days where we saw a castle from the train and said "Let's go there right now!", discovered a town full of Roman ruins between Venice and Trieste, or ran amok with the local stray dogs amid the temples at Paestum. You can't really do that sort of thing if you have ten days divided between three huge cities in totally different parts of the country.
I also wouldn't book a package if I were you. It's Europe. You can handle it. I had great luck with cheap b&b's on hostelbookers.com (and found their rates and availability to be soundly better than hostelworld.com).
Pre-booking galleries is brilliant, as are the many tourist passes that major cities offer. The RomaPass is worth it just for the free public transit and the ability to jump the line at the Colosseum.
posted by Sara C. at 5:00 PM on June 10, 2011
I wouldn't do this if I were you. Granted Italy is not a huge country, but that's a lot to pack into a week. I think you could squeeze it into a 10 day trip, if you didn't do anything else.
But the best parts of my three trips to Italy have been the unexpected stuff, the days where we saw a castle from the train and said "Let's go there right now!", discovered a town full of Roman ruins between Venice and Trieste, or ran amok with the local stray dogs amid the temples at Paestum. You can't really do that sort of thing if you have ten days divided between three huge cities in totally different parts of the country.
I also wouldn't book a package if I were you. It's Europe. You can handle it. I had great luck with cheap b&b's on hostelbookers.com (and found their rates and availability to be soundly better than hostelworld.com).
Pre-booking galleries is brilliant, as are the many tourist passes that major cities offer. The RomaPass is worth it just for the free public transit and the ability to jump the line at the Colosseum.
posted by Sara C. at 5:00 PM on June 10, 2011
I want 7-10 nights, with visits to Rome, Venice and Florence
Each of those cities really deserve a week, and you haven't even seen any countryside or sea.
Consider limiting the width of your stay in order to get a deeper experience in one or two (at most) of those cities.
(Imagine if a friend was coming from Europe and told you he wanted to experience New York, Miami and San Francisco in 7 days.)
posted by rokusan at 6:37 AM on June 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
Each of those cities really deserve a week, and you haven't even seen any countryside or sea.
Consider limiting the width of your stay in order to get a deeper experience in one or two (at most) of those cities.
(Imagine if a friend was coming from Europe and told you he wanted to experience New York, Miami and San Francisco in 7 days.)
posted by rokusan at 6:37 AM on June 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
Book the flight, make hotel reservations and consider if you want to book tickets for any cultural stuff like a special, very popular exhibition or a concert and you're good to go. Buy train tickets at the station. Oh, go for as long as you can obviously.
posted by koahiatamadl at 7:17 AM on June 11, 2011
posted by koahiatamadl at 7:17 AM on June 11, 2011
Hi there. I've lurked around metafilter for a very long time and finally decided to sign up, as I am also a 26-year-old dude and I took a trip to Italy by myself just a few months ago. Italy is awesome, and you are going to love it (everyone does, it seems).
First off, I'd like nth the suggestion that you do not try to do Rome, Florence and Venice in 7 to 10 days. You'll need at least four or five just go get a good feel for Rome. Do Rome and one of the other two. I did 6 days in Rome and 3 in Florence, which was OK, but you could easily do much more in both. I would recommend that itinerary to anyone, because it is very easy to travel between Rome and Florence on the train.
As a general rule for these trips - and I've done a few of them - don't worry so much about seeing everything, because you can't. If you try, you're just going to stress yourself out, which kind of defeats the purpose of going on vacation. Figure out what you want to do, and focus on that. Inevitably, someone will say to you "oh my God, you went to Italy and didn't see x!" Just laugh and shrug in response. It is your vacation, not theirs.
And now some more specific recommendations/advice...
1) Seeing as you're youngish and traveling alone, you should at least consider staying in hostels. I know it's not for everyone, but it's cheap and a great way to meet people. Just go on hostelworld or hostelbookers (I've usually used the former, someone in the thread said the latter is better, maybe you should try both?) and book the highly-rated places. I have done this in several cities in the US and Europe and always came away happy. The place I stayed at in Rome was particularly awesome, DM me if you want the name.
2) Everyone seems to be saying that you're best off buying train tickets at the station, so I'd probably go with that. If you're more comfortable booking in advance, just go through the TrenItalia website or Rail Europe.
3) I wouldn't book a package deal or a tour, but that's just me. You can do this on your own.
4) Get yourself a Lonely Planet guide. Seriously. The maps are very helpful and the restaurant recommendations are almost always good, and typically contain a number of off-the-beaten-path, relatively cheap places.
5) Nthing the suggestion to purchase tickets to major museums and tourist attractions in advance. The Lonely Planet guide tells you how to do this, but they're mostly available through the websites of each organization, so you could probably find them with a bit of googling. I purchased the Forum/Colosseum/Palatine Hill (all one ticket!), the Vatican Museum and the Uffizi gallery in advance. It is absolutely worth it. The lines can be very long.
6) I was there in late March, and the weather was gorgeous, but I've heard that it is extremely hot during the summer. Be prepared for this.
I could give you some other specific advice, but I suppose that would be especially off-topic here seeing as you have just asked about booking. But booking your own travel is really quite easy with just a bit of homework, and well worth it. Happy travels!
posted by breakin' the law at 11:00 AM on June 11, 2011
First off, I'd like nth the suggestion that you do not try to do Rome, Florence and Venice in 7 to 10 days. You'll need at least four or five just go get a good feel for Rome. Do Rome and one of the other two. I did 6 days in Rome and 3 in Florence, which was OK, but you could easily do much more in both. I would recommend that itinerary to anyone, because it is very easy to travel between Rome and Florence on the train.
As a general rule for these trips - and I've done a few of them - don't worry so much about seeing everything, because you can't. If you try, you're just going to stress yourself out, which kind of defeats the purpose of going on vacation. Figure out what you want to do, and focus on that. Inevitably, someone will say to you "oh my God, you went to Italy and didn't see x!" Just laugh and shrug in response. It is your vacation, not theirs.
And now some more specific recommendations/advice...
1) Seeing as you're youngish and traveling alone, you should at least consider staying in hostels. I know it's not for everyone, but it's cheap and a great way to meet people. Just go on hostelworld or hostelbookers (I've usually used the former, someone in the thread said the latter is better, maybe you should try both?) and book the highly-rated places. I have done this in several cities in the US and Europe and always came away happy. The place I stayed at in Rome was particularly awesome, DM me if you want the name.
2) Everyone seems to be saying that you're best off buying train tickets at the station, so I'd probably go with that. If you're more comfortable booking in advance, just go through the TrenItalia website or Rail Europe.
3) I wouldn't book a package deal or a tour, but that's just me. You can do this on your own.
4) Get yourself a Lonely Planet guide. Seriously. The maps are very helpful and the restaurant recommendations are almost always good, and typically contain a number of off-the-beaten-path, relatively cheap places.
5) Nthing the suggestion to purchase tickets to major museums and tourist attractions in advance. The Lonely Planet guide tells you how to do this, but they're mostly available through the websites of each organization, so you could probably find them with a bit of googling. I purchased the Forum/Colosseum/Palatine Hill (all one ticket!), the Vatican Museum and the Uffizi gallery in advance. It is absolutely worth it. The lines can be very long.
6) I was there in late March, and the weather was gorgeous, but I've heard that it is extremely hot during the summer. Be prepared for this.
I could give you some other specific advice, but I suppose that would be especially off-topic here seeing as you have just asked about booking. But booking your own travel is really quite easy with just a bit of homework, and well worth it. Happy travels!
posted by breakin' the law at 11:00 AM on June 11, 2011
Stay in hostels. Yes they can be grungy but it is so much more fun to have people to go out with in the evening, even if you prefer to sightsee by yourself.
Lonely Planet will tell you which hostels to book and which to avoid. I've found that private hostels are generally more fun than the IYHF ones. Try Colors in Rome -- clean and fun. A kitchen is very important, it's where people congregate and meet.
posted by fingersandtoes at 2:53 PM on June 11, 2011
Lonely Planet will tell you which hostels to book and which to avoid. I've found that private hostels are generally more fun than the IYHF ones. Try Colors in Rome -- clean and fun. A kitchen is very important, it's where people congregate and meet.
posted by fingersandtoes at 2:53 PM on June 11, 2011
My copy of the most recent edition of Lonely Planet Italy was crap for hostels. Because western Europe is so expensive nowadays and less popular as a backpacking option than it once was, they only cover one or two hostels in any given city. I don't remember finding a single place to stay on my entire recent trip via the hotel listings in the guidebook. Hostel booking websites (like those mentioned upthread) are worlds better than just showing up at the one hostel mentioned in LP and hoping for the best.
If you do plan on checking out Venice, by the way, I recommend the hostel called A Venice Fish (weird name for a hostel, I know).
posted by Sara C. at 3:02 PM on June 11, 2011
If you do plan on checking out Venice, by the way, I recommend the hostel called A Venice Fish (weird name for a hostel, I know).
posted by Sara C. at 3:02 PM on June 11, 2011
Costco, if you are a member offers this package it's something like "Italy your way". I have used them for Greece your way and enjoyed it very much. They booked everything, it is great to have someone with your name on a sign at the airport.
Last time I went to Italy I booked nothing but a rental car and drove around; I think this made it my best vacation ever. I also really did not like Florence so I was happy to be able to get out. Fewer plans =more flexibility--just my 2 cents
posted by ibakecake at 3:03 PM on June 11, 2011
Last time I went to Italy I booked nothing but a rental car and drove around; I think this made it my best vacation ever. I also really did not like Florence so I was happy to be able to get out. Fewer plans =more flexibility--just my 2 cents
posted by ibakecake at 3:03 PM on June 11, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by AMWKE1984 at 2:28 PM on June 10, 2011