Anyone been to Italy?

Jscaggs · July 2011

DH and I are talking about going to Italy for our 5 year anniversary next May. Has anyone been? Recommendations? I think we want to go to multiple cities if possible. If you have been, how did you plan the trip? Thanks!

SKM1111 · July 2011

We went to Venice, then Florence (with a side trip to Pisa and another side trip to wine country), and then Rome. We spent 3 days in Venice, 4 in Florence, and 4 in Rome. We definitely could have spent another week in Rome and still have not seen everything! I loved Venice, my husband loved Florence for the food, and we both love Rome...well, because it's Rome! I did a ton of research on tripadvisor.com.

If you have any more specific questions, let me know. I wrote an extensive email about our recommendations to a friend awhile back.

Have fun planning! It's a GORGEOUS country!

Missbollinger · July 2011

Have you thought about a cruise? My family does this often and we maybe going next year.

KittahMama · July 2011

DH lived in the Veneto region for six months (near Venice) and we went for our honeymoon. We spent some time in Rome then drove down the coast to Sorrento and went to Capri and Naples (and Pompeii). Pompeii was SO much more than I thought it would be and way cooler than any of the ruins in Rome. The Vatican is INCREDIBLE, though!

We wish we had gone to Positano (not sure on spelling) and Amalfi though. They are on the southern side of the peninsula near Sorrento. All of it was gorgeous. DH has been to Pisa, Venice, Seinna, Milan, and Florence as well as other places if you want to know about them I'd be happy to give you his Facebook or email to ask him about.

So jealous, I wanna go back!

Christine.Louie · July 2011

We've been to Italy each year for the past 3 years and we've always cruised (2x w/ Royal Caribbean - highly recommend; 1x with Norwegian - was significantly cheaper and only recommend if itinerary and price are the only things you care about (food, entertainment, and sometimes service were subpar). For going to multiple locations, this mode of transportation and value can't be beat, IMO. In the past we've left out of both Venice and Rome and so we spent a few days pre- and post- there. Our friends that cruised with us via Rome ending up extending their trip by a week to continue traveling Italy by train.

We've gone to Rome (2x), Livorno (Florence/Pisa), Naples (Pompeii, Sorrento, Amalfi, Positano, Capri - all of this was over 2 port visits...no freaking way you can do it all in a single day!), Venice.

In Rome - Recommend Colosseum Underground Tour if it's available (tickets are limited to 125/day in English), Pantheon, St. Peter's Cathedral and Vatican Museum to see the Sistene Chapel (okay, really these are the vatican...Go in the early afternoon about 1-2 PM to avoid the lines!), Villa and Museum Borghese (like their Central Park and amazing contrast to the bustle of the city; Bernini statues are FANTASTIC!), Gelato gelato gelato! (Giolitti's chocolate, San Crispini's honey, and Tre Scalini tartufo ice cream truffles), Babbo's restaurant (best foccacia I've ever eaten!), Piccolo Buco (by Trevi Fountain, good and very reasonably priced). Use Rick Steves free audio guides at the sites mentioned above.

I have planning documents for most of these cities if you want I can email to you.

stacieann15 · July 2011

We did Rome, Venice and Sorrento on our own. I have billions of ideas. Let me know if you decide whether to do the cruise or on your own and I can tell you about where we stayed and stuff! (We got apartments in Rome, for example.)

l.m.k. · July 2011

I've been twice. Both times I stayed in Rome for 4 days. I've also been to Sorrento, Pompeii, Capri, Sienna, Florence, Pisa, and Vernazza in the Cinque Terre.

I highly recommend spending some time in Rome. It's my hands-down favorite. You don't need a tour - just a map. You can walk everywhere or get a pass for a sightseeing bus that will pick you up and drop you off at all the big places. Can't miss things in Rome are the Vatican (especially St Peters), the Colosseum, The Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and the Borghese Gardens. I really love the neighborhood called Trastevere for restaurants and a nighttime scene. It's less touristy. We took a day trip to Frascati, which was a fun thing to do.

The Amalfi coast is beautiful. If you go, you should take a quick day train to Pompeii - the ruins are really cool. We stayed in Sorrento, which is beautiful, and has great food. We took a boat to Capri one day and I thought it was kind of lame and overly touristy. We didn't go to Naples but did switch trains there and it seemed pretty filthy.

The Cinque Terre is really neat. There are 5 small towns along the coastline. The seafood is awesome and each little town is really charming. We loved Vernazza.

Sienna in Tuscany is beautiful. It was DH's favorite place of all. While we were there we took trains for day trips to Pisa and Florence. Pisa's Field of Miracles, where the leaning tower is, is beautiful, but the rest of the town isn't noteworthy. Florence has a lot of big sights but when we were there it was really packed with tourists. Even still, it's worth a stop.

As far as traveling to Italy in general, I recommend either buying or checking out some travel books from the library. I really like Rick Steves'. Flip through and read about places that sound interesting to you. Then take the book on your trip - they are full of restaurant recommendations, maps, hotel info, etc. You can take trains pretty much anywhere in Italy. We never flew or took cabs or rented cars, just took trains. It's easiest to stay in one place and take day trips to places that are close by. Most travel books will recommend easy day trips from any city to travel to. Trip Advisor is really helpful for finding hotels, and I used Venere.com to book most places, or just used the hotel's website directly.

Italy is amazing. Have fun planning!

Whitney DD · July 2011

We went right before conceiving Silvia. Stayed in Rome for 7 days, which was just the right amount of time. LOVED IT. I've never had any vacation be so inherently romantic without us trying. We stayed at a little place called Sub Urbe Roma which was FANTASTIC and really well priced. Just 2 blocks from the colosseum and relatively inexpensive. More like a bed and breakfast with 3-4 rooms total I think. But everyone had their own bathroom. They had free breakfast at a little cafe in the square next to us, and our room overlooked a fountain where music was played every night. It seriously was incredible. If you go, definitely take the subway instead of taxis anywhere. Its so much cheaper and safe. You have to see the Trevi Fountain, Vatican City, Spanish Steps, and Pantheon. Those were my favorite sites, but we saw everything. The maps there have all the best sites to visit. And everything is either walking distance or right near a subway. Love love loved Rome. I think about it every time I get stressed.

JLPT830 · July 2011

We went in 2006 with my parents. DH and I planned the whole trip ourselves including booking our accommodations (with a little help from my cousin who speaks fluent Italian). We did not do any tours. For us that was the best way to see what we wanted to see on our own time. I still have our "itinerary" somewhere on the computer and would be happy to share it with you if you are interested. We flew into Rome and spent a few days, train to Florence for a few days, then rented a car and stayed at a winery in Tuscany (in Greve) and did some side trips, dropped the car off in Pisa and saw the sights, then took a train to Cinque Terre (in Monterosso) for a few days, and then took a train to Venice where we ultimately flew home. It was a.maz.ing! We used Frommer's Travel Guide and Fodor's Travel Guide to help us map out side trips and how to break up the sights in each city. I used hotels.com and trip adviser a lot to research hotels and ended up booking our Florence hotel on hotels.com.. My cousin helped us book the winery in Tuscany and the others we booked via email. (I'm not sure why the font just changed....sorry....that's annoying!) Anyway....I have 2 tidbits of advice I give anyone planning to go to Italy: if you want to go to Sienna take a bus into the city - do not try to drive there yourself....there's NO place to park!!! And before you go, please learn a few essential Italian words and do some research on their way of life (like how the public transportation works). Some jacka$$ Americans were yelling at a bus driver who spoke no English because they had no clue how to buy tickets for the bus. It made me so mad!

Feel free to ask any questions. I'm going to help my boss plan their anniversary trip. I'm so jealous!!!!

notguilty · July 2011

We went to Rome, Florence, Sienna (Tuscany Region) and Venice in that order in 2007. I highly recommend that you plan your own trip and itinierary using Rick Steves' books. He's like a cheap travel agent. We relied on his books to book our hotels, restaurants and travel and were absolutely thrilled with every choice we made. Do not rent a car. You can't even have a car in most cities without a pass and the parking is hideous. The train system is absolutely fabulous and super fast.

I personally would never go on a cruise to Europe. I think you miss out on the opportunity of really experiencing the culture because you are rushing around trying to cram everything into one day. The experience of spending several days in each city or town is like nothing I've ever experienced. We were so nervous about planning our own trip, but it was the best vacation we've ever had.

jillane513 · August 2011

My Hubby and I just got back from a week long trip to Italy at the beginning of this month. We spent 3 nights in Rome, 2 in Sorrento, 2 in Bari, 1 in Venice, and then back to Rome. We stayed at this wonderful hotel in Rome called the Crosti it was within walking distance of a lot of the sights as well as several awesome restaurants. I believe that the 2 days we spent in Sorrento were my favorite, we also drove the Amalfi coast before cutting across the country to get to the West Coast. I don't recommend driving over there unless you are very brave we really struggled with the narrow cliff lined roads.

Since we just got back if you want any details or recommendations PM me and I'll pass along anything I've got.

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