planning a vaccation to Italy, anyone have suggestions? Perillo tour?

[NICKG]

I have always wanted to go to Europe, My wife and I have settled on Italy. Anyone ever go on a perillo tour? I want to see Rome, Florence and Vesuvius areas(Pompeii)
Has anyone been to Italy? I am thinking of going in the November or may date ranges...Is it cold there? I live in Nj and my favorite time of year is Fall...I don't like blazing heat, prefer 70 ish degrees..any suggestions on doing it right? I looked at the various travelocity, priceline etc...Perillo looks reasonable

[onlycafe]

my best suggestion is this, please take me along.

[Mookster]

There is a lot to see in Rome!

If possible stay downtown and walk to the sights. The taxi cab cost will drain your funds faster then a motel room where the action is. I was in Rome 3 days and still need another week to cover the main attractions.

I took a Mediterranean cruise in Nov last year, the temperature was in the upper 60s, lower 70s. The air is dry.

Pompeii is worth seeing as well. No experience on the northern cities but I hear Florence is worth the trip.

Travel safely.

[lendaddy]

That's my dream vacation, you'll have a ball.

[surflvr911sc]

In February, my wife and I spent two weeks in Italy. We had both been there once for work but not together.

We just rented a car and had reservations for the first and last few days. The whole week in the middle we had a rough plan but no reservations anywhere, we just kind of winged it.

We hit Rome (a must, 2-3 days min), Naples (a bit scary, great food, we loved it), Pompeii (very cool, glad the fuel strike had us stuck in Naples an extra day), Cosenza (family ties, long drive, but ended up being the most romantic 24 hours we've ever had), Siena (staying in an old monastery waking to bells and birds was a nice change, a drive through the Chianti region is a must), Venice (if there is anywhere that we wanted more time in it was Venice, enchanting place, get lost there, literally, for a few days if you can), Florence (cannot miss Florence, the collection of art there is breathtaking and there is so much to explore throughout the city).

I would suggest buying a couple Italy travel books. There are worth their weight, written by people who have been there done that, and are usually very current. They have all the little secret spots that you will never experience on a tour. There are other ways to do it than renting a car; the trains are a pretty good way to travel too but I don’t think the cost would be any less. Travel books explain the options well and most even tell you how much the train will be between cities and where the good parking places are. Let me know if you would like any other info from our trip.

BTW, Swiss Air was great (from an airline/military family).

[slodave]

I'll be in the the Naples area from about 10/27/07 - 11/03/07. I was in Siena a number of years ago, in a rented apartment that overlooked the Piazza Del Campo. We did day trips to the surrounding area, but took a quick day trip to Rome and yes you need 2-3 days to go through Rome.

If you are there at the same time, maybe we could have a Birra Moretti on day.

Ciao!

[Don Plumley]

We were in Rome and Pompeii this summer. My best hints:

Rick Steeve's travel guides. Good, lower cost hotel recommendations - we stayed at a cool place walking distance from the central station and right on the main bus routes.

If you are in Rome for more than one day, get the Roma Card (TI in the central station). Transit on all the buses and subways, two admissions to the big venues (coliseum, etc.). With this card we bypassed this enormous line to get into the Coliseum (learned about in the Rick Steeve's book).

We splurged on a private guide for the Vatican. Made a huge difference. There are also ways to avoid the huge lines there - go in through the museum, there's a security line but once you are in you can walk directly through the Sistine into St. Peters.

Pompeii was much more impressive than we expected. Watch for rain since it is all outside. Just be careful on at the Roma train station (I got hit by the usual cute gypsy girl in miniskirts reaching into my pockets. I waited an extra minute before yelling. True story.).

Let me know if you have any questions while it's still fresh in my head:

[slodave]

When I was at the Vatican, I asked one of the Stewards if I could see the Pope mobile. He was shocked. He said "Everybody wants to see the Pope, why do you want to see his car?". I said "I like cars and it's different!". He said it's probably being washed

[NICKG]

this is good info, Thanks!!

[jyl]

In '97 spent appx 2 months in Italy. Amalfi Coast, Ligure Coast, Milan, Florence, Tuscany, Rome. This year spent 3 weeks in Italy. Venice, Tuscany. It is a great place to visit, very interesting, nice people.

What are your interests? Art? Architecture? History? Small picturesque towns? Coastal villages? Food? Shopping?

How do you like to travel? Expensive hotels, fine restaurants? Small hotels, local restaurants? Apartments, own cooking?

Are you more spontaneous? More pre-planned?

Do you travel light, or heavy w/ lots of luggage?

Do you have a particular hobby, and want to see how the Italians do it? (When I was into slot cars, I spent a couple days in Madrid visiting local slot car tracks and shops, very fun.)

Think through those things, do some reading, decide what you're interested in, then come back here or to some travel forums and ask how to find it.

Also look into the weather in November, that might steer you to particular regions or activities. For example, Venice at the height of summer is awfully crowded, but people tell me Nov is a good time to visit, not so many people, and maybe you'll encounter the acqua alta (high water) which I guess is kind of an adventure.

[jyl]

Sorry, I didn't read the original post carefully enough. You said you've already decided on which cities.

Rome and Florence are very interesting, vital cities. I didn't find Pompei that interesting, and it is a total tourist trap. Could you skip Pompei and visit, say, Venice?

I don't like organized tours. I'd do some reading and assess your own interests, then go on your own tour, because you can pursue your own interests instead of being led around to see the standard sights. If you're into flea markets or antiques stores or Porsche clubs, you can find the local ones instead of being dragged to the Coliseum, etc.

You could fly into Rome, train to Florence, train to Venice, fly out of Venice. Internet makes it easy to find interesting little hotels on your own, and see what they look like/read travelers' reviews. Just travel light (not so much luggage space on trains).

Do you like detective novels? I've been reading Donna Leon's books, with detective Guido Brunetti, set in Venice.

Also there are some travel shows on cable (Travel Channel) that are fun to watch.

Guidebooks - I like Eyewitness Guides because lots of pictures, maps, diagrams, etc.

[vash]

wayne is spot on. a med cruise will make you want to jump overboard. i just did this. we actually did the trip two ways. we drove around in a rented van for two weeks, and then hopped aboard a cruise ship full of uptight, cheapskates, and cruised the Mediterranean. the ship portion was the effen fifth ring of hell. no good sites within a long ass bus ride.

honestly, driving around italy was cool as hell. the place is relatively tiny, and with a map you can see ALOT. driveing was easy, once you figure out the toll roads. get a car, pretend to be a local, eat at the roadside restaurants. just dont take my sister and her husband with you. they bogarted the maps that neither of them could read.

[island911]

Originally Posted by jyl

... I didn't find Pompei that interesting, and it is a total tourist trap. Could you skip Pompei and visit, say, Venice?...

How is Venice NOT the biggest tourist trap city in the world? ...What does it have beyond tourism?

[NICKG]

I really want to see the art, vatican etc and the food is another bonus. Florence is a must go. Basically i want to explore the place, maybe see some places that aren't tourist traps.

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by Don Plumley

We were in Rome and Pompeii this summer. My best hints:

We splurged on a private guide for the Vatican. Made a huge difference. There are also ways to avoid the huge lines there - go in through the museum, there's a security line but once you are in you can walk directly through the Sistine into St. Peters.

The private guide is well worth the money. Saves you a lot of time at the Vatican.

[Rick Lee]

I would never go anywhere in the world on an organized tour, not even in China. Last time I was in Italy, I drove down to Udine from my friends' place in Austria. That is some amazing scenery there. I only had the day, so I didn't make it any farther south. But Italy strikes me as the kind of place that would be great to rent a car and just get lost in. Lots of great little towns you'd never think of visiting from seeing them on a map. Sure, I want to see the big places someday. But I also want to stumble upon the well-kept secrets off the beaten paths in between the big places. I've done this in a lot of countries and the difficulties are always worth it.

[trader220]

Having gone to school and lived in Florence I have to agree with those who tell you dont waste time and money with a "tour". Perillo or any of the other ones are okay but there are some basics that you might want to know about them. They all take HUGE kick backs from really touristy places to bring you there. Yea you get to see the basics but a good book and a car or better yet motorcycle will get you to those places and allow you to really see a lot of other stuff.


I used to hang with some of the young American tourists at what was back then the “American” bar and hearing how little they really got to see and how many gift shops and touristy markets they got left at on these tours was the source for endless laughs.

Get a good travel guide ( careful though because many of them take money to feature a bar or restaurant in them ) and a car or other transportation and give yourself a rough time frame and plan and enjoy Italy yourself.


Venice …. Yes you have to see it but yea its basically a nasty tourist trap. Try out one of the 14 dollar bottles of water or a 10 dollar coke in St Mark’s sq.

Personally I could spend weeks back in Florence and I’ve not been there is 20 years but since the place a heck of a lot older then 20 years I don’t think its changed a heck of a lot.

Have a great trip.

[Don Plumley]

And read Dan Brown's book "Angels and Demons" before you go to Rome. You can read it in a day and it brings the many piazza's and churches to life.

+10 on no tours. "Okay, now that we have driven by the Pizza Navona, we will stop at this nice gift shop for 90 minutes." Blah.

Seriously - spend $15 this weekend at Barnes and Noble and read the Rick Steeve's guide for Italy and the section on how to travel like a local. His approach is a great way to travel see Europe by avoiding organized tours.

[jyl]

Venice is a tourist trap, but that hasn't snuffed out one of the most amazing and historical cities in the world. In the summer, the tourists overwhelm central Venice, but just get away from the center and it is nice. In the winter, I am told it is even better - assuming weather not too bad.