Italy

Please tell me if you have been, what cities and how many days you went!

I have been to Rome, Florence, Pisa and Venice. This time I would like to do Rome and Capri. Possibly a day trip to Tuscany if that is possible. And I'd love to go to Cinque Terra and Lake Como but they are pretty far north and hubby doesnt seem into doing a lot of stops.

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I FM'd you about my trip, but when I go home and get some time this weekend I'll let you know about the hotels and restaurants.

Good luck!

BTW... we used a travel agent and sooo worth it. We used the same one who did our honeymoon in Hawaii. I think it's better to use a TA... JMO. THey can set up the trip for you and it does wind up cheaper. Do some research on your own and pricing also to see if the TA can get it cheaper.

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our travel agent gave us a listing of all the excursions available in each city. we took a day trip to tuscany and a castle for wine tasting. definitely worth it!!

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I've been to Rome, Florence, Capri, Sorrento, Pompeii, and the Amalfi Coast

The Amalfi Coast and Capri was by far my favorite!!! We stayed in a small town in an amazing villa and really felt like we were in Italy! Let me know if you want more info!

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I studied in Florencce so I have been to a lot of cities.

Cinque Terra is AMAZING and I highly recommend it.

Lake Como is also, all the towns are...but Cinque Terra really stands out.

Capri is beautiful of course...it is very expensive though that I will say.

I love Sicily as well...from Rome you can either go south or north...but to do both will require a lot days, KWIM?

I would sit down with a travel agent and look at a few itineries

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I lived in Italy (Tuscany)...it'll take you a LONG time to get to Lake Como from Rome...much easier (and quicker) to get to Capri from Rome...Capri and Amalfi Coast are expensive, but it you stay in one of the towns outside Amalfi, like Priano, it's more managable, pricewise.

I agree with the other poster, sit down with a travel agent and map it out...you've got cities the extreme opposite of each other.

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Ok great thanks for your help so far!!!!!

I think you are right I have to decide north or south. I am leaning toward south and the Amalfi Coast and Capri. Btw, are they close to eachother...I though they were the same thing??

Also when you say expensive, what do you mean, like $400 a night? More or lesS?

Ok lets see what other questions do I have! How far is Tuscany from Rome?

Also how many days in Florence do you recommend? I have been there once and only spent a day and half. Then went to Pisa from there. I like Florence but didnt find a whole lot to do besides shop, see the David and something else. I think maybe 2 days there is enough?

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We drove from Rome to Tuscany and it took about 4 hrs

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Cinque Terre is gorgeous but we only stayed north bc I didnt want too many stops either. We went to Tuscany and Portofino.

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I've been Genova, Cinque Terre, Milano, Rome, Florence, Tuscany, Venice, Pompeii and Naples.

We did a day trip to Tuscany from Florence. We did a day trip to Naples & Pompeii from Rome.

We stayed 4 days in Florence and it was so worth it to me. There is a lot to see there.

We took the train from Florence to Rome and it was about an hour and a half. Florence is in the region of Toscana and we went to Siena which is south of the city of Florence. I would recommend doing the day trip from Florence not Rome. From Rome you can do the stuff going south.

Message edited 12/16/2009 9:50:35 AM.

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Posted by scubashell44

Posted by Ophelia

Posted by scubashell44

I lived in Italy (Tuscany)...it'll take you a LONG time to get to Lake Como from Rome...much easier (and quicker) to get to Capri from Rome...Capri and Amalfi Coast are expensive, but it you stay in one of the towns outside Amalfi, like Priano, it's more managable, pricewise.

I agree with the other poster, sit down with a travel agent and map it out...you've got cities the extreme opposite of each other.

and a ridiculous detour from Bologna to milan (we stopped in Bologna for dinner) we get there in the wee hours of the morning.

I thought I was the only idiot who goes to Milan via Bologna!

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on our tour of the Amalfi, we stayed at

Hotel Il Convento in Naples (lovely hotel in the spanish quarter)

there is a train that takes you from Naples all along the amalfi, stopping at Pompei and other ruins along the way.

we stayed at a great hotel in Castelleamare di Stabia, which is basically the first town on the coast coming down from Naples.

here was my review (I was preggo at the time so bear with me )

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Naples is VERY bustling. it was my first time there and holy moly is it busy and filled with people. we did a nice walk through the old quarter, had "real" neapolitan pizza (brooklyn still wins ) and let the sounds of the city envelope us.

Pompeii was fabulous. it is staggering the size of the city and what they are unearthing there. definitely deserving of a few hours walking around.

Catellammare di STabia....lovely little town, GORGEOUS hotel. we stayed here after Naples instead of nearby Sorrento b/c the hotels were cheaper and it was very convenient to Pompeii. we walked the city, strolled by the meditteranean and had a DELICOUS dinner at a great restaurant. much less congested than Naples and a very nice jumping off point to the Amalfi.

Capri: holy heavenly. once you get out of the very crowed main Piazza it is just stunning. the homes, the fauna and flora...the magnificent views of the sea. we didn't have as much time there as we'd have liked, but we had a great lunch in the most beautiful setting. I'd love to go back and spend more time.

Positano: also quite lovely. pricey, but again, stunning views, great atmosphere, delicious food. I had a pair of custom sandals made for me. the fit my feet (for now anyway ) like a glove.

we left the Amalfi on Saturday and drove up to Milan, dropping my uncle and his wife off in Rome. we stopped and had lunch in the BEAUTIFUL hilltown of Orvieto, and continued along to have a delicious dinner in Bologna..before finally arriving in my beloved

Milano: there is nothing much to say except how much I want to live there. I just love being there so much. it's beautiful, cosmopolitan and very family friendly. we finally saw D'Vinci's the Last Supper on the wall of the Santa Maria delle Grazie (we've been to the city so many times and this was the FIRST I was able to get tickets!!) which was simply magnificent. we toured La Scala (tix were sold out...next time ) and just walked around soaking it in.
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I think the hotel in Castellammare di Stabia was called La Medusa and it was about $140 per night. it was really very pretty and cheaper than some of the other larger cities like Amalfi and Sorrento, we also stayed in Positano and the hotel was a little over $200...I can't remember the name..it was nice, but not as nice as La Medusa.

you can find some great hotels on Venere.it

*you can take an express train from Rome to Naples and take then take then catch the train to the ruins and the Amalfi.

enjoy every minute!!!

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Just throwing this out there if you do consider Lake Como. It is absolutely gorgeous and of course, home to George Clooney, LOL!

There are so many little towns around the lake. Travel is easy because you use the ferry to town hop. Lots of beautiful villas that are now museums. We stayed in Bellagio which is stunning and is the most popular of the towns. However, when we return (and we WILL, LOL!) I would recommend staying in Varenna which is less congested and hotel rates aren't as expensive as Bellagio. There are some fabulous restaurants in Bellagio but it is easy access by ferry.

I think it probably took us about 2 hours total from Malpensa airport, train to the actual town of Como (amazing shopping!!) and then the fast ferry to Bellagio. I'd be happy to give you more info and recommend some restaurants if you interested.

By the way, Ophelia, I think I've mentioned this before - Milan is our favorite city as well. Have you spent time in the Brera??

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My family is from Northern Italy. I have a good amount of family that is from the Liguria region - its my favorite place to visit.

Cinque Terre
Portovenere
La Spezia
Rapallo
Santa Margherita
Chiavari
Sestri Di Levante

All of this area is just

Tuscany is also another area that is just breath taking -
San Gimignano
Volterra
Montepulciano
Viarregio
Torre Del Lago
Lucca

I'll be honest, I'm not a fan of the big tourist fillled cities i.e. Florence, Rome. To me you don't get a true sense of Italy as its catered to the tourists. It's like coming to NY & ONLY seeing Times Square.

These places are less catered to tourist & have a better sense of Italy than the big cities and DEF better food.

Message edited 12/18/2009 1:43:11 PM.

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Wow great help and recs! You girls rock! Now I really need to get a proper plan in place and start seeking out hotels and flights :)

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please consider going to Assisi. AMAZING....

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Posted by Beaver2be

My family is from Northern Italy. I have a good amount of family that is from the Liguria region - its my favorite place to visit.

Cinque Terre
Portovenere
La Spezia
Rapallo
Santa Margherita
Chiavari
Sestri Di Levante

All of this area is just