Critique my Italy itinerary please

JasonCSU · 11-04-2015, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMW F22

Gotta say though. I now understand why people like backpacking through Asia. It is so damn cheap! You can have a huge breakfast/lunch with appetizer, a nice papaya salad, an entree, dessert, AND a bag of fresh fruits for about $7-8 in Thailand.

That's awesome. I'm heading to Thailand on vacation tomorrow actually.

BMW F22 · 11-04-2015, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JasonCSU

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMW F22

Gotta say though. I now understand why people like backpacking through Asia. It is so damn cheap! You can have a huge breakfast/lunch with appetizer, a nice papaya salad, an entree, dessert, AND a bag of fresh fruits for about $7-8 in Thailand.

That's awesome. I'm heading to Thailand on vacation tomorrow actually.

Nice! Have fun! Hopefully you're going to other cities besides Bangkok. It was too packed, busy, and so much traffic it was crazy. Phuket and Pataya I heard are very nice.

JasonCSU · 11-04-2015, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMW F22

Nice! Have fun! Hopefully you're going to other cities besides Bangkok. It was too packed, busy, and so much traffic it was crazy. Phuket and Pataya I heard are very nice.

I'll spend a couple of days in Bangkok, but the majority of my time will be in Krabi. I'll be checking out Ao Nang, Railay, and the Phi Phi islands. Should be fun.

BMW F22 · 11-04-2015, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JasonCSU

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMW F22

Nice! Have fun! Hopefully you're going to other cities besides Bangkok. It was too packed, busy, and so much traffic it was crazy. Phuket and Pataya I heard are very nice.

I'll spend a couple of days in Bangkok, but the majority of my time will be in Krabi. I'll be checking out Ao Nang, Railay, and the Phi Phi islands. Should be fun.

Awesome. Sounds like a blast!

DSB335d · 11-05-2015, 12:02 AM

Can't believe nobody has mentioned the Amalfi Coast?!! When we went last year we only spent about 1-1/2 days there. If we had the time we would have spent another day or 2 there, it was amazing!

While in Florence you should go to Caffe' Coquinarius they have an amazing Boar Ragu and an equally delicious Pear & Cheese Tortellini. Just a few blocks away is a really great bakery its at the Piazza della Repubblica called Paszkowski a great place to grab breakfast at before you head out for the day. We stayed at 2 different air b&b's while we were in Florence and both were right at the Piazza della Repubblica.

We rented a car for our trip but we drove from Paris to Monaco, to Nice and then to Italy. Visiting Maranello (Ferrari of course), San Cesario sul Panaro (Pagani) to Florence, Rome, Naples, Amalfi, back to Florence, Pisa, Milan and back to Paris. Trip was 17 days and being able to hop in our car and just go made it pretty awesome!
Having a car in Florence was useless, pretty much everything you would want to see is within walking distance. Also having a car in Rome was useless too. The public transportation in Rome is really good.
Also like others have mentioned Pisa is pretty much a waste; 1-2hrs tops is all the time you would need to find parking, take pictures, and leave.

If you have any questions feel free to ask.

FogCityM3 · 11-05-2015, 12:32 AM

Spend a week in Rome, can be used as a home base for many day trips. Florence is worth maybe 3-4 full days. Tuscany and small fortress is wonderful for some of the best food and wine in the world (cannot be replicated in the US). Milan is not known for its great sites compared to rest of italy, it is a business/commerce town. Pisa is only good for the tower, there is nothing else to do there. In other words, skip Milan (do go to Venice) skip Pisa and enjoy more of Tuscany and Rome/surrounds (Pompeii, Umbria, Villa d'este/Hadrians Villa). Amalfi coast is actually best seen/experienced by boat. Italy is one of those places you'll go back to many times if you like to travel.

bimmette · 11-05-2015, 12:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JasonCSU

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMW F22

Nice! Have fun! Hopefully you're going to other cities besides Bangkok. It was too packed, busy, and so much traffic it was crazy. Phuket and Pataya I heard are very nice.

I'll spend a couple of days in Bangkok, but the majority of my time will be in Krabi. I'll be checking out Ao Nang, Railay, and the Phi Phi islands. Should be fun.

I've been to those places. One of my favorite vacay areas in the world!!! Have fun!

JasonCSU · 11-05-2015, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bimmette

I've been to those places. One of my favorite vacay areas in the world!!! Have fun!

Thanks! That's what I like to hear.

4130 · 11-05-2015, 12:54 AM

If you plan on visiting attractions like the Vatican museum in Rome or The Last Supper in Milan, buy your tickets well in advance. You'll skip massive lines and in the case of The Last Supper, secure 15 minutes with Da Vinci's masterpiece that you'll otherwise miss out on.

BayMoWe335 · 11-05-2015, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMW F22

It's actually not too bad and is in line with what I thought it would be. My trip to Asia was less than $2k including flight. I estimate about the same for this Euro trip (a little more since I'm doing Iceland as well). I have a hook up on flights so the flight from Amsterdam to Iceland actually costs more than RT from Cali to Italy. Lol

Gotta say though. I now understand why people like backpacking through Asia. It is so damn cheap! You can have a huge breakfast/lunch with appetizer, a nice papaya salad, an entree, dessert, AND a bag of fresh fruits for about $7-8 in Thailand.

Opportunity cost.

doccyber · 11-05-2015, 08:37 AM

Great trip. You could easily do all of it in Italy but since you are traveling all the way to Europe why not skip the Iceland part and instead do Paris?

BMW F22 · 11-05-2015, 09:23 AM

So after thinking about it some more and based on you guys' comments and advice, I think I will do the following:

Fly into Milan instead of Rome
Go see the Duomo real quick and then hop on a train to Cinque Terre (Monterosso)
Spend 2 days/2 nights in Monterosso and then train to Florence
Spend 3 days in Florence and then train to Siena
Spend 2-3 days in Siena and train to Rome
Spend 4-5 days in Rome and fly to Amsterdam directly from Rome (works out better this way versus doing it the other way around and having to leave super early from Cinque Terre to Milan to catch a flight to Amsterdam; way more contingencies to plan for)

Quote:

Originally Posted by DSB335d

Can't believe nobody has mentioned the Amalfi Coast?!! When we went last year we only spent about 1-1/2 days there. If we had the time we would have spent another day or 2 there, it was amazing!

While in Florence you should go to Caffe' Coquinarius they have an amazing Boar Ragu and an equally delicious Pear & Cheese Tortellini. Just a few blocks away is a really great bakery its at the Piazza della Repubblica called Paszkowski a great place to grab breakfast at before you head out for the day. We stayed at 2 different air b&b's while we were in Florence and both were right at the Piazza della Repubblica.

We rented a car for our trip but we drove from Paris to Monaco, to Nice and then to Italy. Visiting Maranello (Ferrari of course), San Cesario sul Panaro (Pagani) to Florence, Rome, Naples, Amalfi, back to Florence, Pisa, Milan and back to Paris. Trip was 17 days and being able to hop in our car and just go made it pretty awesome!
Having a car in Florence was useless, pretty much everything you would want to see is within walking distance. Also having a car in Rome was useless too. The public transportation in Rome is really good.
Also like others have mentioned Pisa is pretty much a waste; 1-2hrs tops is all the time you would need to find parking, take pictures, and leave.

If you have any questions feel free to ask.

Thank you for all the tips- appreciate it! There are so many regions of Italy that are of interest to me. Since I don't have that much time there, I'm going to pick two regions and go back next time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FogCityM3

Spend a week in Rome, can be used as a home base for many day trips. Florence is worth maybe 3-4 full days. Tuscany and small fortress is wonderful for some of the best food and wine in the world (cannot be replicated in the US). Milan is not known for its great sites compared to rest of italy, it is a business/commerce town. Pisa is only good for the tower, there is nothing else to do there. In other words, skip Milan (do go to Venice) skip Pisa and enjoy more of Tuscany and Rome/surrounds (Pompeii, Umbria, Villa d'este/Hadrians Villa). Amalfi coast is actually best seen/experienced by boat. Italy is one of those places you'll go back to many times if you like to travel.

That is what I have realized. There are just too many things to do and see in Italy. There is no way I can see it all in 2 weeks so I gotta divide and conquer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4130

If you plan on visiting attractions like the Vatican museum in Rome or The Last Supper in Milan, buy your tickets well in advance. You'll skip massive lines and in the case of The Last Supper, secure 15 minutes with Da Vinci's masterpiece that you'll otherwise miss out on.

Thank you for that! I remember reading that in a Rick Steves' book last year but forgot until you mentioned it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

Opportunity cost.

Yeah, for sure. There's always that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by doccyber

Great trip. You could easily do all of it in Italy but since you are traveling all the way to Europe why not skip the Iceland part and instead do Paris?

I am meeting up people in Iceland at that time. I could cancel but don't want to flake. I have been to Paris before and didn't really like it. Maybe it was because our family took us to too many places that it tired us out but I didn't really enjoy it. We were always on the move with no time to relax and enjoy things.

MightyMouseTech · 11-05-2015, 09:29 AM

Sounds like a fantastic trip. Also sounds like you have the right attitude. Slow down, stop planning "things", just enjoy where you are.

My sister travels like your parents. She has a check list of things to do for the day. She does them, then goes back to hotel. Bah!

Me, I wake up, walk out the door, and just see what there is to see. May have one or two things actually planned. The best parts of every single trip I take are the accidental finds.

BMW F22 · 11-05-2015, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

Sounds like a fantastic trip. Also sounds like you have the right attitude. Slow down, stop planning "things", just enjoy where you are.

My sister travels like your parents. She has a check list of things to do for the day. She does them, then goes back to hotel. Bah!

Me, I wake up, walk out the door, and just see what there is to see. May have one or two things actually planned. The best parts of every single trip I take are the accidental finds.

Yeah, agreed. I'm pretty much the same. After a while I realized that I don't have to plan out everything. When in Japan a few weeks ago, I just looked up one or two things I want to see for the day and try to do them. If I don't get to them I do them the following day. The rest of the time I'm just wandering around/getting lost.

BMW F22 · 11-17-2015, 04:07 PM

Made it to Siena after about 24 hrs of traveling

Mamyf30 · 11-17-2015, 04:14 PM

check these places out, definitely worth it.

cinque terre, positano, portofino

BMW F22 · 11-17-2015, 04:16 PM

Airbnb- very clean and comfy!

BMW F22 · 11-17-2015, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mamyf30

check these places out, definitely worth it.

cinque terre, positano, portofino

Maybe next time. I can see myself coming back to Italy many times so I gotta narrow down my focus this time around.

M3Bimmer77 · 11-17-2015, 04:18 PM

Don't see San Marino, Imola, Maranello, Bolognia!!!

BMW F22 · 11-17-2015, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M3Bimmer77

Don't see San Marino, Imola, Maranello, Bolognia!!!

Eh? Por que?

M3Bimmer77 · 11-17-2015, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMW F22

Eh? Por que?

For what??? Cars, tracks, Ducati, Ferraris....don't quite get your question, elebotate

BMW F22 · 11-17-2015, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M3Bimmer77

For what??? Cars, tracks, Ducati, Ferraris....don't quite get your question, elebotate

Next time my good man. Too much to see in Italy. Can't do it all in one trip.

11-05-2015, 12:02 AM	#27
DSB335d Captain 1322 Rep 700 Posts Drives: '11 335d DSB/oyster&black/navi Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: West palm beach iTrader: (0)	Can't believe nobody has mentioned the Amalfi Coast?!! When we went last year we only spent about 1-1/2 days there. If we had the time we would have spent another day or 2 there, it was amazing! While in Florence you should go to Caffe' Coquinarius they have an amazing Boar Ragu and an equally delicious Pear & Cheese Tortellini. Just a few blocks away is a really great bakery its at the Piazza della Repubblica called Paszkowski a great place to grab breakfast at before you head out for the day. We stayed at 2 different air b&b's while we were in Florence and both were right at the Piazza della Repubblica. We rented a car for our trip but we drove from Paris to Monaco, to Nice and then to Italy. Visiting Maranello (Ferrari of course), San Cesario sul Panaro (Pagani) to Florence, Rome, Naples, Amalfi, back to Florence, Pisa, Milan and back to Paris. Trip was 17 days and being able to hop in our car and just go made it pretty awesome! Having a car in Florence was useless, pretty much everything you would want to see is within walking distance. Also having a car in Rome was useless too. The public transportation in Rome is really good. Also like others have mentioned Pisa is pretty much a waste; 1-2hrs tops is all the time you would need to find parking, take pictures, and leave. If you have any questions feel free to ask.
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11-05-2015, 12:32 AM	#28
FogCityM3 Colonel 499 Rep 2,400 Posts Drives: M3 (E90) & Porsche GT3 RS Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: San Francisco iTrader: (0)	Spend a week in Rome, can be used as a home base for many day trips. Florence is worth maybe 3-4 full days. Tuscany and small fortress is wonderful for some of the best food and wine in the world (cannot be replicated in the US). Milan is not known for its great sites compared to rest of italy, it is a business/commerce town. Pisa is only good for the tower, there is nothing else to do there. In other words, skip Milan (do go to Venice) skip Pisa and enjoy more of Tuscany and Rome/surrounds (Pompeii, Umbria, Villa d'este/Hadrians Villa). Amalfi coast is actually best seen/experienced by boat. Italy is one of those places you'll go back to many times if you like to travel.
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11-05-2015, 12:54 AM	#31
4130 Second Lieutenant 66 Rep 228 Posts Drives: 2011 E90 M3 LeMans Blue Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: NYC iTrader: (0)	If you plan on visiting attractions like the Vatican museum in Rome or The Last Supper in Milan, buy your tickets well in advance. You'll skip massive lines and in the case of The Last Supper, secure 15 minutes with Da Vinci's masterpiece that you'll otherwise miss out on.
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11-05-2015, 08:37 AM	#33
doccyber Captain 259 Rep 628 Posts Drives: %D0%97%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0 Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Los Angeles, CA iTrader: (0)	Great trip. You could easily do all of it in Italy but since you are traveling all the way to Europe why not skip the Iceland part and instead do Paris?
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11-05-2015, 09:29 AM	#35
MightyMouseTech Major General 4338 Rep 6,196 Posts Drives: 13 135i 6MT LeMans Blue MSport Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Ottawa, Canada iTrader: (0)	Sounds like a fantastic trip. Also sounds like you have the right attitude. Slow down, stop planning "things", just enjoy where you are. My sister travels like your parents. She has a check list of things to do for the day. She does them, then goes back to hotel. Bah! Me, I wake up, walk out the door, and just see what there is to see. May have one or two things actually planned. The best parts of every single trip I take are the accidental finds.
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11-17-2015, 04:07 PM	#37
BMW F22 Major General 3566 Rep 9,788 Posts Drives: ///M235i Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Bay Area iTrader: (8)	Made it to Siena after about 24 hrs of traveling Attached Images Last edited by BMW F22; 11-17-2015 at 04:12 PM..
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11-17-2015, 04:14 PM	#38
Mamyf30 Private First Class 44 Rep 127 Posts Drives: f30 Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: USA iTrader: (0)	check these places out, definitely worth it. cinque terre, positano, portofino
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11-17-2015, 04:16 PM	#39
BMW F22 Major General 3566 Rep 9,788 Posts Drives: ///M235i Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Bay Area iTrader: (8)	Airbnb- very clean and comfy! Attached Images
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11-17-2015, 04:18 PM	#41
M3Bimmer77 Captain 340 Rep 947 Posts Drives: 2011.5 M3 E90 Jet Black Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: West Palm Beach iTrader: (2)	Don't see San Marino, Imola, Maranello, Bolognia!!!
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