Travel Help - Italy Trip

[sicilygirl]

H and I plan to go to Italy in November of 2013. I've been before (in high school), but he hasn't. We'll need to do some touristy things since he's never been, but we also hope to enjoy the authentic Italian life a little too.

We'd like to go for 2 weeks. H's family is from a town near Naples, so we'd like to visit that area. My family is from Sicily and I still have cousins there, so we want to go there too. We also have a very good friend that lives in Bergamo (near Milan). We will have free places to stay in both Bergamo and Sicily (Corleone). And we want to visit Rome and the Vatican.

What other places are must-sees and what should we skip? I spent most of my time there in Tuscany, so that's all I am really familiar with.

Also, I've never traveled overseas in my adult life (as in, I've never had to pay to travel overseas). I really have no idea when to shop for flights or how much to budget overall for the trip. I assume we'll take the trains to get around the country.

With that information, what suggestions do you all have for me? I know there are lots of international travelers on the board!

[Susie]

I went to Italy for just shy of 2 weeks in October of last year. We flew New York to Milan, and then home out of Rome. That worked out nicely, and didn't cost much more than buying a round trip ticket. We went on Aer Lingus with a layover in Dublin. The amount extra it cost, we'd have spent on train tickets getting back to the city we started in.

We spent $6-7k, but that included accommodations, which it doesn't sound like you'll have to pay for. It varies a lot with city though. For example, our nights in Corniglia (Cinque Terre) and Siena were SOOO much cheaper than Venice (our most expensive). Rome and Florence were in the middle.

I loved Cinque Terre and would love to go back - but it's pretty rustic and outdoorsy, so it's either for you or not for you. I also enjoyed seeing Venice, although I didn't feel the need (or want to shell out) to stay long.

I thought Rick Steves' Italy was a pretty good travel guide, and I gave most of his recommendations the :Y:

[sicilygirl]

Dec 12, 2012 16:06:11 GMT -5 Susie said:

I went to Italy for just shy of 2 weeks in October of last year. We flew New York to Milan, and then home out of Rome. That worked out nicely, and didn't cost much more than buying a round trip ticket. We went on Aer Lingus with a layover in Dublin. The amount extra it cost, we'd have spent on train tickets getting back to the city we started in.

We spent $6-7k, but that included accommodations, which it doesn't sound like you'll have to pay for. It varies a lot with city though. For example, our nights in Corniglia (Cinque Terre) and Siena were SOOO much cheaper than Venice (our most expensive). Rome and Florence were in the middle.

I loved Cinque Terre and would love to go back - but it's pretty rustic and outdoorsy, so it's either for you or not for you. I also enjoyed seeing Venice, although I didn't feel the need (or want to shell out) to stay long.

I thought Rick Steves' Italy was a pretty good travel guide, and I gave most of his recommendations the

I think we'll be paying for our accommodations about 2/3 of the trip, so we do still need to factor that in. I'd really love to see Cinque Terre, so it's pretty high on my list too! I'll definitely check out that travel guide. Thank you!

[jene]

We did 10 days and Italy and rented an apartment in Rome from homeaway.com We spent 5 days in Rome, 2 in Florence, 1 in Pisa, 1 in Venice, and 1 in Naples. Rome and Florence were my favorites. We used the DK traveler book for Italy and found it really helpful.

[sugarbear]

Dec 12, 2012 15:41:39 GMT -5 sicilygirl said:

H and I plan to go to Italy in November of 2013. I've been before (in high school), but he hasn't. We'll need to do some touristy things since he's never been, but we also hope to enjoy the authentic Italian life a little too.

We'd like to go for 2 weeks. H's family is from a town near Naples, so we'd like to visit that area. My family is from Sicily and I still have cousins there, so we want to go there too. We also have a very good friend that lives in Bergamo (near Milan). We will have free places to stay in both Bergamo and Sicily (Corleone). And we want to visit Rome and the Vatican.

What other places are must-sees and what should we skip? I spent most of my time there in Tuscany, so that's all I am really familiar with.

Also, I've never traveled overseas in my adult life (as in, I've never had to pay to travel overseas). I really have no idea when to shop for flights or how much to budget overall for the trip. I assume we'll take the trains to get around the country.

With that information, what suggestions do you all have for me? I know there are lots of international travelers on the board!

Venice and Florence are my two favorite places.

[Deleted]

I would stick to those places if you have two weeks otherwise you will spend a lot of time traveling. If you are in Naples, you could go to Amalfi which is fabulous.

[sicilygirl]

Dec 12, 2012 22:45:16 GMT -5 jene said:

We did 10 days and Italy and rented an apartment in Rome from homeaway.com We spent 5 days in Rome, 2 in Florence, 1 in Pisa, 1 in Venice, and 1 in Naples. Rome and Florence were my favorites. We used the DK traveler book for Italy and found it really helpful.

I like the idea about checking out homeaway.com. Thanks!

[Deleted]

Dec 12, 2012 16:06:11 GMT -5 Susie said:

I loved Cinque Terre and would love to go back - but it's pretty rustic and outdoorsy, so it's either for you or not for you. I also enjoyed seeing Venice, although I didn't feel the need (or want to shell out) to stay long.

I thought Rick Steves' Italy was a pretty good travel guide, and I gave most of his recommendations the

Ditto all of this. Though November would be off season for Cinque Terre (we were there at the end of summer in September-- awesome!). But would still be great!

[sicilygirl]

I'm bumping this, hoping to get more replies! We're looking at buying our plane tickets soon. Right now I see round trip tickets from Dallas to Rome for a little under $1,100. Does anyone know if that seems reasonable? I know it's really early to book, but I just worry that if I don't do it now, I won't get a chance to look at it again until my busy season at work ends on April 15. Maybe that is still plenty to time? Anyone have advice for me?

[Susie]

$1100 seems a little high, but not egregious. You have plenty of time - I'd watch for a little while and see what fares do. Set a fare alert on one of kayak.com or similar.

[sicilygirl]

Jan 8, 2013 13:02:30 GMT -5 Susie said:

$1100 seems a little high, but not egregious. You have plenty of time - I'd watch for a little while and see what fares do. Set a fare alert on one of kayak.com or similar.

Okay. If that doesn't seem like a great deal or anything, then I am more than happy to wait. I read that January was a good time to buy airline tickets, but maybe that doesn't apply when your trip is still 11 months away, ha. I do have a price alert set up on kayak, Prices have dropped about $75 or so since I set it up after Christmas.

Thanks Susie!