Re: Spring visit to Italy
Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2004 2:27 am[quote="Stan"]My sister and I just decided to take a vacation together in Italy this
year during the latter half of May. This will be a ten day trip with us
leaving from Philadelphia or Newark (depending on flight availability). .
Although I have been to England and Scandanavia before, my sister's never
been to Europe at all. We're looking to see some sites that typify Italy.
Perhaps someone with experience traveling to Italy can answer a few
questions for me.
I am interested mainly in seeing sites relating to history and science
(especially sites where the two are combined). . My sister's interested in
seeing some beaches and natural scenery. We're fairly flexible in what
our itinerary can be, but we will want to maintain as low a budget as
possible without sacrificing too much comfort such as us sharing a room
with some friends who will probably want to go on this trip with us and
using public transportation instead of a rental card. To that end, I have
a few questions:
1) Can anyone suggest an itinerary that includes some time in Rome and
that covers the interests of both me and my sister? We were thinking
of spending equal amounts of time in Rome, Naples and Venice. Does
this sound like a good plan?
2) How much does the public transportation system in Italy cost? I am
assuming we will need to take trains between the cities, but what
about in the cities?
3) We will want clean and convenient lodgings. We can share a room, but
we haven't a clue as to what a room in a decent hotel would cost and
I would prefer to not stay in any chain hotels that also operate in
the United States. We want something that's very typical of Italy, but
not pricy nor so austere as a youth hostel.
4) What's the situation with regard to ATMs in Italy? Will my ATM card
work in some machines in Italy? My ATM card is on the Plus network.
I am assuming that my American Express and Visa credit cards are
accepted at a goodly number of places in Itally too. Right?
5) Since we will be on a budget, we will want to eat as inexpensively as
possible, but we figured that one nice meal per city would be sensible.
Neither my sister nor I eat seafood. We're both happy grabbing quick
food most of the time at local shops and things like that. With this
in mind, what do you think a reasonable food budget would be for a
ten day visit to Italy?
6) What's the weather usually like in the later half of May? I am hoping
it will be nice at that time of year.
7) Is the end of May a good time to visit Italy in terms of crowds? I
assume that its not a heavy travel season like in July and August, right?
Any info you have will be appreciated. Thanks.[/quote]
year during the latter half of May. This will be a ten day trip with us
leaving from Philadelphia or Newark (depending on flight availability). .
Although I have been to England and Scandanavia before, my sister's never
been to Europe at all. We're looking to see some sites that typify Italy.
Perhaps someone with experience traveling to Italy can answer a few
questions for me.
I am interested mainly in seeing sites relating to history and science
(especially sites where the two are combined). . My sister's interested in
seeing some beaches and natural scenery. We're fairly flexible in what
our itinerary can be, but we will want to maintain as low a budget as
possible without sacrificing too much comfort such as us sharing a room
with some friends who will probably want to go on this trip with us and
using public transportation instead of a rental card. To that end, I have
a few questions:
1) Can anyone suggest an itinerary that includes some time in Rome and
that covers the interests of both me and my sister? We were thinking
of spending equal amounts of time in Rome, Naples and Venice. Does
this sound like a good plan?
2) How much does the public transportation system in Italy cost? I am
assuming we will need to take trains between the cities, but what
about in the cities?
3) We will want clean and convenient lodgings. We can share a room, but
we haven't a clue as to what a room in a decent hotel would cost and
I would prefer to not stay in any chain hotels that also operate in
the United States. We want something that's very typical of Italy, but
not pricy nor so austere as a youth hostel.
4) What's the situation with regard to ATMs in Italy? Will my ATM card
work in some machines in Italy? My ATM card is on the Plus network.
I am assuming that my American Express and Visa credit cards are
accepted at a goodly number of places in Itally too. Right?
5) Since we will be on a budget, we will want to eat as inexpensively as
possible, but we figured that one nice meal per city would be sensible.
Neither my sister nor I eat seafood. We're both happy grabbing quick
food most of the time at local shops and things like that. With this
in mind, what do you think a reasonable food budget would be for a
ten day visit to Italy?
6) What's the weather usually like in the later half of May? I am hoping
it will be nice at that time of year.
7) Is the end of May a good time to visit Italy in terms of crowds? I
assume that its not a heavy travel season like in July and August, right?
Any info you have will be appreciated. Thanks.[/quote]