Italy - any suggestions?
Italy - any suggestions?
Hi there!
My hubby and I are thinking of going to Italy in August for around 10 days, but we're not really familiar with Italy at all. We've only ever been to Venice for the weekend. Can anybody suggest any places to go to and how to go about doing it?. Would it be a good idea to hire a car and drive to various places, or is it too far?. We're looking for somewhere where we can eat drink and be romantic, as we've had a bit of a rough time lately. We're not really up for nightlife but don't mind doing a couple of days in a city where we could have the option...also we'd like to stay in a couple of nice hotels so if anyone has any ideas that would be great!
Thanks for any help you can give
xxx
Answers:
August is typically the holiday month in Italy, and apparently all the Italians head off for the beach. The guidebooks all tell you that the internal cities are empty for the month... i don't know how true this is, but probably worth bearing in mind.
I've been to several Italian cities, and we try and do it as cheap as possible! We usually fly with Ryanair or Easyjet, and then book a hotel using www.venere.com or www.octopustravel.co.uk (using www.tripadvisor.com to check for hotel reviews). However, this takes a lot of time to organise!
If you go to the bigger cities (Florence, Rome, Venice etc.) there's lots of "touristy" stuff to do to fill your time... galleries, museums, cathedrals etc. On the other hand, there's also the beach resorts where I've found less cultural stuff to do, but have done more lazing on the beach, snorkelling, boat trips, eating(!) etc.
IMO, 10 days is a long time to spend in one place, so maybe you could split your trip in two. Or else get a car and drive around (but the drivers in Italy are supposed to be manic!).
I've been to Florence, Pisa, Sardinia, Sicily and Venice... so ask if you want any specific info on these places. All of them are romantic places for eating and drinking ;)
Answers:
I'm not the greatest source of info as I've only been to Rome and Florence and Sardinia.
Rome is gorgeous but expensive and I probably preferred Florence as the food was better. It definitely made me want to explore more of Tuscany.
My parents did a holiday to the Abruzzo region where they stayed in an Agristurismo - like a sort of working farm with accomodation - which sounded brilliant.
If you are thinking of including Rome I cannot reccommend this place enough:
http://www.bestbb.it/index.htm
They get very booked up though!
Italy's great though - you'll have a fantastic time!
Answers:
Hi,
I would recommend renting a villa in Tuscany. You can get really nice properties through holiday-rentals.com, some even with a private pool. Hire a car and go on lots of lovely day trips to Florence, Sienna and the surrounding villages.
You will have such a lovely time, I'm jealous:)
Answers:
How lucky! 10 days in Italy!
I holidayed there countless times as a child so know it fairly well.
Whenever we used to stay for more than a week we'd half the time there.
For example if I were you i'd fly into Rome (Easyjet do cheap flights to Ciampino where you can get an easy shuttle bus into central Rome) and stay there for three days (you'll get to see all the touristy stuff), then travel back to the airport and rent a car for the next 7 days.
You can then drive to somewhere like Tuscany. It is a bit far though so you may want to get an internal flight into Pisa.
Alternatively, the train system in Italy is amazing. You can get a train from Termini station in Rome to somewhere like Naples and the Italian Riviera which is fab in August and full of holiday makers.
I wouldn't suggest going to Italy without going to Rome though, nor would I suggest driving ANYWHERE like a town or city as the drivers over there are insane. It's much cheaper and safer to go by train.
If that seems like a lot of work for you, i'd suggest either renting a villa with car in Tuscany and spending the next 10 days visiting farmers markets and wine cellars (heaven) and eating outside, or fly into somewhere like Sorrento on the Italian Riviera and living it up with the glam people of Italy!
Good luck!
:jealoussmiley:
Hi there!
My hubby and I are thinking of going to Italy in August for around 10 days, but we're not really familiar with Italy at all. We've only ever been to Venice for the weekend. Can anybody suggest any places to go to and how to go about doing it?. Would it be a good idea to hire a car and drive to various places, or is it too far?. We're looking for somewhere where we can eat drink and be romantic, as we've had a bit of a rough time lately. We're not really up for nightlife but don't mind doing a couple of days in a city where we could have the option...also we'd like to stay in a couple of nice hotels so if anyone has any ideas that would be great!
Thanks for any help you can give
xxx
Answers:
August is typically the holiday month in Italy, and apparently all the Italians head off for the beach. The guidebooks all tell you that the internal cities are empty for the month... i don't know how true this is, but probably worth bearing in mind.
I've been to several Italian cities, and we try and do it as cheap as possible! We usually fly with Ryanair or Easyjet, and then book a hotel using www.venere.com or www.octopustravel.co.uk (using www.tripadvisor.com to check for hotel reviews). However, this takes a lot of time to organise!
If you go to the bigger cities (Florence, Rome, Venice etc.) there's lots of "touristy" stuff to do to fill your time... galleries, museums, cathedrals etc. On the other hand, there's also the beach resorts where I've found less cultural stuff to do, but have done more lazing on the beach, snorkelling, boat trips, eating(!) etc.
IMO, 10 days is a long time to spend in one place, so maybe you could split your trip in two. Or else get a car and drive around (but the drivers in Italy are supposed to be manic!).
I've been to Florence, Pisa, Sardinia, Sicily and Venice... so ask if you want any specific info on these places. All of them are romantic places for eating and drinking ;)
Answers:
I'm not the greatest source of info as I've only been to Rome and Florence and Sardinia.
Rome is gorgeous but expensive and I probably preferred Florence as the food was better. It definitely made me want to explore more of Tuscany.
My parents did a holiday to the Abruzzo region where they stayed in an Agristurismo - like a sort of working farm with accomodation - which sounded brilliant.
If you are thinking of including Rome I cannot reccommend this place enough:
http://www.bestbb.it/index.htm
They get very booked up though!
Italy's great though - you'll have a fantastic time!
Answers:
Hi,
I would recommend renting a villa in Tuscany. You can get really nice properties through holiday-rentals.com, some even with a private pool. Hire a car and go on lots of lovely day trips to Florence, Sienna and the surrounding villages.
You will have such a lovely time, I'm jealous:)
Answers:
How lucky! 10 days in Italy!
I holidayed there countless times as a child so know it fairly well.
Whenever we used to stay for more than a week we'd half the time there.
For example if I were you i'd fly into Rome (Easyjet do cheap flights to Ciampino where you can get an easy shuttle bus into central Rome) and stay there for three days (you'll get to see all the touristy stuff), then travel back to the airport and rent a car for the next 7 days.
You can then drive to somewhere like Tuscany. It is a bit far though so you may want to get an internal flight into Pisa.
Alternatively, the train system in Italy is amazing. You can get a train from Termini station in Rome to somewhere like Naples and the Italian Riviera which is fab in August and full of holiday makers.
I wouldn't suggest going to Italy without going to Rome though, nor would I suggest driving ANYWHERE like a town or city as the drivers over there are insane. It's much cheaper and safer to go by train.
If that seems like a lot of work for you, i'd suggest either renting a villa with car in Tuscany and spending the next 10 days visiting farmers markets and wine cellars (heaven) and eating outside, or fly into somewhere like Sorrento on the Italian Riviera and living it up with the glam people of Italy!
Good luck!
:jealoussmiley: