Italy ?s - if you did not use travel agent

God willing will be doing the big 3, Venice, Florence and Rome in that order. Need some help.

1) If you used the train. Was it Trenitalia or Italo? Did you buy the tickets in advance or at the station?

2) If you went on tours who did you use? Viator? Dark Rome?

3) Anyone do skip the line tour at
Vatican
Colisseo
Doge Palace
St Mark's
Uffizi
Accademia

Worth it?

4) Burano? Worth it?

Any suggestions? I have exhausted the search feature and Trip Advisor! TIA!

Italy ?s - if you did not use travel agent

We did not use a travel agent, but we did arrange for a private tour guide in Rome. We used her for the tour of the Vatican and Ancient Rome. We were able to skip the line for the Vatican because we were with the tour guide. We arranged the tours through Viator. Our tour guide was fantastic. Her name was Marina.

We took the train, but I don't remember if it was Trenitalia or Italo. We purchased tickets ahead of time.

We went to Burano, which was really nice. The lace work they do there was incredible! And the town is so pretty. If you're going to Murano, it's very easy to take a water taxi from Murano to Burano.

When you're in Florence, you have to eat at La Congrega and La Casalinga. They both look like holes in the wall, but the food is fantastic! At La Casalinga, the staff didn't speak a lot of English. We are not fluent in Italian, but we were able to get by.

Re: Italy ?s - if you did not use travel agent

Hi. Thank you so much this is really helpful. I did not think to do a private tour but it makes sense.

Did you use Viator for any other tours?

Italy ?s - if you did not use travel agent

No. We did the rest on our own, except that we also did a day trip to Pompeii. We did a bus tour, but I don't remember the name of the company that it was through.

Italy ?s - if you did not use travel agent

We did that on our own- used trenitalia but didn't book tickets in advance, just bought them at the train station on the day we traveled.

We used viatour for a one day Tuscany trip out of Florence, and we have a great experience. But viatour just sells smaller companies tours, so they aren't all the same company.

We did the Vatican on our own. You can preorder tickets online for a .5 euro fee to skip the line. And then we got the audio tour and downloaded some audio tours onto my iPhone and used them. The skip the line tours are a rip off. So are the private tours IMO. Unless your like really rally into art yo can get the same experience for a tenth of the price.

We also just got the the doges palace first thing and only waited like 20 minutes. All of the places you listed you can prebook online to skip the line on your own for a minimal fee. The tour companies all inflate that fee drastically.

Message edited 4/9/2014 5:32:55 PM.

Re: Italy ?s - if you did not use travel agent

Re: Italy ?s - if you did not use travel agent

Message edited 4/10/2014 12:43:48 PM.

Re: Italy ?s - if you did not use travel agent

Re: Italy ?s - if you did not use travel agent

I used Trenitalia and bought my tickets at the station. I'm not sure if you book ahead of time if it is cheaper. It is in other European countries...

If you have limited time in Rome, I'd skip Pompeii. The last time I saw all the sights in Rome, I waited in line. This was before reservations I think. If you really want to do Pompeii, then I suggest basing yourself in Positano or Sorrento. Would you consider dropping Venice for this?

I didn't go to Uffizi in Florence, but I wouldn't skip Accedemia. The David is there. My hotel called and got us a reservation that morning. I wouldn't suggest that, though. We were limited in time frames. We did a half-day wine tour to Tuscany, which was really nice.

I went to Venice almost 15 years ago, so I'm sorry I can't help you there.

What's your time frame and how much time do you have in each stop?

Re: Italy ?s - if you did not use travel agent

My proposed itinerary is this once I arrive

Day 1 and 2 Venice - Doge Palace, St. Marks

Train to Florence
Day 3 - 5
Florence Hotel Lungarno
Accademia (but what time?)
Museums galore
Maybe food tour?
1 day tour Tuscany/Pisa (one Jax1023 mentioned)

Train to Rome
Day 6-7
Rome in Limo tour in one day (includes Vatican and Colisseum)
Rest
Back on plane

I would love to go to Positano but the bus ride seems long from Rome. So I am definitely going to skip Pompei and I added the extra day in Florence? I am considering skipping the Uffizi i think based on the feedback here and go to Santa Croce etc and see other things instead of forming a line.

Italy ?s - if you did not use travel agent

Skip Pisa and just do the Tuscany tour. There is nothing in Pisa aside from the leaning tower.

Re: Italy ?s - if you did not use travel agent

I think you don't have enough time in Rome. I'd go on Day 5 to Rome. Maybe get an afternoon/evening train. Then you can go out for a nice dinner at night and see Trevi and the Spanish steps. I like those sights better at night.

You have a lot packed in there for 7 days!

Re: Italy ?s - if you did not use travel agent

i just went to florence, milan and venice for new yrs. i can email you all the places worth seeing if you'd like. i HIGHLY rec. you get the firenze card in florence to skip the lines.

we drove and i do NOT recommend because we are still getting charged from the rental company without even knowing what we did wrong. driving in italy is something i will never do again

Re: Italy ?s - if you did not use travel agent