I've had more than a few people reach out to me about specific details from our trip to Italy. So I put together this post with some more of the details. All of our posts from Italy can be found by clicking here.
I spent hours making our trip the best it could be by reading reviews and planning itineraries and reading others' advice. I used my free time and found it really enjoyable. I used my notes that I had from this trip planning to put this post together in case you are overwhelmed but want to plan your own trip. You should get this book if you are clueless and do want to go btw. We'll go back someday, but here's a look at my extensive planning (and I've also added things we wish we had known) .
*If I was cutting a day off, I'd cut off a day in Rome.
*We packed all carry on, I'll post what I brought next week as a conclusion to this never ending saga ;)
TOURS : BOOK THEM EARLY
If you use Rick Steve's App (free) for audio tours of museums then you really don't need any more tours besides tours of Vatican City and Doge's Palace in Venice. The Rick Steve's app will guide you through all the important artwork in museums and churches. We also got a discount on the Vatican tour and Secret Passage's tour by entering the code 10ricksteves at checkout because we bought this book (which I highly recommend for planning your trip!).
I extensively researched tours, I promise you can trust me with these. I wanted small groups/private at affordable prices with excellent reviews. Everything went perfectly. So many tours online are touristy and crowded, you will not be in a massive group if you use the ones we did.
We booked these tours : Secret Passages Doge's Palace // Wine Tour - we did Chianti tour, but it ended up being private // Capri Boat tour // Vatican City Tour -- Early entry = alone in Sistine Chapel!!
TRAINS:
We used the trains for transportation. It wasn't hard, and the language barrier didn't cause any problems. We booked online, and printed copies of our tickets before we left, also the tickets were on our phones as backup. When you purchased online you didn't have to "validate" your ticket because they already were validated. If you purchase in the train station you will have to find a machine to validate your ticket. We also were easily able to see the "fast" trains (Frecciarossa) when we purchased online. For instance, Rome to Positano could be a four hour ride vs. a one hour ride if you get tickets on the right train. Pickpocketers were most heavily present in the train stations but just be looking around and watching people and no one will bother you. Don't let anyone carry your bags or touch your stuff, we saw some people get duped by this, it was sad. There’s a large board at the entrance of station where you can look and see your train number (on your ticket) and what number of train track lane it will be in. The large board says “Partenze: Departures” You get on your train, no one checks your ticket. They scan your ticket 10 min into the train ride while you are seated.
HOTELS:
The earlier you do everything, the better. We saved a lot of money by finding random hotel deals at various times because we booked the plane tickets first and "watched" hotel prices. Check Tripadvisor of course for reviews! Especially in Venice, because some places are DUMPS with rats but will still charge $200/night. For an affordable, newly renovated place in Venice that is a 5 second walk from Bridge of Sighs and 1 minute walk from St. Mark's square I highly recommend this place. They actually even have an economy room that is small (like most Venice hotels) but nice, and free chef's gourmet breakfast. Location is everything with hotels, keep this in mind. Two weeks before trip email each hotel and double check your confirmation (even if you received an email), this will save you a headache later. Trust me, my friend had an issue with this in Positano and didn't get to stay where she booked.
RESTAURANTS:
As with everything else, researching restaurants will save you disappointment. Theoretically it would be nice to "wander the streets" and walk into a random authentic Italian place. I would not do this, we did this in Rome and it was a huge fail all except once. You are going to pay the same prices anyway, you can have amazing pizza or pizza worse than frozen food at home. Our tips, make a reservation at least once by email at every city based on your online research. Sure you can plan for 1-2 spontaneous day where you ask your hotel concierge for recommendations! Also, if a person has to stand on the street yelling about how good their pizza is, it's probably not that good. You are in an amazing food city, make sure you taste that amazing food!! In Italy it's rude for them to bring you a check without you asking. We didn't realize this at first and we felt rude for asking, but it's the norm. (Unlike in America where they are constantly turning tables over.) And as for tipping, we tipped but so many people did not as it's not expected.
Step by step instructions for using the "waterbus" system in Vencie from the airport to your hotel click here .
THE DUOMO INFO:
Climbing the Duomo - you have to reserve this for what day and time you want by walking into the ticket office. Find the ticket office when you have free time when you arrive in Florence and reserve the time you want to climb (paid for with firenze card). We researched that it was a better view to climb the bell tower next door (that way you could see the duomo when you lookout, and you don’t need reservations). It’s only like 50 steps difference in height, but you can always climb both with the Firenze card if you want. It’s exhausting though.
Things you must see in the Duomo area:
go inside the church (line up before it opens in the morning), then while inside go into the church basement that has the crypts before you exit!
Then go across the building to the bell tower and climb it.
Also in the area is the baptistery building (octagon building) with it’s famous bronze doors. Go inside there.
*our hotel was Eden Roc in Positano (in the photo below)
Hope this helps anyone planning a trip! I had a blast working out the details of our trip, and that's why I'm sharing for anyone who may need it! I've posted so many photos from each location, you can see them all here .
