Italy - Trip to Italy in September

Hello fellow FT posters,

My wife and I are going to a wedding in Capri in September and need ideas concerning hotels, restaurants, sites and thoughts....

I have already posted in a few other forums :D

We will be going from Sept 18th - Sept 28th (with 2 SWU's hopefully they clear).

We arrive FCO in the morning and plan on training to Capri (of course it is more difficult than that, cab to train station, train to Naples, then hyrdo to Capri).

Question - How long should that take? (I want to guess 4 hours but need some direction, and thoughts)

Once we get there Wednesday afternoon is OUR day to relax, probably walk around have dinner, adjust to the time change (I do well with this, not sure how the wife will do)

Friday is OUR day to do what we want (excluding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner), what should we do in Capri? The wife was thinking about going to Pompei, how is that any other suggestions?

We plan on getting up early on Sunday (hopefully there is no hangover) and get off Capri and go to Florence. How long should that take? (we need to hydro to Naples, then train it to Florence)

We plan on staying in Florence Sunday & Monday night. Ideas for hotels or things to do? (maybe go to Tuscany on Monday?)

Then Tuesday afternoon we are leaving Florence and going to Rome (hopefully catching dinner there) and spending Tues, Wed, Thurs night there and leave Friday.

Where should we stay in Rome (neighborhood), sites, restaurants etc?

Transportation questions - we plan on getting a Rail Pass for three days so we can train from Rome to Naples, Naples to Florence, Florence to Rome. Is it easy to just walk up and grab reservations once you have a pass? Also First or Second class?

I know the question is, what is your budget, I really do not have one, I want to enjoy myself and not miss anything due to $$, I want to spend about $200 bucks a night on a hotel room in all places and roughly think the entire trip will cost $8k - $10k (airfare, hotels, food, transportation, Capri is expensive and the hotel is paid for by the wedding party ^)

Thank you for all your help and responses ahead of time.

From the FCO airport there is a train that will take you to the subway "Metro" and where you can reach the "Stazione Termini" then train to Naples. This would eliminate the traffic fm airport to Central train station in Rome. (If you have a lot of luggage, late arrival or tired then use taxi). If you have to line up for yr train tickets to Naples, then get a taxi from Naples to the "porto" (ferry departure) and wait for the next ferry to leave then it will take more than 4 hrs you mentioned. But does it matter? You are on holidays and this is the best attitude to blend in with the italian culture!
A good link is www.met.ro.it to see the "Metro" subway in Rome.
(What are the 2 SWU's?)

After the wedding, remember to go to Pompei from Capri you have to go back on the main land with the ferry (traghetto). You need a few hrs to visit Pompei so make sure you leave early.

TRAIN: check what kind of pass you have IMPORTANT to "VALIDATE" your ticket (yellow boxes) before you get on train. 2class is ok.

Capri to Florence: That will be a day trip between Hydro and train. If you are in Florence you ARE IN TUSCANY. So much to do but if only for 1 day - walk around "in centro". Historic centre. Your $200 budget x night for hotel is more than fine. However, Italy hotels quote PER PERSON so verify.

If you do not have a chance to go to Pompei - then when you are back in Rome (you said 3 days) you can go to "OSTIA ANTICA" to the ruins. The ancient port of Rome.

Again you can use the subway "Metro" Lines "A" and "B". Tickets are valid for 75 minutes and you can use the same ticket to go on bus. (Not vise versa).
Itinerary for down town:
Colosseo
walk to Piazza Venezia
Cross the piazza Venezia to Via del Tritone
ask for "Fontana di Trevi"
then to "Piazza di Spagna"

Hope this was helpful.

Good luck!
Ciao

...Hope this was helpful...Ciao

Welcome to FlyerTalk travelwithme! What a terrific first post! I looked up your other post on the CommunityBuzz Forum and thought I should share this with the other Italophiles here:

I registered because a person was asking questions for travel in Italy.

Having lived, worked and raised a family there for many years I think I can be of help. Also being Italian helps.

:) Ciao. R.

Your presence here is MOST welcome and I'll be looking forward to your contributions - as I'm sure will others here as well. Benvenuto!! :)

...(What are the 2 SWU's?)...

System Wide Upgrades

Our Glossary will be useful to bookmark:
http://www.flyertalk.com/glossary/

(FlyerTalk is mainly for miles and points junkies, frequent fliers, "Road Warriors". Check out the MilesBuzz forum for examples).

Because of this site I learned how to get status on American Airlines and at Hilton and Starwood. Because of this site I fly to Rome from Los Angeles, in Business Class, and use only miles to do so. Because of this site I've stayed many times at the Excelsior, on points and have received upgrades to suites on many occassions. I orginally learned of FT in '01 when my goal was to fly to Rome in firstclass and stay at the Cavailieri, with a Rome view and access to its lounge - and only by using AA miles and HH points. When I had accomplished this goal in '02 I had originally thought I'd have no further use of FT. But I became addicted - for lack of a better word - and have continued to use FT 10 years on.

Check out MilesBuzz and our airline forums and hotel forums. You'll be no doubt helping a lot of Italy bound travelers here on the Italy Forum, but you can also learn a tremendous amount on our other forums - and travel more comfortably and for less money than you might have thought possible.

Hello fellow FT posters,

My wife and I are going to a wedding in Capri in September and need ideas concerning hotels, restaurants, sites and thoughts....

I have already posted in a few other forums :D

We will be going from Sept 18th - Sept 28th (with 2 SWU's hopefully they clear).

We arrive FCO in the morning and plan on training to Capri (of course it is more difficult than that, cab to train station, train to Naples, then hyrdo to Capri).

Question - How long should that take? (I want to guess 4 hours but need some direction, and thoughts)

Once we get there Wednesday afternoon is OUR day to relax, probably walk around have dinner, adjust to the time change (I do well with this, not sure how the wife will do)

Friday is OUR day to do what we want (excluding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner), what should we do in Capri? The wife was thinking about going to Pompei, how is that any other suggestions?

We plan on getting up early on Sunday (hopefully there is no hangover) and get off Capri and go to Florence. How long should that take? (we need to hydro to Naples, then train it to Florence)

We plan on staying in Florence Sunday & Monday night. Ideas for hotels or things to do? (maybe go to Tuscany on Monday?)

Then Tuesday afternoon we are leaving Florence and going to Rome (hopefully catching dinner there) and spending Tues, Wed, Thurs night there and leave Friday.

Where should we stay in Rome (neighborhood), sites, restaurants etc?

Transportation questions - we plan on getting a Rail Pass for three days so we can train from Rome to Naples, Naples to Florence, Florence to Rome. Is it easy to just walk up and grab reservations once you have a pass? Also First or Second class?

I know the question is, what is your budget, I really do not have one, I want to enjoy myself and not miss anything due to $$, I want to spend about $200 bucks a night on a hotel room in all places and roughly think the entire trip will cost $8k - $10k (airfare, hotels, food, transportation, Capri is expensive and the hotel is paid for by the wedding party ^)

Thank you for all your help and responses ahead of time.

I hadn't meant to ignore your post - well...actually I had. If I was a travel agent, and getting paid, then I would have jumped in earlier. But being that I'm just a fellow traveler like yourself (as most of us here are) I was thrown by the vast amount of info you were seeking.

Regarding Rome:

There have been countless threads with people seeking accommodations and asking which area to be based, etc. Do a search. If you're unaware of how to do a search I just explained it in this thread:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/italy/1330202-rome-florence-italy.html

Suggestions of what sites to see in Rome? Seriously? (To answer that question one of us would have to write you a guidebook). Actually, I think that someone in your situation would be served best by getting some guidebooks. I like the DK Eyewitness Series (http://www.amazon.com/Eyewitness-Travel-Guides-Adele-Evans/dp/0756669529/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333076106&sr=1-1)

Or start off with the official tourism website for Rome:
http://www.turismoroma.it/?lang=en

Ron in Rome has a terrific blog and he posts here as RinR (if you've taken the time to read what's here then you'll have already come across his most helpful posts):
http://www.roninrome.com/

I also highly recommend the site In Rome Now:
http://www.inromenow.com/site%20templates/index.htm

And Revealed Rome is good too:
http://www.revealedrome.com/

For dining options check out Parla Food:
http://www.parlafood.com/

Regarding the EuroRail Pass, my understanding is that it's a rip off. But the Trenitalia site can be difficult (there's a recent "tribute" to Trenitalia a few threads down attesting to this). So maybe for you paying more than is necessary for train travel in Italy is okay since the Rail Pass has an easier to use website.

I apologize if I've come across snarky. I've purposefully avoided posting on your thread up until seeing our newest FTer's post - and thought it might be helpful to you to understand why. (I know you took flak with your budget vs luxury hotel questions, and I really don't mean to add to your annoyance. Please don't lash out at me - this post was an attempt to help you).

My wife and I are going to a wedding in Capri in September and need ideas concerning hotels, restaurants, sites and thoughts....

I have already posted in a few other forums :D

Since you'd been hinted by MOD about no cross-posting on FT, I'll just point out one of your earlier threads so folks know what had been suggested and don't have to repeat same or similar ideas:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/italy/1312186-best-hotels-italy.html

Whatever you choose to do, stay, or dine, hope you get to enjoy Italy. I enjoy it very much my last trip to Italy.

$200/night for hotel gets 2-3* or suburb. i have never had an italian hotel quoted per person. per person charges are breakfast and children add ons.

your trip has a lot of travel time tied to it. i did not count, but figure time from hotel to hotel, subtract sleep hours. i think over half your time is getting there.