Looking for recommendations! My husband and I are heading to Italy next month for 3 weeks. Our route will take us from Venice-Cinque Terre-Florence-Rome-sorrento/amalfi coast area.
Plan is to use public transportation everywhere. Looking for tips on this! And also must dos in/around each location!
Thanks

Ron
One of the most beautiful, yet cheapest things we did in Venice was to take the vaporetto (water bus) up and down the Grand Canal at sunset. Magical.

Is that the 'cheap' bus? I have heard of a few different water transports in Venice and some are more expensive than others?

Kat Think of them as the difference between a public bus and a taxi.

Well that is helpful! haahah. Thank you!

Kat And the gondolas are like hiring a highly expensive limo lol

Kat yes, it is the cheap public “bus”, the major transport up and down the canal. It goes the whole length of the canal, out to the Lido, and back.

Sherene Ugh.. part of me wants to splurge on that. but we shall see haah

Kat https://europeforvisitors.com/.../gallivanting_by_gondola...
I considered it as well, but then I decided I'd rather spend my money on more pasta than shelling out the money or trying to find more people to share the ride. I did stumble on a whole group of gondolas going down a canal with a single singer, which was a neat thing to see and hear.
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Venice Gondolas and Gondola Rides

Many gondolas tie up by the plaza at San Marco. I have some great photos of gondolas and gondoliers lined up there. Daytime can have gondola traffic jams, with way too many people. Not pretty. We booked a gondola for sunset through the back canals. Really enjoyed it. And it was just us and the gondolier and silence. Too have the experience, take the traghetto. It is a gondola that crosses the Grand Canal, close to the first pedestrian bridge up canal from San Marco. It has junior gondoliers and costs only one or two euros. It was fun.

Same! Bought a 2 day pass and hopped on and off as we pleased.

Continued....In Rome, we did a "Hop on Hop off bus to get an idea of the city and what we wanted to do. That was a big help for us. It was a quick tour and then helped us plan things. We also used the "Walks of Italy" small tour group for the Vatican and Coleseum. SO WORTH IT! The guides are very knowledgable with the history, etc. and are very interesting. Book ahead though! Got more, but later!

Who did you book the walking tour through>

Online called “Walks of Italy “. We also did one in Florence. All guides were actually history professors.

Kat You can book tickets for tours directly through the Vatican https://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do. Same for Colosseum https://www.coopculture.it/en/colosseo-e-shop.cfm. It's usually cheaper to book directly rather than go through third-party tour provider. There are guide, audio guide, no guide options.
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Vatican Museums - Online Ticket Office

Thank you both!!

We also booked through Walks of Italy, was such a wonderful experience.

Check out the rotating strikes on rail that have been, and are planned to continue.

Thanks for this advice. Did not know about that.

Kat - yesterday my brother and sister-in-law continued their trip into France to avoid. (I guess there is a schedule published). I’m not sure which Italian rail companies are affected

Again, I’m not sure of what areas - they were in Milan, but I would check it out.

Oh! Well thanks for this info! Really appreciate it!

Kat Their message “.the SNCF train TGV for our scheduled travel day was cancelled (sopresseta).”

We just came back from a similar trip to Italy (12 nights) WE flew to Venice then train to Florence,train out to La Spezia to catch the Cinque Terre train. The trains were all packed and had to stand on some parts but CT is well worth it. The information at La spezia was excellent and not so much at the larger terminals. Then we took train to Rome and flew back from there Via Scotland.We didn't drive as its crazy and no parking in florence or Rome. Book your trains through Trenitalia Italy's national service. We paid on Average 30 euros between big cities and around 10 euros out to CT, trains run every 10/15 mins. Venice Vaparettos or Aquabus are great just make sure to get on right line. Lido is good to go over to,to get away from the crowds. Everywhere we went was very busy and crowded but that's expected. We walked everywhere and got lost many times.

Do you mind if I PM you with some questions!?

thats ok sure

We loved walking food tours of Rome.. amazing food and learned a ton at the same time! In Florence we used www.italyonabudgettours.com and did their wine tour.. again, amazing! In Cinque Terre spend time in a few villages, I really enjoyed hiking between some of them! Venice we opted for the water taxi instead of the gondola because of price and we explored a lot on our own, go to Rialto bridge and market! Amalfi coast you can take the public bus from sorrento to positano it was a super fun ride! Sit on the right side of the bus to view the sea! Have an awesome trip, Italy is my all time favourite place to travel!

Awesome thank you!!!!

following we are going for 3 weeks as well in September - ours is close to yours we are starting in Milan - cinque Terre - florence - venice - rome and Amalfi coast.

I'm sure I will have tips after ours if you want to message me in June

Kat for sure I will thanks so much!

My wife and I just left Italy, travelled down the coast from Genoa via the Clique de Terra coast with its 5 villages which are all connected by train, we stayed and visited the hill towns of Lucca and Siena then down the coat to Salerno south of Naples.fabulous. Pre-booked/paid all our rail in advanced though the Italiarail website. We stayed in Salerno which is just south of the Amalfi Coast for a couple of reasons. Clean safe city compared with Naples and could accommodate prices compared with staying in Amalfi town, has buses services €2.00 to Amalfi town and Positano and Sorento (quite a ride) or they have a direct ferries to Amalfi and Positano. Also can do day trips by train to Pompeii and really worth a visit 1 hour south the Greek-Roman ruins of Paestrum dating back to the 6th century BC. Has the best preserved temples in Greece or Italy including the Acropolis. A couple of years ago visited Venice, same advise buying the unlimited ferry pass. Hotels near St Marks Square very expensive, we stayed near the Mestre Railway station. 2 hours South of Venice if you like mosaic work the city of Ravenna once the capital in the 5th century of the Eastern Roman/Byzantine Empire, beats Istanbul, Rome.

Sounds like a wonderful trip!! Do you just buy the unlimited ferry pass at a station in Venice?

I believe so, their is a booth at the Mestra ferry landing. Loved sailing up and down the canals especially at night.

We just got back from a wonderful trip! Flew into Rome for 4 days, train to Florence, car rental for 5 days in Tuscany, back in Florence for 5 days, train to Venice, then flew to Spain. We were in Italy for 3 weeks and found we ran out of time. Wanted to go to Cinque Terre, but decided to save for another trip (hopefully!) We are glad that we spent time in the cities as there is so much to see, do and just walk to enjoy them! Definately use the trains. In the cities, we walked everywhere and didn't have to use public transportt as we stayed as centrally as possible. We did use cabs once in a while when needed and we felt was worth it.

Public transport is great, we just took trains then the local public transport in cities. Do the walk from town to town cinque terre, we asked one way and room the ferry the other way. Book accommodation ahead as the towns of ct are small. My biggest recommendation is to travel as light as possible. I took a daypack (26L) for 8 days. Was so great! Carry a shawl to wrap around your shoulders when entering churches (no bare shoulders or shorts allowed). Comfy shoes are key!

The earlier you book your trains, the better deal you'll get. We got free upgrades to premium on a few of our train legs by booking about three months out and it was definitely worth it! Not sure if you've booked accommodation in the Cinque Terre but you can actually see the place we stayed in this photo right on the water. It was so amazing: https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/3657408
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ALBERTA house MANAROLA - Houses for Rent in Manarola, Liguria, Italy

Colleen
For sure if you have the time and are fit enough, do the hikes between the towns in Cinque Terre, if the trails are open. Sometimes mudslides render them impassable, but well worth doing if you can!

Yes if the trails are open. When we were their this month of the 4 coastal, 2 closed due to landslides, 2 closed due to bad weather. We hiked one of the hillside trails, quite rugged but well worth it.

The trains are great. Venice and Florence are very walk-able, Venice also has a public "bus" boat line through the canals. Rome's metro will get you to most places or at least within walking distance.

We did a similar trip a couple years ago, spent about a month in Italy. Trains are awesome. A little delayed often, but an easy way to travel. All the locations you mention are amazing. Cinque Terre was a great halfway point for us and we spent 7 days in Vernazza. When the tourist ferries arrive and the towns are overwhelmed for a few hours each day it can be too busy, but the mornings and evenings are beyond fantastic. Many places there don’t have air conditioning so be aware when you book. airbnb, vrbo, and Vacation Lettings (UK) are your best friend. Don’t eat where all the tourists are unless you want to spend a lot and have so so food. Book places in the heart of each city and walk. Most of all, have fun and worry about the bills once you get home. Oh, and use Rick Steve’s guides (free podcasts) for each location.

We did a cruise in October to Rome, etc. In Rome we booked tours through Walks of Italy. We took the subway also, was, wonderful, Hop on Hop off buses were also good. This November, from Rome we are going to Florence for 1 day and will take a high speed train from Rome, also going to Pompeii.

Check out Herculaneum too. Also I loved climbing mount Vesuvius

We used Florence as a home base as day trips are very cheap and public transport is fantastic in Italy. Cinque Terra was highly over rated so a day trip was more than enough and the train to Florence allows for a stop in Pisa which also only takes a few hrs

This was our Italy itinerary from my blog. My site also has detailed articles on each place. I'm happy to help with any questions you have so feel free to DM me! https://passportsandpigtails.com/.../paris-and-italy-a.../
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Paris and Italy: A 28 Day Itinerary

Positano and Ravello were amazing little stops when I did a bus trip. I stayed in Sorrento which is unbelievably quaint and so beautiful. Take the time to go to Capri and rent a little boat to go around the island. To this day this is one of my favourite things I’ve ever done. You can go into the blue grotto - it’s an experience of a lifetime!

You can swim for free in the Blue Grotto after hours, once the tour boats are done for the day, around 5 pm. Leave everything valuable in your hotel safe, take the public bus right to it (100m away) with a day bag and towel and wear your bathing suit under your clothes. The Blue Grotto is not always open; the weather must be calm. Your hotel can tell you if it’s open that day. We swam for over an hour and it was the most epic swimming experience of my life! Totally the stuff of dreams if you are a reasonable swimmer. We were there in late September and it was warm enough.

Oh yeah. Buy skip the line tickets for Vatican, Accademia Gallery, etc. directly from them online before you go - you'll save money and will even get into the venues faster than the tour groups/3rd party sellers.

Public transportation is fine for long distances between major centers but to get around in towns and cities, I would recommend a car. You would be able to see more, stop when you'd like etc.

Buy the water taxi multi day pass for Venice. Go out to Murano and Burano for the day. Lots of steps in Venice. Appreciated the pass when my feet and legs were sore

Walks of Italy Pompeii guided tour!!!!!!
Plus the half day walking tour in Florence was fantastic
Also, watch your coin change in Rome. Instead of a 1-euro coin we got a worthless coin in our change

We took trains throughout most of Italy and a bus through the Amalfi coast. You could look into the cost of a Eurail pass for just Italy or just book as you go along. It's been quite a few years, so not sure what is the most cost effective and efficient way anymore.

Check out Venice Free Walking Tours. Good reviews on Trip Advisor.

I booked a day tour of Rome which allowed us to hit many sites in one day and skip the lines at the Vatican

there is a red bus call hop on hop off only about 22 eros., in Venus there is a hop on hop off boat too

In Venice the public water bus (boat) is the hop on and off for a daily pass. We did that for a 2 day pass and was great to take. You do have to be careful which # line if you want go somewhere specific, but easy to ask and find out.

Make sure to stop in Padua. It’s amazing

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I got an air bnb in Venice. Excellent! Much cheaper

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