Italy Travel Guide

[papemelroti]

what other airlines can be considered cheap for italy/ how much did you pay for your airfare? i wanted to book cathay pacific but i have a hectic work sched as well as family reunions from nov-april!!! i wish they would do a sale around late may/early june =(

btw, wouldnt it be better to just get an open jaw flight so that you can save more time? ie go from manila to rome then venice back to manila?

[mama squeak!]

^Late May to June-August is towards the peak season. The cheapest airfare you can find ex MNL will not be lower than USD1200++ There is an annual Travel Expo every February where there will be some promos pero very limited seats lang if ever. Plus KLM will be pulling out their operations from MNL so expect smaller capacity to Europe translating to higher fares.

Of course you can always get an open jaw ticket which will save you time. But understand that promos are usually for round trip airfares. I will be getting an open jaw ticket myself for my trip next year, arriving Milan or Rome then returning from Paris. But if you'll be departing from Venice might as well get a round trip Rome ticket and just train back from Venice. Malapit lang naman kasi and it will come out cheaper if you get a promo round trip ticket. Plus Venice is just a small airport and not much choice in flights as compared to Rome.

[papemelroti]

thanks for the input sis.

i am planning on getting an open jaw ticket since the plan is just to stay in italy for 2+weeks.
the cost of the roundtrip tix and open jaw has a 100 usd diff lang so i said go with the one that can save me more time.

btw, do u get a eurail pass or get around their trains by carnet?
im planning on doing rome- siena. siena - florence. florence wd daytrip to cortona. florence- cinque terre. cinque terre- verona -venice.

not too much naman right?

[mama squeak!]

^sis, won't be getting Eurail pass since konti lang yung train travel namin. We'll just be getting point to point tickets. Here's our tentative transpo plan in Italy:

Milan or Rome (haven't decided yet) to Florence - train
Florence to CT  - train
CT to Pisa - train
Pisa to Tuscany tour (4 days) - car rental

We will be in Italy for approximately 8-9 days only and will be concentrating more on the Tuscany area.

[papemelroti]

i havent computed the cost of buying a pass or point to point tix.

would you recommend going to the amalfi coast or just bay of naples +sorrento?

[mama squeak!]

^Hi sis, if you have more time why not? Sorrento is near the Amalfi coast anyway. You can check this link I found which is very helpful:

http://www.italylogue.com/naples

By the way, in case you're still looking for tickets CX has year round RT fares to Europe for USD600++ with taxes it comes out to roughly USD1K. Not bad na rin since you'll be in Italy lang you can get a RT fare. Check their website na lang.

Happy planning! 

[chinita8]

^sayang naman, this is really a good price, yun nga lang we need an open jaw ticket and it comes out super expensive na. 

[foxymom]

hi ladies! thanks for all your tips! will be going to venice and rome after new year

question on trenitalia... how do you lug around your luggage? hubby and i both have 1 check-in sized suitcase and 1 carry-on. how do we carry that up and down the train stairs, around venice, around rome? any tips?

mukhang kailangan ko na mag weights ah... :S

[mama squeak!]

^You lug them yourselves     Suggest ko lang since it will be winter naman when you go, try to travel light. You can actually get by with just 1 checked in bag and 2 handcarry trolley bags. Plus you can ask your hubby to bring a backpack as his personal item. Or 2 medium sized check-in bags, 1 handcarry trolley bag and a backpack. 

You won't have to bring so many clothing with you since di naman kayo papawisan plus you can always handwash your clothes. For a two week trip, you can get by bringing 2 pairs of jeans or dark slacks, 4-5 tops, 2 pairs leggings to serve as your thermals na rin and a nice thick wool coat/scarf/hat. For underwear, 3 bras and disposable panties. For shoes, a pair of nice, leather boots and flats. The flats can be your airplane shoes and alternate for your boots.

Lastly, I'm sure you will be doing some shopping. So instead of bringing lots of clothes, use the clothes you will be buying in Europe.

 

[foxymom]

@mamasqueak... THANK YOU!! *hugs*

grabe, what will we do without you?! thank you thank you thank you!

sigh... i think we will do the 2 suitcase, 1 trolley, and a x-large longchamp bag just in case our stuff does not fit

i'm worried that we will freeze that's why im tempted to overpack! for the coat, i have a brown tweed coat, is it better to bring a black down/puffer jacket with hood? di ba mukhang hip-hop? hehe

thanks a lot mamasqueak! keep those inputs coming

[juana_antonia]

For winter clothes just shop here, mabigat din kasi yun lalo na coats.  Puffer jackets are okay, especially there are times na maulan. 

[mama squeak!]

^^You're welcome, sis. Glad to give in return 

Puffer jackets are okay as juana_antonia said it can double up as a light rain jacket since winter there tends to be wet. Personally for me though, I'm not really into puffer jackets kasi it reminds me of the Michelin man    Plus I don't look good in them, anyway. I still prefer wool coats then layering na lang ako underneath to stave off the cold. A nice warm scarf and cap plus cashmere-lined leather gloves and I'm good to go. In case it rains, I always have a small travel umbrella with me.

 

[Mhoirae]

Mama squeak, pls. blog your 2012 European adventure.
Will be going there myself around Oct 2012 & staying in Italy the longest.
Would love to hear where you are staying, which restos are the best, etc. 

[foxymom]

thanks juana_antonia! we will do that hopefully we will be able to use the clothes we bought here in manila. Hehe

thanks again mamasqueak! what brand of cashmere lined leather gloves can you suggest?

[mama squeak!]

@mhoirae, sis I'll be in Europe around the time that you will be there. Hubby and I are tentatively scheduled for late September to October. I think GT water and wine has a blog with her Italy travels. Probably you can send her a PM. Until now I still haven't gotten around to putting up a blog   

@foxymom, I have the All Gloves brand. I got it thru BlueFly.com But if you can find any cashmere lined leather gloves that will do just fine.

 

 

[foxymom]

thanks mamasqueak! will order this online hope it reaches me on time though....

[chinita8]

Thanks mom_G for the trenitalia feedback! Malamang 1st class na kukunin namin ni hubby for the longer train rides.

@melodymedley, so better to overnight talaga at CT ,no? Now I'm trying to decide whether to stay at Monterosso or Vernazza. Did you make Florence your base when you did your Siena and San Gimignano visits? We'll be renting a car kasi to go around Tuscany and still trying to decide what area to stay at so it's all within driving range.

Hi mama squeak! Did you hear about the recent devastation monterosso and vernazza suffered from the floods? I read that it could take up to a year for it to fully recover. Are you still making it as your base at CT?

On th side, to all those trying to score cheaper tickets to Italy - Qatar Airways is having a good promo for their trips including their routes to Italy. We're taking advantage of it. Got the tickets for less than a 1k usd/pax nett. Promo is only up to today Nov 17 midnight. Check their website! 

[mama squeak!]

^Oh no!!! I just googled it and grabe the devastation that happened. That area pa naman is the most scenic trail.

We plan to visit in September pa naman hopefully everything will be okay na. But I'm already starting to make alternate plans na rin just in case. Baka we'll just overnight in Riomaggiore or skip CT altogether kung di talaga advisable to go. Might be able to squeeze Venice if that happens. We'll see........

By the way, when's your travel dates? That's a good deal na ha. Is that for a round trip or open jaw ticket? Ang dami nga na lumalabas na promo fares. CX just had theirs, Europe for USD610++ or less than 1K also for round trip fares. KLM also is still ongoing at USD1090 all-in fares. Kaka-tempt to buy but I still don't know our exact dates.

  

[chinita8]

^i was shocked when I heard about the floods too, now I'm also thinking if we will altogether scrap the CT part of our trip but okay pa naman daw the other 3 villages although not too scenic. Hubby suggesting to just stop for may be a few hours lang at CT instead of really doing a trek coz we're not sure if all will be fine by spring next year. Travel dates are April 20-May 10, so we were able to get that Qatar Airways promo! Open jaw tickets for us, so that promo was heaven sent! So so happy! I'm now looking into accommodations naman. Tiring but no complaints! 

[papemelroti]

hi sis chinita. i haven't been checking the net lately and i found out about the promo 1 day late=(

how much did you pay for the promo per person and what is the travel period to qualify for the promo?