Italy Travel Guide

[JINJIN:*]

^^by the way..yung train ride palang eh enjoyable na, hindi naman sila masyadong malayo sa isang isa, probably you will just finish one good movie along the way.

Happy trip everyone!!

[mitch2526]

Less than a month to go!

First time ko mag europe at italy lang pupuntahan namin. Sana hindi ako madisappoint kasi friend  nadisappoint dahil daw puro mga pulubi sa paligid...

[juana_antonia]

Sis hindi naman lahat ng places sa Italy madaming pulubi, it depends where you're going.

[mitch2526]

^thanks sis.

Btw sisses doable ba ang day trip to siena or any tuscan countryside galing sa florence? Any tips? Bus lang kami...and tight budget

[juana_antonia]

Kaya naman, pero mas organized when you join the walkabout tours which include Siena, Chianti vineyard, San Gimignano, Pisa na.

[little_princess]

anybody been to sicily? we got a few more days and we're going there after malta. maybe 6 days we're thinking either of ionian coast (Catania, Taormina and Messina) or Palermo. Any suggestions?

[sweetpea blush]

 We came back from Rome last week and we really had a blast despite the heat and humidity... Venice is beautiful, it was summer time so @ 8:30 maliwanag pa rin, our hotel was outside Venezia kaya i can't really tell how romantic it is pag gabi na..

Rome has a different beauty... Mas maraming makikita pero mas mainit din.. Hehe.. 1 month holiday pala sa Italy pag August so ayun wala ang Pope sa Vatican for a month, although there was still a mass for the public sa kanyang vacation house every Wednesday.. While we were there it also happened that the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel were closed (that was Aug 15 and 16)  which we have unfortunately overlooked...

If you will opt for a hop on/off bus, please don't settle for Ciao Roma.. I believe they only have few buses, that's why the 15 minute interval promise at pick up points are compromised plus they dont really follow the route as per their itinerary map.

sabi ng mga locals, it was a nicetime for us to come to Rome daw since most of the Romans are out of the country or simply not in Rome kaya konti tao, pero andami pa rin tourists at super init... If we have the chance to come back to Italy,siguro not in August....

[summer_princess]

Sisses please share tips for 1st time Italy travelers:) please advise must see. We might be doing Venice, Florence, Rome, Pisa what else?

Can you reco must try Restos and vineyards?  we're going on December (winter) good luck naman sa vineyard, Vatican tours? This is especially for my mom bec she skipped a group holy land tour since I promised we'll go to Vatican, my mom is a devoted catholic so it is really a dream to step into the center of the catholicism, I want her to feel the "Vatican" feel.

Is Christmas worth spending in Italy VS France? Aabutan kase ng holidays our euro trip if ever  

[byutijunkie]

is it ok to bring kids to italy?  mag-eenjoy din kaya sila?  tia!

[Mhoirae]

@byutjunkie, how old are your kids?

If they are elementary school age, I don't think they will appreciate Italy that much, except for the yummy gelato.  I believe that one needs to have a background on art and history to fully appreciate Italy.   And also, there are all those nude paintings and sculptures around, you might want to think of how to explain those to your kids.

[mom_G]

@byutjunkie, it really depends on how old the kids are.  the last time we went, we had our 4-year old with us (no choice, walang mapag-iwanan).  sinwerte lang kami that he was jet-lagged and slept through most of the museum and vatican tours.  he enjoyed the gondola ride in venice and was amazed by the leaning tower of pisa.  nung nawala na yung jet-lag nya, he easily got bored sa mga museums as expected.

[foxymom]

Sisses please share tips for 1st time Italy travelers:) please advise must see. We might be doing Venice, Florence, Rome, Pisa what else?

Can you reco must try Restos and vineyards?  we're going on December (winter) good luck naman sa vineyard, Vatican tours? This is especially for my mom bec she skipped a group holy land tour since I promised we'll go to Vatican, my mom is a devoted catholic so it is really a dream to step into the center of the catholicism, I want her to feel the "Vatican" feel.

Is Christmas worth spending in Italy VS France? Aabutan kase ng holidays our euro trip if ever  

we spent new year in paris last year and disappointed kami dahil walang fireworks! pinagbawal daw ng mayor of paris. but we were still out on the streets and enjoyed the revelry. the eiffel tower sparkled at 12mn and last sparkle nya was at 1am. after nun closed na. hehe

as for venice, we went there jan.2 and it was cold! temp as in the 38-43F but you can still walk around as long as your are properly clothed. layering and wearing thermals is a must

we went to rome jan.6, it had the warmest temp, ave is 60F when we were there so light jackets were okay

[blueangel29]

hello guys! hubby and I are planning for a week vacation in italy. 3 days in rome/vatican, overnight in verona sana and 3 days in venice. okay ba kung dumaan pa kme ng verona via train? madali ba kung dun na mismo buy train tickets pagdating italy. any suggested IT? gusto ko din sana mag florence kaso ayaw ko namang mapagod kakabyahe. or mas better ba kung rome-florence- venice? we're living in switzerland kasi kaya pwede naman namin mapuntahan next time kaso ok din sana kung mapuntahan namin yung mga magkakalapit. thanks!

[melodymedley]

I've done the Venice - Florence -Rome route. These cities are just two hours away from each other so di naman masyadong nakakapagod. Haven't been to Verona. I booked the tickets online (cheaper, got them in advance) but I think you can buy the tix there sa station na mismo basta hindi peak season.

[blueangel29]

thanks sis. will do the three places you mentioned. saka na lang siguro yung verona kasi nabasa ko sobra daw dami tao dun sa juliet place. yun lang kasi gusto ko mapuntahan dun nung napanood ko yung letters from juliet. but i will also do research kung pwede ba yun makuha ng daytour.

[Mhoirae]

@blueangel, verona is definitely a possible daytour from venice!  check online, there are a lot of tips and posts about this.

[byutijunkie]

Mom_g and mhoirae,super thanks for the feedback.my kids are 4 and 7.it'll be a family trip kasi with my whole family kaya wala akong mapag-iwanan ng kids ko.i guess we'd have to rethink the trip if it wont be that enjoyable for my little boys.sayang din ang pamasahe hehe

[JINJIN:*]

im going in October 10. Rome Bologna Venice Milan..thanks my iti.

anyone tried "The Trastevere" ?

mahal ba ang food and how was it? 

[papemelroti]

I think of trastevere as our version of kapitolyo restaurants. Food prices are generally cheaper than on more popular areas like piazza navona.

[mrs research]

To those who are looking for trenitalia rome-florence-venice train alternative, starting Nov 3, 2012  Train Italo will be in operation. The selling points for me are new leather seats and free wi-fi onboard using non italian mobile phones. However, I've already booked our rome-venice train for only 19EU per person (I was able to avail their super economy promo) and my credit card billed me Php2000.19 for 2pax  for my trenitalia purchase.

Check the link to see train comparisons.
http://www.seat61.com/italo.htm#.UGHFyo0WPNk