recos: see Italy by sea AND by land

[DaveC426913]

Planning our first European Cruise for May 2012. We have been on a half dozen Caribbean cruises on at least 4 different lines but never overseas.

 

We wish to concentrate on Italy. Few cruises seem to do Italy exclusively, so we'll drop in on W. Med as well (France, Spain) rather than E. Med (Greece).

 

What we want to do though is arrive a few days early and/or leave a few days late and spend those extra days on-the-hard. We might go for a 7 day cruise with, say 3-4 days on land. All of this is flexible - we're blue-skying here.

 

What I'd like to know is this: if we have a couple of days before, after, or both, what would be the must-see places? Any cities that can't be done in the 8-hour stopover? Or any cities that are inland?

 

If you had 3-4 extra days and could to pick one or two places in Italy, what places would you do?

[riffatsea]

I don't think there is any European city that can actually be "done" in an 8 hour cruise stop.All of them are quite rich in what they have to offer!

You have to see the itineraries and then decide which cities interest you.

A person could easily spend a week in Rome, or Venice, or Barcelona( just to name some of the usual port stops) and explore the city and its surrounding area.

Have fun thinking about your interests and which cities fit them best!

 

[texancruzer]

Whew, that is a tall order.

 

First of all, we are getting ready to go on our 3rd Med cruise next week. We always go out of Rome and go a few days before and stay at least one night after (due to air schedule).

 

That said, after 7 days in Rome and another 3 full days coming up, we have barely scratched the surface of all there is to do in just Rome.

 

So to say what 2 cities you want to do in 3 or 4 days is a challenge for sure.

 

If you plan v-e-r-y carefully and only want to hit the very top highlights..... I would take those days and do the following:

 

Start in Rome, Vatican in the morning (museums, Sistine and St Peters) then Coliseum and Forum in the afternoon. Done by 4. Then walk the Trevi, Pantheon, Piazza Navonna, Spanish steps and spend the night in Rome center.

 

Next day: head out to 1 or 2 of the hilltop villages to the north and east of Rome. Stay in a wonderful agrioturismo or a B&B in one of the villages. The next morning I would head to Florence and spend the whole day soaking up Florence. Finally I would take the 4th day and have a leisurely morning, head back towards Rome via the countryside and stay at a hotel near the airport for your early morning flight home.

 

That would be the "whirlwind" version. Or - just pick one and truly soak up the whole "Italy" feel by not only seeing the sights but relaxing and strolling the evenings, sit in the piazza and have a gelato. Take in an opera or whatever sounds like fun.

[bobalink]

Planning our first European Cruise for May 2012. We wish to concentrate on Italy. Few cruises seem to do Italy exclusively, so we'll drop in on W. Med as well (France, Spain) rather than E. Med (Greece).

 

What I'd like to know is this: if we have a couple of days before, after, or both, what would be the must-see places? If you had 3-4 extra days and could to pick one or two places in Italy, what places would you do?

 

Last summer (2010), we did exactly what you are thinking about. We spent 4 days in Rome before we boarded the Noordam for a 7 day Western Mediterranean cruise. It was a round-trip from Rome cruise.

 

It was our first visit to Italy, and needless to say, we fell in love with Italy. We toured the Vatican on our first day and then over the next 2 days we visited many of the well-known sites. One day we went to Tivoli and the catacombs, Borghese Gallery. On the last day (on our way to the port in Civitavecchia) we went to some Etruscan tombs and Lake Bracciano.

 

While in Rome we stayed at Hotel Artemide (http://www.hotelartemide.it/en/home.html) and used Romeinlimo (http://www.romeinlimo.com/rome.htm) for all of our transfers and tours. I can highly recommend both!

 

This summer (2011) we went back to Italy, and did things much differently. We arrived in Rome, took the train to Chiusi, picked up a rental car and drove to a wonderful agriturismo (farmhouse) Villa Mazzi in Montelpulciano, our home base for the next 5 days. (http://www.villamazzi.it/azienda.en.php)

 

We explored many of the Tuscan hill towns (Montalcino, Pienza, Cortona, Siena, Greve in Chianti, and more) It was amazing. I drove everywhere, the autostrada, the hill towns, etc.

 

We then turned in our rental car in Chiusi, and took the train to Florence, where a car is not necessary. We stayed at a fabulous B&B (Residenza il Villino) and explored Florence for a few days.

 

Finally, we took the train from Florence to Venice where we met up with our friends. We stayed at the incredible Locanda Orseolo (http://www.locandaorseolo.com/) We were in Venice for 3 days and then boarded the Star Princess for a 12-day Mediterranean and Greek Isles cruise.

 

To answer your question, if you have 3-4 days pre or post cruise, I would vote for Rome. There is so much to see, and you won't feel rushed. If your itinerary isn't a RT, then you have the option to spend a few days in 2 different places.

 

There is a ton of information on these boards. Do some research, be informed and you will have a wonderful time.

 

Some resources I found useful:

 

Rick Steves' books, website and free downloads

http://www.ricksteves.com/

 

Slow Travel Italy

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/index.asp

 

Why Go Italy

http://www.italylogue.com/

 

Eye on Italy

http://www.eyeonitaly.com/

 

Europe for Visitors

http://europeforvisitors.com/rome/

 

Hope this is helpful. Have fun!

[nparmelee]

Our last trip was a Venice to Rome cruise, with time spent in Cortona and Venice pre-cruise and then time in Rome post cruise. We don't like less than 10 day cruises, just as you start to get into the routine the cruise is over, so we look for 10-16 day ones. We also like different start and end ports so we can explore more at each end. Which areas you choose to spend more time in really depends on your interests. My "must sees" might not be of any interest to you. Example - Plenty of people insist the Spanish Steps area in Rome is a must see and we walked through it once and avoid it now, just doesn't appeal to us, but we visit the Pantheon each trip and can spend hours there while 30-60 minutes is enough for others. We happen to love Rome and try to spend at least 4 days there each trip (our first cruise in the Med was a 12 day Rome to Istanbul cruise with a few days on each end).

[Chloe1500]

I think that any option in Italy will be worthwhile for you. For me, having some extra days after a recent cruise to the Med was just perfect. We left the ship in Venice and took a train to Florence for two nights, then, another train to Rome for our last two nights. It was good to get to the museums before the crowds and then, spend relaxing evenings after the crowds were gone. We also added on two extra nights at the start of the cruise in Barcelona. Regardless of where/how you decide to spend your time pre- and post-cruise, my advice is to pack very light. We were gone three weeks and managed with just one bag each plus carrying small day bags -- still challenging. Have a great trip!

[chipmaster]

A cruise is like a smorgsborg single pass thru the buffet line, or cliffsnote intro to every city. You get just 8-10 hours, really only like half a day of quality time in each city. If you want to zip in and out of say 4-8 sights and move to another city nothing beats a cruise. Pack / unpack once and everyday wake up in a new city for a new set of adventures.

 

If you really want to take in a town or country, its a land tour. Of course not everyone has a month to spend 3-4 days in every magical Italian town. I've done Rome/Florence/Venice where I've had a couple days plus and also just 6 hours. Both very special, but different, no right answer, just know what you are getting. What are must sees varies for everyone depending on taste, interest, style and sense of adventure.

 

You could look for a one way that say starts and ends in two different ports to give you a couple extra days in two different cities. France is very hard to do justice with a cruise. So whether you do cruise, combo land/cruise, or land only, only you can decide between time, money, and experience. Very different than tropical where beaches and snorkeling all are more similar than different IMHO.

 

You might want to look at this sight as a first stop at what the european ports offer: http://www.europeportreviews.com/

 

Planning our first European Cruise for May 2012. We have been on a half dozen Caribbean cruises on at least 4 different lines but never overseas.

 

We wish to concentrate on Italy. Few cruises seem to do Italy exclusively, so we'll drop in on W. Med as well (France, Spain) rather than E. Med (Greece).

 

What we want to do though is arrive a few days early and/or leave a few days late and spend those extra days on-the-hard. We might go for a 7 day cruise with, say 3-4 days on land. All of this is flexible - we're blue-skying here.

 

What I'd like to know is this: if we have a couple of days before, after, or both, what would be the must-see places? Any cities that can't be done in the 8-hour stopover? Or any cities that are inland?

 

If you had 3-4 extra days and could to pick one or two places in Italy, what places would you do?

[iancal]

If I only had 3-4 days in addition to the cruise, for my first sightseeing trip to Italy I would cancel the cruise in favor of a land trip. Then I would focus on two or three areas-perhaps Venice, Florence, Rome or Florence/Tuscany/Umbria and Rome.

 

The challenge with trying to see Italy on a cruise ship is that many of the truly good sights are located an hour, often two hours away, from the cruise ship dock. Much of your valuable time will be spent commuting and or allowing extra time so you don't miss the ship.

 

Cruising is great, but you really do miss a great deal of the 'experience' by sleeping and eating on the ship, and being on board in late afternoon/early evening. I guess it is ok if you want a full American breakfast every morning and American style hotel accomodation but this is not really the best way to experience Italy.