https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 09 May 2026 01:31:26 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2027336 Fri, 16 Jan 2015 12:22:05 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 2027336@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks @looch: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2026999 Fri, 16 Jan 2015 09:06:41 +0000 looch 2026999@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: Thought of you this morning, check out this blog for packing ideas:</p> <p><a href="http://www.hithaonthego.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.hithaonthego.com/</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2025196 Thu, 15 Jan 2015 11:03:07 +0000 Anagram 2025196@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Beth24: agreed! Packing light is key. Plus almost anywhere, you can send clothes out to be washed through your hotel. I backpacked for a whole summer (well, several summers) with just about 4 changes of clothes and would just have them washed and would go pick them up later. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2024724 Thu, 15 Jan 2015 00:53:03 +0000 Beth24 2024724@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I packed just a rolling carry on for our 2 week trip to Greece and Italy. I highly recommend it! I watched many people struggle with their large bags on the train and I was easily able to get around with my small bag. I'm normally such an over packer but I really made sure to just pack things I could mix and match/layer. Towards the end of my trip I bought another small bag for things I accumulated on the trip. Having just the 1 small bag also made it super easy when I was getting to my hotel in Venice. Going up and down those bridges with a big bag would have been a struggle! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2024675 Wed, 14 Jan 2015 23:18:39 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 2024675@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@regberadaisy: ha ha...it wasn't me. :bummed: my husband packs like he has 40 hours in a single day. </p> <p>You all have convinced me I can do this on my own. Now to do it. Dun, dun, dun </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2024405 Wed, 14 Jan 2015 21:02:35 +0000 Anagram 2024405@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@regberadaisy: my mom is crazy energetic and fit. She turns 70 this summer and she can literally fast-walk circles around me. Annnndddd she had 6 kids and is a size 4! I did not inherit her energy, alas. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2024317 Wed, 14 Jan 2015 20:22:53 +0000 regberadaisy 2024317@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: that's amazing about your mom! We backpacked through Europe for our honeymoon. At one of the stations there was an elderly couple, probably 60s, just like us. All they had was a backpack and you could tell they were backpacking because of their attire. DH and I looked at each other and said we hope we're fit enough to backpack after retirement! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2024295 Wed, 14 Jan 2015 20:17:54 +0000 Anagram 2024295@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: I vote book it on your own, so you have control over the lodging you choose and how long you stay in each city. I've been to Venice, Rome, Sienna, Pisa, Lucca, Florence, some small towns around Florence, and then south to Naples, Mt. Vesuvius, and Capri.</p> <p> I was traveling solo and backpacking around, but I never had trouble figuring out the trains or lodging--super easy!</p> <p>The summer before we got engaged, my husband took his parents to Italy and France as a gift and he planned all of that, too--they used trains but also rented cars sometimes!</p> <p>My mom hiked Cinque Terra last summer at the age of 68 and didn't go with a tour. =) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2024284 Wed, 14 Jan 2015 20:14:59 +0000 regberadaisy 2024284@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: three bags?! Woman, you need to pare down. LOL </p> <p>We were in Italy end of August / early September. Some days were hot and some days were cooler. So I recommend layers, pack thin, articles that are mix and match and use travel space bags. It's amazing how much space you gain! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2024249 Wed, 14 Jan 2015 20:07:03 +0000 808love 2024249@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I went to Florence and Venice 5 years ago. It was super easy to plan. We took a train to Florence from a main stop within Venice. If you go online, you can get tix for the Uffizi---forgot what it is called, the big museum, online and bypass the line. Don't skip Michaelangelo. Simply in awe!! Also an unexpected thrill...we rode the pricy motoscafi into Venice. It is a watertaxi boat but beyond words-an experience in itself. Especially if your hotel is on the water...you can step off on to the pier where the bellman awaits. We also managed to learn the ferry system very quickly. Oh and do the gondola by the Rialto (very famous bridge) at sunset so you can see dusk and night. If you get a quote for an hour...then bargain them down to the half hour price, it's cheaper and just as awesome! They don't usually sing so don't be disappointed. The first bake of the day croissants are to die for. And follow the gondola guys to a pub for an experience! :)<br /> One more fun tip...if you get to the ferry schedule posting early in the morning-the guy working may give you the old one (in Italian) for free. We have it framed on our wall. Have fun, I can't wait to return! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2015821 Thu, 08 Jan 2015 18:48:53 +0000 Mrs. Blue 2015821@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I planned my own trip through Italy without any problems, and I had never been anywhere in Europe before. I highly recommend Cinque Terre and Florence. They were my favorite areas. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2015784 Thu, 08 Jan 2015 18:15:43 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 2015784@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Talk to me about packing and maneuvering through train stations with suitcases. For Christmas we stayed over one night near my MIL and brought three bags!</p> <p>I'm still finding this planning on my own daunting. I thought maybe I'd start with hotels in Venice and the list was a mile long. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2012891 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 21:32:05 +0000 TravelBee 2012891@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DH and I did Italy without a tour company for our honeymoon. We flew into Venice took the Ferrari high speed train to Florence and then the Trenitalia high speed train to Rome. We also did Pisa as a day trip from Rome using just a local and very cheap regional train. We felt like the day trip was more than enough time to see the city. It's also pretty easy to book guided day trips from the big cities out to the countryside, medieval cities and what not. We did a day trip to Tuscan wine country from Florence which was fabulous. Anyways I'm rambling and definitely agree with pp's that Italy is super doable sans a tour company! :)</p> <p>DH and I have done two escorted tours through Europe and have come to prefer traveling on our own simply due to the fact that we can plan our itinerary to exactly fit our interests and it's typically a bit cheaper to boot. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2012841 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 20:59:32 +0000 hellobeeboston 2012841@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@regberadaisy: me too!!! Someday, maybe! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2012809 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 20:44:23 +0000 regberadaisy 2012809@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Maysprout: Cinque Terre is our top 3 favorite stops on our honeymoon! It's so beautiful and out of this world. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2012808 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 20:43:04 +0000 regberadaisy 2012808@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Caly: TripAdvisor! Thank you! I always get it confused with Travelocity and travel zoo. </p> <p>@hellobeeboston: Florence is soooo beautiful! We day tripped from Rome and so glad we did. I could could definitely see myself living in Florence. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2012801 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 20:39:04 +0000 Reese 2012801@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: Florence is a must see! We love Venice and Pisa was a quick (all that was needed) stop. Which tour company were you looking into? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2012800 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 20:37:41 +0000 Maysprout 2012800@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We had a really nice bike ride around the walls of lucca, which is pretty close to Pisa. We ran out of time and didn't see the tower but a lot of people said it wasnt worth it. I wish we had gotten up to cinque terre. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2012791 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 20:32:03 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 2012791@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@PurplePumps: your itinerary and cost break down is really helpful. Thank you.</p> <p>@Caly: yep, Trip Advisor is my starting point for hotels!</p> <p>@Mrsk: ooh, I love the digital docents. I'm still selling my husband on the idea that even without the motor coach tour other tour companies will give us access to the sites. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2012770 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 20:23:36 +0000 hellobeeboston 2012770@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: Pisa is a definite quick stop on your way somewhere else! Nearby are the following that are def worth a visit: San Gimingano, Lucca, Sienna!</p> <p>I can write more later. But I agree with others - do it yourself on your own pace - it's so easy to get around there!!</p> <p>I did a 4 month semester in Florence and have been back to Italy twice - it's so wonderful! I'd like to go again :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2012755 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 20:13:41 +0000 Mrsk 2012755@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We went for our honey moon, I booked everything myself. The only thing I found you needed to book is your flights there, your hotels in the different cities and then the travel between the cities. And purchase a really good up to date travel guide for the country, like a frommers guide.</p> <p>Flights were easy to do online, and then travel between cities could be booked online. we took trains, a bus and also rented cars between cities (totally recommend this if you or your SO can drive stick shift and aren't a timid driver - we pulled off the road so many times to take in views, take pictures, stop at little towns, it was the best way to see things!), and ferries. </p> <p>I booked hotels in advance, it was so easy to book online, read reviews and find good deals. </p> <p>The only thing we didn't plan was the sight seeing, we bought a really good up to date travel guide and booked guided tours when we got to places. We also asked at hotels what was most recommended and we got a lot of great suggestions of things that were amazing and not so crowded with tourists.</p> <p>Another option besides paying for a guided tour of a museum or a site, which can be expensive, is to rent these little devices that you hold like a phone and listen to while you walk around. You can go at your own pace, skip things you aren't interested in and stay longer for photos etc wherever you want. They usually have a head phone jack, so often dh and I would both listen to it as we wandered around. </p> <p>We also used the travel guide for where to eat as well, and asked for recommendations. We would look over the book before we went to bed and then sight see the next day.</p> <p>I highly recommend the afternoon seista . It took us three full days of sight seeing, up early for breakfast, and sight seeing all day and in bed by 8 to realize hat a nap in the afternoon in the heat is amazing! Plus everyone eats so much later in Italy, we found restuarants were empty before 8:30-9ish.</p> <p>I realize I just wrote a novel, but we so enjoyed our trip to Italy, feel free to wall me if you have any questions! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2012745 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 20:06:34 +0000 Beth24 2012745@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I studied abroad there and then went back years later for my honeymoon. I booked it all on my own and its super easy to get around the country! I also booked little tours in Rome through a company called Viator - it was awesome! That way we could cut lines and see parts of Rome that most visitors don't get to see (underground tour of the colosseum...so cool!). I splurged and spent money on hotels that were in great locations so I could easily walk all around. That was worth it to me because being central allowed us to just wander around without worrying we couldn't find out way back - I had hotels by major monuments that were on all maps. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2012742 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 20:04:53 +0000 PurplePumps 2012742@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Italy is SUPER easy to book and do on your own. We went 2 years ago for 2 weeks and hit Sorrento, Rome, Florence, and Venice in that order, then continued on to Switzerland for another week. We flew into Naples and out of Geneva. And took trains in between each city. While in Florence we booked 2 day tours with Walk about Florence, one to Sienna, including a stop at Pisa, and other to Cinque Terre, both were awesome and well worth it to not have to drive out there and try to find our own way around in just one day.<br /> Our itinerary was:<br /> 5 nights in Sorrento with day trips to Positano, Amalfi, Pompeii, Capri, &amp; Vesuvius/Herculaneum<br /> 4 nights in Rome<br /> 4 nights in Florence with 2 full day tours – one to Cinque Terre and one to Siena, San Giomangio, &amp; Pisa<br /> 2 nights in Venice<br /> 2 nights in Lucerne<br /> 3 nights in Wengen<br /> 2 nights in Geneva<br /> Total cost was about 9k</p> <p>2200 airfare<br /> 900 train tickets and buses<br /> 3200 hotel<br /> 1800 food<br /> 1000 attractions (tours, museums tickets, etc)<br /> 50 foreign exchange fees </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2012695 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 19:31:29 +0000 Caly 2012695@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Very easy! We originally booked a tour but had to cancel when the tour company moved us to another departure date that didn't work for us. So, we booked it all online and it was incredibly easy. The trains are very easy to navigate between cities and it's also easy to get around in the cities as well. The hotels were very helpful with advice/directions, etc. We flew into Rome then flew out of Paris.</p> <p>eta: I used tripadvisor a ton to book hotels. It helped a lot with real pictures, reviews and distances from different attractions, train stations, etc. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2012692 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 19:29:41 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 2012692@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Ginabean3: thank you! He even has tours.</p> <p>@sunny: mhmm, I definitely want to follow the rules! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2012673 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 19:20:21 +0000 Ginabean3 2012673@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So easy to plan your own trip! We did and saw Rome, Vatican City, Florence, Cinque Terre, and Pisa. We used Rick Steves guidebook. Highly, highly highly recommend! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2012661 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 19:13:26 +0000 sunny 2012661@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Super easy to plan your own trip to Italy. The only "gotcha" I can think of is that you need to get certain train tickets validated before you hop on. Otherwise they aren't valid (because you haven't stamped a hole through them, so they are technically reusable until you do) and if a train inspector asks for the ticket, you will be fined. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2012651 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 19:10:10 +0000 Pumpkin Pie 2012651@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>You can totally do it yourself. I went a couple years ago and loved every second. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2012624 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 18:43:35 +0000 yoursilverlining 2012624@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Italy is easy to travel in, but if you want to do a tour/package, I would keep looking - there are so many companies with different packages! </p> <p>There is a great high speed train from Rome to Florence that we took. Sorrento is fantastic, so is Capri. I would definitely time your Vatican visit; wait times and crowds can be brutal there. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/italy#post-2012621 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 18:41:35 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 2012621@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@regberadaisy: what an awesome honeymoon! Good top on the flights, I'll be sure to price out both ways.</p> <p> @Espion: ha! road trippin' in the EU!! Very cool. </p>