Florence - Rome

wheres me jumpa

Hey,

Looking into visiting Rome this September.

Thinking of flying into Florence(Pisa). Spending 4 days there, getting a train up to Rome. Spending 4 days there and flying home from Rome.

In terms of Ryanair, how far is Pisa from Florence? DO they provide a bus? Our flight gets in at 10.55. pm. Similarly in Rome. How far is it to ROme from the airport they land in there?

Looking at train tickets with TrenItalia and the I cant seem to buy tickets for September, is this just cos they dont take bookings that far in advance?

Anyone recommend cheap accom in either location? We are looking at hostels/budget hotels and get double rooms for 35eur which is cheap but if theres cheaper!

Also how hectic and expensive is it to see all the sites in FLorence?

Thanks

Jumpa

bringitdown

Pisa is an hour or so by train from Florence. Coach might be faster.

To my knowledge there is a coach but I would recommend a cheap night in Pisa followed by an early morning visit to the tower and a leisurely train journey (€6 or so to Florence).

hostelworld.com sorted us for accomodation in both Pisa and Florence and a very resonable rate.

Florence is absolutely amazing - would also recommend an evening bus trip up to Fiesole about 20/30 minutes away for a Bistecca alla Fioretina and a few beers in a local pub ... lovely little place with a great view of Florence.

In terms of costs - Florence is a might expensive but you can seek out cheap eats etc a little of the beaten track. Museums etc. were very busy in October when we visited, cannot imagine it in summer, queues for the Uffuzi were over an hour long ... there is a way to get a ticket in advance I believe but it escaped us.

del_boy85

I flew into PISA with Ryanair a few years ago when I was going to FLORENCE. I can't remember if Ryanair provided a coach to FLORENCE or not. We got the train - I think it took about 40/45 mins, but certainly no more than an hour as the above poster indicated. Seeing as you arriving in PISA so late it might be advisable to spend the night there. The Leaning Tower is worth seeing, but apart from that the city has little else to offer. FLORENCE is lovely, although for me it didn't quite live up to it's reputation. ROME howvever is genuinely stunning!!

trotter_inc

doing something similar myself in septemeber - flying into Milan (from London) and flying out from Rome 11 days later... flights for the 2 of us were dirt cheap with ryanair!!

prob spend most of the 11 days around tuscany...

wheres me jumpa

Great stuff guys, thanks.

Yeah I might stay in Pisa for the night. Never thought of the tower. So it would be possible to stay there that night, get up early the next morning see the tower and leave after lunch?

Just looking at hostelworld and not many hostels/budget hotels in Pisa, of those that are its cheaper in Florence and Rome.

bringitdown

wheres me jumpa wrote:

Great stuff guys, thanks.

Yeah I might stay in Pisa for the night. Never thought of the tower. So it would be possible to stay there that night, get up early the next morning see the tower and leave after lunch?

Just looking at hostelworld and not many hostels/budget hotels in Pisa, of those that are its cheaper in Florence and Rome.

Certainly the tower and train after lunch is doable.

We stayed in the functional: La Pace - http://www.hostelworld.com/availability.php/HotelLaPace-Pisa-9455 but piled 3 people in so it made it cheaper.

wheres me jumpa

bringitdown wrote:

Certainly the tower and train after lunch is doable.

We stayed in the functional: La Pace - http://www.hostelworld.com/availability.php/HotelLaPace-Pisa-9455 but piled 3 people in so it made it cheaper.

Yeah i was checking that place out. Seems to be the most central and reasonable.

Shad0r

Florence > Pisa.

Take a sconce of the tower and head for Florence. There is tonnes to see/do there. Pisa is pretty small, Rome is obviously huge with tonnes to see but Florence is my favourite of the three tbh. Such a nice feel/atmosphere to the city.

wheres me jumpa

Shad0r wrote:

Florence > Pisa.

Take a sconce of the tower and head for Florence. There is tonnes to see/do there. Pisa is pretty small, Rome is obviously huge with tonnes to see but Florence is my favourite of the three tbh. Such a nice feel/atmosphere to the city.

Cheers. How much spending money would you need to take in all he attractions?

I just totalled up my trip.

Fly to Pisa, train to Florence, train Florence to Rome, flight Rome to Dublin and accommodation, albeit cheapo accomodation. 897eur for two!

del_boy85

Re:spending money - it really depends on how much of a "budget trip" you want to make it. Florence & Rome are not the cheapest of cities, but having said that they are probably no more expensive than Dublin. Just think Dublin prices would be my best advice!!

Oriel

Yeah, I wouldn't hang around Pisa for too long. There's much more to see in Florence.

wheres me jumpa

del_boy85 wrote:

Re:spending money - it really depends on how much of a "budget trip" you want to make it. Florence & Rome are not the cheapest of cities, but having said that they are probably no more expensive than Dublin. Just think Dublin prices would be my best advice!!

Just worried about the sights. I want to able to knock as many of the list but if they are expensive ill have to reduce my list! Cheap accom sorted so not too worried about the cost of food, just want to be sure I dont get over there and miss alot.

dazberry

bringitdown wrote:

Florence is absolutely amazing - would also recommend an evening bus trip up to Fiesole about 20/30 minutes away for a Bistecca alla Fioretina and a few beers in a local pub ... lovely little place with a great view of Florence.

I was in Fiesole last September for a wedding. Fiesole itself is beautiful - definitely well worth a visit. I wasn't so mad on Florence - found it really hectic in comparison. I spent 6 days there in total - the wedding and related activities took about half, the other 3 days were about long enough for me. Flew back via Milan - regret not getting to see it properly thou'. My holiday snaps are still online, ignoring the wedding ones - there are some nice scenary ones for anyone who is interested.

D.