itinerary choice!

[makemagic]

In March I will be leaving for a short (11 day) trip. Although I have traveled quite a bit in the past I seem to be stumbling on an itinerary choice and I would appreciate advice from other travelers.

What I know for sure: I will be flying into Amsterdam March 6th and flying home from Prague march 17th.

Originally I planned to go through Germany, only because it was on the way. However, I can't stop thinking about Italy. Italy has my heart, my mind...everything.

So here's my question: would it be completely crazy to fly (using ryanair, easyjet, or virginexpress) from Amsterdam to Milan (with a train connection to Florence), stay in Italy for four days and then fly from Milan to Prague? I’m on a budget, of course, but it seems like when considering rail fees from Amsterdam to Berlin, Berlin to Prague, I would be spending pretty much the same amount.

Guts tell me to do it, but practicality is saying otherwise. I just need a small nudge in either direction.

This is what it would look like:

March 6th-9th: Amsterdam (fly to Milan, train to Florence)
March 9th-13th: Florence/Cinque Terre (train to Milan, fly to Prague)
March 13th-17th: Prague

What would you do?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[pointofnoreturn]

Definitely fly. I like the # of days you set aside for each city/area. It's TOTALLY doable and very realistic.

If you want to fly, buy your tickets ASAP!!!!! Your trip is less than a month away and there's no doubt prices are high but it's better than train because you'll be saving time and money. Still, definitely buy tickets.... like now?

EDIT - Not sure if adding Cinque Terra in is realistic. Florence is 3 days' worth but you could do a daytrip to one of the Tuscany countryside cities.

[me]

my advice: skip Milan, fly to Florence, or nearby Pisa.

[madamtrashheap]

welcome to GFE makemagic!

Don't discount you "gut" feeling - if you really want to see the cities listed then you can make it possible. I know you'd automatically think "Amsterdam-Berlin-Prague", and that's an option, but I so know what you mean about Italy, so how does this look?

Amsterdam - 3 days is good, just in case you need to recover from any jet-lag (although you won't have time to think about jet-lag...so don't!) but 2 would be good if you wanted extra time somewhere else.
fly to Pisa from Amsterdam then train to Florence (1hr). Look at airlines like Transavia ( www.transavia.com )
Florence - 4 days
Fly from Florence to Prague with Air Meridiana (not always cheap but sometimes they have specials, www.meridiana.it ) or you could fast train (2hrs) from Florence to Milan then fly with EasyJet or Sky Europe from Milan to Prague if that suits better. Although it's worth knowing that the airports in Milan are around a 30-45min bus ride (or taxi) from the centre of the city (and train station).
You probably won't be able to fit Florence and Cinque Terre in to that time alloted, so skip Cinque Terre (it's still not warm in March) and spend time in Florence with a few side trips to Pisa (half-day) and perhaps San Gimignano or Siena (day trips).
Prague - with the time you have you can do a day trip to Kutna Hora and really explore Prague too.

That should allow you to visit the places you really want to, hope it helps your planning!

EDIT: took too long to type my reply, but as you can see the others also think your trip is v possible!

[makemagic]

Wow! Thank you for such quick and thought-out responses!

Two things:

1: I really, really, really want to go back to Vernazza. I traveled there last year in March and, although the weather wasn't perfect (I'm used to rain and clouds) I had such a lovely time. I have a penchant for small towns and I’m hoping to break up the big cities. I’ve never been to Siena though. I have been to Florence before, so I thought breaking it into two chunks would be somewhat workable.

2: I'm trying to utilize the budget airlines which, as you all know, only fly to and from certain cities. Easyjet offers a cheap flight from Amsterdam to Milan but not to Pisa. Ryanair offers a flight to Pisa, but I would have to travel to Brussels first. I don't want to spend any time in Milan; it just seemed like the easiest way to get to where I'm going.

I'm going take your suggestions on airlines and look around a little bit more.

Thanks again! I'm so happy to find such an active travel community!

[madamtrashheap]

No problem makemagic, we're happy to help!

Some more answers for you:
1. I completely understand about Vernazza (the piazza in vernazza!) and Cinque Terre, it's just gorgeous. So, if you want to go back, perhaps consider spending 3 days there, then using Florence as a base for another 3 days to visit Pisa and Siena. Otherwise, you could just stay in Siena for 2 days (skip Florence) and then train it back to Florence/Milan to fly to Prague.

2. Transavia are a budget airline and flying to Pisa rather than Milan will get you closer to both Cinque Terre and Florence. Have a look at their prices before you decide on EasyJet, or have a look at www.flycheapo.com for some more ideas on flight routes to take.

Let us know how you go. ;D

[herrbert]

The best option to fly is to fly Amsterdam - Pisa with Transavia (79 euros, all incl).

Another option would be to get to Eindhoven and to fly Eindhoven - Pisa with RyanAir. (that would be cheaper, but if you include a ticket for the train, and the busses, you need to take, than it doesn't justify losing so much time).

[makemagic]

Here is what I've come up with:

March 6th- Fly to Amsterdam
March 7th: Arrive in Amsterdam 8am
March 8th: Amsterdam
March 9th: Amsterdam-Afternoon flight (I was hoping for a morning flight, but Meridiana had a relatively cheap option for afternoon) to Florence
March 10th: Florence
March 11th: Early morning train to Cinque Terra
March 12th: Cinque Terra
March 13th: Cinque Terra- evening train to Florence- Flight to Prague
March 14th: Prague
March 15th: Prague
March 16th: Prague/Kutna Hora
March 17th: Fly home

The only part that feels rushed is Florence. But I just don’t feel right flying into Florence and not sticking around a bit.

[Eagle]

makemagic, a few comments to add to the others.

With such a short trip, your planning will need to be highly efficient to make this work, and your revised Itinerary looks much more realistic. I assume you've looked at the transportation connections you'll require, and will be pre-booking the budget flights?

It's unfortunate that you don't have more time to spend in Florence, but given the time available I can understand that (perhaps you could reduce one day in Prague?). I can also completely understand your strong desire to return to the Cinque Terre, as I have that feeling a lot (as I sit here looking at my Riomaggiore screen saver!!!).

Were you planning to pre-book your accomodations? I suspect there won't be a huge number of travellers in March, but pre-booking at least provides a choice in terms of location and price.

Good luck with your planning!!!

[makemagic]

Thank you!!

Since getting a real job in the last few years I've had to, sadly, learn to squeeze my trips to Europe into very short periods of time. I'm hoping I've learned something the last few times about efficiency. I'm secretly hoping for a reason to quit everything and just travel for a year or two. But for now, this will have to do!

I am purchasing my planes tickets tonight for Amsterdam-Florence, Florence-Prague. I've never flown into Florence though. Is it relatively easy to get into town by train? I'm thinking that since I've been there before, day and a half should be plenty, just to walk around a bit and soak in lovely Italia.

The only other small concern I have is using budget airlines. I haven't had much experience with them in the past so I don't know what to expect. I've heard they sometimes charge extra baggage fees, but is there anything else I need to worry about? And I can just buy point-to-point train tickets while I'm there, right? Or would it be easier to use trenitalia before I leave?

I stayed in the same place the last two times I visited Vernazza. I've emailed him and he replied that they have no one booked for the first week in March, so I should be fine there. Other then that, I've reserved a room in Amsterdam and I think I'll book a room for Prague while I'm in Italy.

I was talking to a coworker today and he said “You’re going to Italy for only 3 days?! You’re crazy.” And I thought to myself- not going to Italy at all! That’s crazy!

[Eagle]

makemagic, a few comments on the questions you raised in your last Post.

In some cases, the budget airlines use smaller airports that are some distance from the city centres. Examples of this in the U.K. would be Luton and Stanstead. Consequently, there might be slightly more time and expense in getting to the airport, as opposed to the larger airports that have good and frequent transport options. Also, as you noted they sometimes have somewhat strict baggage limits and those that exceed the limit could be "nicked" with a surcharge. Finally, although the tickets are often really inexpensive in some cases (I think they're on a "sliding scale"?), these are usually non-refundable and non-changeable once purchased. Check the web sites of each of the carriers you will be using regarding airport locations, baggage limits, etc. If you have this information prior to your trip, you shouldn't have any problems.

With regard to train tickets, if you're only going to require a small number of trips then P-P tickets are an easy option. Be sure to note which routes have mandatory reservations or you could be "nicked" with a fine (I found that out "the hard way"!).

Glad to hear that your lodgings are sorted in the Cinque Terre. I was only in Vernazza for a short time on my afternoon hike, but like all of the towns it has a wonderful character (can hardly wait to return!).

I completely agree with your philosophy -- 3 days in Italy is better than none!!! I'm sure most of us here would prefer to have 3 months to visit Bella Italia, but I can certainly appreciate the time constraints because of "work".

Hope your plans are coming together. Happy travels!!!

[madamtrashheap]

makemagic said:

I've never flown into Florence though. Is it relatively easy to get into town by train?

The airport in Florence isn't far to the city centre (10-15mins) by taxi and there are no trains that run to the airport directly but there is an airport bus (Vola in Bus). I'd suggest a taxi as they are quick, cheap and you won't have to wait long at the front of the (small) airport.

makemagic said:

The only other small concern I have is using budget airlines. I haven't had much experience with them in the past so I don't know what to expect. I've heard they sometimes charge extra baggage fees, but is there anything else I need to worry about?

Eagle's suggestion of looking at the restrictions and booking conditions with each of the airlines you're using is spot on. Meridiana aren't a "budget" airline as such (great you found a cheap flight though!) and last time I flew on them (3 years ago) they had a 20kg checked baggage limit. Ryan Air are the main culprits in that they often include hand luggage with your checked luggage to give the total number of KGs you're carrying, although it depends on the check-in clerk on the day (random!). Who are you flying with to Prague?

makemagic said:

And I can just buy point-to-point train tickets while I'm there, right? Or would it be easier to use trenitalia before I leave?

Again, as per Eagle, just by the tickets at the station as the routes you're taking are pretty common and there are no night trains involved.

I'm glad you managed to work all the cities in that you wanted. If you did want more time, do consider Eagle's suggestion of cutting a day from Prague. But if you've not been there before, then at least you'll still have a little time to soak up bella Italia before discovering a new city too!

[makemagic]

I'm using Transavia for my Amsterdam-Florence flight.

I think I will use Meridiana for my Florence-Prague flight, however they only have a flight leaving March 13th and I was hoping to take Eagle's advice and stay in Italy for one more day. I'm still looking to see if I can find a cheap flight that leaves on the 14th.

Two more weeks!! I'm ready to go...

[herrbert]

As far as direct flights are available, I think Meridiana on the 13th is the best change for a not too expensive ticket.

I checked some sites, but can't find you a better deal.

[madamtrashheap]

As much as it would be easier to fly from Florence, if you wanted to fly on the 14th perhaps revisit the EasyJet flight from Milan (Malpensa) to Prgaue. The Eurostar (Italy) train from Florence takes about 2hr45 and there is a train service from Milan station to the airport as well as bus services ( www.sea-aeroportimilano.it/it/malpensa/index.phtml?mod=milano_artreno&to=come_arrivare in Italian but there is an English section at the bottom). Although how suitable this is will depend on the flight time, so mabye you'll have to cut Florence short by a day .

Hope you find an alternative!