I’ve had several people ask how to pre-plan for a trip abroad and how to make a detailed itinerary. I make all my itineraries on google docs so that I can have access to it whenever and wherever. I used to be an Excel person, but I find that its easier to use Word document to be able to add images or side notes that anyone can look through and follow. Check out my How to make an itinerary part 1 on my in progress itinerary to Spain and Morocco. While that is still being fine tuned, here is the outline of our Italy one, without any personal information.
Italy 2019
Travel Info:
Dates: April 23rd- May 1st. (9 days total)
Travelers name: AB, CD, E & Josna (total: 6)
Departure from USA information: (Airlines & airport)
Arrival in Italy information: (Airlines & airport)
Any extra information on luggage, time zone changes, lay over, etc goes here.
Rome info:
Currency: 1 US Dollar = .88 Euros.
I’ve inserted pictures of what Euro bills and coins look like so that my fellow travelers can get an idea before we get there.
Language: Italian; learn basic phrases.
Please: Per favore, Thank you: Grazie, Yes: Si, No: No, Thief: Ladro, Help: Auito
Phone Company: Set up an international package with provider or make calls using apps or wifi calling.
Plugs & Electricity: I posted a picture of the outlets used in Europe as well as the standard voltage (which is 220-230V)
Emergency Information to know:
General emergency police number: 113
Medical emergencies: 118
Number for the American embassy in Italy; +39 06 46741
Location of embassy; Via Vittorio Veneto, 121-00187, Roma
Tourist Info number; 06-0608. Dial 2 for English.
Itinerary
April 24th (Wednesday): Land in Rome at 0915
4/24 weather info: Mostly Sunny, High 73, low 55, 10% chance of rain.
Things do at the airport:
1. Exchange money at a currency exchange.
2. Get Roma 2 Day Pass (for XX Euros).
3. Get all tourist information/maps etc for Rome, Florence or Venice (free ones)
4. Find a taxi (show hotel information)
List before arriving to hotel:
1. Stop by supermarket and pick up some water, if needed.
11AM: Check into hotel if possible or drop off luggage.
12PM-2PM: Explore + Lunch
Explore: Walk 7 mins to Cornelia Metro, 7 mins → M MEA 15 mins to Termini→ transfer to MEB Laurentina 3 mins, 2 stops= Colosseum.
Side Note: Yes, this is how detailed the itinerary is. It helps!
3PM – 8PM: Roman Forum/Palatine Hill/Colosseum
Walk >> Trevi Fountain>> Spanish Steps
8PM-11PM: Dinner
Take Metro from Spagna (near Spanish steps) >> Cornelia
(There is a Louis Vuitton Store right next to Spagna. )
Side note: This was in the itinerary, yall!
11pm: Get back to hotel safely
Hotel Name: XXXX
Address: xxxxxx, Rome.
Phone Number: xxx-xxx-xxxx
Website: xxx.com
Reservation code/any other information pertaining to this hotel stay.
Train station/bus stop next to the hotel: XXX
April 25th (Thurs): Rome; Liberation Day; national holiday.
4/25 WEATHER INFO: Partly Cloudy, High 74, low 56, 20% chance of rain.
0830:Breakfast
0930: Walk 7 mins to Cornelia (Metro Station) Get on line A, MEA, going towards city (Get off at Cipro; only 3 stops away). Walk to Vatican.
Vatican City; Reservation code / Order Number: XXXXXXXXX
Tour for 6 people; at 11AM. Then proceed to St. Peter’s Basilica.
Est time 2pm: Lunch
3-8pm: 10 min walk to Castel Sant’ Angelo 19.50euro/per person.
Walk through St. Angelo Bridge → Piazza Navona (Pasquino statue & Fontana Del Moro) → Pantheon → Trevi Fountain→ Spanish Steps / And Colosseum in between
Additional info: To get back to hotel after Spanish Steps: Take Metro Spagna MEA to Cornelia, walk to Hotel
To get back to hotel After Colosseum area, take Metro Colosseo to Termini to Cornelia and walk to hotel.
This following list of places to see in which order is from the book by Rick Stevens. His book also has many tips that were very useful for this trip!
- Campo de’ Fiori (Italian market)
- Piazza Farnese
- Via dei Baullari…
- Pasquino Statue
- Piazza Navona
- Pantheon
- Caffe Tazza d’oro
- Piazza Capranica
- Piazza di montecitorio
- Piazza Colonna..
- Trevi Fountain
- Palazzo di..
- Column of the immaculate conception
- Spanish step aka Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti
April 26th (Fri): Rome→ Florence
4/26 WEATHER INFO in Rome: Mostly Sunny, High 74, low 56, 20% chance of rain.
0900: Eat breakfast /pack
1200: Check out at The Church Palace
Walk 7 mins to Cornelia Train Station → 15 mins to Termini Station (Roma Termini)
2pm: Take train from ROME→ Florence.
| TRAIN Reservation # & Information: XXXXX Approx: 1.5 hours |
————————-Florence—————————
4/26 WEATHER INFO in Florence: Showers, High 75, low 55, 10% chance of rain.
4pm: Check in at Hotel; Address: XXXXX Phone number/ details
5PM: TOUR city + Eat
Other things to do in Florence:
- Uffizi ; 815-650pm.
- Bargello (statues):
- Medici chapels (michealangelos statues);
- Santa Maria novella (masaccios 3d paintings)
April 27th (Sat): Florence
4/27 WEATHER INFO in Florence: Isolated thunderstorms, High 76, low 54, 30% chance of rain.
11:00 BRUNCH
1:15PM Chianti Half-Day Wine Tour from Florence
LINK & More information:
DEPARTURE TIME; Tour departs at 1:15pm
DEPARTURE POINT; Central Florence
DIRECTIONS; Piazzale Montelungo (Montelungo Square), in front of the yellow Street Sign of Caf Tour – Gray Line
(Take snacks/drink for tour)
7-9pm: Dinner & Get back to hotel
April 28th (Sun): Florence → Venice4/28
WEATHER INFO in Florence: Showers, High 74, low 54, 40% chance of rain.
6 AM: Wake up!
8AM: Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze (Academy Of Florence Art Gallery)
Address: Via Ricasoli, 58/60, 50122 Florence, Italy Tel. +39 055 0987100
Full ticket: € 12.00; Opens at 815 AM
(Need to book online; time slots. Cannot have large bags on us. No luggage.)
More information: 10 minute walk from Hotel to Art Gallery., 12 min walk from Gallery to Train Station, 12 min walk from Hotel to Train Station.
10 AM: Check out from Hotel
12PM: Lunch (close to train station)
| Train from Florence→ Venice TRAIN # and more information: |
———————-Venice———————-
4/28 WEATHER INFO in Venice: AM showers, High 66, low 54, 40% chance of rain.
3:30PM; Walk to hotel XX and check in. More hotel details here.
5PM: Evening out and Explore!
9PM; Dinner & Back to hotel
April 29th (Mon): Venice4/29
WEATHER INFO in Venice: AM showers, High 67, low 54, 40% chance of rain.
Activity for this day: Pick between these options.
- Rialto Bridge; (Ponti De Rialto)
- Bridge of sighs
- Doge’s Palace (83am-9pm);; 14 Euros
- Saint Mark’s Basilica
- St. Mark’s Square
Side Note: In Venice, we were a little more flexible and did not plan exactly. We walked around and did as much as we can.
April 30th (Tues): Venice → Rome
4/30 WEATHER INFO in Venice: Partly Cloudy, High 69, low 54, 20% chance of rain.
9 AM; Breakfast/ Activity
10:30 AM – Check Out from Hotel XX
Train from Venice → Rome Train # and information:
Side note: All train tickets were printed out and emailed to each person in the group.
————————-Rome—————————
3:30PM: Get to hotel
Hotel check in at XX:XX Address/Phone number, etc..
Take metro from Roma Termini (RV” Pisa Centrale – 10 min ride.). Runs every 15 mins. Get off at Roma Ostiense and transfer to next train; REG Fiumicino Aeroporto, 13 mins ; Get off at Muratella. From here; either call taxi (only 2 mins) OR take train Crocco 128; to Magliana/Muratella (FL1). Get off at Crocco/Mercanti (4 stops; only 1 min). (walking will take 25+ mins!)
Check at hotel for bus service to airport/ book it.
6PM: Head out for Last night in Rome!
May 1st (Wed): Rome
6AM: XX go to airport
9AM: XXXX Check out and go to airport.
Flight details back to Dallas: XXXXXX
Notice a few things: 1. We didn’t specify any time for souvenir shopping. We did that throughout the whole trip, even to the last night in Rome. 2. We didn’t waste time in between one check out and another check in; we used that time to travel from one city to another. 3. We checked the weather in each city before packing.
Does it always go according to the itinerary?
Nope! No matter how detailed you have your itinerary, things are bound to go wrong or at least differently. A week prior to our trip, our driver who had agreed to pick us up from the airport backed out. Two days before our trip, we got a notice that the first hotel we booked was closed due to some legal issues and we were being transferred to another hotel. The day before our trip, our flight out to Rome got cancelled! We were able to switch our flight to one that got us to Rome on time (thanks Delta!).
When all this happened, we didn’t let that stop or ruin our trip. We worked around it and made a few tweaks. The drive from the airport worked out because we were able to get taxis from the airport for the same price. The hotel we got switched over to gave us delicious complimentary breakfast. The flight we switched over to was very similar to the old one (and we got free luggage check ins… thanks again, Delta!)
Images in this blog post are provided by: @ebabu07, @sneha42390, @aashimaj & @mathew88.
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