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Old 02-25-2015, 11:52 AM
 
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One nice thing about the Termini area is the convenience to the entire city. Trestevere is lovely, but it can be inconvenient to get there by mass transit, and the river can force you out of your way to get to the east side of Rome by foot.

There are pros and cons to any area, you have to first come up with a budget and understand the types of accommodations available and what your wants/nneds are in that respect, then figure out what will be best for you.
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Old 02-25-2015, 11:57 AM
 
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By the way, if you want a lovely but expensive just below luxury (ir Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton) level hotel near Termini, the Boscolo Exedra will fit the bill. I wouldn't bother with the breakfast package, just go next door or around the corner and get McDonalds or a roll and coffee at one of the many shops. The Boscolo breakfast is hit or miss, and when it's miss it's beyond lousy.

There is a fantastic roof top pool.

The rooms are spacious with marble bathrooms and US King sized beds. They will also guarantee non-smoking rooms, which few in Rome will do. That said, they aren't inexpensive. I would compare to InterContinental.
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Old 02-25-2015, 12:16 PM
 
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I recommend this place in Rome. Read the reviews and see if that is how you would like to feel about your trip. That is how we selected them and had a great time. They will help you with all the dos and don't for sight seeing, how to get into places efficiently, whether you need a tour or not etc.
Nicolas Inn (Rome, Italy) - B&B Reviews - TripAdvisor
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Old 02-25-2015, 12:42 PM
 
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Regarding hotels......did you book hotels in advance or while you were in Italy? Since we're going in March (probably leaving this Monday) I don't think there will be an issue getting hotels while we are there since it's not the busy season. Maybe the first night or two when we arrive.......for convenience.....get off the plane, bus or whatever to hotel with room waiting for us. I don't like booking hotels in advance for a vacation like this because then the trip becomes scripted. Like I may book a hotel for 3 nights in Rome, then realize 2 nights is enough and we're losing a day in such and such but paid for the extra night already. Know what I'm saying.

I went on a cross-country road trip last year. Flew to Seattle from NJ, drove back to NJ with all the great things in between. We had a general idea of where we were going and for how long, but would book our hotels on our cell phones as we were approaching our next city. If it is this convenient in Italy as it was for me driving coast to coast here, I would prefer to go that route.

Oh, and driving. Not saying that I will, but that may be a possibility (south of Naples....don't plan on driving in the cities). Would I need an international driver's license? I'm assuming my NJ d/l would not work?? lol. Haven't gotten that far in my research yet.
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Old 02-25-2015, 02:07 PM
 
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You're flying into Rome but want to see Southern Italy and are leaving yourself 10 days. Where in Southern Italy? Because Rome is not in Southern Italy. Depending on where you want to go, It's going to be a 4-7 hour drive, so budget a day to travel from Rome to (wherever), then another day from (wherever you wind up) back to Rome.

Italy can be an astonishing mix of backwater and progress. It can be like a white India, so be sure to have reasonable expectations and bring lots of patience. They are not Germans.

Southern Italy is rural and has its charm but its basically full of a totally different ethnicity of person than is encountered in the North. 'Italia Moderna' is really quite something to behold. To see rural Italy, you can just go to Albania and save yourself 75% the cost.
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Old 02-25-2015, 02:08 PM
 
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I like to book my hotels in advance. I can usually find the best deals, can research and not have to rely on a random cab driver pointing me to his cousins place on the assertion that it's the best place around, and be sure to get a non-smoking room with at least a US queen bed.

I don't do prepaid rooms though. I like to have the option to cancel 24 hours in advance if my plans change.
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Old 02-25-2015, 02:10 PM
 
Location: Cedar Park, Texas
1,601 posts, read 2,976,318 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tonybaggs View Post
Regarding hotels......did you book hotels in advance or while you were in Italy? Since we're going in March (probably leaving this Monday) I don't think there will be an issue getting hotels while we are there since it's not the busy season. Maybe the first night or two when we arrive.......for convenience.....get off the plane, bus or whatever to hotel with room waiting for us. I don't like booking hotels in advance for a vacation like this because then the trip becomes scripted. Like I may book a hotel for 3 nights in Rome, then realize 2 nights is enough and we're losing a day in such and such but paid for the extra night already. Know what I'm saying.

I went on a cross-country road trip last year. Flew to Seattle from NJ, drove back to NJ with all the great things in between. We had a general idea of where we were going and for how long, but would book our hotels on our cell phones as we were approaching our next city. If it is this convenient in Italy as it was for me driving coast to coast here, I would prefer to go that route.

Oh, and driving. Not saying that I will, but that may be a possibility (south of Naples....don't plan on driving in the cities). Would I need an international driver's license? I'm assuming my NJ d/l would not work?? lol. Haven't gotten that far in my research yet.
We booked in advance but I would like to do a spontaneous trip and book on the fly sometime.

I would suggest getting an international data plan on your phone so you can have that access wherever you are. It was pretty cheap for two weeks in the Middle East. Also, as far as driving, we did drive from Venice up into the Dolomites for a few days when we visited family. An international drivers license was required, at least from all the sources we found. It's easy to get through AAA. One thing to be aware of is the Italian rental car agencies. Even though we went with one of the big ones known here in the US, they still screwed us over on all the fees/gas refills afterwards. I couldn't read the contract, obviously, but I understood the Euro equivalent of final charges and it was about $125 USD more than it should have been. OH -- and take out as much insurance between your credit card and the rental car company as you possibly can. That's another way the Italians will try to nail you with a rental car....any little ding will be a major charge. And then, watch out for the Zona Traffico Limitato in most cities -- guaranteed ticket or towing.
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Old 02-25-2015, 02:12 PM
 
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Originally Posted by StAugustine View Post
Italy can be an astonishing mix of backwater and progress. It can be like a white India, so be sure to have reasonable expectations and bring lots of patience. They are not Germans.
My husband was losing his patience over a ridiculously disorganized transportation situation in Venice. He was getting stressed over something we had no control over, and stressing me out in the process. I finally turned to him and hissed, "Get over it, you're in Italy. If you wanted precision and punctuality, we should have gone to Germany." He chilled.
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Old 02-25-2015, 02:47 PM
 
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Originally Posted by botticelli View Post
haha. it really depends on your need.

When I travel I prefer convenience, which means easy access to things with minimum need for transportation/connections, and in that respect, Termini is an excellent choice. Of course the train station areas is not the most beautiful part of the city and there are all kinds of people, but I generally find it both safe and vibrant. I chose Termini solely because the transportation easiness - one ride from airport and you are at your hotel, and it is easy to take the train and go somewhere else too.

Others may prefer a more posh area with an ambiance, and don't mind a bit more inconvenience. I generally don't care about the neighbourhood character - I don't live there.
I agree, it is much more convenient. If I was traveling alone I would stay near the station again for sure, but sometimes felt uneasy with the girlfriend tagging along after dark through that area.
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Old 02-25-2015, 03:03 PM
 
Location: Idaho
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I love Italy, and would move there in a heartbeat. To me, it's "Disneyland for Adults". The place is just awesome!

On hotels, I always book in advance and usually by the ratings on TripAdvisor.

I'm not Catholic, but always visit the Vatican whenever I go to Rome. So much history. If you want to attend the Papal Audience, arrange for tickets before you leave the states. Then, you pick them up at a church in the middle of Rome. It's an event that one should experience at least once in their lives. Doesn't cost anything either.

On Rome traffic . . . last time there, I rented a bicycle and had an absolute blast. Drivers are very courteous toward cyclists. Even in the 'maddening crowd', I felt absolutely safe. It is fairly easy to keep up with traffic, (then again, I'm a semi-serious cyclist - not a casual go-slow type of rider).

Pompeii is okay, but you will see much better mosaics in Ostia Antica. It's out by Fiumicino and was one of the original seaports of Imperial Rome. I rode the bike out to there from Rome. Took about an hour on the bike, but I stopped at several sight-seeing places on the way.

The next day, I rode to the end of the preserved section of Via Appia Antica. Ever since the third grade when I first learned about the Appian Way, I have always wanted to walk upon it. In a way, it was very spiritual. Here I was, walking on the original basalt paving stones and was thinking about the slave who laid it down 2,400 years before and wonder if he could have possibly thought that someone in the very far future would be thinking of him.

Historical Rome is all within walking distance. The bike allowed me to see things off the beaten tourist path that was within easy biking distance, such as the Etruscan Museum. Renting a bike is just something to consider. (TopBike Rentals & Tours - I brought along my own cleated shoes, pedals, and helmet).

Also, when in Italy . . . pretty much everywhere . . . there are two Italys. You want to experience both of them. There is the daytime Italy where vendors come out to service the tourists. They are the ones mentioned previously. (Personally, I have never been hassled by hawkers. Maybe because I'm 6'3" tall and act as if I know what I'm about and where I'm going.) When it gets late in the day, close to when the sun goes down, Italy transforms itself. The tourists go back to their hotels for their dinners and maybe a show, and since there is no reason to remain, the vendors pack up their little carts in the piazzas and go home to their families. Then, the locals come out and reclaim their city and country. They partake in passeaggiata, a multi-generational 'hang out and shoot the breeze'. In Italy, when something is old and no longer used for any useful purpose, (speaking of buildings here), they don't tear them down like we do . . . they put floodlights on them to illuminate them at night. It's really magical. You really have to get out after dark and wander about.

On Pompeii and Naples . . . as I said, Pompeii is pretty interesting, but if you want to see all the cool stuff that used to be in Pompeii, you will have to go to the museums in Naples. It's worthwhile putting up with the madness of Naples to see the cool stuff in the museum.

If you have a GPS receiver, I found it quite valuable when wandering the streets of Rome. I entered waypoints of the things I wanted to see, then used the GPS to guide me there. The streets are not set out on any type of grid pattern and with the buildings being three-four stories tall, you can't see very far. There are always a surprise right around the corner when you walk the streets of the Rome historical city center.

Finally, it's worth getting a copy of Rick Steves travel guide to Rome and/or Italy. Browse through it now, again on the plane with an idea of narrowing down your choices, then take it along in your wanderings.

Sorry to ramble. Can you tell I'm excited about Italy? I usually go at the beginning of April, and the weather is fabulous! Not too many tourists either, so your shots won't be ruined. Enjoy your visit.
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