euro cruiser

Been to both. Sad to say there is very little anymore that is authentic in Venice, as there are very few Venetians living there. Harry's was always an ex-pat kind of place, so that's probably more authentic than anything. My favorite memory of Harry's was not the famous Bellini (tried it, but not my kind of drink) but the look on our kid's face when they placed not just a cup of hot chocolate in front of her, but an entire pot of the stuff. That look alone was worth the exorbitant price.

When you are limited to summer high season travel, the driving factor in your hotel decision, beyond price, should be access to ferry transportation. There is no other realistic way to get around on the coast in the summer. Praiano is lovely, but there's no way to get there or back other than land transportation, or walking.

I think it's reasonable to go for the 8:05 ferry. As Cruisemom suggests, "walk" the route from the cruise terminal (Stazione Marittima, Napoli) to the ferry ticket office (Molo Beverello, Napoli) on google maps prior to your trip so you'll know what to expect. The distance is only 400 meters/two-tenths of a mile and you will need to go to the ticket office to be issued a paper ticket. Note that the purchase agreement for on-line tickets will say you need to appear at the ticket office 30 minutes prior to boarding time to make the exchange. In my experience they don't hold tightly to this rule, but if there are long lines to purchase tickets who knows? I still think you'll be okay, and if all tickets are purchased on one phone only one of the group needs to go ahead and make the exchange. Also, the 8:05 crossing is on SNAV. Purchase directly from them rather than through a third party to ease the process and avoid issues. Traghetti Croazia, Sicilia e Sardegna | Aliscafi Eolie, Pontine e golfo di Napoli - Snav If you decide to go with the 8:35 crossing, purchase from NLG: NLG » Sito Ufficiale

In a little over an hour, by high speed train, you can get to Caserta to visit the royal palace and gardens. (Both Trenitalia and Italotreno offer high speed service on this route.)

Are you avoiding Rome entirely? I ask because I've been there more than a dozen times, usually for a week at a time, and I haven't seen everything yet. What kinds of things do you enjoy doing/seeing?

Never use a third party site (like Viator) when you can buy directly from the site. Things have changed recently at Pompei, you used to have to wait on line to exchange an on-line purchase for a paper ticket in order to get through the turnstiles. Now they can read a QR code from your smartphone. The official site is here: Pompeii - TicketOne You want to select Parco Archeologico di Pompei, then pick your date. Don't worry about the time, they are good all day.

I just dug around on the site, on both the Italian and English language pages, and I don't see a way to buy the tickets. Given that, I would go directly to the ticket office in Rapallo from the train station and buy both tickets (Rapallo to Portofino and Portofino to Santa Margherita Ligure) before you do your sightseeing in Rapallo. The dock and ticket office is located at Molo Bruno di Lorenzi, about 700 meters/four-tenths of a mile on foot from the train station.

There is air conditioning on the regional trains but due to the intense overcrowding, and the fact that the doors are opening every five minutes or so to admit/disembark passengers, in this kind of heat it's impossible for the AC to keep up. If you are heading to the Vatican area you're correct that a regional train is required for the S. Pietro stop. Lots of us here have experience with Livorno, why not start a new thread so we don't confuse other readers? Or better yet, just look at this current thread:

These are fairly small places, so two hours gives you enough time to walk around and get a feel for each one. Do consider where you'd like to have lunch and allow yourself enough time there. I would buy the ferry tickets in advance because this year tourism has overwhelmed Italy and you don't want to get shut out. The train tickets do not need to be purchased in advance.

Okay, let's lay this out and see how it feels for you. The Genova Piazza Principe train station is an easy ten minute walk from the cruise port (one third of a mile). You have a nice, long day so I wouldn't try to race off the ship, I'd aim for the 7:47 IC train that arrives to Rapallo at 8:27. There is a ferry every hour from Rapallo to Portofino, it takes a half hour to make the trip. When you're ready, just jump on the ferry (buy tickets in advance, it can sell out). Take the same ferry back to Santa Margherita Ligure when you're ready, and eventually the train back to Genova. Since you'll need to be back on board by 6:30 PM, I'd aim for arriving back to Genova Piazza Principe station no later than 6. There are trains from Santa Margherita Ligure at 16:46 (4:46 PM), arriving at 17:26 (5:26 PM) or at 16:55, arriving at 17:46. That gives you a nice long day without feeling pushed. Train info here: EN - Trenitalia Ferry info here: Visit Rapallo, Santa margherita Ligure, Portofino, San Fruttuoso - Maritime Services of Tigullio (traghettiportofino.it)

Yes, it is possible by public transit but a little more information is needed to be helpful. As I said, some transportation is seasonal, so what month is this port day taking place? Also, what are your hours in port? With that we can provide more specific information. In general, you can take the train from Genova Piazza Principe to Santa Margherita in about 45 minutes. Then, from there to Portofino is an easy ferry, bus or taxi ride. From Portofino to Camogli just reverse the process back to Santa Margherita and take the train from there to Camogli, before taking it again back to Genova. It's a lot of travel time when you add it all up, which is why I asked about prioritizing your list. You may have to drop one of the three stops in order to have an enjoyable amount of time at the other two.

The return Frecce timing is fine, I would nail that down as they can sell out. As for the morning train, regional trains cannot sell out as they are not capacity controlled, so there's no need to purchase those tickets in advance. You can use the Trenitalia app and buy the ticket while you're on the bus headed to the train station, but you are correct that the ticket is good for four hours so one purchased for the earliest possible train would still be good on several later ones. After a long, hot day on your feet in Rome, that seat assigned Frecce is going to feel very good. There is a morning Frecce that departs Civitavecchia at 9:16 and arrives to Rome Termini at 10:03. That's only a half hour later than the 8:19 regional and it's earlier than the 8:57 regional. You might consider that in order to get a seat and working air conditioning.

Is this an NCL transfer to the port? I'm trying to figure out any other way you would have a port arrival time. I'm afraid you are looking at hours of cooling your heels at the terminal before boarding the ship.

In general, when planning a DIY excursion it's best to focus and attempt to see fewer places (unless you are using a car service), because public transportation simply takes more time than being driven from place to place. Can you prioritize the places you want to see? Also, when is this port day? Some transportation (water) is seasonal.

A couple of my cousins have been in Rome this week and it has been challenging. I suggested a day in the lakes to cool off, but there is so much they want to see that they keep pushing themselves. Sometimes less is more, especially when your health is on the line.

There is a shuttle bus you can book in advance run by the tourism consortium, 20 euro per person: Shuttle bus - Ravenna / Porto Corsini Cruise Terminal - Ravenna Turismo

Yeah, as I think I said yesterday, the Trenitalia website is screwed up and has been for a couple of days. You can pay for the bus in cash on the bus (6 euro).

Keep in mind that anything people post reflects the story they want to tell. That doesn't make it true, or common, it's just the perspective they want to promote (or what they found, within the limitations of their abilities, sometimes we only see exactly what we want/expect to see, ignoring all other evidence).

First, everyone is going to know you're a tourist regardless of what you wear, so stop trying to be something you're not. Second, Italians under the age of sixty wear them all the time. Third, as an example Nike has more than 40 stores in Italy: Nike Stores in Italy. Nike.com IT The notion of Italians not wearing jeans, sneakers, baseball caps, etc. is at least twenty years out of date.

Oh, that's great. If you don't have to be there until 6 PM you have options. Going to Termini in this case makes more sense, because there is a left luggage office right at the station where you can safely leave your bags while you spend some time in Rome. I would consider the 16:57 Frecce that arrives to Civitavecchia at 17:44, if you buy the ticket to Civitavecchia Porto it also includes the bus to the cruise terminal. It gets you to the terminal at 18:05, if the ship isn't going anywhere until 20:00 I don't think the five minutes will make a difference. If that feels too risky there's also the 16:23 Civitavecchia Express train from Ostiense (arrives at 17:35 with the bus to the terminal). You'd need to add the time to take the metro from Termini (assuming that you checked your bags there) to Ostiense but even with that it gets you another hour or two in Rome.

It depends on what time you have to be on board. If the train is on time, it arrives to Civitavecchia at 14:44 (2:44 PM). It takes some time to get from the train station to your check-in terminal, so the earliest you can count on reporting to the ship, if everything goes right, is 3 PM. Is that early enough? It seems late to me, given that most ships require boarding at least two hours prior to departure, but if you have a later departure it could work.

That changes everything. If you are going from the airport directly to the port a Frecce really takes you out of the way, it means you have to go all the way to Termini and then back out again. Also, it's never a good idea to buy a train ticket in advance when you are arriving by air, you really have no way to know what time you'll actually be ready to travel onward. Better to pay a little more for the ticket on the day of travel than to pay twice if you miss the train you purchased in advance. There are very few Frecce trains from Rome to Civitavecchia, the only two that might work for you depart Rome at 11:57 (arrives 12:44) or 13:57 (arrives 14:44). If going by Frecce is important to you, just take the Leonardo Express to Termini and wait for the next one. The IC train from Ostiense at 16:07 doesn't arrive to Civitavecchia until 16:45, which I'm sure is too late for embarkation.

There's something off with the Trenitalia web site yesterday and today. Try looking at October 4th, then scroll down until you see the time you want the following day, the actual day you want to travel. The 9:16 Frecce is available for 9.90 euro on the 5th. An IC train is not the same and, I think, only goes to Ostiense not Termini.

The train can't sell out as it is not capacity controlled (no seat assignments) but the bus can. Even so, I would wait until at least the day before, when you have a good sense of the weather forecast, because the tickets are not refundable. Would you still want to go if it was pouring down rain? If not, wait to purchase.

There is another train option, the Trenitalia regional from the Portici-Ercolano station. It's a longer walk from the ruins than the Circumvesuviana train (1.7 km/1.1 miles vs. 800 meters/one half mile) but it avoids the uphill. There are also two trains per hour on this route, so it provides an alternative if the Circumvesuviana experience is one you'd rather not repeat.