On my way back now from an ~8.5 day Italy vacation. Was incredible! Below is my trip report. A few notes in advance:
• This itinerary will not work for everyone as we all have different styles of travel. In particular, if you are the type who likes to spend their vacation relaxing or being pampered, this may not be for you. We like to see/do as much as possible, enjoy wondering/exploring, and enjoy doing things on our own.
• The itinerary was not perfect and I tried to include notes throughout where in hindsight I may have done something differently.
• Aside from a Gondola ride and tour of the Jewish ghetto in Rome, I literally did not use cash for anything. Used my Sapphire reserve card which has no foreign transaction fees. Got majorly ripped off changing money in Venice (tons of fees I didn’t realize about till they passed me my money at which point no returns) so be careful there, in Rome took money out of a Bank ATM so no additional fees there.
• Any questions about hashgacha ask your LOR
• We kept changing things around slightly because of the weather forecast, was a waste of time and caused us to have to spend more on certain things due to last minute bookings/cancellation. Ignore the forecasts! Rain was forecasted for almost our entire trip, and probably only had 2-3 showers the entire time. It was showing 100% chance of thunderstorms at times and there was nada.
Day 1:
Left from Newark Mon night arrived in Venice Tues morning. Took the Alilaguna water taxi from Venice airport to Venice proper (tickets bought at airport at kiosk) 35-40 minute boat ride to Venice. Got off at Guglie stop right near Gam Gam which was a few minutes down the road from our hotel, the Carnival Palace. We dropped off our luggage at the hotel, picked up lunch at the Jewish ghetto, and spent the day wondering the city by foot - Jewish ghetto, shops, winding alleyways, Rialto bridge, Grand Canal, Saint Marks square, etc.. Ate dinner at Gam Gam, watched sunset over the canal, and crashed for the night not having slept in around 48 hours!
*Notes - Hotel was a bit far from many of the famous attractions and required lots of walking to see things, but it was a really nice hotel and close to Jewish Ghetto and Gam Gam. If I was going back for a short time during the week I may look to stay somewhere more central. Would have used Rick Steves app for walking tour and info about St Marks square and other spots but forgot about it. We got better at remembering for the rest of our trip.
Day 2:
Checked out of hotel in the morning (we get earlyish starts most days, usually leaving around 9ish) left luggage at hotel to hold and did more wandering around Venice. Took early morning Gondola ride around Grand Canal and quiet residential neighborhoods which was beautiful and well worth the 80 euro fee! Explored new neighborhoods, more shops, stopped for lunch at Gam Gam goodies, and picked up some food from there and the other bakery to bring along to Tuscany. Then picked up luggage and took Alilaguna water taxi back to airport to pick up rental car (around 3pm). Drove from Venice airport through parts of Tuscany, 3.5 hours with some beautiful scenic views once in Tuscany. Stopped at Greve, drove through Panzano and Castellina in Chianti region for cute little towns and some nice views. Checked into Four Points by Sheraton in Siena (used Marriot points).
*Notes - Recommend taking Gondola ride in early morning before 10 when canals are less crowded and it’s less sunny, we found one near Gam Gam and it was a great ride. Drive through Chianti region was a bit longer then if I had gone direct. Probably not worth the extra time because the views only get better from Sienna southward and there are more interesting cities in other parts of Tuscany. Driving was not a big deal in general, nothing different then in the US (we returned the car outside of Rome, that might have been a bit scarier).
Day 3:
We checked out of hotel and drove about 10 minutes to the old part of Siena where we parked outside city by stadium. Took walking tour of Siena with Rick Steves audio walking tour app, which was excellent! We then drove about 25 minutes to Terra Di Seta Winery where we took a tour of the vineyard’s and the winery, followed by a wine tasting, and then had lunch there – highly recommend!. From there we went directly to an Agriturismo we were staying in for the night near Montepulciano and spent the rest of the day exploring and relaxing at the pool. Views were beyond incredible.
*Notes - most of the medieval cities in Italy are ZTL zones which means there will be large fines if you drive in without a permit. You generally need to park outside the cities in lots and walk in, but they are usually not such far walks. Unfortunately we lost track of time during our Sienna tour and didn’t have time to visit the synagogue there. Try to leave extra time to see it.
Day 4:
Checked out of our Agriturismo and spent the first part of the day stopping at medieval towns on our way to Rome. First we explored Montepulciano, then S. Quirica d’ Orcia. We took a longer route from there to Rome which took us through the Tuscan hillsides (road SS2). Was a beautiful drive. We returned our car at Rome Ciampino airport and took a taxi from the airport into Rome. Settled in our Airbnb in the Jewish Ghetto, walked around to explore Jewish ghetto a bit before Shabbos, first of many slices of pizza at Bono, bought some groceries and got ready for Shabbos. Went to daven Fri night at Great Synagogue of Rome. No eruv in Rome, so need to send in passport info to synagogue before Shabbos. Was beautiful davening but the nusach is very different then ashkenaz or sefard. We went to Baghetto for Fri night meal (didn’t eat the meat dishes – there was plenty of food without it). Food was mostly just ok. It was a pretty quick meal. We then walked around a bit. Rome is beautiful at night.
*Notes- wish we had more time on way to Rome to explore additional towns in Tuscany such as Pienza, Pitigliano , San Gimignano plus more! Bono Pizza was delicious! Jews in Rome mostly keep to themselves – don’t expect to make new local friends at shul. Highly recommend staying in the Jewish Ghetto (we liked being in an Airbnb but there are hotels there too). It is very centrally located and super convenient to be right near all the food.
Day 5:
Davened Shacharis at Great Synagogue, went for lunch to Baghetto. Then went back to Airbnb for a Shabbos nap. Woke up and went walking all over, from Jewish Ghetto, to the Colosseum. No eruv so cant’ bring water or maps, though they do have free water fountains in many places. Went back to great synagogue for mincha, shalosh seudos and maariv. Went out for melavah malka to Baghetto Milky and Gelato for dessert. Both were excellent! Then went walking all around Rome including seeing Pantheon and Trevi fountain at night when things are much less crowded.
Day 6:
Picked up breakfast at Pasticceria Boccione – a very old bakery in the Jewish ghetto. Met up with our tour guide for a tour of the Jewish ghetto (not going to say which because of my note below). Went for lunch at Bono Pizza (2/3). Spent the afternoon exploring different areas of Rome including Vatican City, Castel Saint Angelo and Campo Del Fiore market. No entrance to Vatican City museum on Sundays but we weren’t interested in going there anyway. Went to Yotvata for dinner.
*Notes- personally I didn’t think the tour was worth the money spent. I listened to the Rick Steves tour after and got much of the same information from there. Also felt I was rushed through the Jewish Museum where I would have loved to spend more time reading all the descriptions, it was fascinating! Of the 3 dairy restaurants in the Jewish ghetto, all were amazing but Yotvata was my personal favorite for taste, price, and portion size. However it didn’t have as good a vibe as the other two (Ba’Ghetto and Casalino) which have outdoor seating in the main part of the ghetto.
Day 7:
Went to Kosher cakes for breakfast. Walked to Colosseum, bought tickets at site for 1 hour guided tour of interior of Colosseum. Took tour and then went to explore Roman Forum (which includes Arch of Titus) and Palatine Hill with Rick Steves guided tour on app. Walked and explored all over central Rome with Rick Steves app, to Spanish steps, back to Palacio Venetia , Campo Del Fiore, Trevi fountain during day time, shopping along the way. Went to Casalino Osteria for dinner, and Gelato for dessert.
*Notes- We booked the guided tour of the Colosseum because the lines to buy tickets were very long, but very much regretted it because it was super rushed. Would recommend trying to get the self-guided tickets in advance (not an easy task) and use Rick Steves app, much more informative, paints better pictures of life in those times, and can do things at your own pace.
Day 8:
Woke up early, walked from Airbnb to Rome train station (~30 min), took 7:30am direct train from Rome to Salerno (~1.5 hour ride) which is at one end of the Amalfi Coast. A short walk to the docks and we bought the 3 ferry tickets we needed for the day from
www.travelmar.it/en. First we took a ferry to Positano (~70 min). Ride takes you right along the coast with stunning sceneries all along the way. Arrived at Positano, walked and explored beautiful seaside town, lots and lots of steps to climb with beautiful views and shops. After ~2.5 hours, took the next Ferry to Amalfi (~25 min). Explored and walked around Amalfi, Lemon farms everywhere, lots of limoncello , shops and spent a little time on the beach. After ~3.5 hours, took ferry back to Salerno, and then train from Salerno back to Rome. Arrived back around 8:30pm, went to Baghetto Milky for dinner, and once again gelato for dessert
*Notes – Would probably have shifted an hour from Amalfi to Positano which was a bit larger and nicer. Trip was very doable as a day trip. Obviously would be great to spend a few days in the Amalfi Coast, and would have loved to take a trip to Capri, but with limited time this day trip was well worth it.
Day 9:
Spent the morning walking around Rome and Jewish ghetto one last time, picked up some Roman pastries and food (Bono Pizza of course!) for the flight home. Took Uber black which I pre-scheduled from ghetto to Rome airport and flew back into a smoky Newark.
Was an absolutely amazing trip and I highly recommend!
