August 18, 2010...Can't wait for the MAGICal Mediterranean!!!

[jstin]

Hey everyone! We are traveling on the Magic as well! We are active duty military stationed in Germany taking our 4 month old daughter *she will be 6.5 months in August*!!! She is a seasoned traveler, we are going to venice next week, she has already been to Prague, Rothenberg, Nuremberg, Munich, the Alps, etc. We would LOVE it if anyone is interested in doing some on our own excursions to partner up-- we are interested in private tours pretty much everywhere, specifically Naples, Rome, and La Spezia. We use an ergo carrier with her so no worries about strollers or anything like that.

Hello there, we are also in Germany where are you at?

 

[jstin]

oh ok, I hope so I don't mind trying the train to Rome it's just nicer as a tour.


nope, but thanks for the heads up!

We are going to take the train into Rome since we have used the train system in Europe often enough we thought it would be good to take the train and then travel by subway while there.

Jennifer

 

[jstin]

Okay so does anyone know how to tip at Palo's?

Jennifer

 

[jel0511]

Okay so does anyone know how to tip at Palo's?

Jennifer

We usually just double the Palo fee, so for the two of us, we make the tip $30.

 

[jstin]

We usually just double the Palo fee, so for the two of us, we make the tip $30.

Thank you so much, I was thinking along the same lines.
Jennifer

 

[Adsmama]

We are going to take the train into Rome since we have used the train system in Europe often enough we thought it would be good to take the train and then travel by subway while there.

Jennifer

Hey- we are in Grafenwoehr, in Bavaria. How about you? We are interested in a private walking tour of most of the ancient sites, the trevi, etc. What are your plans once you get to Rome?

 

[jstin]

Hey- we are in Grafenwoehr, in Bavaria. How about you? We are interested in a private walking tour of most of the ancient sites, the trevi, etc. What are your plans once you get to Rome?

Okay, I know where that is I had friends stationed there years ago. We will be traveling in Bavaria starting next Sunday. We are up in Kaiserslautern. How long have you guys been over here? As far as touring we are looking to just hit the sights that appeal to the family. We are very laid back and this is one site that we tried not to over plan. We will definitely see the coliseum and some of the major points. We will most likely have to take a trip back to Rome to really see all there is to see.

 

[mindelmouse]

Hey everyone! We are traveling on the Magic as well! We are active duty military stationed in Germany taking our 4 month old daughter *she will be 6.5 months in August*!!! She is a seasoned traveler, we are going to venice next week, she has already been to Prague, Rothenberg, Nuremberg, Munich, the Alps, etc. We would LOVE it if anyone is interested in doing some on our own excursions to partner up-- we are interested in private tours pretty much everywhere, specifically Naples, Rome, and La Spezia. We use an ergo carrier with her so no worries about strollers or anything like that.

Welcome to the board...glad to see some new folks joining us!!!

 

[crzy4dals]

I'll add you to iChat! We'll have to givevut a try this weekend.
Is it the Barcelona flight you have yet to book? Are you going out of cincy?

We fly out of Cleveland... I just need to book it already.... the return trip is the issue for us... we have to leave Saturday -- most flights are prior to noon.. 10 am or 11:20.... found one at 12:55 but it is 400 more right now because it stops in Paris and Atlanta then home....

I started looking at cars for hire in Italy. I think we might do Rome via the train. Naples has the best savings over Disney.

 

[jstin]

We fly out of Cleveland... I just need to book it already.... the return trip is the issue for us... we have to leave Saturday -- most flights are prior to noon.. 10 am or 11:20.... found one at 12:55 but it is 400 more right now because it stops in Paris and Atlanta then home....

I started looking at cars for hire in Italy. I think we might do Rome via the train. Naples has the best savings over Disney.

The train to Rome is a good option for only 9 Euro a person round trip, the trip is 1 hour and 15 minutes. Then depending on where you want to go in Naples the train is also great. If you want to go to Pompeii and the ruins it is only something like 2 Euro per person. The train in Europe is super easy to use, my daughter and I have been taking if for day trips since she was 6 with no problems.

If you do decide to rent a car you can do it on the economy for a lot less than Disney is offering just be sure to have your international drives license which you can get at AAA. One word of caution if you have never driven in Europe is that the driving in some cities is beyond crazy and it is not unheard of for people to just stop in the middle of the road and park. I live over here and there are a few places that I woul not drive, Rome being the first one

Jennifer

 

[Adsmama]

My husband is mainly interested in pompeii and we are signed up for the value package going to pompeii with a guided tour and sorrento. Do you think it would make more sense just to take the train to Pompeii and hope to find a guide who will show us around when we get there? Sorrento is eh for us, not quite sure what it is about but we figured for 14 bucks more a person we might as well get our money worth considering we are not planning the trip back to naples anytime soon. I also heard if you took the train you could get off at the herucalem (spelling?) and tour there. Any suggestions, anyone?

JStin-- we have been here since August of 2009. Love it out here in the country, so peaceful and close to great travel destinations!! If you want to try to do a morning walking tour in rome let us know, I am looking into the ancient sites mostly, getting off the train at S. O. stop and catching the metro to the colliseo.

 

[jstin]

My husband is mainly interested in pompeii and we are signed up for the value package going to pompeii with a guided tour and sorrento. Do you think it would make more sense just to take the train to Pompeii and hope to find a guide who will show us around when we get there? Sorrento is eh for us, not quite sure what it is about but we figured for 14 bucks more a person we might as well get our money worth considering we are not planning the trip back to naples anytime soon. I also heard if you took the train you could get off at the herucalem (spelling?) and tour there. Any suggestions, anyone?

JStin-- we have been here since August of 2009. Love it out here in the country, so peaceful and close to great travel destinations!! If you want to try to do a morning walking tour in rome let us know, I am looking into the ancient sites mostly, getting off the train at S. O. stop and catching the metro to the colliseo.

We are going to take the train in Naples becuase we can see both Pompeii and Herucalem as well. We wanted to see both both none of the tours included both of them. I agree with you about seeing the ancient sites, we want to see the same. I was going to find a book on walking tours in Rome and go from there. That way we can really hit the spots that interest us.

 

[Adsmama]

We are going to take the train in Naples becuase we can see both Pompeii and Herucalem as well. We wanted to see both both none of the tours included both of them. I agree with you about seeing the ancient sites, we want to see the same. I was going to find a book on walking tours in Rome and go from there. That way we can really hit the spots that interest us.

If we are headed out at the same time in the morning we'd love to tag along at least to the train while in naples. I had to cancel our previous excursion as disney wanted 75 bucks for my 6 month old to go along!!! I heard the train station is kinda hidden so if you have any information, I can't seem to locate it. Hubby wants to go to Pompeii and Herucalem as well. I believe we will go all the way to pompeii, get a tour guide there hopefully if there are enough people who want one. I heard they organize them in random groups of 10 for 100 euro so it's only 10 euro a person plus admission. Then take the train to hercalem and tour there, and back to naples. I don't need a seperate ticket for that right? just a one way to pompeii and one way to naples?

 

[Adsmama]

Our plan in Rome if we can't find a group to do a private tour is just to take the train and hit all the ancient spots. I was hoping to find a walking tour but most do not start until 2 or 3 pm and we wanted to get the train from San Pietro around 4 bc we have early dinner. We will just try to see what we can I guess. We need to find a good map of Rome and my husband will feel better about it. haha We are fine with public transportation but were hoping to have a tour guide explain all the sites to us.

 

[jstin]

If we are headed out at the same time in the morning we'd love to tag along at least to the train while in naples. I had to cancel our previous excursion as disney wanted 75 bucks for my 6 month old to go along!!! I heard the train station is kinda hidden so if you have any information, I can't seem to locate it. Hubby wants to go to Pompeii and Herucalem as well. I believe we will go all the way to pompeii, get a tour guide there hopefully if there are enough people who want one. I heard they organize them in random groups of 10 for 100 euro so it's only 10 euro a person plus admission. Then take the train to hercalem and tour there, and back to naples. I don't need a seperate ticket for that right? just a one way to pompeii and one way to naples?

The train tickets are the same as it is in Germany round trip, a 24 pass which is everywhere for that 24 hours.

 

[Adsmama]

I heard that the train station in Naples is unwalkable in the summer... I wonder how easy/cost efficienct a cab would be.... anyone?

 

[jstin]

I heard that the train station in Naples is unwalkable in the summer... I wonder how easy/cost efficienct a cab would be.... anyone?

I'm not sure what you mean by unwalkable. If you are interested in traveling by train in any of the locations that we visit this site might be helpful to you.

http://www.ftroute.com/italianTrains.htm

I thought that it was informative.

I did just find someone that took a taxi to Pompeii, for 4 people it was 90 Euro.

 

[Adsmama]

oh that is a great website thanks!! As far as the 90 Euro for a cab, I was more wondering how much the fare would be from the port to the train station. I think I read about 10 euro somewhere but am not positive.

 

[MinnieDiva]

I'm not sure what you mean by unwalkable. If you are interested in traveling by train in any of the locations that we visit this site might be helpful to you.

http://www.ftroute.com/italianTrains.htm

I thought that it was informative.

I did just find someone that took a taxi to Pompeii, for 4 people it was 90 Euro.

That's great! I found a link for trains that was in Italian, and I was guessing that I sort of understood what was written!

 

[Goofy559]

We are planning to take the train into Rome and then utilize the HOHO bus -- we don't plan on doing St Peters (I've been before) and it seems like an easy, inexpensive way to get from spot to spot. We are doing the Disney tour in Pompeii as we also wanted to see Capri and Sorrento.

It's good to know the trains in Italy have improved -- when I was last there (25 years ago) they would not have been described as easy to use!