Jruble wrote:
Good Morning, My company has organized a company trip to Italy in November with our itinerary mostly in Florence and Rome. I'm going a week early so I can fill up more SD cards.
My questions are:
1- (flying into Rome) - What are must photograph places for potentially rainy November. Venice? Tuscany? Amalfi Coast?
2 - what would be a good travel lens for my Nikon 7100? I have a Tokina 10-20mm and a Tamron 70-200 (which I really don't want to carry around).
Any other helpful travel tips are appreciated.
Thank you,
Joy
Good Morning, My company has organized a company t... (
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Joy,
The Amalfi Coast is amazingly beautiful and the weather should still be pleasant in November. However, I didn’t find it especially photogenic. Except for in the towns like Positano or Sorrento, the views are out across open water with not much chance for anything in the foreground. The views are literally breathtaking, but it is something to be experienced rather than photographed. You need to be crazy to drive it and the buses won’t stop to let you catch the best parts. If you do go, don’t miss Ravello up in the hills above Amalfi.
You could spend an amazing week or two (or more) touring around Tuscany centered on Florence or Sienna. If time permits, shoot up to Venice for an overnight stay instead of Amalfi. Alitalia flies FCO to VCE for less than $60. I think if you can only see one city in Europe it should be Venice because it is so unique and it won’t be there forever. Take the ferry ride around the entire lagoon to Burano - it is a photographers dream come true. I am taking my third visit to Venice in October.
I think the Cinque Terra is a much more photogenic destination than Amalfi and you don’t need a car to get around. The weather might be a bit iffy in November but it is easily accessible from Florence. You could do it as a spur of the moment thing if the weather is good. I think there is coach service that will take you there and back from Florence.
A lot depends on how you intend to travel around. Italian roads are good and well signposted. Italian drivers are not as aggressive as made out to be. If you can drive at home you can drive in Italy, but get a small car.
If you do drive, I would suggest taking a leisurely route to Florence from Rome via Civita di Bagnoreggio, Orvieto, Montepulciano, Pienza, The Colli Sinesi countryside, Sienna, San Gimignano to Florence. That will take you through the best of Tuscany. Figure two or three days for that with an overnight stay in Orvietto and Sienna. If you are taking trains you may have to settle for just Orvieto and Sienna.
Personally, I find Rome exhausting, but if this is your first time you will of course want to ‘see the sights’. I have skirted around the City on my last couple of trips. I would much prefer to wander around the lesser known hill towns in Tuscany or Umbria.
Camera wise – I always make the mistake of bringing too much gear. I end up only using my 18-105 F4 on my Sony A6000. It covers 95% of my shots. I expect it will be same story on my next trip. The 10-20mm would be good for interiors and narrow streets if it is reasonably fast.
Beware of using cellular data. I rang up $600 in a week using the maps on my phone. Won't make that mistake again.
Have fun and post pics when you get back.