Day by day — tap 📍 or any station name for maps
Fly Australia → Rome
Times from the family planner — verify against the Qantas e-ticket (not yet on file).
Watch-outs
- ~2½ h connection in Perth between the domestic and international terminals.
- Allow extra time at passport control in Rome — EU ports of entry are seeing delays while new automated immigration processing beds in.
Land in Rome → Salerno → Maiori
6:15 am: land at Fiumicino Airport → Leonardo Express (~32 min) or official taxi rank to Termini. ~4½ h buffer; breakfast near the platform, bags attached.
PNR J63SSN tap to copy
Salerno → Maiori not booked — bus or ferry along the coast (~30–45 min): Salerno ferry terminal
From 3 pm — check in (4 nights): Piazzale Campo, 84010 Maiori SA
Watch-outs
- Termini is Rome's pickpocket + taxi-tout hot spot — bag zipped and worn in front, ignore anyone offering a “taxi” inside the station.
- Doors close 1 minute before departure. Find the train number (9515) on the Partenze board, not the destination.
- Save all ticket PDFs offline and carry printed copies — plus a power bank. The whole trip lives on her phone.
Amalfi Coast — free days
Based in Maiori. Easy hops: Amalfi Ravello Positano
Checkout Mon 20 July by 10 am.
Watch-outs
- Peak-season crowds: coast buses and ferries fill fast — travel early, buy ferry tickets ahead.
- July heat is serious (mid-30s°C): water, hat, sunscreen; swim at flagged/lifeguarded beaches. Tap water is safe everywhere in Italy.
- First stretch with no program around her — daily check-in with home, live location on, host Raffaele's contact handy in the Airbnb app. Emergencies: 112.
Salerno → Florence · program starts
PNR QJY555 tap to copy
Key collection by 7 pm (taxi from station ~€10): SLD office — Corso Tintori 21
Apartment address TBC (released ~2 weeks before start — add it here when it lands). Housing check-in form due within 48 h.
Watch-outs
- Checkout in Maiori 10 am → Salerno 12:50 is tighter than it looks with coast traffic and queues. Leave early.
- 16:46 arrival leaves ~2 h before the key office closes. Train late? Call +39 055 2633127 before 7 pm. Missed entirely? Overnight at her own cost (Plus Hostel, B&B Hotels Firenze, Hotel Cellai are FUA's picks), check in next day.
FUA — Biomedical Ethics
“July in Florence” Session 4, FUA-AUF. Orientation after arrival (schedule via CISaustralia). Possible €70–140 course fee payable onsite if noted on her registration letter.
FUA / SLD — Corso Tintori 21 GANZO (FUA restaurant) — Via de' Macci 85r
Housing rules: quiet from 10 pm (and 2–4 pm), no smoking anywhere incl. balconies, no guests. Maintenance via the student portal only.
Watch-outs
- Petty theft clusters around S.M. Novella station and the packed centre — bag zipped, phone off café tables.
- It's illegal (fineable) to eat or drink on the steps of churches and public buildings in the centre.
- Summer mosquitoes can carry dengue/chikungunya — repellent for evenings. Keep measles vaccination current.
- Save FUA 24/7: +39 351 508 1385 and 112 in her phone now.
Weekend away: Florence → Santa Margherita Ligure
PNR QJ4FS5 tap to copy Change code 954601
From 4 pm — check in (3 nights): Via Roma 31/8, Santa Margherita Ligure
Watch-outs
- Only 11 minutes to change at Pisa — straight to the departure board, no detours. Missed it? The Intercity ticket isn't valid on later trains: change it at the Trenitalia desk/app before boarding anything.
- 30–31 July are program weekdays — confirm she's clear of class commitments; skipping class can breach program rules.
- Rail strikes (sciopero) are common and pre-announced — check Trenitalia channels the evening before.
Ligurian coast · Portofino
Free weekend on the Riviera: Portofino San Fruttuoso Camogli
Watch-outs
- Hiking the Portofino or Cinque Terre trails: proper shoes, plenty of water, and check trail + ferry status — coastal services stop in rough weather.
Back to Florence via La Spezia
Checkout by 11 am — trains are mid-afternoon, so ask Nicola about storing luggage.
Both legs on one digital ticket — code 2877945594, personal to Jamilla.
Program ends · Florence → Rome
Check out of FUA housing — leave it clean, follow the check-out policy to avoid fines.
Florence → Rome not booked — grab a Frecciarossa (~1.5 h) soon; prices climb near departure.
From 2 pm — check in (1 night): Le Stanze di Elle — Via Emanuele Filiberto 166 (short walk from Termini)
Watch-outs
- Esquilino is convenient but it's Termini-adjacent — fine by day; after dark stay aware and take a taxi if it's late.
Fly home
Times from the family planner — verify against the Qantas e-ticket (not yet on file).
Watch-outs
- Tight morning — set alarms. For the 10:45 departure be at FCO by ~7:45 am, so leave the hotel ~7:00 am (ignore the 10 am checkout). Taxi ~45 min at that hour, or early Leonardo Express from Termini.
Tickets & reference numbers
QF937 Brisbane 13:25 → Perth 17:00 · QF5 Perth 19:35 → Rome FCO 06:15 (+1) · per family planner — verify against e-ticket
Roma Termini 11:00 → Salerno 13:02 · coach 3, seat 6D (1st) · Mastercard •1417
Host Raffaele · in from 3 pm / out by 10 am · booking in Airbnb app
Piazzale Campo, 84010 Maiori SASalerno 12:50 → Firenze S.M.N. 16:46 · coach 6, seat 18A (2nd) · Mastercard •7170
Firenze S.M.N. 12:28 → Pisa C.le 13:28 · 2nd class regional digital (personal, pre-validated)
Pisa C.le 13:39 → S. Margherita L.-Portofino 15:44 · coach 2, seat 17D (1st plus)
Host Nicola · in from 4 pm / out by 11 am · booking in Airbnb app
Via Roma 31/8, 16038 Santa Margherita LigureRV 3273 S. Margherita 15:15 → La Spezia 16:10, then R 18401 La Spezia 16:40 → Firenze S.M.N. 19:08 · one ticket, both legs
Hotel room, host Antonella · in from 2 pm / out by 10 am · booking in app
Via Emanuele Filiberto 166, 00185 RomaQF6 Rome FCO 10:45 → Perth 13:05 (+1) · QF938 Perth → Brisbane 19:25 Sun 9 Aug · per family planner — verify against e-ticket
ItaliaRail fares: 100% refundable, one free date/time change up to 2 h before departure — railaid@italiarail.com · +1 833 482 5421. Trenitalia email recovery code: 1833719569. Regional digital tickets are personal to Jamilla; on Freccia/Intercity trains show the PNR to the conductor.
Emergencies
Program & campus
Corso Tintori 21 · sld-studentservices@florencecampus.org+39 055 2633127📍
Health — Florence
Via Roma 4, near the Duomo · walk-ins + 24/7 house calls+39 055 475411📍
Getting around — Florence
File the report at the airport, send bags to Florence University of the Arts — never to the apartment:
Corso Tintori 21, 50122 FirenzeStill to sort — tap to tick off
First-solo-trip basics
Train-station Italian
| binario | platform — “Da quale binario?” = which platform? |
| partenze / arrivi | departures / arrivals boards |
| in ritardo | delayed (shown next to the train) |
| soppresso | cancelled — go to the ticket desk/app |
| sciopero | strike — check Trenitalia the night before travel |
| coincidenza | connection |
| uscita | exit |
| capotreno | conductor — the person to show the PNR |
| “Dov'è …?” | “Where is …?” — Dov'è il binario cinque? |