achay

My husband and I are trying to pull a 10-12 day trip to Italy together in late Sept or early November. We are retired, in good health, able to schlep rolling carry-on bags and will travel by train or other public transportation.

Would love to see Venice, Cinque Terre, Pisa, Florence, Spello, Naples (Pompeii Museum) and Positano.

Interests: food and wine, museums/churches/art (but not slogging from museum to church to museum), local fairs and festivals, relaxing in beautiful scenery.

Questions:
Are we biting off more than we can chew?
Pros / cons of Sept vs Nov
Recommendations for a one-shot cooking class

Fodorites have helped us plan trips to Botswana, S. Africa, Scotland and England so I look forward to any feedback I can get about this trip.

annhig

IMO, for a 10-12 day trip, yes, you are being a bit [!] over-ambitious particularly if you really want to see Venice AND Naples.

if you cut out the CT [probably not advised in November] you could do Venice - train to Florence [day trip to Pisa]- train to Naples [day trip to Pompeii] , without having to go anywhere near Rome.

obviously flying open jaw into Venice and out of Naples would make this itinerary more doable.

There are lots of people offering cooking classes in Florence; I think that several people here have done them.

The weather in September would be better than November but there would also probably be more people around, especially in Venice and Florence. in September you could do the CT but if you did that, IMO you should forget about Naples and Pompeii.

Remember the old fodors rule that every time you move you lose at least half a day, and 3 nights in a place = 2 days.

3 nights in Venice, 4 in Florence [gives you 2 days and a day trip] and 3-4 in Naples would be a nice balance.

nytraveler

If you go in November I would avoid both the CT (who wants to hike in bad weather) and Positano (same for a beach resort in late fall - with some hotels and restaurants closed as well as limited ferry service.

You can see Pompeii from either Naples (with archeo museum) or Sorrento - a larger town with more places open.

If you go in Sept weather should be OK for all places - but you have way more than you can get to in so few days. And how many days do you actually have on the ground - not counting the day you land or the day you depart?

MmePerdu

Since you're retired, why not add days, rather than subtract destinations? And if you have the choice, definitely September.

jelopez33

Definitely, what Mme Perdue says is best! Add some days if you can.

We know all places you mention( not the Cienque Terre), and all of them deserves a visit.

IMO, as a day trip from Firenze, Siena is better than Pisa, but that is me. Trip to Pisa very easy via train, to Siena via bus is better.

If possible I will prefer september.

Enjoy you trip!

ira

Hi AC,

Come Nov, you might find much of the CT closed.

I would fly into Venice - 3 nights

Train to Florence - 4 nights (visit Siena) (5 visit Lucca)

Train to Naples - 3 (visit Paestum) (4 nights Pompeii)

Fly home from Naples.

sandralist

For the trip you are contemplating, September is much better than November. (However, le Cinque Terre never "closes". Some of the trails are closed depending on rain -- which happens frequenly in November -- but rain can happen any month of the year).

You can find many many other medieval hilltowns just as atmospheric as Spello that would fit better overall into your itinerary. Likewise, doubling up on vertical cliff sea views will leave you with little time to enjoy those destinations, so you might want to choose either le Cinque Terre or Positano but not both.

Many people will tell you to not visit the towns you want in favor of towns they prefer, but I have to tell you I would be really unhappy with day trips to Siena and Lucca (especially if it meant giving up Pisa) or trying to get to Paestum from Naples, nor would I stay in Sorrento if I wanted to visit the archeological museum in Naples.

blej

Hi, I would also suggest you reduce the number of places and try to minimize the amount of travel time. For example Spello, which is one of the pretties towns in Unbria, is will take quite a bit of time to get there and to get to any other of your destinations from there.

I would suggest you map out your destinations with the travel time required from one to the next.

Here is a website which provides simple instant time, cost and other travel info by train, bus, car etc. between places: Just put in from and to and click.

blej

Sorry - here is the link: http://www.rome2rio.com

achay

Many thanks for the feedback. We have decided on 14 days on the ground.
Milan - maybe Verona - Venice - Florence - Pisa - Cinque Terre - Milan. Sept. 9 -24. Now that I have that nailed down I can concentrate on # of days in each place, hotels, etc.

If anyone has any suggestions on side trips or particular places of interest that would not commonly be found in the guidebooks I'd appreciate it. I love to go to places where I can see demonstrations of local crafts being made. For instance, we saw a great demonstration of stone wall building in England - that kind of thing.

My husband taught Romeo and Juliet for 35 years to high school freshmen so he has Verona in his mind but we haven't researched it. I might have to gag him to prevent him from reciting the entire play by heart if we go there. Two houses, both alike in dignity .........

sandralist

I'm not sure it would be so bad to travel with someone who can recite all of Romeo and Juliet by heart. I can think of worse things to be forced to listen to. But fair warning to your husband, while it may be true that Shakespeare actually did visit Verona during his lifetime despite the usual belief he did not, the Romeo & Juliet "sights" in Verona are utter fakes. Still, Verona is a wonderful destination.

The places you are going are rich in handcraft, with the possible exception of Milan unless you can get into a designer's studio. You should definitely pay attention to the stone walls of le Cinque Terre, and read up on the legendary artisans of Venice and Florence, and not ignore them just because they are in many guidebooks. Your destinations are sufficiently rich in interest that I don't think you will want to tear yourself away to go for side trips.

sandralist

I meant to add that Pisa has one of the most important museums of fresco creation and restoration in the world, and it is within the grounds of the leaning tower, in the Campo dei Miracoli. If you are interest in handwork, you might want to visit.

cybertraveler

Verona is a lovely little city if you can fit it in. We did as part of a day trip on a tour that included Padua. Your husband would probably enjoy visiting Juliet's courtyard. When we were there, a couple of actors were performing the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet. A bit hokey, but fun!

With your interest in history, you might want to consider adding Siena to your itinerary. It's one of our favorite spots in Italy, with a very ancient and lovely atmosphere. It can be done as a day trip from Florence. http://www.discovertuscany.com/siena/

If it doesn't work out this trip, it's an excuse to return! Have a wonderful trip.

annhig

your husband might enjoy this site, achay:

http://www.julietclub.com/en/