peebee28

Hello travelers,

I have joined this forum today and I am seeking some advice to help me plan my trip. This is my first trip to Europe and planning it for 10nights in Italy in October to bring in my 30th Birthday. I am traveling from Mumbai, India and my cousin sister is flying in from Washington DC, US. We have made a tentative plan such as :-
Day 1 Arrive in Venice by noon
Day 2 Venice
Day 3 Venice to Florence
Day 4 Florence
Day 5 Florence to Pisa to Cinque Terre and back
Day 6 Florence to Rome
Day 7 Rome
Day 8 Rome
Day 9 Naples and Pompeii, sleep in Sorrento
Day 10 Capri or Amalfi Coast, sleep in Sorrento
Day 11 Sorrento to Rome early morning

I know this does look exhaustive and too cramped up but I have traveled like this before and try to squeeze in as much as possible. Do let me know if the number of nights given to these places is sufficient enough or should I add or subtract from a certain place?

greg

You know it is hectic. I am not going to comment on that.
If Day 11 is a flight home day, Sorrento to Rome on return day is hectic. This can be avoided by doing Florence to Sorrento and put Rome at the end.

BigRuss

Your day 5 is probably impossible. Plus, CT isn't really a fall destination.

Amalfi Coast is out of season in October too.

Sassafrass

Some ferry times are cut back by October, certainly by the end of October.

Forget Cinque Terre, not enough time and unpredictable weather.

Go to Pisa and Lucca or skip those and go only to Siena.

Is day 11 your departure for home day? If so, you need to be in Rome the night before.

Day 1, arrive Venice
Day 2, Venice
Day 3, travel to Florence
Day 4, Florence
Day 5, day trip to Pisa and Lucca (or Siena)
Day 6, Florence to Sorrento, depart early for stop in Pompeii (not enough time for Naples)
Day 7, Amalfi Coast by bus or ferry (depending on date)
Day 8, travel to Rome
Day 9, Rome
Day 10, Rome
Day 11, depart for home.

PalenQ

For train info check www.trenitalia.comfor fares and possible discount tickets if you book early enough but if you are doing all that by train then check out the Italy Eurailpass- especially in first class as for that many train trips (presumably - by car you just can't do it in that time frame) - great info on Italian trains: www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.seat61.com.

Yes Day 5 I'd just go to Pisa - really if you want to see the Leaning Tower and actually climb it it would take 3-4 hours all told- or just do the Cinque Terre, which I did as a day trip from Florence once and went to 4 of the 5 villages.

dwdvagamundo

First, congratulations on choosing the best European country to start with and with not trying to squeeze in too much of too much in one trip.

Sassafrass has made a good emendation of your plans. Given the short time, I'd even consider dropping Amalfi Coast area for more time in Florence. That assumes that you are leaving Venice in late afternoon for Florence.

Minimum DAYS for each city on a first trip are, IMO, two for Venice, three for Florence and four for Rome.

PalenQ

Yup I also would leave the Amalfi and Sorrento areas to another trip and concentrate on the big three - all fantastic cities and perhaps do a day trip from Florence to Pisa or Siena or even the Cinque Terre.

Loacker

For a first trip to Italy I would follow the itinerary below.

Day 1 Venice
Day 2 Venice
Day 3 Venice
Day 4 Florence
Day 5 Florence - Daytrip to Siena
Day 6 Florence - Daytrip to San Gimignano or Tuscan tour*
Day 7 Rome
Day 8 Rome
Day 9 Rome
Day 10 Rome

*You can book a bus tour of the Tuscan hill towns through Viator. Make sure it includes Montepulciano and Pienza.

BumbleB6

Or Day 6 could be changed out to visit Pisa.
I highly recommend Siena if you have time - but there is plenty to do and see in Florence besides the two major museums. (If you plan to see Uffizi and/or Accademia, make sure you buy tickets in advance if you haven't already, or book a tour. In fact I'd do that asap.)
I think the same would go for Sistine chapel and Vatican museums in Rome.

I get stressed out when I'm rushed, so I like Loaker's itinerary, but -
I realize that some people really like having a quick taste of everything the first time they visit a place, and would be perfectly fine with Sassafrass's itinerary.

I'm also going to Sorrento and AC in October, but with the understanding that it might be chilly and/or rain. I've also read that ferries to Capri and along the coast have a limited schedule. A couple of friends who both went in late October a few yrs ago, though, insisted it's still beautiful then. Just understand that it's considered going into off-season in October for Amalfi Coast area.

jmb67

I like Loacker's suggestion. It will give you a good taste of the big three must sees. I usually go max 2 places for 10 nights, 3 if I have 14 or more days. But since it is your first time, this will be a great start. Remember, you can always go back and probably will. You picked a great country to go to for your first trip to Europe. Italy is my favorite.

If your flight is not arriving in Venice (i.e., you are arriving in Milan or Rome), don't prebook your train ticket because if your flight is delayed you could miss your train.

peebee28

Hi,
Thank you for the replies. We really wanted to visit Amalfi but looking at the replies and considering the weather, we are mostly going to drop it completely So should we increase a day in Florence and visit Tuscany since we both are wine lovers.. or do you think increasing a day in Rome would do justice?
Also, Arriving in Venice on 20th Oct and leaving Rome either on 29th or 30th Oct.

Loacker

You might want to drop Venice in October, as well. Late October is acqua Alta season.

Or go but be prepared for lots of rain and floodings.

hebaseheart

For Venice-
Our traveling styles are very similar and when i visited Venice I felt as if I did everything I wanted to do in one full day and spending one night. Although this is a short time for one city and usually I would say skip it to a city you only spend one night in, IMO it is totally worth it. Beautiful city! Can't comment on the weather for that time of the year however.

PalenQ

Some folks yes may only like Venice for a day - especially in crowded seasons but that is not the case in February though during Carnivale it's a great time to be there - lots of costumed folks running around- I was there during Carnivale and it was such a treat though weather may be coolish as opposed to say Rome or Florence.

But one could spend days in Venice getting off the beaten path too and love it.

Try to take boats to some of the islands to see Venice from afar majestically, surrealistically to me, hovering over the water.

Loacker

How can one like the most beautiful city in the world for only a day? I wish I could spend months in Venice.

Lexma90

It sounds like your current question is whether you should add a day (night) to Florence and spend that time on a wine tour in Tuscany, or add a day to Rome.

Either are wonderful choices; it depends on whether you think you would get more enjoyment out of trying Chianti, Brunello or Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, or of seeing the ancient structures of Rome, or the art in Rome.

Loacker

You don't have to travel all the way to Italy to try Chianti or Brunello. You can find bottles at any liquor store.

PalenQ

How can one like the most beautiful city in the world for only a day? I wish I could spend months in Venice.>

But one day is better than none - just to see the IMO world's most surrealistically gorgeous city - more better but if only can spare a day better than none.

geetika

You'll probably go to Rome on any future trip to Italy and will always get a chance to see more of this city, so I'd spend the extra day in Florence and do a Tuscany wine tour. We did something similar in May, visited San Gimignano and the Chianti region, with lunch at a vineyard, we had glorious weather and enjoyed every moment of the day.

Viator is a re-seller, so you might want to do an online search for Tuscany wine tours and look up reviews, several of the operators are extremely good.


BTW, we did a day trip to Cinque Terre mid-May and it was cold and windy. The ferry wasn't running and we drove between the villages, at one point there was so much fog visibility was practically zero. Luckily our driver was a local and knew the place and roads, he said he'd never seen anything like it in more than 30 years! However, we did get to see four of the five villages, thankfully it didn't rain.

suze

I think it's too much in too short a time frame, but actually the only thing that truly doesn't work is Day 5.

With 10 nights for a first trip to Italy, personally I would do only Venice, Florence, Rome.