I'll try to answer some of your questions but please, please, please use paragraphs. This is a messy jumble of words. Separate your thoughts and questions.

What do you mean by a "day trip to Tuscany?" Florence and Pisa are in Tusany. Do you mean that you want to visit Pisa and some other Tuscan town? Any particular interests? Are you looking for recommendations or just stating your itinerary.

Your Rome, Florence, Venice part looks ok.

The next 4 places with 2 nights each is too much, as you suspect. Why do you want to go to each of these places, particularly Milan? Milan to La Spezia takes about 4 hours plus you then have to transfer to Cinque Terre. I would either do the Lakes and Verona or the western coast of Italy.

I haven't been to Lake Garda but I have been to Lake Como and it's wonderful. I stayed in Bellagio. You can take a train from Venice to Varenna (via Milan) and walk to the ferry station and cross the lake to Bellagio. Or you can stay in Varenna or Mennagio. But I preferred Bellagio.

Weather can be cold and gray any place but April is a bit early in the season for the Lakes.

<< A holiday is for seeing and experiencing as much as possible >>

What I tell people is that running around, moving from place to place is far removed from seeing everything. You'll spend more time packing and unpacking, getting to the next place, trying to find your way around a new location.

Apartments will save on eating out but how much will you be eating in with all the moving around you're doing.

Please read at least 1 guide book and search on this board for other information. You can get lots of good info by reading other people's posts.

Whew! Tough to read. As Adrienne advises, paragraphs next time. A couple of suggestions:

(1) spend an extra day or two in Venice and do Verona as a day trip from there.

(2) Spend an extra day in Florence and do a daytrip to the Tuscan countryside from there.

(3) Skip the lakes for this trip - it is pretty early to assure nice weather. Visit Pisa on your way from Florence to Cinque Terre as it is on the train route. Spend a couple of days in CT.

(4) Add the remaining day to Rome.

Fly into Venice and out of Rome. You will lose more than a day moving from place to place.

Use the "destinations" feature of this forum and get a good huidebook and a good map. Have fun planning and have a wonderful trip!

Just one general remark, you need to watch your seasonally-related planning. You have a lot of resort destinations in there e.g. Cinque Terre. April in Italy may be very rainy. Even beyond that, it has very strict 'codes' for when things are done and you will find many hotels and restaurants closed out of season for both CT and the Lake Como area.

Add to your time in Rome.

All just personal, but if this were my trip with a teen, I would fly into Venice early morning
Venice 3 nts
Train to Florence 4 nts
(day trip to Pisa and Lucca)
(day trip to Siena)

Sorry, accidently posted. To cont.
Venice 3 nts.
Train to Florence 4 nts (two day trips)
Train to Rome
Rome 4 nts.
Train to Sorrento 4 nts
(see Pompeii, Capri, The AC)
Fly home from Naples

I am suggesting this because the weather might be nicer nearer the AC than in the North, yet you see a beautiful coastal area.
I am suggeting Sorrento rather than Capri or further south because it has easy transport to Pompeii and Naples, and though it is touristy, it has some fun shopping for your teen.

Whatever you decide, I would start at your most southern point and work your way north. April 25th and May 1st are national holidays in Italy.

Thank you for replies, have found a day trip from Florence to Pisa, taking in a Tuscan winery on the way and including lunch.
The reason for including this in my post is because it obviously takes a whole day so is one less day to explore Florence.

My daughter wants to go to Milan, personally I would not bother, but its her holiday too and she has her heart set on going.

My husband particularly wants to visit Verona, but we are happy to just visit for a day trip.

Originally we looked at staying in Rome, Florence and Venice and just doing trips to the other places but I am not sure if Milan is doable as a day trip from Venice or Florence.

My husband would quite like to see the lakes, but it is not a priority and we would forego them if its too far or bad weather.

As for Cinque Terre we had not included it originally but were told it is spectacular and not to be missed.

I have never been to Italy before and have never worked out my own itinerary before and trying to please the three of us is not easy. This is a dream trip for us and one that will probably never be repeated so we want to get it right.

Sassafrass, I would love to do Sorrento and include Pompeii and Naples and if I can work a trip to Milan in or talk my daughter out of Milan your itinerary sounds lovely, especially as the weather may be better.

If your daughter wants to go to Milan for shopping purposes only, you will probably find that designer items are no cheaper there than in the U.K. Also, I didn't find the stores in Milan especially glamorous. If I didn't plan on seeing the Pinacoteca di Brera, Sforza Castle, Duomo, Last Supper, La Scala, etc., I wouldn't include Milan, especially not on a first trip.

The Cinque Terre is beautiful, but so is the Amalfi Coast. I probably would not try to do both in one trip since they are both coastal destinations but at opposite ends of the country. Of the two, I personally think the Amalfi Coast is more spectacular and more likely to have better weather in April.

Unlike some others, I am an advocate of gondola rides. I have taken 3, at different times of the day, and my favorite time is at dusk.

Do you want to go to Murano for glass? Of the lagoon islands, I think Burano is really nice. It has some shops and restaurants but is smaller and more picturesque.

If your daughter really wants to go to Milan then you should go. The Last Supper is there and the cathedral is spectacular. It's 2.5 to 3 hours by train from Venice but there is also the time to get to/from the train station so it's a long day trip.

You could leave Venice, stop in Milan and do whatever your daughter wants to do then in the late afternoon continue traveling to Varenna and spend a couple of days on Lake Como.

You will see remains of the ancient empire in Rome. Might your DH see Pompeii as more interesting and exciting than Verona?

Your daughter will see beautiful shops in Florence, and many of the same goods, leather, etc. everywhere from Venice to Sorrento. Of course, you want to give her something special, but unless the cathedral and the Last Supper are the draw to Milan, other places are just as special.

It is easier to fly into Venice and train out, harder to fly out from Venice. Also, thinking to put you on the AC for the warmest weather. The AC also gives you a stunning coastline with more mjor sight seeing than the CT.

You could add a day to Venice and day trip to Verona. Milan is really too far for a day trip.

Not great, but you are coming only from the UK, so if you must visit Milan, fly in early, stay a night. Train next day to Verona - one night right in city center - just grab a taxi from the train station - easy and quick. Train to Venice and slow down from there for the rest of your trip.

You still have time to read and look at photos to make the best decisions for you.

Verona is totally 'doable' as day trip or on enroute to/from Venice. Milan can also be added given your time frame and that you are 'losing' CT and only adding the lakes if you are lucky enough to have great weather....the nice thing about your timing is that you will be able to be flexible and move things around.

My suggestion would be to take the info you currently have and frame out an intinerary and re-post so that you can get information from folks that are right up-to-date on your destinations-revised itinerary. That is the best way to get the expertise that this group has to offer!

Taking all the advice on here and bearing in mind the weather and pleasing us all I think I may have the beginning of a better itinerary.

Fly into Verona from London have checked its cheaper and there are early morning flights.

Spend 3 nights in Verona, see some sights and include a day trip to Milan, keeping husband and daughter happy and we would like to see Da Vinci's supper.

Train to Venice, takes just over an hour and leave from 8,10 am. Spend 3 nights in Venice.Go on Gondola trip and visit Murano and Burano and get lost in Venice.

Train to Florence,takes about 2 hours spend 3 or 4 nights in Florence and do 1 or 2 day trips to surrounding countryside, including Pisa.

Train to Rome takes 1 and a half ours ish, spend 4 nights in Rome doing the sights.

Train to Naples takes about and an hour and 15 mins then travel to Sorrento not sure which is the best way yet as I am not great with boats unless the ride is very smooth, but iv heard the train is full of pick pockets, advice please.

Stay in Sorrento 4 or 5 nights, whilst in Sorrento hope to visit AC and Pompei, not sure about Capri, can it only be reached by boat? Any ideas of things to do whilst in Sorrento would be appreciated.

<< about Capri, can it only be reached by boat >>

I guess you could swim! LOL

While in Sorrento you could see the archeological museum in Naples where artifacts from Pompeii are housed. It was interesting. There's Herculaneum, a site similar to Pompeii but very different in look. There is more intact and it's a much smaller site. It's on the train line from Naples to Sorrento.

The train to Sorrento is fine. I've not had a problem. There are pick pockets all over the world. Just use the same caution you use any place else. Be careful with your luggage that you keep it near you on the train.

Thanks for the paragraphs. It's so much easier to read!

You can get to Capri by ferry or hydrofoil - depending on where you leave from. I suppose there might be a place to land a private helicopter - but I don;t think that's what you had in mind.

If you get seasick just pop a dramimine. The trip to Capri is worth it - even if you don;t get to see the Blue Grotto - which you can get a boat into only if the water is perfectly flat. But there is so much else to see and do on the island that it really doesn;t matter.

Your latest itinerary looks good. However, if you can talk your husband and daughter out of Milan I would. The shopping is just as good in Verona, Florence and Rome as in Milan so if that's her main reason for wanting to go she will be disappointed. I actually just went to Milan this summer for the first time (I've been to Italy 7 times, never wanted to do Milan at the expense of other places. I liked it more than I expected to, but all of your other destinations are 'better'). You said your husband also wanted to see the lakes - so perhaps you could convince him that a day trip to Lake Garda from Verona would be more enjoyable than one to Milan. For one thing it's much closer. I took the train to Desanzano and the ferry from there to Sirmirone. Great castle, beautiful setting - one of my favorite days on this trip (which was 28 days long so that's saying something).

Re Sorrento - The train from Naples to Sorrento is a commuter train but it's fine - those stories about pick pockets are urban legend - I seriously doubt there are more pick pockets on that train than in Rome (or Paris, London, or pretty much any other heavily touristed place). And the train goes from the same station as the train you will have taken to get to Naples from Rome (it's down stairs) where as the ferry from Naples to Sorrento requires you to travel through Naples. With four days in Sorrento you could do one on the AC, one to Capri, and one to Pompeii. Here's a link to my trip report for Rome and Sorrento - http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/amalfi-coast-rome-and-croatia-images-of-three-hot-but-wonderful-weeks.cfm

Your plan is excellent.

If your daughter is interested in fashion or Da Vinci, Milan is an important destination. I agree with your original reasoning that she should be given the opportunity to see what she wants to see. I also think there is no substitute for Pompei. If your husband regrets his choice, take an early train back (but I doubt he will regret it.)

If you take a hydrofoil, the ride is very smooth. But there is no point in going to Capri unless the weather is brilliant.

If you do go to Milan, you must make reservations to see the Da Vinci's Last Supper. You can probably find directions by doing a search on this board.

Thank you so much for all the great advice, I have spoken to Jess, my daughter and my husband and we have decided to forget Milan.

So we have decided to probably fly into Venice and spend 5 or 6 nights there and do a day trip to Verona.

We will then spend 4 nights in Florence, 4 nights in Rome before getting the train to Naples and then Sorrento and spending 5 or 6 nights there.

Some question.... is it worth doing an organised day trip to Verona or are we better just taking a train and finding things our selves?

If we go on the train is it worth getting a Verona card for just one day?

We also thought whilst we were in Venice we may do a trip to Sermione, which includes visiting a winery and a boat trip if the weather permits. Has anyone had any experience of these trips

Also regarding where to stay we were thinking of self catering in Venice and Sorrento as we are staying longer, its cheaper and reviews are good, has anyone any experience of this?

Do you think we would be better spending an extra night in Venice or Sorrento.

BTW I do not get sea sick, I am just a bit of a wimp and have a phobia of the sea and boats and cannot cope with boats moving up and down. I am fine if the water is very calm, but speed boats terrify me. Having said that I have had some very pleasant trips on boats.

Looked at your link to your trip report of Rome and Sorrento, Isabel, beautiful pictures and very helpful- thanks for the link.

Glad found the report useful. I am actually just now going through my photos of Verona and will post them soon, but there are photos of Verona from my first trip there (also Venice) - http://www.pbase.com/annforcier/image/102059658 The photos I took this summer make it look even better, I should have them posted next week I hope.

If you find a self catering for a decent price in Venice I would do as you say and spend 5 or 6 nights there. But if not then I'd spend 3 nights there and three in Verona, especially since you are considering Sirmione also. I didn't do a winery but the boat trip was very short, it's pretty large and doesn't go that fast. You can easily do Verona on your own. It's a pretty easy 15-20 minute walk from the train station to Piazza Bra which is the main square, with the arena and all the sights are easy walking distance from that. The first time I was there was on a day trip and I did get the Verona card and felt it saved me a lot. This summer I stayed in Verona for four nights and did day trips during the day and spent late afternoons and evenings (and early mornings) in Verona. It's touristy, but no where near as crowded as Venice so after Venice it will feel empty.

Thanks again for all the replies and links, which are very helpful.

I have found reasonably priced self catering in Venice, which has great reviews so think we will stay there.

I am not sure whether it would be best to fly to Rome on an evening flight or an early morning flight. If we fly at night we would not get to Venice airport until 10.40pm, so it would be quite late by the time we got to where we are staying.
The morning flight would get us to the airport at about 11.20am. I would appreciate any advice you can give me about best times to arrive in Venice.

Also what is the best way to get from the airport to Venice itself as lots of the sights I have looked at are very confusing or contradict each other.
.

The best way to travel from the airport to Venice itself varies based on the location of your accommodations. Where is the apartment located?

Take the morning flight to Venice. Arriving in Venice after dark will not allow you to experience one of the most beautiful sights - the first view of Venice from the Grand Canal.

There are several options from the airport. There is a water taxi, the Vaporetto and the Allilaguna - a water bus. I suggest the latter but it depends where you are staying.

So we have decided to probably fly into Venice and spend 5 or 6 nights there and do a day trip to Verona.

We will then spend 4 nights in Florence, 4 nights in Rome before getting the train to Naples and then Sorrento and spending 5 or 6 nights there.>>

hi springer - I'm from the UK too, so perhaps can help a bit with the UK-Italy-UK logistics?

but I'm a bit confused. in this post you talk about flying into Venice [yes, good move] but then you're talking about flying into Rome? - surely not both?

assuming you're using easyjet or similar [where are you flying from?] the easiest option would be to fly into Venice, out of Rome. I would also put the Rome section of the trip at the end, so as to be in the right place for flying home.

that would give you this:

Day 1 - arrive Venice. stay 4 nights.

day 5 - train to Florence. stay 4 nights

Day 9 - train to Naples - and thence to Sorrento. Stay 5 nights

Day 14 - train to Rome - stay 5 nights.

You could stay in apartments in Venice and florence, but it's a bit of a pain shopping and cleaning up for such short stays, and there isn't such a saving as there is for longer stays. it's certainly an idea in Rome if you decide to spend longer there, though eating out there is cheaper and the food is so good you might not get full value from it. your choice. i can recommend a very central 3 person apartment in Rome that we stayed in with our son a couple of years ago if you are interested.

as for getting from venice airport to the centre, there are various options - from two sorts of buses [one direct, one stopping but both cheap and reasonably fast] the alilaguna water bus [more expensive and quite slow] to a motorscafi or water taxi - very expensive.

most people get the bus to the centre of Venice [piazzale Roma - you can't go any further by land except on foot] and then a vaporetto [waterbus] to the stop nearest to their accommodation. your hotel/apartment owner should be able to tell you which it is and the options for getting there.

good luck!

Thanks once again for replies, I am not sure where we are staying yet as I have found several hotels and apartments which are in our price range and have good reviews.

Hi annhig,we are flying from Gatwick airport with BA.
We were originally going to fly into Rome and go to Florence, Venice and then stay in Verona and visit Cinque Terre and Milan.

Because of advice we got we have now decided to fly into Venice still go to Florence and Rome but then go to the Amalfi coast and fly home from Naples.
We need 5 or 6 nights in Venice because we want a day in Verona and also to visit Sirmione, weather permitting.
I think we will probably go in the morning as it will be easier to find our way in the light.

Also you are not the first person to mention how beautiful the first view of Venice from the grand canal is mamcalise. sounds like its not to be missed.

springermad -if you are going to have 5-6 nights in Venice, then an apartment would definitely be a good idea. VRBO is a good place to start as they tend to have apartments that are in the lower price-range. if you've never rented an apartment before, things to look our for are high cleaning charges, and [if you're arriving late] extra charges for letting you into the apartment after working hours. good idea to arrive during the day if you possibly can, though most apartment managers will collect you from the vaporetto stop if they know what time you're arriving, and guide you to your apartment.

of course you don't have to cook at all, but you can save money by eating in for one meal a day, even if what you eat has been bought ready-made, or is a selection of meats and cheese from the deli. and wine, including prosecco, can be bought from the barrel - either take your own empty water bottle or they will supply.

you're lucky to be able to fly home from Naples - we usually fly from Bristol as it is our nearest main airport [not counting Exeter] and no-one goes to Naples from there.

Hi annhig, thanks for the advice re apartments we have been getting lost knowing where to look.
We wont want to cook loads but i think its nice to have the option, also we usually only eat light meals at lunchtime so a selection from the deli would suit us fine.
We are not sure whether to just stay in Venice, Florence and Rome now and do trips from these places as my husband and daughter do not want to be constantly packing and lugging heavy luggage. My husband is now saying maybe we should spend longer in Florence and hire a car and visit various places in Tuscany. I am not convinced as he is not great driving abroad and I think we will get lost and miss lots.
I want to do some guided tours but he is saying they are expensive.
Any advice on the above points would be great as I am not sure what would be best.

springer -

my kids certainly prefer staying longer in each place rather than being on the move all the time, and I do think that you see more that way also it does cut down on the un/packing, but OTOH you may find that by the time you get to Rome, everything you have seen is just a blur!

however, you do not want or need a car if you are simply going to be staying in cities; you can do day trips by bus/train or hire a driver if you want something more bespoke. an alternative would be to spend a few days in Florence then move to the countryside and hire a car there. you can always take your GPS and use it there if you think that you are likely to get lost, though we have always managed well enough with maps.

We're not much for guided tours either, but the one place that I would definitely have one is for the Forum in Rome - it just looks like a heap of stones to me! [the tours are usually combined with the Colosseum - Context Rome are well thought of, though quite expensive, but it is money well spent, IMO]

hope that helps!

Florence does not make a good base for daytrips by car into the Tuscan countryside. In the center (which is where you want to stay) parking is difficult and expensive. And it's easy while driving in the center to happen into a ZTL, a locals-only driving zone, and get fined for it later. Better spend a couple days in Florence (more if you're huge fans of Renaissance art and architecture) and then move out of the city for your driving-in-the-Tuscan-countryside fix. You can rent a car at the Florence airport or in places like Siena or Arezzo or Chiusi. Or do daytrips by public transportation from Florence.

When in Italy we have larger lunches and smaller dinners, usually just gelato. Dinner hour in Italy starts at 8:00. This doesn't fit well with our circadian rhythms. Whereas lunch is cheaper and gives you time to rest between sightseeing forays. But don't look for lunch after 2:00. Most restaurants close their kitchen then.

When we rent apartments, we do little actual cooking, just breakfast (light for me, more substantial for my husband) and maybe the occasional small meal of oddments from a salumeria or whatever.

if you wanted to rent a car and driver for a day [or two] in florence, this one has been highly recommended here [though i ought to say that we have never used him]

http://www.hillsandroads.com

you could look at trip advisor for other recommendations.

Thanks once again for all your replies- I think we now have our final itinerary sorted- have decided to forgo Capri, having spoken to my Mum, who has been don't think I will cope with the boat crossing so better not to include it.

So we are going to fly into Venice in the early evening and although we arrive at 10.40pm at the airport have found accommodation that will accept late arrivals and it means we start fresh the next morning.

We will spend 6 nights in Venice and do a daytrip to Verona and Sirmione if the weather permits.

we will then spend 4 nights in Florence and have an itinerary that includes our must sees, relaxing time and a trip to Pisa and a local winery.

We will then go to Rome for 4 nights and do all the tourist things but leave our last day free to wander and relax.
Finally we will spend 4 nights in Sorrento and do trips to Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast and Naples, where we fly home from.

We intend to travel by train and have decided against hiring a car, the trains take between about an hour and 2 hours to get everywhere and seem to be reliable and reasonably priced.

Any thoughts or suggestions for places to stay, eat etc would be appreciated. Thanks loraine

While in Venice - buy a multiple day pass for the water taxi - with this you can go to Murrano and Burrano and stay as long as you wish - heed from our experience we did a tour and only had 45 mins in each location --

Also in Florence we took a 1 day bus trip Best of Tuscany - that left from outside of Train Station - great trip Sienna - winery -lunch - San Gimignano - Pisa - it was a full day but really worth the trip -
We also did a day trip to cinque terre - 8 hrs - and very nice - our driver was friendly - knowledgeable - and met us to take us to the next towns.

I'm planning a trip to UK - leaving 2 weeks from today - York, Edinburgh - Liverpool - Bath - London -- any advise appreciated.