sflach

I’m trying to put together a 15 day itinerary for a first time visit to Italy. We will be flying in and out of Venice. My husband and I are active so we would like to do as much as possible. We would like to see the main attractions in the big cities of Venice, Florence and Rome but we also love the outdoors and want to see Tuscany country side and possibly Cinque Terre. We want to try the trains and rent a car to see Tuscany. Does this itinerary sound feasible? Also looked at spending less time traveling through tuscany and dropping car off in Sorrento and spending 2 days in Positano??? Day 1: arrive in Venice 8am Day 2: Venice Day 3: Venice/train to Florence Day 4: Florence Day 5: Florence/train to Cinque Terre Day 6: Cinque Terre/train to Florence to pick up rental car unless there are rental cars available near cinque Terre Day 7-10: Travel by car through Tuscany...Siena, Chianti region, Pienza...unsure about routes and small towns...drop off car in Orvietto and take train to Rome Day 11-14: Rome Day 15: Rome/train back to Venice and flying out at 6am on Day 16

ayoldguy1

I haven't been to Italy at all yet (going for 10 days in July!!) So I can't really critique your itinerary per se-
But why not fly into Venice and out of Rome, as Rome will be your last stop- why bother with the hassle of a long train ride back, esp if your flite is @ 6AM??
I am going to Rome and Florence and am flying into rome, out of florence- seems to make more sense.

-Alan

mr_go

Alan makes a good point about the open-jaw option. Overall, I'd say you're trying for too much here. I can't tell you what to cut out...I love all of the destinations you've listed. But I would definitely do some cutting back, or else you won't have time to actually <i>enjoy</i> any of them.

Maybe save Rome for another trip?

mamc

Agree with the suggestion to do an open jaw flight, into Venice and out of Rome. Otherwise, I think you need to think about limiting your proposed stops. For your first trip, I suggest Venice, Florence, Rome and one other stop. Choose either Cinque Terre, the Tuscan countryside or Sorrento/Positano. The Tuscan countryside fits best with your itinerary but if you prefer to get a glimpse of the sea, choose CT instead.

I think you will be able to get the feel of Italy better if you spend less time in trains, planes and automobiles and more time in the locations you want to visit.

eroz

I suggest our active 2 wk plan, we went 2 summers ago for our honeymoon. Save Rome/Positano for another trip.

3 nights Venice
2 night Milan
2 nights Lake Como
2 nights Cinque Terre
Rent a car 5-6 nights in Tuscany (stay 1/2 nights N of SIena or in Chianti and 1/2 S by Montepuliciano
Drop of car in Pisa and train into Cinque terre for 2 nights.
Head up to Lake Como for 2 nigihts

eroz

sorry, that posted while I was changing the direction! this is what I meant to suggest:

3 nights Venice
2 night Milan
2 nights Lake Como
2 nights Cinque Terre
Rent a car 5-6 nights in Tuscany (stay 1/2 nights N of SIena or in Chianti and 1/2 S by Montepuliciano
Drop of car in Florence for 3 nights, head back to Venice!

sockboy

Open jaw really is the way to go. Our trip a couple of years ago was as follows:

Fly North America to London
2 nights London - get over jet lag
Fly to Venice
3 nights Venice
Train to Florence
3 nights Florence
Train to CT, stopping in Pisa on the way
3 nights Cinque Terre
Train to Rome
4 nights Rome
Fly home

I would say it was just about perfect. I had wanted to get to Tuscany, but couldn't fit it in. We had been to London before (and really enjoy it), so it was a perfect location to get over jet lag. But you could perhaps trade my two nights in London for two nights in Sienna between Florence and CT.

blondeinabmw

My husband and I are planning a very similar trip for next May. Our working itinerary is below:

Rome (3 nights)
Train to Florence (5 nights)
Rent car on day 4 in Florence, Tuscany day trips
Drive to Portofino (2 nights) with full day drip to Cinque Terre
Drive to Como/Lake District (2 nights)
Drive or train to Venice (3 nights)
Depart from Venice to US with stopover in Paris

We amit it is ambitious...We planned the trip to accommodate a car rental for only 7 days during the middle portion of our trip.

suze

It sounds like the in and out of Venice plane tickets are already purchased???

I to would have suggested an open jaw so you could leave from Rome without back-tracking.

Or if you really want to see all that countryside, I'd skip Rome altogether this trip and stay up somewhat closer to Venice/Florence. I know you say you want to see as much as possible but your itinerary sounds quite rushed to me.