atticusfinch

My husband and I are planning a trip to Italy in July 2014 for 11 days to celebrate our 25th anniversary. We have never been to Europe before and desperately need some advice. After perusing guide books and the internet, the areas that interest us the most are Florence, Tuscany, the Cinque Terra and Lake Como. Our initial thoughts are to fly into Florence, spend 2 days in Florence, then rent a car and spend 3 days at a B&B in Tuscany, 2 days in the Cinque Terra, 2 days at Lake Como, then fly home from Milan. Thus we would allow 2 days for flying in/out and have 9 days for the actual trip. We would love advice on whether this itinerary involves too many locations for the time we have? We are both in good health and our interests include hiking, boating, and exploring local towns. Thank you in advance for any help you can give us.

HappyTrvlr

Have you checked reviews for these hotels on Trip Advisor and Booking.com?

Andrew

I've done plenty of trips with that frequency of stops. It's very doable, especially with a car (the whole time?). And you've clearly thought about the arrival/return days.

July may be the best time for you to go to Italy, but just understand that it will be very crowded in July. I loved the Cinque Terre both times I visited - in September and October - but I'm not sure I'd want to visit in July. It was crowded enough in September! I can't imagine the wall-to-wall people at peak season.

adrienne

4 locations in 9 days is a bit too much. You won't have as much time in each place as you need time to get from one location to another. I would drop Cinque Terre and perhaps combine Florence and environs and stay in one location. You can't drive into Florence but you can park on the outskirts and take the train or bus into Florence. The train/bus station is convenient to all the sights in Florence.

Have you looked at flights? Can you fly into Florence without adding an extra flight to your itinerary? You might want to consider flying into Pisa if Florence is too difficult.

annhig

spend 2 days in Florence, then rent a car and spend 3 days at a B&B in Tuscany, 2 days in the Cinque Terra, 2 days at Lake Como, then fly home from Milan. Thus we would allow 2 days for flying in/out and have 9 days for the actual trip.>>

but in fact you will not get your 2 days in florence, 3 in Tuscany, 2 in the CT etc because you will lose at least 1/2 a day every time you move. and moving that often you lose 2 1/2 days out of your 9 - quite a reduction in the time you'll actually have for seeing and doing.

I think that there are two questions - does it have to be July, and can you make it a longer trip?

if no to either of them, then you need to think about cutting it down to a maximum of 3 places, preferably 2, both involving a swimming pool and air conditioning. an agriturisno [farm that makes part of its income from renting out rooms or apartments to tourists] in the countryside might be nice for part of the trip, plus a few days in Florence.

Honestly, that would be quite enough in the heat of July.

bbuckeye

I agree that there are too many places. That is the kind of trip that my wife and I took before we retired and in retrospect we wish we would have done less and seen more in each location. My bias is to skip Lake Como. Yes, it is beautiful, but it's a lake. We have lakes in the USA. We stayed in an apartment in Tuscany for 10 days and day tripped everywhere by bus.

mamcalice

I agree that you have too many stops for 9 days. I would cut it to 2 or 3 eliminating either Cinque Terre or Como. Personally, I would eliminate Como especially since you mentioned hiking and CT is great for that. It will be hot and crowded in July so you will want a slightly slower pace.

I suggest flying to Florence, spend 3 days, move to CT by train for 2 or 3 days, rent a car someplace in the area and spend the remainder of your time in the Tuscan countryside. Fly out of Florence or Pisa.

asps

Do not plan to walk too much in Florence in July. It can get unbelievably hot. You may visit some sights, but if you think to rush from place to place simply July is not the best time.

bobthenavigator

You really need to cut to 3 destinations by dropping either of the water venues. I think I would let the airline connections decide for me.

annhig

Azulegio - how on earth do you expect the OP to see this lot in 2 days:

Uffizi, Michelangelo’s David, Palazzo Vecchio, Santa Croce, San Miniato, piazzale Michelangiolo, Via Tornabuoni, Palazzo Pitti, Boboli, Fiesole>>

there's a good three days and this is July when it's going to be hot work getting from one sight to another.

your itinerary for Tuscany is just as bad, unless you're suggesting that all the OP is drive by << Chianti, Monteriggioni, Siena, Montalcino, Val d’Orcia, Pienza, Montepulciano>>

Sassafrass

You are not allowing travel time when you are planning your days in each place. You pretty much lose a half day on arrival day and for each move. Lay your trip out to include flight days and travel times to get a good logistical picture. Flight times will especially affect what you can do on arrival day. Assume some jet lag the first day. Assuming late day flight with morning arrival:
Day 1, depart home
Day 2, 1/2 day in Florence after arrival, getting to hotel, etc., sleep Florence
Day 3, Florence
Day 4, 1/2 day in Tuscany (after checking out of hotel, getting to rental car, driving to new base)
Day 5, Tuscany
Day 6, Tuscany
Day 7, 1/2 day in CT after travel to CT
Day 8, CT
Day 9, 1/2 day at Lake Come after checking out, travel and checking in
Day 10, Lake Como
Day 11, depart for home

Look at what you really have
Florence: 1&1/2 days, 2 nts
Tuscany: 2&1/2 days, 3 nts
CT: 1&1/2 days, 2 nts
Como: 1&1/2 days, 2 nts
Can you physically do this? Yes, but it will be terribly rushed, and one of the best things about Italy is slowing down a bit to enjoy life.

msteacher

I just want to echo what everyone else has said. I think you will find the trip much more enjoyable if you eliminate at least one location. You want to spend your time enjoying the sights, not traveling between them.

In July, I'd drop the CT and enjoy the cooler temps at Lake Como. Keep in mind, however, that if you are flying out of Milano, you should try to book an afternoon flight to give you enough time to get from the lake to the airport. If it's an early morning flight (as most flights to the US are) you will want to spend that last night in Milano.

Mimar

Assuming you're arriving after a long, overnight flight, you'll be sleepy and jet-lagged the first day or two. Florence will pass in a blur; you'll just wake up as you're leaving. I always put an extra day or so at my first stop and make that first stop a city, where there are a variety of things to do. We pick our activities according to the weather and how we feel.

So that's another reason to cut at least one destination from your list. I think people who rush from one site to another in Italy, ticking things off their list, kinda miss the mood and character of Italy, sitting in a sidewalk cafe, enjoying the dolce vita.

nytraveler

I would cut back on destinations - and, if possible - make it sometime other than July. Italy will be very hot and humid and many more modest places do not have AC. Make sure that any lodging has good AC and a pool.

We usually do May to get good weather and smaller crowds - and long days.

atticusfinch

Thanks to everyone for their responses. I was afraid of what I would hear--July is not a great time to go and 11 days is too little time. However, with responsibilities of work and 3 children we have had to move heaven and earth just to get 11 days away. And we go in July or not at all. We're not afraid of the heat as we live in the Southwest (although we do have AC!). However, crowds, big cities and jetlag will be new for us. And thank you for helping me realize I didn't account for travel time between destinations. If you had to drop one destination would you drop CT or Como? And how soon should I start booking lodging and flights?

HappyTrvlr

Visit Lake Como over the CT, hands down.

adrienne

I've already stated that CT should be dropped but it depends on where on Lake Como you'll be staying. I would stay in one of the small mid lake towns where you can easily get to most of the other mid lake towns using the ferries. The mid lake area is accessible by train to Varenna-Esino. You can stay in Varenna or walk down hill and take the ferry to another town. I stayed in Bellagio and loved it.

I would start looking at flights and hotels now as it's high season, especially on Lake Como and book by the first of the year.