kaza777

We are 2 females planning to travel to Italy in early October. Never been and have no idea where to even begin. We are looking to relax and to see hidden gems, would rather stay away from touristy crowded areas. Heard very bad things about Rome, so not very keen on it, but don;t mind checking it out for a day. Really intrigued by Cinque Terre, so maybe stay in Venice and then travel to Verona and Cinque Terre? Please suggest some trip plans. thank you

sundriedpachino

What do you like to do, are you young and like hiking, or museums, or beautiful scenery, sitting in the piazza drinking wine....?

Venice is one of the most crowded and touristy places in Italy. It is also not close to Cinque Terre, and in the vicinity of 1.2 hours by train from Verona.

I suggest to google map of Italy, get on trenitalia english website, do a little research on times and distances.

Do you have flights yet? Where are you flying into and out of?

That would help to narrow your choices.

Sassafrass

"Never been and have no idea where to even begin."

Some of the touristy areas/cities are touristy because they have some of the most interesting and beautiful things to see. For example, Rome has ancient ruins, great art and magnificent Cathedrals. Don't know what you've heard, but it is one of the great cities of the world. It is not a place to easily "check" out in a day, though you could see a couple of the major sights in a day.

Venice is just as touristy, for good reason. There are small cities/towns that are interesting for something like architecture or their cathedral. Do you have an interest in those?

Many places are crowded during the day, but empty out in the evening.

There are many great places to relax. If CT is one of your interests, then go there.

hollywoodsc

I've made several trips to Rome as a single female and never had a problem. In fact it's my favorite city in Italy.
The main thing to be aware of in Italy is pick-pockets. There are announcements in the subways and train stations to be on alert. Wear a sling type purse that you can keep close to the front of your body, or even a money belt. Do not hang your purse on the back of a chair, or stop on the corner and count your money - Yes, I've seen tourists doing this! Figure out where you want to go before leaving your hotel. Stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to consult your map is a sure sign for a thief that you're not paying attention.

Use the safe in the hotel for your passport, any extra credit cards and money or jewelry. Only take with you daily what you think you'll need.
A good idea is to upload a copy of your itinerary, credit cards and passport to a site you can access remotely. Even if you lose everything, you can get to an internet cafe, or the hotel's business center, print a copy of your passport and return ticket. If you lose your passport you'll have to prove to the Embassy that you're who you say you are. Difficult when you've lost your id!

Please don't rule out Rome. It is one of the most fabulous cities in Europe. The history, architecture, culture, oh my gosh I could go on! It's a very walkable city. I went for New Years Eve and covered the whole city on foot, alone (divorce celebration!) I met some wonderful people and had some amazing experiences and delicious meals.
Where ever you go, travel smart, be aware of your surroundings and have a contingency plan if you lose documents or get separated from your friend.

And as always, lay out your clothes and money for your trip.
Divide the clothes in half and double the money!

nytraveler

Please - first get a MAP of Italy. What you are thinking are day trips - just aren't. And what you think of as off the beaten track is where you will find mobs everyday.

As for Rome - it;s one of the greatest cities in the world - do not miss it.

The CT are five small towns cliffside - lots of climbing up and down - with hiking trails between them. In Oct can be pleasant or can be cool and wet. If you aren;t interested in hiking - there's not much to do.

And Venice is way more mobbed with tourists than Rome could ever be - during the day they outnumber he Venetians bey at least 2 to 1. You can do Verona as a day trip by train.

But, without knowing what you really want to see and do - and what your interests are it's hard to make specific recommendations. But - based on your misperceptions/ confusion I would start from scratch to get opinions here from people who have been to Italy many times.

willperson

Rome is worth a visit, but one day is not enough. If you do one day do not try too much just a little will be nice. Rick Steves' walk from Campo Fiorri to the Spanish Steps is doable in an afternoon or morning and very nice and covers lots of great sites. If you want grat scenes, good food, and not many tourists try Le Marche, east of Tuscany close to the Adriatic Sea biut with mountains also. My wife and I stay at a agritourissmo there and love it.

kaza777

We hadn't got tickets yet, but can fly to Venice and back from Rome or vise versa. I heard that Rome is overcrowded, very bad and overpriced food, and huge line ups for everything. But i know it has lots to offer. We are looking to relax and walk a lot, sightseeng. Not very keen on museums, maybe a couple.
I got a map, and there is just no way to get from Rome to any northern parts, it will take forever. So at this point probably venice and verona would be the only things we can see. I wish we could do more.

UmoDiViaggio

if you are thinking of flying into Venezia, and are not keen on Roma, then avoid it. the northern part of Italia has a LOT to see, and is not as crowded as Tuscana and common tourist areas like CT can be.
you can spend a lot of time in Veneto; the Dolomities, and in towns like Verona, Padua, Mantua, Treviso, Mantova, Bassano del Grappa, Cortina d'ampezzo(site of '56 winter olymics, Lake Garda & Trieste to the east. . you can drive to the Alps, visit historic and amazing WWI sites (Earnest Hemingway was wounded here)(and visit Austria if you wish), you can visit towns along the Adriatico if you like the sea.
let me know if you wish me to expound on this idea, i have travel there many times.

Delaine

I'm not sure where you heard the things you mention about Rome, but pretty much every place you would want to see in Italy is crowded; that's because lots of other people want to see it too. There are lines at lots of churches, museums and ancient sites, but you can often bypass them if have previously purchased a ticket or made a reservation online.

I don't remember having bad food in Rome, but you can have bad food anywhere if you are not careful when you select restaurants or just happen to be unfortunate enough to be at a good restaurant on a bad day.

As for prices, in my experience, Venice is the most expensive area, because virtually everything has to be brought in from the mainland. That does not, however, deter me from going there.

I have walked all over Rome by myself and never felt scared, lost, threatened, etc. As long as you have a good map, you will be fine.

sundriedpachino

You could fly into Milan, take the train about an hour to Lake Como area for a few days, then train to Verona, then to Venice.
There are many places around Verona that you can do daytrips to, as Umo says above. Padua, Vicenza, etc.

That`s what we are doing a few weeks before you.

You will find that there are trains that can get you between places very rapidly. Not all, though, you have to look at the travel times when you`re buying tickets.

I think the lakes should still be okay at the beginning of October weatherwise. Haven`t been there yet, so maybe some-one else could comment on that.

sundriedpachino

Ha, let me reword my first post. You don`t have to be young to like hiking, just young at heart.

carmar

I would start off in Sorrento and take day trips to Positano, Amalfi and Capri. Beautiful and very relaxing and not too touristy that time of the year.
Train to Rome - don't listen to negative reports - it's an amazing city and not to be missed.
Hint - stay in the Central area in a good hotel. Talk to anyone and everyone while you're on this trip and you'll get great advise for restaurants, places to see, etc.
Have a wonderful trip to this beautuful country!

UmoDiViaggio

kaza777: are you planning on renting a vehicle? are you ok with driving? and i assuming you are flying to Venezia because of a direct flight, correct? cheaper if you arrive and depart from same airport.

Jean

If you don't want to be where it's crowded and touristy, you need to skip the places you mention. The "hidden gems" are in the countryside or at least much smaller towns than Venice and Rome. Are you willing to rent a car and get into the countryside?

With only 10 days, I wouldn't be changing hotels more than twice unless you rent a car and explore small towns on secondary roads.

Study the train timetables. Plot out driving routes using maps.google.com. Understand the driving access and parking issues wherever you plan to go. Do some reading to see what interests you. (Frankly, I think you'd be better off making this trip next year after you've done some homework.)

http://www.fsitaliane.com/homepage_en.html

http://maps.google.com/

http://www.fodors.com/world/europe/italy/

Or just fly into Venice, train to Rome, and fly home. That would be a great 10-day, first-time trip to Italy IMO.

sundriedpachino

Not the OP but a question:

Jean, I just learned something new from you. I have always looked at trenitalia for schedules. We don't train much though, usually have a car.

It looks like fsitaliane includes trenitalia plus other lines? Just the state run lines though?

Jean

sundried, I don't know of any content differences, but this is what I've noticed:

On Trenitalia you need to use Italian spelling and precise station names (and the way it wants them typed). I often get "Invalid departure station" and "Invalid arrival station" messages without knowing what I've got wrong. For example, to search trains from Rome to Varenna on Lake Como, you have to know/remember that there is a hyphen in the Varenna-Esino station name. If I search trains from there to Venice, I must type Venezia S. Lucia. Not Venezia S.L. or just Venezia. It must be Venezia S. Lucia.

I suppose you get accustomed to all of these quirks, but Fsitaliane is more intuitive/forgiving and recognizes Varenna Esino (with or without the hyphen) and Venice and will show me the connections without the mental gymnastics.

Another example, if you want to train from Rome to Milan, in one search Fsitaliane will tell you every train out of both Termini and Tiburtina and into the multiple Milan stations (Centrale, Rogoredo, Porta Garibaldi). AFAIK, Trenitalia requires separate searches from/to the different station options (typed "correctly" of course).

The Trenitalia site looks like it might be more user-friendly if you're buying tickets and want to know more about the different classes of service. I buy tickets after I arrive in Italy. I know I'm foregoing some discounts for total flexibility, but that's my preference when traveling.

matera2019

@kaza777,

I can really understand two young people wanting to experience the Italy of hidden gems and beautiful walks in beautiful places without the touristy vibe. I actually think it is the beginning of a good travel plan.

Both le Cinque Terre and Venice can get extremely touristy, but there are ways to check them out and not give up the experience you are looking for.

You asked for suggestions for trip plans (and got snooty judgments and insults -- but that's the internet!). Here's my suggestion:

Fly to Milan and immediately take the train to Camogli or Zoagli.

3 nights there: 1 day to get over your jet lag, one to visit le Cinque Terre. One to hike or explore the rest of the area.

Train to Parma -- 2 nights

Train to Verona: 2 nights (you'll enjoy the Roman arena there!)

Train to Venice -- 3 nights

I'm tempted to say Verona 3 nights and Venice 2 nights, but if you pick that arrangement, you should go to Venice first thing in the morning from Verona so you have 2 full days there.

Finally, please, please, please ignore people who tell you things like: "every place you would want to see in Italy is crowded; that's because lots of other people want to see it too." It is 100 percent untrue -- whereas what you have heard about Rome is actually millions of people's experience of the city, especially if they are only there for a day or two.

Have a great trip, whatever you decide.

matera2019

kaza777,

If you like a little night life (which is nice in October), then choose Santa Margherita Ligure over Camogli. The two towns are only 5 minutes apart by train, so you can also see Camogli. If it's raining, visit Chiavari, which is also only a few minutes away by train. From all these places, you can visit le Cinque Terre by train and hike (plus you can also hike in Camogli and Santa Margherita Ligure too.)

Santa Margherita Ligure gets cruise ship tourists during the day, who mostly go on to visit Portofino, but that won't be too much in your way if you are visiting other towns during the day and having your drinks and dinners in Santa Margherita Ligure.

sundriedpachino

Kaza777 I hope you haven't felt insulted by the comments here. Everyone has been trying to help by finding out something about what you like, to narrow down what might be a good visit for you. Italy is a big country with many, many beautiful places to see.

<every place you would like to see in Italy is crowded....etc>
The poster was trying to say its crowded because there are so many nice things to see there, so don't be put off by that.

Oh and yes, Venice is sublime in the evenings, when the day trippers empty out.

Not sure where you are flying from, but when we come from western Canada, it's a 15 hour trip, and automatically lose a day with the time change, so factor that in to your schedule. And another day for flight home.

Not everyone likes Rome. My niece hated it, but they stayed in a scummy, scary area and weren't interested in history. To each his own! Most people find it, as above, one of the most intriguing cities anywhere on earth.
Just go to Destinations>Rome at the top of Fodors page here, and scroll down to Top Things to do In Rome. Do the same for any of the places you are interested in.

However, you are right, you need to center on one area ( north or south) because of your time constraints.
Wherever you decide to go, you will love it! Have a great trip, and fun planning.
And forgot to say Welcome to Fodor's

sundriedpachino

Jean, I posted a thank you to you last night, but it seems to have disappeared. So, thanks, that is so good to know.