rochelleb

Hello,
I am 25 years old and heading to Italy in July for 15 nights.
I am flying in and out of Rome. I am starting with 4 nights in Rome. I then have 5 nights for Florence, 2 nights for Cinque Terre, 2 nights Venice and 1 night in Verona. My final night will be spent in Rome, where I will arrive lte to catch my flight out early the next morning.

Would love some advice on the best route... I am thinking Rome then Florence, whilst in Florence splitting my 5 nights into 2 and 3 and in the middle zipping in and out of Cinque Terre for 2 nights.

My reasoning is that I can have back pain from carrying big backpack for too long so this way I can leave my big bag in Florence at the hostel and just take a small backpack to Cinque Terre and also stop off in Pisa/Lucca on the way there or back.
Then 3 nights in Florence, Verona (1night), Venice (2) and back to Rome (1).

Questions:
- Is it better to go from Rome to Verona then Venice and back through Florence and Cinque Terre?
- Any recommendations on places to stay in Cinque Terre (preferably Monterosso, Vernazza or Riomaggiore)?

Thank you so much for your help, never been to Italy and as a solo female traveler I want to make sure I have a good plan!

Cheers,

Rochelle

ellenem

II suggest you put all your nights in Rome together at the end of your trip in order to avoid an extra time-consuming hotel change. Begin your trip by heading directly to Florence, or even Venice, your furthest point away, and work your way back to Rome.

The idea to break your trip in Florence in order to leave your backpack at the hostel doesn't make sense to me. Any time you change hotels/cities you waste time. You could check your big backpack in the luggage room at the main train station in Florence (Firenze SMN) and not break up your time in Florence. However, if you don't mind breaking up your time in Florence, I suppose that this tactic is OK.

Rather than stay overnight in Verona, you might stop there on your way between Florence and Venice. The station has a luggage check where you could leave your backpack for the day while you see the town.

I suggest:
Arrive Rome; train immediately to Venice
Venice - 2 nights (3 nights would be better)
Verona - 1 night (or daytrip from Venice, or stop on the way)
Florence - 5 nights
Cinque Terre - 2 nights (or in in the middle of your Florence time)
Rome - 5 nights

rochelleb

Thank you for your reply.
The reason I wanted to start in Rome is I will have been flying for over 30 hours and didn't quite feel like getting back on a train again.
I have made a booking already in Rome but I could change it.

Are the lockers at train stations very secure?

ellenem

I can understand your point about staying in Rome if you have been flying that long.

But keep in mind, Florence is just 90 minutes by train beyond Rome--after 30 hours, not much more.

If you are landing in Rome early in the morning, there's a good chance your hotel room may not be available until after noon anyway, so a train ride might offer a reasonable rest. If you're pleased with your booking, then do as you like.

The train stations don't have luggage lockers. They have guarded Deposito Bagagli, luggage deposit rooms where guards take your luggage and place it on shelves. You pay based on how long you leave the luggage. It is so secure, the guards will probably want to photocopy your passport to ensure that you are not a terrorist leaving something dangerous.

rochelleb

If you don't mind me asking some more questions...

Would this work...

Florence
Verona
Venice
Cinque Terre
Rome

or

Florence
Cinque Terre
Verona
Venice
Rome

This way I don't have to travel as far when I arrive.
I'd like to be in Florence over Wednesday and Thursday so that I can do day trip to Siena or San Gimignano to the markets etc.
The hostel I have booked in Rome does not have availability for a female dorm on the new dates but does have mixed dorm 6 people with ensuite. Do you recommend a mixed dorm?

ellenem

If you really feel that your original Rome accommodations are the best option for you, especially the female dorm, then stay with your original plan. I suspect your budget is more strict than mine would be, so I don't want to advise changing the special hostel reservations that you already have. From your original post, it was unclear if you had already found and reserved places to stay.

Almost any order would work. I was trying to maximize your time and minimize travel, but based on your particular needs, starting with some days in Rome may be preferable.

One way to help you plan: try each of your two new itineraries at trenitalia.com to see how the the train rides between each city would be. This may help you decide. (Use dates for the next week, since the summer schedules after mid-June are not totally loaded into the system.)

rochelleb

Ok thank you.

I might go straight to Venice from Rome and then come back through Verona, Cinque Terre and Florence so that I save going in and out of Cinque Terre.

Thank you for all your help

Sassafrass

You mentioned a big backpack, and a small backpack. I know folks have personal bias for/against roller bags versus backpacks, but for your trip, staying several days in each place, and not camping out, I would not take a big backpack, just a "not too big" roller bag. You can always stick an empty, lightweight bag inside your roller bag, and use it for Cinque Terre if you don't want to use the roller bag. However, you can really do this trip with minimum clothing, since it is summer, and save your back.

kybourbon

There's a women's only hostel in Rome.
http://www.casainternazionaledelledo...esteria_uk.htm

There are also lots of convents you can stay in, but prices usually aren't as cheap as a hostel. The convents are more private rooms although a few have dorms. What's your budget?

Bag storage isn't available at all station, mostly just the larger ones.