In 2011 summer we toured Italy in 5 weeks so I have some suggestions.
You should add Bellagio(the pearl of the lake) to your itinerary.From Varenna you can go to Bellagio by boat(15 min)
www.navigazionelaghi.it
From Bellagio you can take the ferry to Como town.While in Como do not forget to take the funicular to Brunate to enjoy the view.
IMO Florence works better as a base to explore the region.You can do day trips to the towns you mentioned easily by train.My other suggestion is adding San Gimignano(a medieval town close to Siena) to your itinerary.
Your plan sounds doable but 3rd-6th June is not mentioned.
Have a nice time in Italy

Sorry I forgot to add Orvieto (Umbrian hill town) between Florence and Rome.

Thanks senozkadir for the quick response.

slipped out to mention 4 to 6 will be in Rome.

Yes have read about Bellagio and is definitley on the list.
We just hit information on San Gimignano while researching on Sienna.

For florence, will you suggest stay in the city or some place outside?

To make sure I understand the Florence part of the trip: Your question is where to base yourselves and which is the "better" day trip? And you're going to hire a car for one (?) day?

Florence is the better base, but you won't want to have a car while you're seeing Florence. Plus, if you want to visit Siena, you can get an affordable express bus from Florence, which is the way to go (not the train). I assume you want to see the "famous" museums -- Acaddemia and Uffizi. If so, book your tix in advance via the phone service, not online.

All in all, the trip sounds doable, if you're departing Naples. On the last part, are you basing in Naples and doing day trips to the AC?

Thanks downtownbrown for your reply.

For Florence city we will not be hiring a car.
Car would be for surrounding area like pisa, assissi, san gimignano,orvieto etc.

Yes, we were planning AC from naples...should it be other way round?

Also if we want to shorten the trip by 3 days where do you all think we should shorten it?

You will not want to take a 4 year old to the Uffizi. It is a world class art museum that is so crowded that you can't move much of the time. The child would see little or nothing except the legs of the other museum-goers.

As for shortening the trip by three days, consider dropping either the lakes or the Amalfi Coast.

For Capri,Pompeii,Sorrento,Ischia and Procida day trips we were based in Naples and then we chose Salerno as a base for the AC.
Considering the weather at the end of May,I would shorten Milan and Lake Como and spend my time in the South.

I am confused--are you flying home from Naples?
How many days with a car in Tuscany?

I think you have too many stops.

I would suggest going straight from airport to your Como accommodations, then adding the night (that you took from Milan) to Como or Venice.

You can get to the sites you mention in Tuscany/Umbria by train from Florence, if you choose to base in Florence. The only thing not doable by train would be the Chianti countryside, which you could visit as a day trip with a driver/guide.

If you would prefer a car in Tuscany, do not stay in Florence. Instead, stay in countryside and train in one day.

I would skip Amalfi coast and add those days to Rome. You could then take a guided bus tour to Pompeii and Sorrento or other town.

Moving around so much (as in your original itinerary) eats into your touring time.

Just something to think about.

The day trip by bus from Rome to Pompeii and Sorrento would be too long for a 4-year-old. Lots of walking too.

The 4-year-old is going to slow you down. Does she or he still nap?

If you're interested in the Amalfi coast and Pompeii, Sorrento makes a better base than Naples, which is a big city. It's reachable by the Circumvesuviana commuter train, which leaves from the lower level of Naples' main train station. This same train stops at Pompeii (Pompei Scavi is the stop) making it an easy trip from Sorrento.

Your trip plan has a lot crammed into it, a lot of moving from one place to another, checking into and out of hotels, getting to and from train stations. And your stops are mostly cities, whereas you prefer smaller towns. Consider slowing down and spending more time in smaller places. Maybe rent a villa and a car, do some of your own cooking. This will work better for a child. Of course, this will mean cutting destinations from your ambitious itinerary.

>>>24th- arrive in milan- night in milan

>>>>25th & 26th- to lake como (varenna) ...pls suggest any other place in lake como if better

I agree, don't stay the night in Milan. We recently flew into Milan, rented a car and drove the picturesque winding roads to Bellagio, which is less busy than Como. In Bellagio you can relax and also see sights. One day we drove into the hills and explored....Stumbled upong a restaurant overlooking Bellagio and was a highlight of the trip.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and help.

In last 2 days I read quiet a few reports from fellow fodorites and it is extremely helpful.

I have rearranged as follows:

24th & 25th - arrive in milan. travel to bellagio and 2 nights there. take ferry and see towns across the lake: Bellagio, Varenna, Menaggio and Cadenabbia

26th, 27th & 28th nights- in Venice. I wanted to see verona (after seeing the movie Letters to Juliet) will it be possible as a fay trip?

29 to 1st (4 nights)- Florence / nearby small town. Would really need help to identify which town we should stay in and any good apartments/villa. Nothing too expensive though. Would want to see Pisa, chianti country, sienna and florence.


2nd to 5th night (4 nights)- Sorrento. Would like to see capri, amalfi coast,pompii

6th and 7th night in Rome

Fly out on 8th from Rome.

Ideas/suggestions/critique please. Thanks.

Yes, Verona is doable as a day trip from Venice. There is direct train service.

4 nts in the Sorrento area should be OK, if you consider one day each for Capri and Pompeii, and then the other two days exploring Positano, Amalfi, and the surroundings.

It's possible you could stay in Florence the whole 4 nights and do day trips from there, instead of seeking accommodations elsewhere. One of the days you could hire a driver to take you through wine country. Lots of people here have used Luca from hillsandroads.com. Excellent guide. And while hiring him isn't cheap, it may be better than packing up and finding accommodations in a town. And it's likely you'll want to take a couple of days to see Florence.

Four nights in Sorrento is really only 3 days or maybe 3.5. You need to account for the time to get there and the time to get to Rome. And your 3 days will be very full, with trips to Pompeii, Capri, and the AC.

Three nights in Venice is really 2 days. If you make a day trip to Verona, that means very little time for Venice.

So how are you getting from the Milan airport to Bellagio? You don't want to drive after a long flight, especially because the road up the peninsula to Bellagio is a bit difficult.

In fact, if you stay in Florence, you probably don't want a car at all. The train covers all your destinations quite well.

I am not clear on how you are getting from one location to another, but if you are renting a car consider stopping in Verona on your way from Bellagio to Venice, that way you don't have to do it as a daytrip from Venice and use up one of your days there.

It is only about 3.5 hr drive from Bellagio to Venice so you should have plenty of time to have a nice top in Verona.

We stopped in Verona on our drive from Bellagio to the Dolomites. It is a beautiful city and we had fun seeing Juliet's balcony and also had a fabulous lunch (one of our favorites from the trip) at Osteria il Bertolodo (http://www.osteriailbertoldo.com/index.en.html). It is just about 5 min. walk from the main piazza in a lovely quiet part of the town.

Yes its slightly hectic in Rome. Others will have to shortlist from the sites we want to see to sites we can see. Thats the next step in my to do list once i freeze on the iterenary along with how to travel etc

We donot mind a fairly gud paced travel...as dont know when we will be back in Italy. Have visited New Zealand & Switzerland...both are again on the going back list apart from other beautiful places yet to see!

We decided not to go for the car and use public transport. May be will hire for chianti country visit.

Might play it by the ear for Verona.

Hi everyone...do you think this property:

http://www.ipianelli.com/

is a good place to stay to cover the florence leg of the itenerary.

Has anyone stayed at this property? Or else could you suggest similar villa type rustic stay near florence/sienna to make as our base

We have read that driving in AC is not recommended, is driving around florence and sienna ok?

Sounds exciting! We are also planning on going over this year but not until July! We really wanted to do South Italy but as we are travelling with a 2yr old and 4 yr old we have taken it out and those days into Siena, We are going to stay in this area in a villa with a pool for 5days.

Since you are not in Rome that long and it is an amazing city (we have been 2 times before) I will share what we are going to do on our trips. On the day we arrive we are going to catch the hop on hop off bus tour straight away and just do the circuit and then map out what we want to do the next day. Then we will get off and grab some tea and then head back to our room etc I know it is more expensive and the travel/train systems are great but since time was an issue we just feel this would be a novelty for the kids and would allow us to get our bearings etc.

We are basically going to do this everywhere Just seems to make sense to us!

Look forward to hearing how you go and where you end up staying etc! This forum is amazing and has so far helped us sooooo much!

Can I just say we LOVED Rome! There is ALOT to do there! We have chosen Varenna as we could get better bang for our buck . . .the apartment is situated on the lake with a small garden for the kids for around 200 euros a night.

Good Luck!

hey...i know am reallyyy excited...and planning is half the fun (though overwhelming at times!)

Could you share with me your intel on the villa in siena and hotel in Rome and varenna.

On second thoughts I was also thinking that when I set up base in Sorrento, 2 days out of 4 I am in AC...so would it be better to move the base to AC and do day trip to Pisa and sorrento from there?

Hello everyone...As it turns out only 2 of us (me and my husband -both in early 30s will be travelling). We have finalised the iterenary as follows and will be travelling in first week of June:

Arrive in Milan and go to venice- 3 nights in venice

Go to Sorrento- Need help here: should we base in sorrento or positano/amalfi coast or any other. -4 nights as this base.Pls suggest!
Plan is to: explore sorrento 1 day; capri: 1 day; amalfi coast/ravello/positano: 1 day and 1 dayompeii/Herculaneum

3 nights in Rome

4 nights in Florence- florence/pisa/san gimignano/ chianti wine country

Fly out from Milan.

Please help
1. for base: whether sorrento/AC/positano/or some where else
2. Hotels/apartments (nothing too expensive) but close to main attractions/squares

Guys...really looking forward to your help. Need to book the hotels.

Thanks

It doesn't make sense to fly in and out of Milan if you aren't really visiting Milan. Fly into Naples, take shuttle bus (Curreri) from the airport to Sorrento, visit Amalfi coast 4 nights, train to Rome (3 nights), train to Florence (4 nights, train to Venice, fly home from Venice.

You really should look at open jaw flights. It doesn't make sense to travel from one end of the country to the other and back in such a short time. Take the cost of that transit and add it to the flight.
You say you have four nights in Florence, that only gives you 3 days actually there - one day getting there, one day on your way to the next stop.
You can not see 4 places (Florence, Pisa, San Gimignano, wine country) in 3 days.

You need to write out your itinerary as the actual DAYS you're in each place. Allow that you'll lose at least a 1/2 day each time you change locations. Your arrival day is shot from jet lag and the day you leave is basically checking out and getting thru the airport.
How many days do you have, on the ground, in each city?

Bhavana, what is your actual budget per night for hotels? That will help us to better recommend hotels for you.

Also I agree with kybourbon and hollywoodsc about your flights. You need to make better use of your time and both of them have given you good suggestions.

Oh I loved Milan ... Even having just a full day there would be great ... 2 full days you could take the train out to lake como I assume you know about vrbo.com I think most of our stays will e through this site. How isthebooking going???

Good to see you've pared down your itinerary. As for the I Pianelli which you linked to above, that's basically out in the middle of nowhere, which is nowhere you want to be if you're depending on public transportation. The nearest bus stop is 1 km away - not exactly convenient; and the nearest train stations don't even include Siena. Your best bet would be to locate yourselves in Florence, and take a day trip to Siena.

Thank you everyone...I had choosen to fly in and out of milan as there is too high a cost difference for open jaw flight or flying in and out of rome...nearly 450 euros.

Raincitygirl: we are looking at a budget of 75-120 euros...is it possible to get good hotels/B&Bs in that range?

Bhavana,

Your hotel budget is fine. You should use the website booking.com to search for places in your budget, and read user reviews. You should only book hotels with air con because of mosquitoes if nothing else.

Since you no longer are traveling with a small child, skipping Sorrento and heading straight for Positano or the town of Amalfi would work for your sightseeing plans. However, to see Pompei, you should do that the day you leave the Amalfi coast, on your way to Rome. Store your luggage at the entrance to Pompei.

Unless your departure flight from Milan is quite late in the afternoon, you will most likely need to spend your final night in Milan.

Hii

I have gone back to the drawing board and this is what we have come out with:

We will take multicity flight...flying into naples and flying out of venice (extra cost but will save us the time and effort)

We will be flying in on 4th June (flight lands ard 1 pm in naples)


4th June - tue- land in naples ard 1 pm- travel to positano. What would be the best way of travelling to positano?

5th June-wed- explore amalfi coast and ravello- night in positano

6th June-thur- take ferry to sorrento (do we need to book the ferry before hand as we will have luggage) explore sorrento. Night in sorrento. I wanted to experience sorrento at night hence shifted here after 2 nights in positano

7th june-fri- day trip to capri- night in sorrento

8th june- sat-travel to rome. I think train is the suggested option in many posts (sorrento to naples-rome). Visit colosseum. Is it better to visit during the day time or in evening when the lights are on? Night in Rome

9th June- sun- get up really early...have read in many reports if we start early we get to see the trevi fountain and pantheon without any crowds. Can we visit Vatican on this day around 3? Should we book a tour for this?

10th June- mon- rome to florence by train. Explore Florence. Night at Florence

11th June- tues- Day trip to Pisa and Lucca by train. Or should we rent a car? Nigth at Florence

12th June- Wed- Day trip to chianti wine country. Should we drive or take one of those conducted tours. We love to drive on the countryside.

13th June- THursday-Day trip to san gimignano and siena

14th June- Fri- travel to Venice (can we go to verona on the way)

15th June & 16th June- relax in venice

17th June- fly out

I know a lot of questions...but am really looking forward to all the help as will have to book in a day or two maximum.

Please critique/suggest

>>>4th June - tue- land in naples ard 1 pm- travel to positano. What would be the best way of travelling to positano?<<<

Easiest would be hire a driver or taxi (about 120€). Next option, take the Curreri shuttle bus from the airport to Sorrento (10€). From Sorrento the Sita bus to Positano (about 4€).

>>>Is it better to visit during the day time or in evening when the lights are on? <<<

Not open at night usually. Sometimes in summer they may offer one night a week with late hours (usually late summer).

>>>Can we visit Vatican on this day around 3? Should we book a tour for this?<<<

You can visit St. Peter's on Sunday, but the Vatican Museum is closed.

Most museums in Florence are closed Monday.

<< 11th June- tues- Day trip to Pisa and Lucca by train. Or should we rent a car? Nigth at Florence >>

Definitely use the train. Go to Lucca first because it's more lively in the morning.

<< 12th June- Wed- Day trip to chianti wine country. Should we drive or take one of those conducted tours. We love to drive on the countryside.

13th June- THursday-Day trip to san gimignano and siena

14th June- Fri- travel to Venice (can we go to verona on the way) >>

Both these day trips from Florence are better done by car. However, you can take the bus to Siena, back to Poggibonsi and switch there for San Gimignano. But your Chianti wine country tour is best done by car or tour.

If you do want to to do some driving, Florence is a bad place to base. You'll want to stay in the historic center, close to all the sites. But driving is strictly controlled in central Florence, there are many ZTLs, locals-only driving areas. (If you drive in a ZTL, cameras capture your license plate, and you'll get an expensive ticket in the mail months later.) And parking is very expensive in central Florence.

If you want to drive, base outside Florence, say Siena. But make sure your hotel has parking. Once again no parking in the historic center of Siena, but it's a smaller town and there are hotels with parking close in.

In fact, you could not stay in Florence at all, but daytrip there -- by bus from Siena.

You could then keep the car and drive to Venice - with or without a detour to Verona.

This is really two different trips. Staying in Florence and training to Venice is easier. If you want to stop in Verona, leave your luggage in storage at the train station; you don't need to drag it around Verona.

I was really glad to see you're relaxing with 2 days in Venice. It's a great place to take it easy, just enjoy.

Yep we were also see sawing between Florence and Siena. Was thinking of driving from Rome and visting san gimignano on the way to base at Siena. This way we donot waste the travel day as well. So next full day we could have at Siena, followed by 1 leisurely day at Chianti wine country drive and 1 day trip by train to Florence. How is the drive from Rome to Siena...does it make sense or is not cost effective?

Also have heard a lot about Walks of Italy tour. Has anyone done the VIP entry colloseum tour? Is it worth the hype?