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So, here's the problem after a dozen trips to Venice, Florence & Rome we are planning on taking our best friends on their first trip abroad.
How do I design an itinerary for: Venice 3 days, Florence 4 days and Rome 5 days. Do I simply hit the major sites or throw in some of the unusual?
Italy; Venice, Florence, and Rome - 12 days
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It depends on your friends interests.
I've done the same thing with a few different groups of friends. In my case, my friends have wanted to travel with me to Italy precisely because I had the knowledge about the company, could make a plan, and provide guidance and security in a foreign country. Fortunately for me, my friends have not been interested in running from place to place at top speed, checking off tourist sights. They were happy to have me set an agenda since I hade the knowledge.
I plot one sight for the morning and one sight for the afternoon. Some friends are interested in seeing the major sights, or at least the major ones that I recommend as worthwhile. Others are happy to follow me wherever I want to go, which after more than 20 trips to Italy may be to much more obscure locations. They assume that if it interests me, it will interest them.
My recommendation: Full disclosure.
Ask your friends if they want you to arrange everything or help in the planning. Tell your friends what you think would be a good way to arrange your days in general based on your previous experience in Italy, the rhythm of your travel days. ("We like to be out of the hotel no later than 9:30am beause so manyy sights close during midday in Italy... We like to return to the hotel at about 5:00pm to relax, nap, and refresh before heading out to dinner.") Be clear about how much time you will actually spend together--every minute? afternoons on your own?
Verify if your friends have something on their mind to see. If they are depending totally on you, take their interest levels into consideration. (For example, many people really don't need to visit the Uffizi, especially if they are totally unfamiliar with Renaissance art. Choose a much quicker visit to the Accdemia and David instead.) If you are totally in charge, explain the plan for the day each morning. If your friends decide to join your plan for the day, no whining. As the trip progresses, I ask my friends if there is something they feel they are missing--shopping, downtime, whatever. And all plans are changeable based on weather, tiredness, kismet.
THANKS, your suggestions make a lot of sense. I did this locally, NYC, with three couples and this couple is the most compatible. No whining and asking for changes in route; we have 6 months to plan so asking all of the right questions will be helpful.