devedi

Please help! I'm in the early stages of planning a last minute trip to Italy in May as a surprise for my mother. We have as much as 2 weeks and and the only thing I know for sure is that I'd like to fly into Venice and out of Rome. The only caveats are that I've been to Italy twice and fairly recently (Florence, Rome, Venice, Amalfi, etc.), and mom's never been. I want to accomodate mom's desire to see the big cities and sites, but also find a way to make it special and not redundant for me. I'm 26, she 58 and we're energetic, see as much as possible types. Any suggestions on side-stays, particularly in Tuscany, would be a HUGE help. We're also not opposed to driving. Here's what I have so far:

Day 1 - arrive in Venice and recover from Jet lag.

Days 2-3 - Venice

Days 4-10 - Florence and ... [CT or Tuscany??]

Days 10-13 - Rome and ... [day trip??]

Day 14 - Rome to NYC

bobthenavigator

With 13 nites to sleep in Italy, you want to stay in Tuscany for sure. Here is a plan:

Arrive venice---3 nites
Get car--drive to Tuscany location---4 nites
Drop car at Florence airport--stay in Florence--2 nites
Train to Rome--last 4 nites

The Tuscany location is another story, but set your itinerary first.

SusanP

bob gives a very good plan.

tuscanlifeedit

Just to mix it up a little, and give you a new sight or two, how about

Venice for 3 nights

Verona for 2 nights

Florence for 2 nights

A spot in Tuscany for 3 nights

Rome for 3 or 4 nights.

ira

Hi D,

Orvieto is a nice daytrip from Rome.

It is also a good place to drop your car.

tifflynn

I would love to hear about your trip once you return! I have never been to Italy and a bit overwhelmed! I am in the stages of planning a 2 week trip very similar to yours!

Best wishes for a memorable and wonderful Italian adventure!

Kindly,
Tiffany

Castellanese

Bob's suggested itinerary is perfect. Consider Siena to base in Tuscany.

You could day trip to Assisi from Rome, although it'd be a very long day. Lago di Bracciano is another option near Rome. However, Rome is wonderful and with 4 nights, you probably won't have time for a day trip.

On arrival day you could visit Villa Borghese, Piazza Spagna and Fontana di Trevi. You could spend your entire first day strolling down the historic center and Trastevere, your entire second day visiting San Clemente, the Colosseo, the Roman Forum and San Pietro in Vincoli and your third day visiting Vatican City.

Rome is a huge city compared to Florence and Venice, so don't understimate that.

I hope you have a wonderful trip!

Greekgazoo

What a WONDERFUL trip you have planned... We did something similar two years ago, and knowing what i know now, if i had 2 weeks, this is how i would break down your destinations:

Day 1 - 3: Venice (there is plenty to do here, that 3 days would be perfect. Make sure you go OFF the beaten path to walk around some of the side alleys in the city. that was one of the best parts of being in Venice; away from the crowds)

Day 4: train to Florence; also do a little Florence overview so you are not wasting an entire day just traveling

Day 5 - 6: Florence, seeing the sites; museums, walking around the city.

Day 7: Stay in Florence, but take a day trip via train to Pisa to see the "Field of Miracle" (where the leaning tower is) and on the way back to Florence stop in the twon of Lucca (very nice, small untouristy town)

Day 8: Train to Siena, in the heart of Tuscany only an hour by train (you will not be disappointed). Make this town your base for the next 3/4 nights. See the town on this day.

Day 9: Day trip from Siena to San Gimigniano (sp?). very nice small Tuscan town.

Day 10: Day trip from Siena to Montalcino. famous town for its wine in the heart of Tuscany.

Day 11: train from Siena to Rome. See a little bit of Rome

Day 12 - 13: Rome (i realize this is selling Rome a little short, since only 2 1/2 days; but I just think that rest of Italy is that great and that is not taking anything away from Rome)

Day 14: Fly home

Hope this helps....this is just how i would plan it out.

Have a GREAT time...

CuriousTraveler2

You may consider taking a ferry to Sicily from Naples. There is a lot to see there, and with that much time it might be fun for you to see something different. You could also see Pompei on your way through Naples if you haven't already. Although Not much English is spoken in Sicily, there are a lot of ancient Greek ruins in places like Agrigento, Syracusa, etc that are as good or better preserved than those in Greece.

devedi

Thank you everyone for your replies and ideas! I really love Florence and liked Siena when I was there last so think I'm going to go the route of at least three nights in Florence and then base in Siena to daytrip to some of the other towns in Tuscany. The other option I've been kicking around is to extend the stay in Florence and find a driver to take show us Tuscany for a few days. That way there's no hotel switching and we don't have to worry about whoever's driving missing out on the view. Any thoughts on the second option?

Castellanese

When I went to Italy in 2006, I kind of did that. I based in Florence for a week and visited Siena and San Gimignamo as day trips by bus. There are tour operators that offer day trips to the countryside. They're easy to find on the Internet. However, I think there's nothing like experiencing a place at night, so if it's true that moving from place to place can be tiresome, you'll get a full picture of the place by spending the night.

That's my opinion, though.

devedi

Thanks again everyone. Here's what I finally decided to go with:

Venice for 3 nights (Foscari Palace or Novocento).

Florence for 3 nights (Relais Piazza Signoria).

Montepulciano for 3 (Locanda San Francesco).

Rome for 3 nights (Albergo Ottocento or Daphne Inn Rome).

Hopefully this works. This forum has been such a huge help to me, directly and indirectly and thanks to everyone for your input.

-D

bobthenavigator

Good plan ! How are you getting to Montepulciano?

devedi

Bob - That's a very good question...I think we're going to rent a car on our way out of Florence and drive to Montepulciano. Seems like everyone here likes Auto Europe so we'll probably go with that. The one absolute MUST is a GPS. It's a mother/daughter trip and the likelihood of us being on speaking terms when we return will be greatly increased if we don't spend half our time getting lost!

That said, does anyone know whether there are any car companies that have GPS included? I know Auto Europe has a rental service, but it seems like it would be easier to have it included when we pick up the car. A few other questions re driving in and around Montepulciano:

* Is there a preferred scenic route from Florence?

* Does it make sense to do a day trip to Siena/San G and then do another day touring the other towns?

* Where should we return the car? I was thinking we'd return it in Siena and just train it from there to Rome, but if there's a closer trainstation, that might be better...

Thanks!

MFNYC

SOunds good. With 3-4 days in ROme I wouldn't bother with a day trip. You can easily spend a week in Rome and not get bored.

Your 6 or so days in the Florence/Tuscany area can be used for day trips, as already suggested.

devedi

So I was all set and ready to go and now I'm hearing that I can't miss the Cinque Terre. Is it possible to do as a side trip from Florence/Tuscany or is it worth building a day or so into my itinerary before we head to Rome? I haven't booked flight so my itinerary after Tuscany is pretty flexible (I've booked hotels up until then). Thanks!!!

caroltis

I think you would do well to save Cinque Terre for your next trip!

tvthiele

If you are interested in seeing Rome from the inside out, you should contact Rich Brunn. (www.rome-day-tours.com) My wife Carol and I spent two days with him in Rome last year: one day focusing on "classical" Rome and one day in the Vatican. He specializes in personalized tours; took us on an amazing tour. We saved so much time by having him as a guide. His knowledge of the city is impressive and his knowledge of how to shortcircuit a lot of the tourist downtime was a real plus. I'm a history major; had always wanted to visit Rome; he really made it special for me.

bobthenavigator

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