Go Back  Fodor's Travel Talk Forums > Destinations > Europe
Reload this Page >

Rome, Florence, Venice and back to Rome in 5 days...doable?

Rome, Florence, Venice and back to Rome in 5 days...doable?

Old Apr 28th, 2016, 06:45 PM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Rome, Florence, Venice and back to Rome in 5 days...doable?

First time to Italy.

Preliminary plan is to arrive in Rome on Friday morning and spend 2 days there sightseeing. Then to Florence for a day, then Venice for 2 days and then back to Rome (as flight leaves from there).

I know it's a rush, but this can only be a short trip.

Is my plan reasonable?

I arrive on a Friday and leave on the Wednesday.

Would it be better to go to Venice first, then train back to Florence then Rome?

Thank you.
michaelsmithtravels is offline  
Old Apr 28th, 2016, 07:15 PM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 33,288
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Frankly, I think it's a crazy plan unless your idea of a good vacation is seeing the insides of a rail car. You tell us you have 5 days - but I think you aren't taking into account travel time.

You arrive Friday morning - from where? will you have jet lag to contend with? And it will likely be noon or close to it by the time you get checked into your hotel. So at most your Friday might give you half a day to see a bit of Rome. The you have the next day - one full day in Rome.

From there you go to Florence. You say you have a day here, but I expect what you really have is a night. One night in a place gives you a few hours in the late afternoon/evening and in the morning, but then you have to get on the train for Venice.

Again, you say you have 2 days in Venice, but it takes three nights in a place to yield three full days. So I'm assuming you have two nights in Venice, yielding one and two half days before you fly to Rome to be in place for your flight home the next day.

So out of your "5 days" you might have a day and a half in Rome, small part of two days in Florence, and a day and a two halves in Venice. You'll spend the rest of your time in transit.

If you only have 5 days, spend them in Rome, with a day trip outside of Rome if you get restless.
Kathie is offline  
Old Apr 28th, 2016, 07:19 PM
  #3  
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 72,548
Likes: 0
Received 50 Likes on 7 Posts
>>Is my plan reasonable?>Would it be better to go to Venice first, then train back to Florence then Rome?
janisj is online now  
Old Apr 28th, 2016, 07:22 PM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 72,548
Likes: 0
Received 50 Likes on 7 Posts
Was posting the same time as kathie -- she was more generous w/ how much useable time you'll have. I do think it will be less 'in real life' . . .
janisj is online now  
Old Apr 28th, 2016, 07:36 PM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 204
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
With that amount of time and this your first trip to Italy, I would stay in Rome for the entire time. Checking in and out of hotels is not something I would do three times in 5 days. You could consider a day trip to Florence or Orvieto or Pompeii or Ostia Antica from Rome, but this is a really short amount of time for Rome, let alone these three beautiful cities. On our first trip to Italy, we did 3 nights in Venice and a week in Rome, and still had plenty to see in Rome on trip #2.
mocha_dolce is offline  
Old Apr 28th, 2016, 07:40 PM
  #6  
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 3,296
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
My suggestion? Just stay in Rome and, if you feel like it, do a day trip to Florence( just about 1.5 hrs by train). Checking in and out of places takes a long time and eats into your available time
cruiseluv is offline  
Old Apr 28th, 2016, 08:02 PM
  #7  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 10,496
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Technically doable but totally insane. Clearly your best bet is to spend the brief time you have in Rome, but if you insist, then do fly into Venice and out of Rome.
Venice is mostly overpriced tourist traps amidst a background of incredible historic significance but worth seeing once. You can do that in half a day, even jet lagged. So fly there, tour a bit then crash. Next morning take an early train to Florence. Stay overnight. Take a Sunday evening train to Rome. Spend Monday and Tuesday seeing (and eating and drinking) whatever you can in Rome before leaving on Wednesday. Book online as much as possible (e.g., Vatican museum) to reduce time spent waiting in line.
Seamus is online now  
Old Apr 28th, 2016, 08:09 PM
  #8  
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 3,062
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Sorry, but your itinerary sounds like a travel nightmare to me. Stay in Rome ... five days is barely enough to see the highlights of what that great city has to offer.

Florence and Venice aren't going anywhere soon. Come back and see them at your leisure.
scdreamer is online now  
Old Apr 28th, 2016, 09:23 PM
  #9  
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 6,476
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Florence and Venice aren't going anywhere soon.

Well Venice may sink.
IMDonehere is offline  
Old Apr 28th, 2016, 10:27 PM
  #10  
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 72,548
Likes: 0
Received 50 Likes on 7 Posts
I agree w/ everyone who said one city -- probably Rome -- makes most sense. But if you just want a glimpse . . . then you could squeeze in two. In any case, you don't have time for three cities.
janisj is online now  
Old Apr 28th, 2016, 10:37 PM
  #11  
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 1,205
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
You won't spend 'a day' in Florence. You'll be there for a few hours which is pointless. You may as well see it between Rome and Venice.

Drop your luggage at SMN (the station) visit for a few hours and continue on to Venice.
Blueeyedcod is offline  
Old Apr 28th, 2016, 11:01 PM
  #12  
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 2,585
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
If you do rush, stop by Siena on the way.
Whathello is offline  
Old Apr 29th, 2016, 01:12 AM
  #13  
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 6,047
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I wonder that your itinerary does not include a daytrip to Amalfi Coast from Rome. It is a must-see.
traveller1959 is offline  
Old Apr 29th, 2016, 01:45 AM
  #14  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 7,919
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I agree that it's a bit too rushed, but if you really want to do it, I'd do this:

Friday: take a train straight to Venice and spend two nights there.

Sunday: take an early train to Florence. Leave your bags at the left luggage facility in the station, and spend about five hours having a quick look at the city. Then pick up your luggage and continue to Rome.

You'll have three nights in Rome that way. Don't plan on seeing the "must-see" attractions. Just relax, explore, and plan to come back.
bvlenci is offline  
Old Apr 29th, 2016, 02:02 AM
  #15  
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 6,047
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
bvlenci, it was a joke.
traveller1959 is offline  
Old Apr 29th, 2016, 07:34 AM
  #16  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 7,919
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Traveler, I knew your answer was a joke. I think everyone knows that. My response was completely independent of yours.
bvlenci is offline  
Old Apr 29th, 2016, 10:02 AM
  #17  
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 7,888
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
No one who has ever asked a question like this has left a trip report afterwards. I suspect that is due either to an attack of sanity before taking the trip or an attack of insanity from the trip.

Revise plans and have a good time!
AJPeabody is offline  
Old Apr 29th, 2016, 11:14 AM
  #18  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 7,919
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Actually I once saw a trip report (on Tripadvisor) by someone who had made an even more frenetic trip. She was a young person, and used overnight trains a lot. Often she visited a place during the day and didn't even spend the night. She wasn't just checking boxes, either. A lot of the things she wanted to see and do were a bit unusual or off the beaten path. It certainly took an enormous amount of planning, but she claimed to have enjoyed the trip immensely.

My father was that type of traveler. As soon as he got somewhere, he wanted to be off to the next place. He was also a great one for deciding to take a trip with no planning at all. He would say, "Why don't we go to Niagara Falls?" and then call up some possible trip companions and tell them we were leaving the next day. If he really wanted to go somewhere, he would even take us out of school for a few days rather than wait until we had a school holiday.
bvlenci is offline  
Old Apr 29th, 2016, 11:35 AM
  #19  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 49,560
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
No, of course it's not reasonable and surely you already knew that. Just stay in Rome.
StCirq is offline  
Old Apr 29th, 2016, 01:39 PM
  #20  
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,862
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I, too, recommend staying in Rome...with maybe a day trip to Florence...but if you insist of Venice, here it is:

Arr: Fri am...arrive Rome...hotel by noon
Fri night - Rome
Sat night - Rome
Sun night - Rome
Mon morning - early Train to Venice...arrive between 11 am and noon
Mon night - Venice
Tue night - Venice
Wed morning - fly home

Very, very, very rushed, but doable:

2.5 days Rome
1.5 days Venice

ssander
ssander is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -