CherryliszMurasaki

Hello, I will backpacking in Italy by myself this coming October. I've planning my itinerary from last year & it has come for me to finalise it. So, I would like to haver any opinion/suggestion to the final itinerary. I will fly to Venice on 11 Oct from Kuala Lumpur and end my trip at Paris. I decided to take 2 weeks leave from my work for this.

Here's the itinerary (in brief):
1st day (11 Oct): Fly to Venice (night flight) & arrive the next day morning.
12 & 13 Oct: Venice
Day 1: St.Mark Square & its surrounding, Rialto market & grand canal tour
Day 2: tour lagoon islands & get lost
14 Oct: Verona
Spend the whole day & take evening train to Rome
15 & 16 Oct:
Day 1: Colossrum, Forum, Palatine Hill, Pantheon
Day 2: Vatican City
Leave for Florence in the evening
17 & 18 Oct:
Day 1: Uffizi, Accademia, Duomo & Piazzale Michelangelo
Day 2: Pisa, Duomo & Botanic Garden
Leave for Cinque Terre, either to La Spezia or Riomaggiore
19 Oct: Hiking Cinque Terre & enjoy the nature & beach
20 Oct: Genoa
21 Oct: Milan
22 Oct: To Lake Como or Lauterbrunnen?
23 & 24 Oct: Paris

It would also be great if I can find travel buddy along the way, so let me know if you will travel on the same dates as mine.

Thanks in advance,
Lisz

bilboburgler

Lisz, hi, the basic stages look ok, I like the first bit up to and including Florence, it is pretty rushed but if you are happy to be tired and keep going then why not. The last few bits begin to lose me.

Given it is October the beach is a bit of a waste of time while Milan (great duomo but not in the same league as already seen) is also not in same league.

I think I'd drop CT, Genoa, Milan and Lake Como and try and put 1 day into Florence (maybe a train to Lucca or a bus to Siena) and the rest of the time into Paris.

Paris has enough interest for 4 days

kybourbon

I think your itinerary is too rushed. Two nights in a city only gives you one day of sightseeing. When you stop for the day somewhere, you have to arrange luggage storage and there can often be lines to do this.

The weather might be iffy in late October (rain/fog/cold) so I don't know that the lakes and CT will be a good idea.

Why Genoa? Why Milan? If you have no real interests in these cities (and you really can't see much in 1/2 day), then don't include them.

I would fly to Venice, 2-3 nights Venice. Train to Verona (1 night), train to Florence 2-3 nights (3 if including a day trip to Pisa), train to Rome 3-4 nights.

From Rome, fly Easy Jet (airport FCO) to Paris (airport Orly). Read luggage restrictions before booking as they are strict about them
http://www.easyjet.com/us

socaltraveler

You have a lot of one night stays, and even one 'whole day'; have you factored the time involved packing and transporting yourself from A to B? It eats up a lot of time, so I agree with the suggestions to srop a few places, move a little less.

kja

I'm a solo female traveler and I don't mind moving around every night or so - so long as I have time to see and do what I want. That said, I agree with the others: Although you'll see some wonderful things, I think you will enjoy your trip MUCH much more if you cut out a few destinations.

I'm very glad I visited the Cinque Terre, but be prepared that you might not be able to hike. I was there in October some years ago, and heavy rainfall severely limited my opportunity to hike the trails. I got through some parts before/after the rain and had some terrifying moments on extremely slippery cliff-side paths after the rain began. Other parts were closed by the park rangers because the rain made them too dangerous or had washed sections out.

It depends on your interests, but I think the idea of dropping Genoa, Milan and Lake Como or Lauterbrunnen (at a minimum) from this itinerary is worth considering. Add the time to Paris or perhaps Rome or Florence.

Hope that helps!

CherryliszMurasaki

hi all, thank you for the advises. I think all agreed that my itinerary is too rushed. After much consideration, I think I will drop Genoa & Milan since those two are just another options but not CT since the place is the sole reason why I chose Italy for my first travel out of Asia. I've been a someone close to nature person & decided to visit every UNESCO's nature sites (my major is Forestry, that's why), my first one was Kinabalu Mountain here in Malaysia. I will stick to original plan to travel only 4 major city: Venice, Rome, Florence & Paris. I have experienced myself backpacking 2 countries (4 places) back in 2010 at Thailand & Cambodia. It was seriously tiring to travel 4 places in 10 days back then, but the journey was worth a lifetime experience. kja, you are right, I want to see everything and walk as much as I can (while I'm still young lol). I guess I can come again & see other places next time.

dwdvagamundo

Cherryliz--You keep saying Venice to Rome to Florence. I'd end up in Rome because you'll have less backtracking and because the earlier you get to the CT in October, the better weather you'll have. So I would do this:

Venice-
Verona--
Lake Como (if you're still determined to go there)
Florence--
Train to CT. Because CT's the focus of your trip, I'd overnight in the CT-there are lots of hotels and at that time of year, you should have lots of choice. Also, this will put the relaxing and rural part of your trip in between the bustle of Venice and Florence and the rush of Roma.

Train to Rome (via La Spezia), fly to Paris.

BTW--in Venice, no need to tour the Grand Canal or take a tour to the islands. Get a Vaporetto pass as soon as you get there--it plys the Grand Canal and you can get on and get off as much as you want, including at the Rialto. It also goes to the Islands--be sure to go all the way out to Torcello.

You will want to come back to Italy, so use this as a introduction.

Buo Viaggio

CherryliszMurasaki

hi, your suggested itinerary is very good. I have take it into consideration.

now, I just go with the plan & see as much places as I can. I found cheap flight from Rome to Paris, definitely save my travel time by plane. Grazie!

kja

As dwdvagamundo says, if the Cinque Terre is your primary destination, spend at least 1 if not 2 nights there. That will greatly increase your chance of being able to hike the trails.

CherryliszMurasaki

hi kja, thanks again. I'm going to stay at CT for 2 nights.

kja

Great! Does that mean that we've convinced you to trim some of your other plans, too? You'll be able to enjoy SO much more if you pace yourself a bit!

CherryliszMurasaki

yes kja!!! All of your advices & opinions which I'm appreciated so much & grateful. In fact, I have bought my plane ticket from Rome to Paris (following itinerary suggested by dwdvagamundo)

Now that the itinerary has changed much, it's still within my budget which surprise me abit. I will definitely enjoy the trip. Can't wait for October to come sooner.