ag123

Hi all,

Thanks in advance for your help! My Fiance and I are going to Italy for 14-15 nights the last week of August and first week of September. We haven't finalized our itinerary 100% but need to buy our plane tickets this week - open jaw tickets into Milan and out of Rome are the same price as Roundtrip to/from both Rome or Milan. Also, we wouldn't mind paying a little more if recommendations come in for different airports. Which to book ?

The places on our list and intentions are below. The stops I'm having a hard time deciding upon are Rome, Florence and Bologna. Yes, all totally different, hence the reason we want some more time to research and decide. It seems if we left Rome off the list flying into and out of Milan would be the best option.

CANT MISS:
Venice: 2 nights and non-negotiable (on my bucket list)

Tuscany: 3 nights (we are in the wine biz and this is a must do!)

Cinque Terra: 3 nights (yes, I know it is terribly touristy but I've decided this is my preference over the Lakes)

TRYING TO DECIDE BETWEEN:
Florence: 2 or 3 nights

Rome: 3 nights? Would it be crazy to leave this off the itin? I feel like I'm adding it because I "should", not because I'm dying to visit

Bologna: 2-3 nights for a cooking class and good eats

If it helps, we are 30 yrs old and enjoy good food/wine, the outdoors and also want to soak in the culture/get a sense of the history.

All comments very welcome and appreciated, thank you.

Best,
Amanda

Andrew

Rome isn't my favorite city, but the Roman Forum and ruins are outstanding in my opinion and make them a "must see" - someday. (I studied about them in school so it was finally a thrill to see it all.) But, no one says you have to spend three nights there. No one says you can't fly into Rome, spend a long afternoon seeing the highlights, and leaving the next day (or fly out of Rome and spend the final night there). It's your trip!

Many people could spend two weeks in Rome alone, though. I spent three nights and felt that was more than enough for me. We all have our different opinions and preferences.

You could plan another trip to include Rome some other time, too.

Have you considered flying into/out of Venice?

You could:
Fly into Milan
Immediate train to Venice
Venice (3 nights)
Bologna (2 nights)
Tuscany (3 nights)
Cinque Terre (3 nights)
Train to Rome
Rome (2 nights)

(with a long train ride in and flying out, really gives you only a day in Rome)

cathies

When you say Tuscany, do you mean Florence? If you want a place in Tuscany somewhere then you need to plan some transport options. My daughter and her husband (similar ages and interests to you), just stayed in a lovely place in tuscany. Here is a link http://www.mrandmrssmith.com/au/luxu.../poggio-piglia

They loved it and were sorry they couldn't stay longer. They were able to reach it by train after spending 1/2 a day in Siena which they also enjoyed.

I think your itinerary is good and don't stress about Rome if it doesn't appeal to you.

Flight suit of Venice to the US are usually VERY early in the morning (5am) and will require being at the airport at some ungodly hour.

cathies

Flight suit = flights out!

greg

Yeah, why not fly into Venice if Venice is a destination and Milan is not. Also, if you are taking a cooking class in Bologna, is it not already booked where that pretty much anchors everything else around those dates? It seems if you are into food, a visit to Volpetti in Testaccio in Rome should be on the agenda.

kybourbon

I love Rome and stop there a few days every time I go to Italy, but you can save it for another trip. Have you looked at flights into Venice or Bologna?

I don't think 3 days gives you enough time for Tuscany (that's only 2 sightseeing days). You will only have one day in Venice which doesn't seem practical either.

>>>we are in the wine biz and this is a must do!<<<

I enjoy the Brunellos from Montalcino so you might want to put that on your list. The Chianti festival in Greve is usually first week or so of September so that might work out for you depending on dates. I don't care much for Greve, but there are a lot of Chiantis (Reserve, etc.) to sample along with Vin Santo and a few other wines.

Rubicund

At the moment a lot of the trails in Cinque Terre are closed, following on from last year's bad weather and a wet winter this year. If you're going for the walking, I'd do it another trip. You might be a bit disappointed with the area and I'd recommend switching the time you'd save to Venice. Two nights (1 day really) just isn't enough.

hd6524

go further south before you head back to rome to fly out; look at Naples and the Bay area (which includes the Amalfi Coast, Capri and Ischia, Pompeii, Vesuvius) for me it's completely unmissable

mamcalice

All things considered, I would skip Cinque Terre and focus on Venice, Bologna, Florence/Tuscan countryside and Rome. I would add 2 days to Tuscany and 1 to Venice. Rome is definitely worth a stop and you may be sorry it is for only 2 days but you can always go back!

Fly into Venice and out of Rome. If you decide to leave Rome out, fly into Venice and out of Florence or Pisa. No sense going to Milan if you don't plan to stay there.

bilboburgler

don't forget the vin de paille around Valpolicella

vincenzo32951

Rome, like a lot of places, is a matter of personal preference, so it's difficult to tell you what to do. For me, I think 3 days seeing the highlights is a good idea.

One suggestion: Others mentioned spending more time in Venice. Me, too. Is Bologna a must? You can get good food and cooking classes in Tuscany, and then use the extra time for Venice. Just another possibility.

Mimar

I agree with adding time to Venice. You could take a day from the Cinque Terre, which can be pretty much seen in a day.

Wherever you arrive in Italy, if you're coming off a long overnight flight, you need to allow time to recover from jet lag and lack of sleep. So put another day or two at your first destination. There's another reason for not flying into Milan. And, especially in Italy, you need to spend the night before your departure in the city closest to your departure airport.

You could fly into Venice, go on to Bologna after a couple days, then continue to Tuscany, spend a couple nights in the Cinque Terre, and fly out of Pisa.

If you want to visit wineries in Tuscany, you'll need a car. Might be better to get a car and driver/guide. Wineries in Italy are not necessarily open to drop-in tasters, so a guide might help you there. And with Italy's strict drunk driving laws, it's better to have somebody else drive. Some towns have tasting rooms and bars, enotecas. Here's one article with information about Montipulciano and Montalcino: http://www.winewordswisdom.com/trave...wine-tour.html. There are also wine tasting tours offered, mostly leaving from Florence. You can google for these.

With your interests this will probably be only the first of many trips to Italy. You can leave Rome and the lakes...and Piemonte...and the Amalfi coast...and Umbria...and etc. for next time.

DRJ

I've visited Italy more than twenty times in the past fifteen years. You are attempting way too much. I'd fly into Venice for a four day stay in a unique enchanting environment. Train to Florence, get a car and go to Montalcino for a few days. (Brunello being vastly superior to Chianti.) Siena is less than an hour away. Train to Rome for the rest of your stay. It should not be missed.

Great wine and great food are everywhere in Italy. Don't spend all of your time packing and unpacking.

AJPeabody

DRJ makes sense. Every travel day is a mostly wasted day. Three travel days turns a 14 day trip into 11, and the arrival and departure days are pretty well shot, too, so now you are down to 9 days divided among 4 places. Rush, rush, rush is not a vacation. And who wants to have the only full day in a place have rain or a strike or everything closed for Sunday? Build in fewer places and more flexibility and have a great trip!

annhig

ag, I'd been to italy at least 6 times before I went to Rome, but then i fell in love with it, so i know how difficult it can be to decide whether to leave it in or out.

sadly, your outlyer on this trip is the CT and i agree with DRJ that you are spreading yourselves too thin.

two suggestions from me - one - fly into Venice, train to Florence, train to CT, fly out of Milan.

tow - what DRJ says.

you can't have it all - Italy will still be there when you want to come back.

Andrew

As the original poster has already expressed interest in the Cinque Terre and has reservations about Rome, I say: skip Rome on this trip and stick to northern Italy this time. Then the Cinque Terre works just fine. By August, all trails except the Via dell'Amore should be open, pending some other slide or closure, but it is wise to check ahead of time. If you fall in love with the Cinque Terre like I did the first time, three nights isn't too many.

tdyls

I'm going to offer a different idea altogether. It spends the majority of the trip in Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, focusing on food and wine. The trip is also a linear trip with no backtracking, which minimizes transportation and schlepping.

1. Fly into Venice (VCE) rather than MXP.

2. 2 nights in Venice. August will be very hot and humid. Cross it off the bucket list. (Venice did not exactly float my boat, if you'll pardon the pun.)

3. 4 nights Bologna. More than enough time to take your cooking class, eat rich Bolognese food, go to Modena and eat richer Modenese food, and essentially leave a free day to do as little as possible. Eat as much prosciutto, parmigiano, aceto balsamico <i>tradizionale</i>, culatello, and fresh pasta as your waistline will permit.

4. 5 nights in southern Tuscany: Montepulciano, Montalcino, Pienza, San Quirico, etc. (pick one and only one, and day-trip from there). Drink as much Brunello, Vino Nobile, Chianti Colli Senesi, and Vin Santo as your liver will permit. Florence is about an hour away by train, although you'd probably need to factor in an additional hour to get TO the train from there. Umbria is also nearby if you want to go to Perugia, Montefalco (more vino!), Orvieto, etc. Note: This part of the trip will most-likely require a rental car.

5. Remainder of trip in Rome. It makes the best logistical base to fly back home from.

I realize that the Cinque Terre is on your "can't miss" list. Unfortunately, it's out of the way compared to everything else you want to see. Hold that one in reserve for your NEXT trip to Italy, and go there in either the spring or the fall when the tourist crush has subsided somewhat. Every tourbook I've ever read has said that Italians throng to every beach during August, so not only will it be high season for accommodations and restaurants, but the beach -- Monterosso is the only beach -- is going to be mobbed.

Andrew

tdyls: <i>I realize that the Cinque Terre is on your "can't miss" list. Unfortunately, it's out of the way compared to everything else you want to see.</i>

Given that the OP expressed strong interest in the Cinque Terre and was hesitant to visit Rome at all, I'd say just the opposite: skip Rome. There's a direct 3 hr train from Levanto or Monterosso to Milan, so fitting in the CT isn't a big logistical problem. (At worst, spend the final evening in Milan after a final day in the CT.) I'd even look at flying out of Pisa; Delta used to have direct flights to JFK from Pisa in season.

nytraveler

Well Rome is one of my favorite cities and I would never miss it.

Are you sure you need 3 days in the CT - 5 tiny villages with hikes between but not a whole lot else to see/do? (I must admit that although I am a city dweller and walk a lot hiking is the last thing on any itinerary?)

cathies

I agree with Andrew, the OP doesn't want to go to Rome, he does want to go to cinque Terre. Why would do some of us think we know better and try to persuade him to reverse his plans? CT is beautiful and for active 30 year olds there will be plenty to do. There are higher trails as well as the better known ones.