11 days in Italy
 

My daughter is spending fall semester in Florence. My other daughter and I are going over to visit for 11 days. We are thinking of landing in Florence(how many days do we need here)? Maggie will meet us there. Then we are thinking on to Rome for ? days. and ending in Florence. Don't know that I really want to drive over there. The roads sound a little scary, I am a little anxious. Will probably take the
trains. but would like to get to some of the smaller towns. Any suggestions. and places to stay that aren't too expensive. Are we trying to see too much in to short of a time. How long does it take to get to Rome by train? any info would be helpful.

another thought to our trip is if we went to Sicily first and spent 5 nites there , then on to Rome for 3 nites and then Florence and skip Venice. ( In my previous blog I meant to say we would start out in Venice not Florence. )

I think Sicily is a bit much for an 11 day trip. You also mention keeping expenses under control so 3 people going to Sicily will add to the expenses.

For your first trip I would do Venice, Florence, and Rome. With only 11 days getting to some smaller towns will take away from what you're seeing in Venice, Florence, and Rome. You barely have enough time to cover these 3 cities. I'm assuming by "smaller towns" you are not thinking of Pisa or Siena as they are not smaller towns. Yes they are smaller than V, F, & R but are still cities, not towns.

Florence to Rome on the train is about 1.5 hours; Venice to Florence is about 3 hours. You don't need a car to go between these cities. The train is easy to do.

What is your lodging budget and are you looking for triple rooms or a double and a single. Probably a triple is less expensive.

Get a guidebook from the library and read about Venice, Florence, and Rome and then decide if you have time to see other places. For Sicily I would price the plane tickets and see if it is within your budget to go there.

Thanks. We would probably do a triple room and I guess Sicily would be too much and not enough time. Is it best to book rooms as far ahead a possible or wait till closer to the time. We are going Oct. 23 to Nov. 3 or 4. Are these a little less crowded times?

I would book as soon as you know your itinerary. If things change you can always cancel or modify the reservation, just pay attention to the cancellation policy. The end of October will not be as crowded but I wouldn't wait until the last minute, especially as you're on a budget. The good, inexpensive rooms always get booked early.

I agree with Adrienne that you should limit the number of places you visit and make your reservations now. When I was a student in Europe, many parents came to visit their children. Their children were the best resource for trip planning. I suggest you plan several days in Florence, with Maggie showing you around the city. By the time you visit, she will know how to get around Florence and have picked out restaurants and sights to visit. She may have made some Florentine friends who would know more about surrounding places to visit and maybe even "share" their families with you. She also could plan some day trips from Florence, such Lucca or Siena. Rome would be the other obvious place to visit, with maybe a stop in Orvieto along the way. By the time you arrive, Maggie will be familiar with Italian trains, language and customs. Even if she hasn't been to Rome, she will have picked up a lot of information about visiting the city.

Siena is a very beautiful town to visit. It is about an hour and half from Florence by bus. Siena is not on the train route so you will need to take a car or bus. The bus goes back and forth to Florence often enough to make it convenient for day trips. Also San Gimignano is about the same distance from Florence on bus but some routes will require you to make a change in Poggibonsi. Enjoy the food.

Siena DOES have a train station, but is down the hill outside town. Many prefer to travel between Florence and Siena by bus since the bus station in Siena is within the hilltown and is more convenient.

Hi SG,

11 days is sufficient for flying into Venice (3 nights), training to Florence (3-4 nights with a daytrip to Siena) and then another train to Rome (4-3 nights) before flying home.

((I))