2 weeks in italy- revised and updated- pls critique
 

Hi,

Thanks for all your earlier suggestions. I have come up with the following iterenary

Background: Travel in first week of June. Flying into naples and out of Venice.

Day 1 (Tuesday): Land in Naples at 12.30 in the afternoon. Travel to Sorrento. Night in Sorrento.

Day 2 (wed): Capri. Night in Sorrento

Day 3 (Thursday): Amalfi Caost/Positano/ Ravello. Night in Sorrento

Day 4 (Friday) : Early morning train to Rome. General walk around the city and relax. Night in Rome.

Day 5 (saturday): Walks of Italy- Eternity in a Day- 7hr tour
Colosseum; Roman forum overlook; Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel; St. Peter’s Basilica and Square; Trevi Fountain; Pantheon; Spanish Steps; Piazza Venezia & Mussolini’s balcony; Vittorio Emanuele monument
Night in Rome

I need particular help in this leg- I have 4 nights...should i spend it in a country side and hire car or should we base in Florence.
Day 6 (Sunday)- Hire car from Rome. Drive through Chianti country side to Florence. Night in Florence.

Day 7 (Monday): Florence

Day 8 (Tuesday): Pisa & Luca. Night in Florence

Day 9 (Wednesday): siena/sangigmignano. Night in Florence

Day 10 (Thursday): Travel to Lake Como/Bellagio. Night in Como/Bellagio

Day 11 (Friday): Explore the lake Como area. Night in como/Bellagio

Day 12 to Day 15 (Saturday to Monday): venice

Tuesday- Flight at 2.30 pm.

Please let me know if any suggestions. I know a lotttt has been packed in.

Thanks

I think you've shortchanged Rome. Trying to cram everything into a one day tour will probably be a drive-by (walk-by?) instead of really visiting the sites. No mention of the Vatican Museums either.

The main museums in Florence are closed on Monday. I would shift some things to make the day in Florence one of your other days.

If you rent a car (not necessary for what you listed), I would drive to Siena through southern Tuscany, stopping in Siena on the way to Florence.

With only one day planned in Florence, I probably wouldn't stay there. Get a rental car after Rome, stay somewhere in Tuscany for your trips to Siena/San G/Pisa, day trip to Florence. Keep the car to Como.

Hi B,

>I think you've shortchanged Rome.<

So do I.

It needs at least 3 nights.

Ditto Venice.

Do you really need the AC <i>and</i> Lake Como?

Have you checked the schedules into Venice and out of Naples? They might be more convenient.

((I))

Where in Tuscany would you suggest if not Florence?

Yea Rome is a bit short. We'll see what we can in that much time. As you see from our iterenary we are not much into museums. So for us its more of natural beauty.

Lake Como was intitally dropped but heard awesome reveiws from a friend about Bellagio ...so it went right back in

Bhavana--

First, because your earlier post expressed a desire to see the country and small villages, I'd rent a car in Rome and stay somewhere outside Florence with good rail connection to Florence. There is a lot to be seen and done in Florence, including many famous museums, but as that's not your thing, pick one good one and also see the Duomo.

Second, I think you should skip Lake Como this time around. Instead, I'd drive up to Venice. There are a lot of smaller cities in this area (and villages too)--Bologna, Ravenna, Padua, to name a few and each worth a visit.

I think the time you have in Venice for a first trip is right, provided you arrive in Venice Friday nite so you have a two and one half days (Sat, Sun and half of Mon.)

Having looked at your "Eternity in a Day" Tour, I think it will work, as the only three places you'll actually go into are the Colosseum (I suppose) and St. Peter's and the Vatican Museums. The rest are basically walk-bys, whether by yourself or on a tour. But I too think you need another nite in Rome, even if you don't like cities that much. Problem is, where do you get it?

Incase we decide to rent a car to travel from ROme to Siena, so that we can experience the tuscany country side, should we rent it in ROme itself or travel to Chiusi or Orvieto.

Was thinking we could visit Montepulciano, Pienza and Montalcino and head to Siena and base there. Does it sound right?

I've never tried to rent a car in the smaller cities, so don't know what's available. My inclination is that you'd have more alternatives and therefore lower prices in Roma.

We've never tried driving between Rome and Siena so don't have a feel for how long it would take, but you can always leave one out on the drive to Siena if you feel you need more time in one of the other two, or are running late, or see a place you'd like to explore. That's the advantage of having a car.

I think you will find it hard to fit in all 3 towns on the way to Siena. Dont forget that towns close for lunch hours, meaning the stores close for 2-3 hours from midday to midafternoon and also generally have pull down security fronts which are not that attractive. This limits what you can actually see in a day when visiting smaller towns.

So which 2 towns you would suggest if we are to travel from Rome to Siena? Too many to pick from.