isabel

I think what the others are suggesting is that you choose EITHER go south from Rome (Capri, Naples, Amalfi Coast) OR skip that and go the Cinque Terre. There is plenty to do in either area for five days or more but going in both directions adds travel time and hotel changes and that will detract from your total vacation.

If you really want Capri (talk about commercial - it's beautiful but very touristy/expensive/commercial) and also Naples then go south. I would suggest staying in Sorrento from which you can easily do day trips to Capri, Naples, Amalfi, Positano, etc. Stay at least 4-5 nights.

If you really want Cinque Terre then go there INSTEAD. Besides the five villages there is Portovenere, Portofino, Rapallo, Camogli, etc. You could easily spend 4-5 nights there as well (Pick one base - I prefer Rapallo or Camogli).

Have a look at my photos of both regions and see if you might prefer one over the other
http://www.pbase.com/annforcier/ital...aples__pompeii
http://www.pbase.com/annforcier/ital...ligurian_coast

vinita_rk_9

Okay how about this now?

Milan- 1 night
Rome- 5 nights
Sorrento- 3 to 4 nights
Florence- 3 nights
Venice- 3 nights
Cinque Terre- 3 nights
Trieste- 1 night?
Milan- 1 night?

StCirq

<< CT seems quaint and beautiful>>

It may be beautiful (it certainly was 30 years ago), but I wouldn't go there with "quaint" expectations. It's one of the most over-hyped destinations in Europe, swarming with tourists in high season.

dwdvagamundo

As one of your dreams has been to see Capri and Naples, then I'd go there and skip the CT for this trip. Having been there twice, I agree with StCirq's assessment of CT.

Sorrento is a good base for exploring the Bay of Naples area so concur with Isbabel.

Why do you want to go to Trieste? If you MUST do a one-nite stay, Verona has much more, IMO, and fits into your itinerary better. I wouldn't necessarily rule out staying somewhere for one nite, as long as you have the whole day either before or after to explore the place itself. But if you drop CT, you will have time to get a good look at Verona and perhaps some of the other northern Italian towns--Padua, Bologna, etc.

Otherwise, your itinerary looks well thought out.

vinita_rk_9

Now, this is what we are planning on doing..
Arrive Milan- 1 night
Rome- 5 nights
Sorrento-3 nights
Florence- 2 nights
Cinque terre-2 nights
Venice- 2 nights
Slovenia- 3 nights
Milan- Mumbai

Does it work? Slovenia because.. we do have some time in hand and instead of wiling away.. thought of seeing another place.

jamikins

I would allocate the Slovenia time to the places you are only staying two nights...two nights is only 1 day of sightseeing which is too rushed for me

annhig

vinita - your two night stays effectively only give you one whole day as you lose so much time when you move from one place to another. So i think that your idea of going to Slovenia means that you are going to lose a lot of the point of going to other places. Also, you'd probably need a night in Milan at the end to make sure that you catch your flight home, but it is still doable is you alter the order of places a bit.

How about this:

DAy 1 - arrive milan . [what time do you land?] train to Venice, spend 3 nights
Day 4 - slovenia.3 nights
Day 7 - fly to Naples. Stay Sorrento 4 nights, day trip to Capri
Day 11 - train to Rome - 4 nights
Day 15- train [up the coast] to the CT -2 nights
Day 17 - train to Florence - 2 nights
Day 19 - train to Milan, night in Milan
Day 20 - fly home.

vinita_rk_9

We land in the morning at around 7.40 am in Milan but since we would have spent the previous entire night traveling- would like to be in Milan itself. Hence, the first night there.
Also, we did look at the Sorrento option but somehow staying in Capri appealed to us more.
We kept Venice for the end as that would effectively be our last 'sight' of italy as we will be reaching Milan on departure day and spending time at the airport..

annhig

vinita - unless you are planning to go to bed when you get to Milan [assuming that your hotel room was available of course] what are you going to do? wander around Milan suffering from jetlag?

that's why we often suggest using your arrival day to get to your destination - once you're on the train you can relax, nap, rest, and then when you get there, check in and have a proper sleep or go out and explore as you wish. and with Venice being the last station on the line, you don't have to worry about sleeping on past your stop. you might like the idea of its being your last stop, but emerging from the Santa lucia station to see the Grand canal in front of you and then catching a vaporetto to your hotel is quite a good way to spend a first day of a holiday!

and leaving returning to Milan til the last day is quite risky. Yes, you will probably get to the airport on time, IMO but it still makes more sense to spend your last night in the place that you are leaving from.

of course, if you want to stay on Capri rather than in Sorrento, just substitute it for Sorrento in the itinerary. If that were me, I'd want to find out what there was going to be to do on Capri for 3 days though.

Sassafrass

Annhig's advice to go straight on to Venice is really good, will save time getting to and checking into a hotel in Milan only to check out the next day. The train is easy and restful from Milan to Venice.

Venice is a great way to start a trip in Italy and a wonderful place to get over jet lag. Rome is big and hectic, nice to save it for later in the trip.

Don't split your time in Milan and have two hotel stays, wastes time. If you actually want two nights in Milan, put them at the end of the trip, or train back very early on your last day and have an afternoon and evening in Milan.

Adding Slovenia makes for a super hectic trip. How would you get there and get around. Car?
Also, why spend so much time traveling form one distant place to another while passing right by incredibly beautiful and significant places that would be easier to visit? If you want to visit Slovenia, then cut CT.

If you are serious about Slovenia, then, go ahead and fly there from Milan. Rent a car and tour about.
Then keep the rest simple.
Slovenia 4 nights
Train to Venice 3 nights (with 4 nights, you could do a day trip to the other islands or Paduva)
Train to Florence 3 nights (day trip to Sienna or hire driver for a day in Tuscany, with 4 nights, you could do both)
Train to Rome 4 nights
Train to Sorrento 5 nights (day trips to Capri, Pompeii and the AC. You will need one day to recoup by then)
Train to Naples, Fly to Milan 1 night
Fly home

My personal suggestion, and only if you feel you must see another place. Forget Slovenia. Forget CT. Skip Milan. From Milan, go to one of the Lakes and spend 3 nights.

Do rest of trip in a logistically easy line by train from Venice to Florence to Rome to Sorrento to Milan via Naples. Add any extra nights to Venice, Rome or Florence and do a day trip from each.

annhig

vinita - i like Sassafrass's scheme more than mine.

Even better if you drop Slovenia, [though in fact with her plan you just about have time to do it].

What is it particularly about slovenia that attracts you?

vinita_rk_9

Hi,
We've been busy lately with the bookings.. so our itinerary is done.. 3 weeks in Italy!

We start from Milan- Nice(France)- Cinque Terre-Florence-Rome-Sorrento-Venice-Milan

Allocated 3 nights for everything but milan and CT. Milan-1 night and CT-2 nights.

We've done bookings everywhere but Milan, Venice and Florence. Looking at home stays? Any suggestions and tips?


Thanks!
Vinita

ujjal66

hello vinita, though it is a old post but i found many information from your post.. can you help me by sharing info about the booking. thanks in advance.

Sassafrass

Ujjal66,
Since this Post is nearly four years old, and Vinita has never returned with any comments or trip report, you should start a new thread for current advice about bookings.