somya91

Hi All,

Me and my husband are planning a week's trip to Italy. The plan as of now is 19th and 20th in Venice, 21st in Cinque Terra, 22nd in Florence, 23rd and 24th in Rome and then flying out on 25th. We are really looking for suggestions to plan our trip better!

Thanks in advance!

Somya

dfourh

I always recommend making a grid on a sheet of paper - - 8 big boxes, each representing a day, from 8am till 10pm. At the bottom of each box, enter the city where you will spend the night.

Then, figure out the transport connections between each place. If it is going to take from 11am till 5pm to get from Venice to Cinque Terre, then fill up that box to reflect that amount of time - - factor in the time it takes to check out/in and get to train stations.

Whatever white space you have left over, after you enter your transport times, is the amount of time you will actually have to explore an area (chances are, there will not be very much white space showing for Cinque Terre?).

Cinque Terre to Florence is another 3 hours minimum in the train, plus time from hotel to train stations - - another big chunk, really.

Looking at it graphically will give you the best sense of how much time you really have, and if that is sufficient for your sightseeing needs!

ANUJ

Your post doesn’t mention which month – I hope this is outside the July/August tourist deluge. A week is a very short time, I’d drop Cinque Terre altogether (it’s a wonderful area but needs 2 nights to do some hiking and visit the villages at leisure + the train connections aren’t the easiest and time-consuming).

Presume you will fly into Venice and out of Rome – in which case cover Venice, Florence and Rome in that order. Many would consider this tight as well – you will be scratching the surface of these glorious cities, before you’re en route elsewhere. Booking point-to-point rail tickets 3 months in advance will get you discounted fares – use trenitalia.com or trainline.eu.

A good guidebook (e.g. Lonely Planet Italy) is a useful starting point, and then scan through the forum itself using the search feature for tons of useful information/ideas to refine your plans.

marvelousmouse

Working with your time frame...I would want 2 nights Venice, 2 nights Florence, 3 nights Rome. It would still be too little time, but one nighters are not fun. Here's an unbelievable amount to see in even the small towns.

But a lot depends on your interests. What do you want to see in each place? I'd probably do 3 nights Venice and 4 nights Rome because those are the two most attractive cities to me for reasons of art and history.

jamikins

You need to include transit time in your plan. Once you account for that I think choosing 2 locations will allow you to enjoy your trip and not spend all your time in transit.

Sassafrass

Traveling from place to place takes time! For example, getting from Venice to the CT with take 2/3 of a day, so that will be a travel day, not a day of sightseeing on the CT. You will use 1/2 day getting back to Florence from the CT, so that will be less than 1/2 day for Florence. So basically, your plan does not work in 7 days.

What month? Weather and length of days will affect some of your time outside.
Exact days and times will matter even more with such a short time frame.
Do you have 7 full days on the ground or are you counting arrival or departure days?
Where are you coming from?

This itinerary is for 7 days on the ground with 2 days for travel getting to Italy. It is the most you can do in that time frame. If you actually have less time, then cut someplace. You could cut Florence to only one night and go on to Rome late afternoon/evening on day 5.
Day 1, depart from home
Day 2, arrive Venice. Jet lagged, tired, a bit of sightseeing
Day 3, Venice
Day 4, travel to Florence, 1/2 day of sightseeing
Day 5, Florence
Day 6, travel to Rome, 1/2 day of sightseeing
Day 7, Rome
Day 8, Rome
Day 9, depart for home

RonZ

So you have only 4 full days on the ground. Two stops would be better.

mjs

I agree that two stops is better. Arrive Venice on the 19th and stay19/ 20/21 which would give you 2+ days. 22nd is your travel day to Rome where you stay 22/23/24 and leave the 25th. This gives you 3+ days in Rome. Leave Florence for another time when you can also visit Pisa, Sienna, Lucca, CT etc.