Advice needed for a short trip on where to go and how to travel
 

Hi All,
I’m confused and I would be happy to hear anyone’s opinion on this.
I would like to take my wife to Italy for a short trip (about 5 or 6 days) for her 40th birthday. We enjoy seeing the sights and I would prefer not to stay in one place the entire time. What would be a good itinerary? What cities could we visit in that time and not feel too rushed? I was thinking of maybe traveling by train once we arrived and then maybe scheduling local tours.
Thoughts?
Thanks,
Glen

Hi G,

When will you be going?

((I))

In 6 days, you could travel between Venice, Florence and Rome by train and, keeping at a quick pace, see a good number of the major sights. The key would be not to try and see everything (impossible anyway) and schedule some time for the essential cafe-sitting.

Two other itineraries that mix the countryside with cities:

Fly into Milan and spend 2 days on Lake Como

Train to Venice and spend 2 days

Train to Florence and spend 2 days

or...

Florence for 2 days

Rome for 2 days

Amalfi Coast for 2 days

In six days, my preference would be to choose only 2 of the places I've mentioned. But your idea is doable, if a bit fast-paced...

Sorry, don't know where I got the idea that you wanted 3 places...

Anyway, hope my suggestions help!

How about Rome and Florence? It's not far between the two cities, and you could spend 3 days in Rome then go to Florence in less than 3 hours by train (maybe more like 2). If you have limited time, I think 2 cities is enough, though my personal preference would be to settle down in a single city and do a couple of day trips if I had only 5 or 6 days, and if you went that route, then I'd suggest Florence as the focus. But you could easily do Florence and Siena or Pisa.

With only 5 or 6 days, I'd say do Rome simply because you can hit the ground running (so to speak). No need to catch a train somewhere else. Maybe a day trip: Florence, Assisi?

Hi All,
Great adivce so far. I'm planning on going in May or June of next year. I'm thinking no more than 2 cities. It's killing me to limit it to two because I want to see it all. One thing I should have mentioned in my orig post is that Rome is a must city.
Thanks again.

When you say 5 or 6 days, does that include flying days? How many hotel nights are you considering?

PS: If Rome is a must, then I would definitely suggest Rome for the entire time. 3 nights in Rome isn't enough!

Hi glen65,

With 5 or 6 days, fly open jaw (into one city and out another).

If Rome is a must, and more than one city is a must, I would do fly into Rome, stay for 3 days, train to Florence, and fly home from Florence.

I will say with only 5 or 6 days it would be my preference to stay in Rome because you lose a day flying over, and I never count the travel days as part of my full stay and we don't like things too rushed.

But here's the thing, glen65, it is your trip :) and if two cities are a must then I think you could swing Rome and Florence. Also the train from Rome to Florence is a lovely, very scenic trip.

Enjoy! Italy is so beautiful.

If Rome is a "must" then by all means just do Rome. You could take short trips outside the city, but even if you are on an extraodinarily intensive sight-seeing binge, it's impossible to see more than the major and a few of minor sights within Rome itself in just 5 or 6 days. If you just want to swing through the Vatican in a couple of hours and drop by the Coliseum, then you can certainly include other cities, but if it's your first trip, putting down some roots will make the trip more rewarding and relaxing.

I think I would stick to just one city. Rome would be great because there is so much to do. You could easily to do a daytrip, either to Florence (although this could be rushing it) or perhaps Orvieto.

Tracy

I think Rome and the Amalfi Coast would be perfect. Unless Renaissance art is a passion of yours, Florence might be a let-down after Rome. I know that some people love Florence, but it's not my favorite.

The Amalfi Coast is not very far from Rome and it's very beautiful. I would think after Rome's frenetic pace, you'd want some place to admire views, eat great food, take walks in a lemon orchard, just take in the natural splendor of it all.

As I LOVE Florence, I don't think the words "Florence" and "let down" belong in the same sentence, but, for a first trip to avoid feeling overwhelmed, I, too would advocate only Rome with side trips according to your tastes: there are many.

I have lived in Italy for long periods in my life and Rome is a place you could spend weeks without feeling you had seen it all...

Excellent point. Part of the time will be travel time to and from EWR airport, so based on what I've heard, I'm thinking Rome and maybe a day trip to Florence.
Keep the advice coming! I really appreciate it!

You don't have to "plan" the day-trip ahead of time. Since those few days include your travel time, I'd be surprised if you decide to leave Rome. So little time for pizza and gelato!

You can buy a ticket to Florence at the station if you decide to go. It's about 1.5 hours each way.

Look into Vatican guided tours. We used Angel tours...about 3 hours. THis will get you in with no waiting and includes the Sistine Chapel and Saint Peter's. They also have a night walking tour of the lighted monuments (about 1 1/2 hours). Very enjoyable. (Both are offered by multiple tour companies.)

Restaurant tip: Facing the Pantheon, find a street to your left: Via La Sacrista (or Sagrista?). About 6 doors up, you'll see a restaurant of the same name on the right. Lunch of artichokes and margerita pizza was the best of our trip!

bkm for great restaurant tip!

Just Rome.

Or Florence and Venice.

Using the train and taking local tours... both excellent ideas.

samsmom1127
What is BKM?

Hi glen65,

BKM=abbreviation for bookmarking. By making any sort of comment, the thread is saved under one's screename so that it can be easily accessed at a later time.

I am planning my first trip to Italy, too, and have found the posters here to be very knowlegeable and kind. It sounds like you are getting great advice! I hope you and your wife have a wonderful vacation.