My husband and I are planning a 2 week vacation in Italy (last big trip before we start our family!). We would love see as much as possible without exhausting ourselves. Any recommendations on basic itinerary/hotels? Thank you so much in advance as I have no idea where to begin!

Rather than try to roll these message threads into one cogent post, let me sugest that you read all three of them (not just my posting on each one)...

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34471919

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34467520

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34465717

Best wishes,

Rex

Please talk it over among yourselves and lay out some basics; when?, how? likes? preferences? how much? how far? art? history? beaches? north? south? A guidebook is a good place to start. Italy is a diverse country with plenty to see and do. Having zero knowledge of what you guys like/dislike, travel styles, preferred mode of travel, budget, time of the year you'd be traveling, etc, etc... it is like batting in the dark to plan you a vacation.

will you be depending on the trains, or will you rent a car?
Do you like to see the big cities, or would you also like to see the countryside?

All the guidebooks will tell you the same basic things. If you want to stay north of Rome, you'll read about Florence, Sienna, Cinque Terre, Venice, Tuscany, maybe the lake district, and maybe even Bolzano area for the Dolomites (Alps)
What time of year will you be going?
Email me if you want to trade some ideas.

An oldie but may get you thinking!

BOB the NAVIGATORS? FIVE FAVORITE ITINERARIES
__________________________________________________ ______________

MAGICAL FAIRYLANDS:
* Arrive and depart Munich--14 nites--May thru Sep.--car travel
* ITINERARY: Salzburg, Dolomites, Venice, Lake Garda, Bavaria
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BELLA ITALIA:
* Arr Milan, dep Venice--15 nites--car & train travel--April thru Oct.
* ITINERARY: Lakes, Ligurian coast, Tuscany, Florence, Venice
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CLASSIC ITALIA:
* Arrive & depart Rome--12 to 14 nites--car & train travel, all year
* ITINERARY: Florence, Tuscan & Umbrian hilltowns, Rome
============================================
LA DOLCE VITA:
* Arr & dep Rome--12 nites--car & train travel--March thru Oct.
* ITINERARY: Amalfi coast, Tuscan hilltowns, Rome
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OF ALPS & LAKES:
* Arrive and depart Zurich--12 nites--train travel--June thru Sep.
* ITINERARY: Berner Oberland, Lugano, Lake Como, Luzern

THE VILLAGE SAMPLER: My personal favorites?north to south
? Arr Milan & dep Rome---car travel---plan 3 nites per location
? Lake Orta, Castelrotto, Portovenere, Montalcino, Ravello
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Hi Donna,

Two weeks is perfect for doing the Big Three, Rome, Florence and Venice.

My own preference would be Florence and Venice (9, 5).

Our dream 2 wk honeymoon last year concentrated on the N/Central area. I agree reading a guide book and figuring out what you want to see & do is a good first start. Also check air fares and if cost is a concern have options for flying into/out of diff cities. We skipped Rome (this time ) since we wanted to be more relaxed and live in a large city here at home.
Lake Como, Venice, Florence-min 2 nights each (all by train)
Rent a car and explore Tuscany small hill towns for 5 days.
www.tuscany.net
2 nights Cinque Terre www.cinqueterre.it
we flew out of Milan so spent our last night there.