Erica

Hi,<BR>I hate posting such a general question, but I do not know where to begin in planning our vacation. My husband and I are planning a trip to Italy and we plan on using frequent flyer miles (business class!!) to get there and I know we need to book those tix far in advance. We are looking at the end of June 2003.<BR>Anyways, we are in our mid 20's and want to see the main cities in Italy as this is our first time in Italy - possibly Rome, Venice, Florence, Milan?? We will probably take anywhere from 10-14 days. Anyone have any recommendations as to the cities we should see and in what order? Should we try to book through a travel agent? We don't want to be on a group tour, but would like to have some structure to our trip!<BR>Thanks so much!<BR>Erica

Statia

Erica:<BR><BR>My husband and I are planning the exact same thing for July 2003, so I'll be interested to see what you hear.<BR><BR>We also don't want to do a group thing, but want to have some sort of plan. We know that we want to see Venice, and maybe Florence, but otherwise, we're just searching for ideas right now.<BR><BR>Good luck.

Dayle

Hi Erica! Lucky you - business class! If you are open & interested in all that Italy has to offer (art, architecture, history, food, wine, people), my best recommendation would be to balance your trip between major cities & countryside. Both are wonderful!<BR><BR>If you can do 14 days, do it. Fly into Venice & out of Rome. Skip Milan on a first trip, just my opinion. Venice is a small, easy airport, easy vaporetto to your hotel, a breathtaking into to Italy.<BR><BR>3 nights Venice<BR>2 nights Florence<BR>5 nights Tuscany/Umbria<BR>4 nights Rome<BR><BR>After a few days in the other cities & some more leisurely time in the country, you'll be ready to take on Rome. Some people will recommend reversing this order for other reasons. Some like to finish a trip in a more relaxing place.<BR><BR>The advantage of planning so far ahead is you can get good ideas of where you will want to spend your time - guidebooks, advice from posters here which is excellent. You can also take your pick of hotels/agritourisimos. We booked our last trip 6 months in advance & were able to get our first choice everywhere.<BR><BR>If you must fly in/out of Milan:<BR><BR>1 night Milan - see the Duomo, Galleria & Last Supper<BR>2 nts - one of the lakes<BR>3 nts - Venice<BR>2 nts - Florence<BR>4 nts - Rome<BR>2 nts - Cinque Terre/SML area<BR><BR>Just some options. You'll get plenty of suggestions for time allocation here!<BR><BR>Have fun planning. Buon viaggio!<BR><BR>

Nutella

I absolutely agree with all of Dayle's wonderful advice! But one small difference. On my first tip to Italy, I did it backwards - started out in Rome and ended in Venice. I found this to work perfectly. I had been super anxious to see the famous sites of Rome and Florence, and I had the energy to hit the ground running. By the time I got to Venice I was able to slow down and relax and just enjoy the atmosphere, it was a perfect way to end the trip. Either way, have a wonderful trip!

Diana

We are also planning a trip for 2003. In addition to seeing Venice, Florence and Rome, several of our friends have told us to make sure we go to the Amalfi Coast. Tuscany also sounds wonderful, but we can't do both. Which should we choose?

Vita

I agree about starting in Rome and ending in Venice. The only other thing I would add is that, depending on your interests, I would take a day or two out of Tuscany and add it to Florence. In fact, if it were me, I would only spend two nights in Tuscany and five in Florence, but that's just my preference. <BR><BR>The only other thing I would add regarding planning is to look at the suggested itineraries offered through tour operators, guide books and on this site. You'll get an idea of what might interest you. I personally loved Rome and Florence. Have a great trip!

dean

Hi<BR><BR>I would recomend picking less placesand staying longer in each one. If youa re driving every time you drive into a new city its an opportunity to get lost. If you take a train its an opportunity to question your sanity at draggin your luggage over cobblestones and thru historic centers. <BR><BR>The most wonderful thing about Italy is that almost everywhere is a wonderful place to be. We spent a week in Cagli in the Marche a town of 3-4000 that most guide books ignore. We never ran out of things to do and have added it to our places to return to list. We had a car and took day trips to places like Urbino, Urbania, San Leo, the Gorttoes of Frassasi and the gilded bronze statues from Imperial Rome. We just wandered the streets of the Mideval historic center. While I am not saying go to Cagli, it is just an example of how it really doesn't matter where you go. If you try to "take it all in" you wind up spending too much time going from place to place and not enough time getting the rythym of where you are. <BR><BR>For a 2 week trip, I'd pick a main location where you will spend a week. This could be Venice, the countryside around Tuscany or Rome. My preference would be Venezia or Toscana. But many on the board would call for it to be Roma. You should rent an apartment so you can go to an outdoor market and shop for some food and mingle with locals. On every one of our trips some of the best memories are of shopping and being with locals as they live their lives. We remember the meat shop in Trastevere in Rome that didn't want to sell us its homemade prosciutto until I insisted several times. Of course it only offered the homemade version to the old grandmom ahead of us.<BR><BR>Once you have your base location picked out, then split the other week into 2, staying 3 days in one location and 4 days in the other. Remember that to stay in a farmhouse or apartment, the stay typically must be saturday to saturday. <BR><BR>If you follow my advice and take a week in Toscana, say in Castellina or San Gimignano, you will be centrally located to so much to do. You can go to Montalcino or Montepulciano (or both) for the wine. You can get to places like Cortona, Arezzo (home to Pierro della Francesco's famous and newly restored fresco cycle) in just over an hour. Monte Oliveto Maggiore is an easy drive (and you can hear Gregorian chants at evening prayer)&gt; Voltera allows for a trip into the Roman and Etruscan past of the area. A day trip or 2 into Florence are very easy if you park at Porta Romana or Piazza Michaelangelo. 3 or 4 nights in Rome will allow for a day at the Vatican, one in ancient Rome of the coloseum, caracalla's baths and the Roman and Palantine forums. Be sure to get to San Clemente for its levels and levels of history. <BR>To visit Venice take at least 4 days but some here would say 3. In fact, I would consider taking a full week in this most amazing place. Living in a world served by Vaporetti (the boats that function as mass transit) and free from cars cannot be overstated. Its so peaceful and moves at such a slow pace. The churches of Venice are jam packed with artistic treasures and once you have gone into San Marco, the Frari, San Rocco, The gugenheim and accademia you are pretty free from crowds. If you want to be alone just wander thru Canareggio, San Polo, Castello. You will be surrounded by locals living their lives. <BR><BR>Just remember that no matter where you go you will probably want to stay longer and that the passion with which we Italophiles argue here on the board that so much of Italy is wonderful!

Ralph

Your advice about travel through the country wa fabulous. We were going to have a travel agent help us, but now the hotel are pulling back on commissions like the airlines. I've gone through Fodors, emailed many places and still feel a bit lost. We fly into Rome and end in Venice. We had planned a few side trips in the 15 or so days we'll be gone. One problem...where do we stay the night before our early, I mean early flight out from Venice?

BOB THE NAVIGATOR

Erica, As usual, Dayle and others have some great advice. Set your time before you decide itinerary. If you end up with 12 nites in Italy then do not plan more than 4 destinations. And, plan geographically to minimize travel time.<BR><BR>Here are some samples that have proven successful in the past. Good luck !<BR><BR>BOB the NAVIGATORS’ FAVORITE ITINERARIES<BR>___________________________________ _____<BR><BR>MAGICAL FAIRYLANDS:<BR> * Arrive and depart from Munich--14 nites--May thru Sep.--car travel<BR> * ITINERARY: Salzburg, Dolomites, Venice, Lake Garda, Bavaria<BR>======================================= =====<BR>BELLA ITALIA:<BR> * Arrive Milan, depart Venice--15 nites--car & train travel--April thru Oct.<BR> * ITINERARY: The Lakes, Ligurian coast, Tuscany, Florence, Venice<BR>======================================== ====<BR>CLASSIC ITALIA:<BR> * Arrive & depart Rome--12 to 14 nites--car & train travel, all year<BR> * ITINERARY: Florence, Tuscan & Umbrian hilltowns, Rome<BR>========================================== ==<BR>LA DOLCE VITA:<BR> * Arrive & depart Rome--12 nites--car & train travel--March thru Oct.<BR> * ITINERARY: Amalfi coast, Tuscan/Umbrian hilltowns, Rome<BR>========================================== ==<BR>OF ALPS & LAKES:<BR> * Arrive and depart Zurich--12 nites--train travel--June thru Sep.<BR> * ITINERARY: Berner Oberland, Lugano, Lake Como, Luzern<BR>======================================== ====<BR>THE VILLAGE SAMPLER: [my off-the-path personal favorites]<BR> * Arrive Milan & depart Rome--12 to 15 nites---car travel--April thru Oct.<BR> * Small quaint villages to include: Lake Orta, Portovenere, Montalcino,<BR> Spello, Orvieto, Sperlonga, Ravello, Castelrotto [ pick four of above]<BR>============================================ <BR>These are merely intended to be sample itineraries. Every TRIP PLAN is unique.<BR><BR>___________________________________ _____