Dream Trip to Italy-any suggestions?
 

This is my dream trip. I am travelling around Italy for 25 days. The only problem is, I need serious help with my itinerary. I was thinking of flying into Palermo and working my way up to Milan. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated-hotels, restaurants, must-see sites, and the best way of getting from place to place (contemplating running to keep the weight off). Thanks for any help you can give.<BR>-Caitlin<BR><BR>

Hi<BR>I think you can get lots of suggestions if you could say more about your budget (per night hotel rate, for example), and your interests.<BR>Museums? Gardens? Cities? Countryside? Prefer trains or buses vs driving?<BR>Want some beach time? etc etc<BR>There must be some places that are already on your dream itinerary, between Milan and Palermo.

Buy Rick Steves' Italy 2003 book. He has a three-week itinerary mapped out that hits all of the highlights (however, it does not include Sicily). His books are easy to read and give very good advice, expecially for a first-time traveler to Italy. Once you have a basic plan, you can research deeper or ask for advise in specific areas. Also, check out www.slowtrav.com which specializes in travel in Italy at a slow pace - you have lots of time so you can take advantage of their great suggestions. Ciao. . .

I would imagine that you may be trying to hit all the &quot;major&quot; sites in 25 days. Let us know if you are a traveller that prefers &quot;off the beaten track.&quot; I would definitely would spend 4 nights in Palermo, there is SO much to see in all of Sicily. But, since you probably want to cover a lot of ground Palermo would be a wonderful place to begin your trip. Taormina would be another great stop before heading to the mainland.

This is a rough draft of my itinerary. I have some recommendations for hotels and B&amp;Bs, but I definitely could use some more recommendations. I'm looking to spend about $200US/ night but would like to save money where possible. I also plan on renting a car through Tuscany, taking the train where convenient, and flying if it makes more sense. I'm going to spend 25 -30 days in Italy. I'm in my twenties and have lots of energy and want to see and do as much as possible. I've been travelling for 2 months around the world and already have done my share of relaxing. I appreciate all of your suggestions.

-Fly into Palermo. Explore Sicily (2 nights) Where should I go near Palermo?

-Fly to Naples and take boat to Capri- (2 nights)

-5 days Amalfi Coast -Sorrento, Herculaneum, Positano, Ravello. Use Ravello as home base.

Rome (3 days)

Train to Venice (3 days)

Train to Florence (2 days)

Rent car for Tuscany (4 nights)?-Lucca, Voltera, Cortona, Montepulciano, San Gimignano.

1 night Lucca
1 night San Gimignano
2 nights- up for grabs-should I stay in Voltera, Cortona, or Montelpulciano.

Spend 1 night in Santa Margherita

Spend 3 nights in Cinque Terre, probably in Vernazza.

Lake Como (2 nights)

Milan (1 night)

Fly out of Milan.

Questions:
1) How should I get from Naples to Capri? Is there a high speed boat? Where should I stay in Capri

2) Should I fly, drive, or take the train from Amalfi Coast to Rome?

3) Should I rent the car for Tuscany while in Florence? I've heard it's difficult to find your way out of Florence with a car.

4) Where should I stay for 2 nights in Tuscany- Cortona, Voltera, or Montepulciano?

5) Should I have a car or return the car in Tuscany before travelling to Santa Margherita and Cinque Terre? If so, which is the bets way to get to SM and CT?

6) How should I travel from Cinque Terre to Lake Como?

7) Is there anywhere where I need to include more days or is there anywhere I could cut back?

Thank you for any help you can give me,
Caitlin

I forgot to include my interests. I love food, photography, breathtaking views, some musuems, ruins-history, and flea markets/local treasures. Plus I appreciate things that other people love, so if a garden shouldn't be missed, then I'd love to see it.

I think as a general guide the Rick Steves books are good as are Lonely Planet and Let's Go. However, be aware that Rick Steves, for example, does not make a lot of recommendations lodgings and eating wise that would appeal to an &quot;upper end&quot; (bigger budget) sort of traveler. I usually use his stuff in conjunction with others.
You've already taken a certain amount of responsibility in this effort by posting the tentative itinerary and that's a refreshing change from some of the folks who come here wanting a free travel agent and a free guidebook to go with it. You might want to consider a rail pass if it will be more convenient as well as economical than buying point-to-point rail tickets. If you want to see the biggie highlights you may not need a car (driving does take work remember) quite as much as you think you do. Be careful what you wish for...saying that you enjoy what other people enjoy makes perfect sense to me but get ready for a raft of things and places that everyone thinks is the best..if you do them all you'll be in Italy for an entire year! Enjoy your trip, though :)

Venice-check out La Calcina. This is a nice three star which also has &quot;single&quot; rooms and certainly for less than 200/noc. I loved Venice and you will feel very safe there as a woman travelling alone. I'd say the best things about Venice is just being able to walk around the various neighborhoods. We did not make it to Torcello while there which people seem to love..We did go to Burano which is worth the trip. Just work you way past all the bad lace(there is some spectacular lace in a shop on your right as you first disembark the Vaporetto) and walk around the island. I always recommend lunch at Da Romana.
(Try their grilled shrimp)..eat outside but do check out the inside.

I would also say try to make it to Montalcino while in Tuscany. This is a small and very charming town. Wine tasting at the Fortezza is a must. Also(and we did not have time for this but definitely will incldue it next time)..Sant'Antimo just outside of Montepulciano is a small abbey in which the monks chant gregorian chants. I think they do so &quot;live&quot; for Sunday mass but might also do so at other times during the week. Montepulciano was one of my favorite spots in Tuscany and I think staying there would be great fun. It has a very cosmopolitan feel and yet remains a hilltown.

However..you did not mention Siena. I think it would be a shame to have a dream trip to Italy that did not include Siena. This might also be a good place to spend the night. You absolutely have to go to the Duomo in Siena. We spent the better part of a day in Siena and wished we had more time.

If you do go to San Gimigiano..go in the late afternoon when most of the touring has ebbed a bit. We were there in mid October and during the week. It still had a bit of a disney feel to us but I can imagine it is charming in the evening when the throngs have died down.

The recommednation for the slowtrav website is a good one. I have checked it out since returning from 3 weeks in Italy and thought many of the recommendations were very good after having visited.
Italy is so spectacular! I am a changed(for the better) being for having been there.

As for where to go near Palermo, you can try the two main standbys, Cefalu and Erice. Erice is a charming hilltop town with great views of the coast. However, if you have only two nights (2 days?) in Palermo, you will probably be busy enough just staying in Palermo (and the nearby Monreale). In a way, it is almost too bad to go all the way to Sicily and not see any of the coastal views, so I usually try to combine my trips to Palermo with one other &quot;scene.&quot; (A day in Erice, for example, would be a change of scenery).

Have fun whatever you decide!

MMM

Your itinerary sounds good so far, though quite a bit of moving around. 3 days in Rome and 2 days in Florence seems a bit short, especially considering that will include travel to those cities. But I'm not sure what I would take time from; maybe one day less in Tuscany?

Re staying in Cortona, Volterra or Montepulciano. All of them are interesting cities/towns (though Siena is worth staying in too); Cortona and Volterra are a little further from ther sites you might want to day-trip to. I really like the autere beauty of Volterra, and it has a very good Etruscan museum.

San Gimignano is best to visit when the tourists have left, so an overnight stay there is good, even though it'll mean you're moving around a lot.

I'd skip the night in Santa Margarita, and maybe add it to Florence or Rome.

My favorite hotel in the Cinque Terre is the Villa Steno, in Monterosso. Great views.

Rent a car as you leave Florence. One time, we rented (through AutoEurope) from a hotel on the outskirts of Florence, and took a cab to that hotel. Another time we rented in the city and drove out, and it wasn't too bad (but we had a driver and a navigator). I find driving to the Cinque Terre easier, but you'll have to pay for paring there, unless your hotel has its own parking (which Villa Steno does).

Have a great time!

Thank you so much for your help. The feedback is very helpful. Does anyone have recommendations for Milan for 1 night and the lakes region for 2-3?

Thanks,Caitlin

Caitlin, you might want to look into Townhouse 31 in Milan. It's a small (20 room) boutique hotel favored by the fashion industry. I haven't stayed there but have heard good things about it.

Also for flea markets, the website initaly.com lists all the open air markets here. http://www.initaly.com/travel/info/oamarket.htm

They also have a list of local festivals you might want to check to see if any coincide with your visit.

If you've seen the movie &quot;Enchanted April&quot;, the villa they rent in the movie is in Portofino. The villa is now a museum. While I haven't been there, my husband visited there from Santa Margherita and the views look beautiful.

Finally, one option for transportation around the Amalfi coast that people have mentioned here is sorrentolimo.com