Feedback requested! 10 day Italy itinerary
 

Hello!

What we are set on: Fly in and out of Rome (due to direct flights from Phila.)
Please provide feedback on the below, is this realistic or not, and will we have enough time in each place to really enjoy ourselves.

Day 1: Arrive in Rome
Day 2: Rome
Day 3: Leave Rome take train to Florence
Day 4: Florence (overnight)
Day 5: Leave Florence mid-day, rent car to visit Hill towns
Day 6: Hill towns (Siena, Montepulciano??)
Day 7: Drive back to Florence to return car, take train to Naples
Day 8: Capri / Sorrento ?
Day 9: Capri / Sorrento? - Take train back to Rome later in the day
Day 10: Leave Rome


Thanks!
Look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Emily

Forgot to mention, we are traveling Oct 5th to 10th 2012.

I would take train from airport to Termini and then train to Florence upon arrival.
Instead of returning car in Florence, you might return in Orvieto or Chiusi.
Do Rome at end of trip. (this would require fewer hotel changes.)

<<we are traveling Oct 5th to 10th >>

That is not 10 days.

And, sorry, but no you won't have enough time to enjoy yourselves in any those places with the short amount of time allocated to each. Sorry to say that you need to scale back the number of places that you want to see.

Good luck... they are all great places so it will be hard to choose!

Maybe it would help if you could fly into Florence or Pisa, then fly home from Rome.

Instead of dropping the car back in Florence (which is backtracking), how about driving to Sorrento and dropping the car there?

Yes Sorry, Typo - dates are Oct 5th - 14th!

What are your real travel days? What are your interests? Art, history, architecture, scenery, wine, food?

Give us a few clues and we can suggest best use of your limited time.

Agree with Joanne. No, you won't enjoy this trip as it stands now.

10 full days on the ground = 3 destinations within reasonable travel time. Perhaps Rome, Tuscan countryside, Florence...

I would take the train to Florence on arrival in Rome, spend 4 nights there including a day trip by bus or train to a Tuscan town and maybe to Lucca, too. Then back to Rome for the rest of the time. I have been to Rome three times and am going back for the fourth time in October, and still have not managed. to see all I want to see. Something is always closed for restoration (in restauro, the dreaded words for Italian tourists). Or it's Monday and the museum is closed. Or it's raining too hard, or your feet hurt too much, so you lose a day.

Going south to Sorrento, etc. is too much for this trip. Plan another one in the future that includes the southern leg.

These are all great places to visit, but you will spend a lot of your time traveling, and missing out on the "real" Italy. One of the main joys of visiting Italy is soaking up the food and culture... lingering over a glass of wine in a caffe or people-watching in a piazza. Please be sure to allow your self plenty of time to actually enjoy these experiences, as well as to see the key sites. One full day is not nearly enough time in Rome or Florence. I would suggest eliminating the Capri/Sorrento portion of your trip and allotting at least 4 days for Rome and 3 for Florence, with possibly 2 days in a Tuscan town in between.

Thanks for all of your quick replies! This is our honeymoon, we are in our late 20s / early 30s. We do not like our days to be extremely structured, we love to explore and go out on our own. But at the same time, we want to see the Vatican and take some tours in Rome. Uffizi gallery in Florence is also a must see for us.

Food and Wine tops our list, as does the scenery. We don't want to spend all of our time in churches & museums. We have 9 full days on the ground.

With only 10 days, pick 3 of the above and enjoy your honeymoon.

I agree--this trip will be a disappointment if you don't scale back. Been to Italy 12 times and you will kick yourself because the trip you have planned will have you spending most of your time traveling. The trouble is, you are heading 2 different directions. Scratch Capri/Sorrento this time. The drive from Rome to Florence is only about 2 to 2.5 hours; why not rent the car there, drive north and stop in Tuscany on the way north, then arrive Florence and explore? You can fly out of Florence, or if you are set on round trip Rome, take the train back the day before. But again, wasting time backtracking. 3 days in Rome is plenty. Save Amalfi for a different trip. Capri alone will eat up lots of time getting over on the boat and back. Florence is a wonderful honeymoon city and Tuscany is fabulous--I'd recommend heading north after Rome. You arrive in the morning, so spend that first day exploring as your first day versus sleeping. Head north day 3 (meaning after your third night). Your language will go much further in the better traveled towns northward unless you are fluent in traveler Italian. Less hassle for a honeymoon. Hate to say it, but Ufizzi is NOT the bomb place to go. Merely famous. Lots of uninspiring stuff in there sprinkled with a few noteworthy items. If you have, have, have to go, go on the internet and book yourself a Ufizzi tour well in advance. your guide meets you in a small group, you breeze right in past the hordes waiting in line any time of year, wondering who the heck you are to get special treatment. This whole thing will take you 45 minutes--you will see the hightlights. Without a guide, it is a mishmash of things you will not recognize and are not very inspiring. And on a crowded day, the line pushed you so fast you can't stand around very long anyway. Do NOT miss the Medici Chapel! Breath-taking, a jewel of a building, no lines!! Designed by michaelangelo. The beauty of Florence is it is preserved in the historical section much as it was in the 1200s. Wander, browse, watch the street artists, turn little corners and find quaint restaurants and bistros.. If all you do is the museum, the Duomo, and the usual tourist stuff, you are cheating yourself. Traveling Rome to Florence, book yourself a beautiful estate hotel in Tuscany for 2-3 nights--Castellini in Chianti or any town close to there. you can do day drives from there and see everything you wish. Forget the wineries--you can taste in numerous shops. Get yourself a Michelin map atlas of italy in addition to your GPS. If you are lost, you can point on the map where you are trying to go.

Either forget Capri/Sorrento or make it the focus of your trip. I'm willing to bet you have NO idea how fast 9 days overseas goes by, especially when the first couple are hazy with jetlag. The last thing anyone on a honeymoon needs is a trip that revolves around packing and unpacking and the interior of train stations and rushing around huge cities you're unfamiliar with. One day in Rome is completely insufficient - you won't even get oriented in one day. One day in Florence might suffice, as it's small, but I'd seriously reconsider the whole plan. It's a honeymoon, not an expedition.

Thanks everyone - Luckily we haven't booked anything yet, so we are going to really re-think our plans.

Would it be better to save Capri / Sorrento for a warmer time of year?

I agree that more time should be spent in Rome than in Florence.

With 10 days in a honeymoon I would do either 5 days in Rome and 5 in Florence/Tuscany countryside or 5 days in Rome/ 5 days in sorrento/amalfi coast. It will give you time to take in the atmosphere, enjoy the pace of life and fall in love with Italy!!

In Florence I really like the Bargello museum. Not crowded, and lots of really nice stuff, and a great building too.
I would agree that Capri, just because it's an island, will take up time to get to.