Feedbacks Welcome on 3-Week Italy Whirlwind Itinerary
 

Before I get started, I justed wanted to say thank you to all the many posters who I've gleemed so much insight from, especially those who shared detailed reports of their trip on this forum. This will be our first trip to Italy/Europe and your guidance will be very much appreciated. Unlike myself, my wife always yearned to go to Italy and to appease her, I started looking into planning a trip by viewing all the terrific comments listed here, and now I desire to go more than she does. Just to give you a brief background, we're a couple in our early 30's living near LA who love both large cities and the outdoors, and try to see and take in as much as possible on vacations. Even in beautiful places such as Hawaii and French Polynesia, we couldn't lie still at a beach or beautiful locale for more than 2 hours and view a pool area as a nothing more than a 30min cool off period. We don't expect to return to Europe for many years since we hope to start a family soon after this trip, so that's why we'd like to take in as much of Italy as possible.

Here's our planned itinerary so far for May 2003:<BR><BR>Day 2: Roma, Hotel Nazionale, stroll through city and visit Gallery Borghese<BR>Day 3: Roma, tour Forum and Colosseum, then head over to Trastevere for dinner and stroll back to hotel<BR>Day 4: Roma, visit Vatican, maybe take Scavi Tour<BR>Day 5: leave Roma, train to Caserta to visit Palazzo Reale, train to Napoli then taxi to harbour to catch ferry to Capri

Day 5 (cont): Capri, Hotel Marmela, take circle-island tour<BR>Day 6: visit Anacapri, hike down from Monte Solaro, visit Giardini di Augusto and Villa Jovis<BR>Day 7: ferry to Sorrento, have a private driver take us around to Positano, Amalfi and Ravello to stay at the Villa Maria or Palazzo Sasso<BR>Day 8: enjoy the villas and views at Ravello and then bus to Positano to stay at Eden Roc<BR>Day 9: maybe catch a boat to Salerno and take bus back through Vietri sul Mare (so my wife can shop for ceramics) or just take in Positano for the day<BR>Day 10: bus from Positano to Sorrento, Circumvensia to Pompei and explore, through Naples and Rome to arrive at Orvieto via train. Pick up rental car. Is this all feasible on Day 9?<BR>And I'm trying to decide between Palazzo Piccolomini and La Badia..any recommendations?

Day 11: tour Umbria via car including short tours of Todi, Assisi, Spello and Montefalco. I imagine this would take all day, but I was wondering if it would be very difficult to drive back to Orvieto after nightfall?<BR>Day 12: leave Orvieto for a short stop at Civita and drive through southern Tuscany visiting Montepulciano and Montalcino before arriving at Siena to stay at the Santa Caterina. I was hoping to see Cortona but that seems too far-fetched.<BR>Day 12: explore Siena<BR>Day 13: leave Siena to visit Monteriggioni and San Gimignano before arriving at Firenze to drop off rental car. Check into hotel before strolling over to Palazzo Pitti.<BR>I haven't researched Florence hotels all that much but the two I'm most interested in are the Berchielli along the Arno and the more central Strozzi Palace Hotel, but I haven't heard much about these 2 hotels on this forum. Any insight would be much appreciated.<BR>Day 14: Is it possible to fit in climbing the Duomo and visiting both the Accademia and Uffizi in one day?<BR>Day 15: Train from Firenze to Lucca and Pisa (both short visits) before heading to Santa Margherita Ligure. I'm thinking of staying at Continental as I've heard some positive reviews here.<BR>

Day 16: hike from SML down to Portofino for a few hours and boat back. Check out of Continental and train to Cinque Terre. For a couple seeking a romantic, quiet hideaway in this area, what hotel can you recommend?<BR>Day 17: hike to all five towns starting from Monterosso to Riomaggiore, either train or boat back to town where were staying<BR>Day 18: train from CT through Milan to Varenna at Lago di Como. Ferry to Bellagio. Any reasonably-priced 3-4 star hotels here? Villa d'Este in Cernobbio and the Villa Serbelloni seem spectacular but are out of our budget.<BR>Day 19: take in more of Lake Como in the morning before heading off to our final destination, Venezia.

Day 19 (cont): arrive in Venice and probably check into the Hotel Ca'Pisani. Albeit modern, it sounds reasonable, comfortable and away from the crowds according to the few who've stayed there and posted here. After we check in, we plan to stroll around Dorsoduro and possibly visit the Accademia and Guggenheim before heading over to the Piazza San Marco to listen to the deuling concerts.<BR>Day 20: early visit to Piazza San Marco and Palazzo Ducale, and was hoping to visit Burano but it seems too time-consuming. We'll probably just "get lost" within Venezia and hopefully enjoy the ambiance.<BR>Day 21: last morning before flight.<BR><BR>Sorry if this seemed exhausting. I'm a non-Arthur Andersen CPA, so being detailed and thorough is an occupational hazzard. I'd very much welcome any suggested additions, revisions, criticisms, or thoughts. Thanks all.

Sounds incredibly well thought out to me. I think you are dedicating enough time to the right places and seeing the important things for this first trip. <BR><BR>Regarding the Duomo, Uffizi and Accademia, yes they can all be visited comfortably in the same day. You might want to get to the Uffizi at opening, do the Duomo in the middle and then head to the Academia. Advance tickets will help accommodate this. Consider the Opera Museum by the Duomo. It's small, uncrowded and has the original doors to the Bapistry and some fascinating relics and sculptures.

Yes, in response to Day 14.<BR><BR>That's exactly what I did in Florence except I climbed the Camponile next to the Duomo. I went to the Uffizi first (the lines got really bad later in the morning), then had a cappucino. Next was the climb, hard but worth the views. Finally David at the Accademia and then lunch around 2pm.<BR><BR>

Hello bluefan. I laughed when I read your description of occupational hazard, I'm of the same ilk, and I don't even have the excuse of being a CPA.<BR><BR>I think, though, that even I would find your day 9 a bit busy. Pompeii I found fascinating - we spent 4 hours there, including a quick picnic lunch. Getting there from Positano could take you up to 2 hours, incl. transfer from bus to CV train, which is quaint but slooow. Allow another 45 mins from Pompeii to Naples - oh, and it's going to be about 3 hours from Naples to Orvieto, minimum. Then you have to find the rental car agency, and handle paperwork at a time when you will likely be tired. Maybe pick car up the next morning? Also, in lieu of going to Capri from Rome, I think there's an overland route to Ravello from Naples that you could take by private car. Then you could work your way back to Capri via Positano, and overnight in Sorrento before heading off to Pompeii and Orvieto. I'm thinking on my feet here, this may not work for you, but might be worth a try. Good luck!

bluefan, you may keep some flexibility in mind relative to Vietri Sul Mer, as the bulk of the ceramics are right in Ravello (considerable amounts, including THE ceramics factory). We purchased a LARGE vase, and dishes and had them shipped home. Just don't be suprised by the duty you'll have to pay when you receive them.<BR><BR>I dream about returning to Italy (went last September), all the time. Have a wonderful trip.<BR><BR>DJ

Buon giorno Bluefan, I am very impressed. You are paying attention. I would not change a thing except be sure you can PICK UP the car in Orvieto--I know you can drop--not sure about pickup. In Orvieto, do the PP--the La Badia is nice but in the country. For Como, you want Hotel Belvedere as first choice and Du Lac as the backup. Please be ure to report back--this is a classic itinerary for the best of Italia. Good luck !Q

Hi Bluefan,<BR><BR>I am extremely jealous!! Sounds like you are going to have a wonderful trip.<BR>You mentioned you were interested in the<BR>Berichelli Hotel in Firenze. We stayed there this past May for a week with the kids and it was lovely. The location could not have been better and the service was impeccable. Rooms were large, elegant and clean and they had a nice breakfast buffet every morning.<BR>Wish I was going too!! Have a great trip! PS: May is a great time to go, the weather was near perfect when we went, i think it only rained one day.

Thank you to all that have replied and provided feedback.<BR><BR>Grasshopper and cg: I definitely plan to follow your suggested order for Florence.<BR><BR>Sue: my plans for Day 9 sure sound long and tiring just as you explained, but I really want to visit Pompei so I plan on having an early start. Does anyone know how early the buses run on the Amalfi Coast? And the initial reasons for Capri, Ravello & Positano in that order was to possibly avoid Capri on a weekend which I thought might be more crowded.<BR><BR>DJ: that bit of info may certainly help us to relax more on our Amalfi Coast stay.<BR><BR>NAV BOB: I've probably saved all your tips in my Italy MS Word file. Your insights I'm sure have proved invaluable to many a first time Italy traveller. After getting feedbacks on others as to the feasability of this itinerary, I was hoping to enlist your help on Slowtrav to plan out the fine details. So far, I'm glad that it meets your approval.<BR><BR>Alyssa: sounds like Berichelli is just the sort of place myself and plenty of others would want to stay at.

We just returned from Venice and the Cinqueterre. Absolutely loved it. As far as hotels in the Cinqueterre, Monterrosso is the only town with "real" hotels. In the other 4 towns you just rent rooms. The Porto Roca (sp?)is the nicest of the hotels, but I would check on availability now because they do book up way in advance. They have a website. Rick Steve's Italy book has alot of good info on the Cinqueterre. There is also Cinqueterre.com If you have any specific questions on the Cinqueterre I might be able to answer them. We spent 5 days there. We stayed in Vernazza, hiked the trail, swam (the water is beautiful), ate leisurely meals. Its a fun place!!!!!!!Would return tomorrow if I could.

I just returned from my fourth trip to Italy and all I want to suggest is relax and enjoy. Italy is not just the sites, it is a mind-set. Lunch can be 3 hours, followed by a walk (during which you see amazing things), then a 4 hour dinner. You sit back and appreciate your surroundings and the people your with, as well as the sounds, smells and tastes of Italy. Don't make yourself crazy trying to fit everything in. You will go again. Also the trains are not at all dependable so precise planning is almost impossible unless you drive. Last the five towns are tough hike in one day. It is so beautiful in Chinque Terres you might want to give it another day.