First time!
 

We are planning a 12 day trip to Italy in October with another couple, also first timers. We'd like to go to Rome, Florence & Venice. Any suggestions on how many nights we should spend at each; should we rent a car and drive from Rome to Florence or take a train & rent a car in Florence? Or would it be best to stay outside of Florence? What must we not miss? With such a short time and so much to see, we need tips for planning our itinerary. All suggestions welcome!

1) 4 days in each city
2) No need to rent a car. Trains connect all 3 cities
3) Stay in Florence
4) See Fodors destination guide for "must sees"
5) Fly open-jaw (ie, into Rome & out of Venice; or into Venice & out of Rome)

yk gives excellent advice....

cars would only create problems for you....

Rome is by far the largest and the most interesting (IMO).
Fly into Rome - 5 days ( some time is lost on the first day to settle in , also the jet -lag takes its toll)
Train to Florence ( 1 and 1/2 hour)in the morning , that day and 2 more in Florence (3 nights).
Early train to Venice ( 2 1/2 hours),
The rest of time in Venice .
Fly home from Venice.
Many here love Florence, others adore Venice.

Try to remember that the first day and the last day don't count for much on the trip if they are included in the travel time. Most US flights to Italy are overnight flights, so you'll lose a day traveling. On the last day you'll lose it checking out and traveling. So if you could get 12 nights on the ground in Italy, you'll have more time to enjoy. 4 nights in each of the big three.

I wouldn't spend 4 nights in Venice - 2 or 3 are good, and give those other nights to Rome.

Hi L,

I would fly into Venice and out of Rome - better schedules, and Venice is easier to accomodate yourself to Italy.

I would do no less than 3 nights in Venice.

Ditto for Florence - 4 if you want to visit Siena.

Orvieto is a nice daytrip from Rome.

((I))

A fine trip.

What Ira meant was the 'Most international flights from Venice leave inconveniently early in the morning'.

There is no need for a car. Your trip may be more relaxing without the car.

You need decide how to divide yor time between the cities. Books like DK/Eyewitness, Rick Steves, Fodors will help. You might want to do some daytrips (possibly Orvieto as a daytrip from Rome. Siena or Volterra, San gig from Florence. You can hire a car and driver for $400 and up per day).

Fly into Venice, stay 4 nights, day train to Florence for 3 nights, day train to Rome, 5 nights. Fly home from Rome. No need for a car.

You need only plane tickets and 3 hotel reservations. Buy or go to the library & get a guidebook for the main highlights and sight-seeing, or pick up information after you arrive.

This is not a difficult trip to plan, even for 1st timers! Enjoy!

I agree it makes most sense to start with Venice because of flight timing considerations mentioned in other posts. Also Venice is a good city to wander in during the first jet-lag day.
My recommendation for time allocation is 3 nights Venice, 3 nights Florence, 6 nights Rome

Exactly! It's because of that 1st jet lagged day, why I put an extra day to Venice. It takes me personally a couple days to adjust. So I'd prefer a bit more time in Venice, and less in Rome at the end, differing from how some others might make the split.