first time Italy trip help
 

Hello, I read through so much information I thought I might ask for some help. I have an itinerary for my sister and I. I am trying to balance her "must haves" with mine. I have this schedule so far. Could anyone give me some suggestions?

arrive in Milan in the late afternoon - stay in Milan overnight
go to Cinque Terre - (Monterosso -direct train) - Any hotel recommendations with a view - 2 nights

Florence - 2 nights - booked

Venice - 3 nights ( hotel narrowed down but my sister doesn't want to be far from St. Mark's - she is afraid of getting lost!)
Milan - 2 nights ( recommendations on Last Supper tour as I think they are sold out).

Which train tickets should I book in advance?
I don't really want to do another large city ( my sister does) - maybe I could persuade her to do another that is not too far from Milan Malpensa. Has anyone done this?

Thanks!

The whole point of Venice is getting lost. You'll see more and hopefully lose the horde of tourists.

Trains Florence to Venice and Venice to Milan should be booked in advance if you want to save money on the tickets.

I'm not sure what you're asking about an additional stop. Do you want to add days? Or in the already tight schedule you've posted?

If you want to add a stop. Look at the cities on the rail line between Florence ,Venice and Milan. There must be something you're interested in. Bologna? Verona?

Which train tickets should I book in advance?>

Any train that is not a regional train - those trains demand seat resevaions before boarding and you can get serious discounts over full fare tickets you'd buy there. Milan to CT could take regional trains but also faster IC trains which yes book in advance. CT to Florence mainly regional trains just buy at stations - no seat reservations even possible - flat fare dirt cheap buy at stations- can always get on even if full. Florence-Venice and Venice-Milan definitely book ahead online for discounted tickets. Can always buy tickets once there but discounts are available for those booking early. For lots on Italian trains and booking your own tickets check Acquista il biglietto con le nostre offerte - Trenitalia or www.italotreno.com - two competing rail systems using same tracks and stations and www.seat61.com; BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com.

See no room for another large city except perhaps Verona on way to Milan - really neat old city well worth a day.

Are your flights in and out of Milan already booked? Your itinerary would be more efficient if you flew into Venice and out of Milan.

If flights are already booked and can't be changed, I would see if it is at all possible to train immediately on arrival to Monterosso or Florence to eliminate that double stay in Milan. It would make for a tough travel day, but that day is pretty much a "wash" anyway. If you could board a train at Malpensa at 7:00p, you could wake up the next morning in Florence.

If you haven't already, you can search train timetables at the link below. Use Italian spellings. Malpensa Aeroporto, Firenze, Venezia, etc.

Trenitalia - Homepage English - Trenitalia

It sounds like this trip is within the next several weeks. If so, you should look for lodging in Monterosso ASAP. You may have to consider towns other than Monterosso to find seaview lodging in your budget range. Any what is your budget?

>>I would see if it is at all possible to train immediately on arrival to Monterosso or Florence to eliminate that double stay in Milan.<<

Ditto that if you can't change your flights. Or even immediately take a train from Milan to Venice (takes about 2.5 hours). Then you'd do Venice > Florence > the CT > and finish up in Milan. And you wouldn't have to change your Florence booking.

Or just do Milan to Monterosso straight away first day - rather relax from jet lag in Monterosso than hectic Milan.

When is this trip?
Do you already have flight tickets?
Much better to do multi-city, into one city, out of another,
Do not stay in the same city twice. Wastes a lot of time backtracking and checking into and out of hotels.
For a first trip to Italy, I would not do Milan, certainly not twice.

Venice is small. It is convoluted, but even if you get lost, it is safe and you will figure out where you are within minutes. St Mark's area is crowded and being there does not mean you won't get lost, but you are always close to a canal or famous church or landmark.

Florence also has a very, very small city center. You can easily walk anywhere in 10 or 15 minutes.
The Arno river with Ponte Vecchia is right in the center.

With your backtracking to Milan, you are spending an awful lot of time traveling compared with sightseeing time. Two nights gives you only one day in a place. Three nights gives you two days, etc. Travel time station to station, plus getting from hotel to station and from station to hotel eats up more time than you might think.

The only other even semi-large town near Milan is Verona. There is Bologna, but not what I consider close.

Not knowing dates, have no idea as to weather or crowds in the CT.
Venice is a good place to arrive and get over jet lag. It is small and relaxing.
You can often change dates for your hotels as long as you are not outright cancelling.

It looks as if you have 10 nights.
If you could,
Day 1, arrive Venice, 3 nights, 2 days
Day 4, travel to Florence, 3 nights, 2 days
Day 7, travel to Rome, 4 nights, 3 days
Day 11, Home from Rome

If you already have tickets into and out of Milan, this is very rushed, but best you can do.
Day 1, arrive Milan, take train straight on to Verona, 1 night and most of next day
Day 2, late afternoon, travel to Venice, 2 nights, 1 day
Day 4, travel to Florence, 3 nights, 2 days. Do a day trip.
Day 7, travel to the CT, 2 nights, 1 day
Day 9, travel to Milan, 2 nights, 1 day
Day 11, Home from Milan

You could also on day 1, go straight on to Venice and stay 3 nights, 2 days there. That is what I would do, but you mentioned wanting another city, and Verona would work.

Tell your sister that Venice is not large and it is best to stay in a hotel away from San Marxo and it’s crowds. One of the joys of Venice is getting lost.

<<The whole point of Venice is getting lost.>>

Exactly. And accommodations near San Marco are the most expensive in Venice, which is expensive to begin with.

I agree with continuing from Milano on the way over to your next stop. I also agree that open-jaw tickets would be wise for such a short trip.

There are numerous places an easy train ride away from Milano that make a nice stop. Besides those already mentioned, look at Bergamo.

Thank you for all the replies. Let me clarify.

In thorough Milan and out. We can't change that part. If we went straight to CT and spent 2 solid days there and recover from jetlag, then take a train to Verona. I have been to Florence (my sister hasn't but I am planning the trip). Then Venice. That leaves me with 2 days to either stay on in Venice or go back to Milan and spend a couple of days before flight. What if we did a day trip to Florence from Venice?

re: hotels in Venice
Ala (easy vaporetto stop)
Flora (mentioned so many times)
Montecarlo ( in the thick of the action)
Locanda Mociengo ( sure I have misspelled that)

I know hotels are such a personal choice, but any shout outs to any of them?

I probably wouldn't add any destinations to this itinerary but if you do continue on to Bergamo, note that it will likely be quicker to take a bus directly from MXP. I think there are a few shuttle companies; here is one:

Orioshuttle - bus diretti da Orio al Serio Aeroporto a Milano Centrale e Malpensa

Why not spend those two days in Florence? Seems you have time and for your sister's sake - always something new to see in Florence - day trip from Venice is 2.5 hours each way - not worth it.

No to day trip to Florence from Venice!! Too much travel time already and that would really be backtracking.

Keep Florence between the CT and Venice. For your sister's sake, don't skip Florence. With the Duomo, Santa Croce, Ponte Vecchia, the Baptistery, David and the Uffizi, it is just too rich in sights for her to miss. Evening is nice after crowds thin out.

Going straight on to the CT, good idea. Two nights would likely be enough. Head on to Florence afternoon of 3rd day, or afternoon and overnight in Lucca on way to Florence. It is charming, not out of the way and easy to navigate. It adds another place with very little extra travel time.

What time is your flight scheduled to land at Malpensa?

Before you decide where to head first after arrival, you need to check lodging availability in Monterosso in your budget range. If you decide on Monterosso (or elsewhere in the CT), make sure you could arrive after midnight in case you need to take the last train from Malpensa. Unless your Florence reservation is non-refundable, I wouldn't let that dictate the itinerary.

I wouldn't choose Verona over Florence, but that's me.

You need to spend the last night in/near Milan.

Consider basing in towns near CT for better hotel prices and easy day tripping in by frequent cheap trains.