First timer here - where do I start?
 

My husband and I are planning a trip to Italy. We would like to plan it ourselves, but I have no idea what to do first. We already have our dates that we'd like to travel, we know we'd like to fly into Rome, spend some time there, then head to Siena, Florence, Livorno and Valdinievole.

Does anyone have advice on where to begin, words of experience, getting around, ANYTHING....honestly, I'll take what I can get.

Thank you so much, in advance, for your time and patience with a girl from DC without a clue. :)

First off, I would suggest that you borrow a few Italy guidebooks from the library to decide what really interests you.

Then, when you post a message asking for information, give us the basics, such as how long you are going for, and ask questions that are as specific as possible.

Getting around: For example, it's much easier to go from Rome to Florence with a fast Eurostar train and then go to Siena from Florence by bus than to go from Rome to Siena.

Read up a little and then come back. There are many people here who are happy to offer suggestions., but they have to have some information to go on.

Thank you very much for your honest and informative response. I will do just that, get some books, do some research and then ask questions.

Thanks again!

Well eileen, I normally book my air tickets, decide how much time I will stay in each location and then start researching hotels. There are lots of hotel recommendations on this board and you can also check tripadvisor.com. Decide how you are going to travel between destinations (train travel is great in Italy but since you will be exploring Tuscany you will probably want a car.)

Then, you can really delve into a couple of guide books and come up with some detailed daily itineraries. Have fun!

Thanks, Suki. I'm so nervous about the prospect of driving around Italy. Have you done it before?

We drove from Florence to Orvieto then onto Rome. My husband did the driving, but it wasn't bad especially in the countryside. You can probably use busses and trains if you really don't want to drive; however,I think as long as you stay out of the city centers you would be fine.

I will assume that you have 9-15 days (or more) for the places you want to go. There is little or no need to drive a car (indeed, some good reasons NOT to think about driving a car) for your first 5-7 days in Italy.

I typically advise AGAINST starting in rome. Rome is very, very intense, and more than once I have seen a first-time traveler to Italy DISlike Rome because it just seemed overwhelming - - the sights, the sounds, the crowds, the traffic, the fast-paced people and lifestyles, the <i>scooters</i>!

I would advise trying to travel in to Florence first (requires some Europe airport gateway as a transfer point) or Pisa. Spend a few days there and get used to Italy. <i>Then</i>, plan your 3, 4 or 5 days/nights in Rome - - it's only 95 minutes away by train (almost double that by car). And after your 6th, 7th or 8th day in Italy, you can driving in Italy if you wish. I actually love it, but there are adjustments you will need to observe. Never, never stay in the lefthand - - the <i>passing</i> - - lane on an autostrada, unless you are actively passing - - and then get over and get back. While there are numerous little tips to share with you - - they all pale compared to this one (while we're on the subject, how about all Americans follow this rule here &quot;at home&quot; as well!)

By the way, when DO you plan to make this trip?

Best wishes,

Rex

Hello eileenferrier, you have already been given some good information. A few more thoughts I would add for you to consider is:

1) Besides guide books see if your local library has any &quot;coffeetable&quot; type books that has a lot of beautiful photographs for Rome, Florence etc. That might help you decide what you want to see

2) Consider flying into one airport and home from another airport. For example, going along with Rex's thoughts fly into Florence and visit Rome the last part of your trip and then fly home from Rome. That will save you time backtracking.

When will you be in Italy? How many nights will you have to spend in Italy?
Figure out about what you want to budget per night for hotel rooms. Personally I would figure that $1.00euro will cost you $1.25 US dollar.

You will find a wealth of information here on Fodors that should help you tremendously and most Fodorites are so generous about answering questions.

When you do post questions I would suggest that you make the title of your thread obvious as to what questions you have such as: &quot;Recommendation for these restaurants in Rome&quot; or &quot;Advice regarding hotels in Florence&quot; etc.
That will consequently catch the eye of those here that have information you are seeking.

BTW, when you come across hotels that interest you go to www.tripadvisor.com for various travellers thoughts and recommendations on hotels. Just another helpful link. Don't feel like you need to believe everything you read but it should give you a good overview of hotels.

Have fun planning your trip to Italy. You will have fun. And don't get frustrated, it will all work out just fine. Best wishes to you!

Wow - I'm so impressed with the responsiveness of my fellow travel lovers. I am just started my travels of the world, hence my naivety.

Rex - My husband and I are planning to visit Italy sometime this May, but we're not exsactly sure yet. We plan to go for ten days and yes, we have given it some thought to fly into one area and depart from another. When we visited Spain, people told us to not visit Madrid right off the bat, but it all worked out fine and we enjoyed ending the trip in the serene atmosphere of the mountains of Malaga.

That being said, I will definitely take your advice into consideration, but I do think my husband and I would like to start in Rome. I reserve the right to change my mind though!

Hi Eileenferrier

I think you already have some great advice. I would proceed as follows, since you already know when you want to go and where you want to go.

1. Purchase your air tickets. Try to get as many nights as you possibly can. One's first trip to Italy can never be too long.

2. Now that you know how many nights you have in Italy, try to figure out how much you want to spend per night for hotels. This may not seem so important, but it can help in the rest of the planning.

3. Decide how long in each place. This can help with your transportation decisions.

I have great respect for all of Rex's suggestions on this board, but I will offer you the other side of starting in Rome:

If you're flying from the US, sometimes flying into Rome is the easiest way to get to Italy. On my husband's first trip (my 4th), we flew right into Rome. He LOVED it. To this day, many trips later, Rome is his favorite place in Italy. The next time we went, he made the choice that our trip would start in Rome and we would stay 6 nights! 6 nights in Rome wore me out (saw too much Roman life in one short period) but not him. So it's kind of a &quot;what you like&quot; thing.

I also think that ending in Rome can be fun, but if you're tired, or sated with too much beauty and art, Rome can be over-the-top challenging. Last winter, after a week in Florence and a couple of days in Arezzo, we went to Rome and I was a little overwhelmed.

Time of year can have something to do with your experience there, or anywhere.

Finally, we have gone with and without a car. It all depends on where you are going. As mentioned, you might want a car for the Tuscany portions of your trip. It is easy to drive in Italy. And it's easier if you pick up a few words of the language. Great roads and cars just about everywhere.

If you do start in Rome, you could train to Florence and then pick up a car there for the rest of your trip. There are a couple of good ways to do this and you can come back and read about them or ask for suggestions any time you're ready.

Hope this helps, and I look forward to following your progress in planning. It will be a lot of fun.

This is how I get started:

First, figure out the budget.

Set the itinerary, at the very least decide on the first stop (or arrival airport) and the last stop. Then book the airfare according to the respective airports.

How far ahead are you planning? For this winter, or spring 2006, or fall 2006? Some popular hotels book up at least 6 months in advance, not to soon to start contacting a few to see what the availability and the rates are.

You could spend a long time on the Italy Superthread, but it will provide a LOT of suggestions with links:

sorry, here's the link

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34443340

eileen,

First off, welcome. Six months ago, I too was a newbie here. And as you have already seen, the people here are very generous with their help and advice. They all have helped me greatly in planning my first trip to Italy(I leave in 27 days, but who's counting lol).

As LoveItaly said, the best way to get responses is to be very detailed in your titles.

Now that you have gotten many suggestions on how to start, let the fun begin(and trust me, it is fun!!)Do as much research as you can. And have great trip!!

Tom

with ten days I would pick 5 days in Tuscany, flying into Florence (3 nights) with some extensions (2 nights)by car or local trains within Tuscany. If you pick Siena and Pisa you may use local trains from Florence, if you are headed to San Gimignano and Volterra better to have a car !
Then train Florence to Rome for the remaining 5 days and fly out from Rome.
Or you can start from Rome and fly out from Florence

I wonder how you did include Livorno in you itinerary !! with only 10 days, but even with 30 days I would skip it !
The harbor is just used by cruise lines for transfer tourists to the rest of Tuscany

As regards what to see, all depends on your priorities !!

Apart from reading guidebooks (and of course, lots of info on Fodors.com in general), consider borrowing some travel DVDs from your local library.

I have seen most episodes of Rick Steves and Rudy Maxa on PBS before, but I borrowed them last week from my local library and rewatched them again. We're leaving for Venice in a month, and the Rick Steves' episode on Padova/Verona/Vicenza gave me some ideas of what to see/expect.

Just a thought.