First Timers To Italy
 

We're going to Italy for the first time next April, May and need HELP.
Can anyone reccomend a good itinerary for a two week tour focusing on Rome, Florence and Venecia...

We like art, good food, photography, local culture and people.

M&N

Hi C,

>Can anyone reccomend a good itinerary for a two week tour focusing on Rome, Florence and Venecia...<

Well, that is a very, very broad question.

I suggest flying into VeneZia - 4 nights, train to Florence - 5 nights, train to Rome - 4 nights, fly home.

((I))

My idea would be similar to Ira's. Fly into Venice for 4 nights, 4 nights in Florence with 1 or 2 daytrips to Tuscan towns, 5 nights Rome, fly out of Rome.

Depending on just how keen you re on art, etc, I would suggest not staying in florence itself, but in the Tuscan countryside; giving yourselves a bit of time to take in all you saw in Venice, before you hit Rome. THat way, you may escape "if it's tuesday, it must be Florence" syndrome. You can always do a day trip to florence of you can't bear to miss it!
Good luck!

Hi claytonian,

If you decide that you would like to hire the services of a private tour guide as we did, I can highly recommend Luca from Hills and Roads. (www.hillsandroads.com)

He is wonderful and it was money well spent. So informative, such a treat.

Enjoy bella Italia!

Hi

My wife and I went to Rome in July last year and I have posted a trip report with pictures and links on my homepage http://gardkarlsen.com/rome_italy.htm . I have also made an interactive Rome Google map that you can find on http://gardkarlsen.com/rome_italy_map.htm .
We also went to Venice a couple of years back and you can find a similar trip report on http://gardkarlsen.com/italy_venice.htm . I hope that this can help you a little in your planning. Get in touch if you have any questions :d

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

I would decide which city to fly into based on which one you can get a nonstop to. (If I'm going to miss a flight or lose luggage I would much rather do it on the homeward flight - rather than outgoing.)

You don;t say where you're coming from - but there are many more direct flight to Rome than to Venice - so I would head into Rome first and leave Venice to last.

Also - to me Rome is easier to navigate and less "different" than Venice - so less culture shock and less time lost in the first day or two figuring out how things work. (Just grab a cab at the airport - and assuming you have a central hotel you can easily get anywhere by walking or just hopping in a cab. ) Venice is charming - but arrival and the first day it's a little more difficult to navigate.

Given that you mentioned art first on your list of preferences, I WOULD stay in Florence.

My parents don't have the travel bug I do, but they loved Florence. We felt as if we were living in art.

It is a great walking city. Also it is nice to get up early one morning and walk around before the daytrippers arrive.


The

Sorry, not sure what happened there. But I was just going to add, you could do your day trip to some Tuscan towns.

Personally I found Rome just too hectic; so 3 days would be plenty of time to see the major sights without cultural overload. I'd suggest flying to Rome (3 nights) Florence (4 nights) with a side trip to Siena or San Gimignano, and Venice 4 nights. Venice is actually quite relaxing if you avoid the crush around the Rialto Bridge area. Take the boat trip to Torcello and Burano or over to the Lido. I'm envious. I've been to Venice 5 times and that's still not enough LOL

I would suggest 4 full days in Florence, 2 full days in Rome (it's so big city), 3 full days in Venice and car exploration of Siena and hill towns of Tuscany (Montepulciano, Montalcino, San Gim.)

What about:
3 nights in Rome
5 nights in Tuscany
3 nights in Florence
2 nights in Venice

You'll have LOTS to explore in the Tuscany. We hired Megan at
http://www.bellavitaitalia.com
who not only planned an amazing trip for us but also took us on a tour of Tuscany and San Gimignano.

Hello,

I would say since this is your first visit:

6 nights in Rome with day trip to Pompeii
3nights in Florence
4nights in Venice


Rome is a great city and if you do it in two or three days you will probably not enjoy it. You will enjoy it much better by taking your time and not trying to cram this wonderful city into a couple of days. A lot of people try to do too much and end up not really enjoying anything because they feel to rushed. Three nights in Florence will give you time to enjoy this wonderful city and get some great photos. Four nights in Venice will allow you to really get lost in this city. That is one of the great things to do in Venice.
I would also suggest fly into either Rome or Venice and fly out of the other. This way you don't waste ay time on the train.

Donna

I would fly into Venice, train to Florence, train to Rome, fly home from Rome. To figure out the distribution of days in each place, I would get a guidebook and start listing the things you want to see and do in each city.

As suze said claytonian, I would fly into Venice and home from Rome with visiting Florence inbetween. Flying home from Rome is easier as most of the flights from Venice are so early in the morning. Even if you flight from Rome is early in the morning it is easier to do that than from Venice. Personally I hate the early morning flights from Venice although these last years that is what I do.

...I hate any flight that leaves Italy...
:S-

I agree with the flying into Venice or Rome and flying out of the other. Your travel time between the 3 cities will be at a minimal:

Rome to Florence: 1 hour & 36 minutes
Florence to Venice: just under 3 hours

It will allow more time for enjoying your surroundings rather than racing from place to place.

It does sound as if you have a enough time to stay 2-3 days in the Tuscan countryside as well. It would also give you a nice break from the cities...

Hello, We used a great company called Benvenuto Limos and i found them on the net and loved the sound of their itineraries. Their website is benvenutolimos.com and we dealt with Giovanni who was GREAT. [email protected] Good luck

Hey. I just went on a tour with Contiki Holidays. We went to those cities among others, but I think they offer tours that go through just the Italian cities. If you are between the ages of 18 and 35 I totally recommend this company. They kept the trip upbeat and I got to know a lot of cool people along the way. If you want to check out my blog you can go to this site: http://rae-does-contiki.blogspot.com/. Like I said, my tour included Venice, Florence and Rome so it may give you some ideas. GOOD LUCK TRAVELING!