we are planning to go to florence and venice in mid september and perhaps hit naples for a few days. any suggestions about hotels, transportation, itineraries,etc would be welcome.

First suggestion: Type Florence and Venice (separately) into the Fodors Search the Forums box you see at the top of the page.

Second suggestion: you need to provide more information. How many people, what is your price range, what are you interested in , etc etc. Narrow it down a bit and the suggestions will roll in.

FYI, the fastest train from Venice to Naples takes 6 hours, and the fares are $160 (1st) and $115 (2nd) per person.

thanks, mabey i am better off going to rome and driving to the naples area

thank you, we are 2 adults, interested in almost everything, looking for decent accmodations, will spend what is necessary to have a nice time.

But Jean didn't mention that Florence is halfway between Naples and Venice. You should still take the train. and go in geographic succession Venice-Florence-Naples or Naples-Florence-Venice.

Please . . . give us a money limit. We have no idea what you consider "decent" or "a nice time."

How much time do you have?

approximately 12 days and $5000.00

With 12 days, I wouldn't try to cover so much geography. I'd stick to either northern or southern Italy. I also wouldn't do all big cities and would spend a couple of days in a smaller town. So, Venice/Florence/Tuscany (or Umbria or Cinque Terre) or Rome/Naples/Amalfi Coast (or Capri).

Ok then. I think 12 days is ok; its a little rushed for some people's taste, but certainly within the realm of reasonable.

Plan 1: Fly to Venice, 3 nights. Then take the train to Florence, 3 nights. Then a drive to Naples, but break it up with a scenic drive & 2 night stay in southern Tuscany. Then 3 nights in Naples, maybe a day trip to Pompeii or Amalfi Coast. Spend the last night near the airport ( Naples or Rome). Add or subtract one day if one of these places intrigues you more than others.

Plan 2: Same trip, only backwards. Fly home from venice.

This skips Rome entirely, but I think you want to either spend 4+ or 0 nights in the big city, so why not save it for another time?

Stay in town and walk to the tourist sites in each case, you won't regret it.

Hi Ken,

> Jean on Jun 22, 09 at 04:36 PM <

Good advice.

I disagree with Capxxx. I would skip Naples and go to Rome instead. 2 or 3 days in Rome is enough to get a taste of the city.

Well I wouldn't suggest a new visitor to Italy drive into Naples unless the visitor is very comfortable and use to driving in crowded crazy traffic. My husband always drove in Naples and all the big cities in Italy but he was not the typical visitor to Italy. I have many Italian friends in Italy that will not drive in Naples.

I agree with Jean also.

Btw, when you say aproximately 12 days does that include the days you will be flying kenc? How many nights will you actually have in Italy? Best regards.

In Florence, here's a good hotel I recommend: Hotel Pendini www.florenceitaly.net It has nice-sized rooms, adequate breakfast buffet, very efficient and friendly staff, and good location overlooking Piazza Repubblica making it convenient for walking to most major sights.

thank you all for your advice. It seems like 3 days in venice, 4 days in florence, and the rest in rome with a day trip to avelino to find my fathers town might work. does this sound reasonable? i have been to rome twice before.

Four days in Florence sounds great! You and your wife could take the short drive or bus ride to Fiesole for a relaxing lunch with an amazing view, go wine tasting in Chianti for an afternoon, or even horseback riding if you are feeling adventurous! There are a lot of nice towns surrounding Florence that aren't difficult to get to and are reasonably close.

I used this website when I stayed in Florence to help me plan my itinerary, hotels and eats! Check it out if you'd like and enjoy your time in Italy!

http://www.turismo.intoscana.it/

julie is advertising.

Hi ky,

It does seem to be her favorite website, doesn't it?