I'm planning a trip to Rome, Florence and Venice. I was planning on flying into Rome and then departing from Venice to NY. I've read a few posts where people have done this the reverse way. Is it just a preference or does it make more travel sense??<BR><BR>thank you!

I believe the logic is that Venice is more relaxing and Rome is a big city and therefore more fast paced. Some people believe the pace of Venice is better with the jetlag recovery.

I don't really think it matters. Venice is more relaxed than Rome. So if you prefer to take it easy in the beginning then starting with Venice is make sense. If you want to wind down at the end, you may prefer to switch but i don't think it makes all that much of a difference. Either way, it's a great trip, enjoy!

wow - I don't think I ever got responses so fast. <BR><BR>The reason I wanted to do Venice last was that I wanted to buy some glass in Venice, and would have better luck getting it back to New York in one piece, if I didn't lug it thru Florence and Rome!

Save the best for last: Venice.

I bought a vase in Murano and had it shipped back to the States. It's way too heavy to bring it back yourself.<BR><BR>I also went from Rome to Florence and finally leave from Venice. We took a water taxi to the airport and it was a great way to end a nice vacation.

SashaZ -<BR><BR>My wife and I did that two years ago: Fly into Rome, then Florence, then Venice. I agree with the poster who said save the best for last. You can't go wrong either way. <BR><BR>As far as the glass goes...we bought a lamp and the store shipped it for us insured for about $70. Much better than having to deal with it on the plane and customs.<BR><BR>Enjoy your trip!

I am doing the Rome 1st and Venice last. My reasoning was I wanted the last of my vacation as relaxing as possible before returning to the rat race of everyday working life.

I've done the Rome first Venice last a couple of times, most recently last month. I don't know where you are flying to in the US, but Delta has a nonstop to JFK leaving at noon. Almost all other flights Venice to US transfer in Rome or Paris, etc. and leave at crazy early morning hours.

Here's another vote for Rome first and Venice last. I like the idea of winding down as the trip progresses. My feeling is that no matter where you go on a trip to Italy, it's going to be active and exciting and you'll wear down no matter what the route! And, Rome sure ain't a winding-down type of place!

Service on the non-stop JFK-Venice route by Delta has been, I believe, suspended. I recently flew in-bound on this route and the plane was very nearly empty. As travel picks up the route will likely be restored.

Just checked the Delta web site and it looks like Delta is expecting to restore service on the JFK-Delta route in June.

A vote for Rome first, for the following reason. A few years ago, I went to Italy and started with Florence (actually we flew into Milan, but only spent a night there) and ended up in Rome. By the time I got to Rome, I'd been on the road so much, and had been so impressed with Florence (and Sienna and a few other places) that my reaction to Rome was &quot;hmm, sort of like a big ugly city with a few ancient piles of rocks&quot;. I think that if I had started with Rome, I would have been more enthusiastic, and therefore more impressed with what it had to offer. Given that Venice is such an exceptional setting, you risk finding Rome to be a bit of a letdown if you see it last.

We are also going Rome to Venice, but with a twist. From Venice we&quot;re taking an Easyjet flight to London and spending a couple of nights in london at the end of our trip. The advantage (besides London Theater)is you can get a direct flight from London to most major gateway cities. Using Easyjet my total airfare ended up being cheaper than a round trip to/from rome.

I am doing this exact trip in Sept.<BR>flying into Rome take the Euro star to Florence ( 4 days)Euro Star to Venice Venice( for a week) to plan my wedding for next year.<BR>Do Venice last, and it's worth it to send your glass home, trust me.<BR>la dolce Italy<BR>Fluffy

Hi Sasha,<BR> My preference is to start with the most active and exciting place and end at the quietist place.<BR><BR> I have found that if I go the reverse route, I don't like the exciting place.

Good evening, Sasha<BR>Would take the Rome/Firenzae/Venice only<BR>if the departure from Venice is at a <BR>reasonable hour. There have been many<BR>notes on this board on how to get to<BR>Marco Polo for an early mornilng flight.<BR>With departure from Rome, there is not<BR>a problem as it has very good transportation, rail, bus or taxi....<BR>Flying into Venice has always been great<BR>for us as the trip from the airport to<BR>the hotel by taxi is always memorable..<BR>Richard of LaGrange Park, Il..

Thanks all for great advice... Rome, Florence and Venice it will be. I too like to end my trip on a quiet note.<BR><BR>now that's taken care of, I might need some help on the intinerary. But that's another post!<BR><BR>Thanks again!!