bloubrown

My husband and I are planning a trip to Italy for two weeks and have put together a rough itinerary of where we want to go. Any suggestions for improvement? We're not sure how the trains run, etc..to know yet if any of this seems unrealistic. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Flying into ROME
Day 1: Borghese Gallery, National Museum of Art, Walk Piazza and spanish steps
Day 2: Vatican City
Day 3: Day trip to Pompeii & visit Amalfi Coast/Naples, if we have the energy
Day 4: Colosseum and Capital Hill

to SIENNA
Day 4 - Day 5

to FLORENCE
Day 5 - Day 7:

to CINQUE TERRE
Day 7 - Day 10:

to VENICE
Day 10 - Day 12:

to VARENNA
Day 12 - Day 14:

Flying out of MILAN
Day 14 - Day 15:
Fly out on morning of Day 15.

bilboburgler

Flying in from where, you may find day 1 you are just a bit lagged.
You can do this and www.trenitalia.com can help on the trains. The geography is bouncing away around the place but kinda logical, most movements will take at least half a day. So Siena for example you are seeing the Forum traveling to Siena and seeing part of it (not going to happen)

I'd drop something out

mamcalice

What time of year are you planning to travel? If in the winter, drop Cinque Terre. If in the summer, visit Siena as a day trip from Florence and Varenna as a day trip from Venice. You are better off reducing the number of hotel moves you have to make. In fact, with less than a full day in Milan, you might consider dropping it and flying out of Venice. And with less than 4 days in Rome, I would drop the day trip to Naples, Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. That day trip would be next to impossible in any case. Just a few thoughts - you know where you want to go but at this point you are moving around too much to actually experience your distinations.

Elyse_Dorm

Yep, reducing number of hotel moves like mamcalic said will make your trip much better. Also, day 3 will be physically impossible to do. You could for instance on day 3 as a daytrip from Rome combine Pompeii and Ercolano (wich is really really worthwhile) or possibly Pompeii/Naples Museum (its on par with the Vatican in my opinion and very under rated)and return to Rome very tired but satisfied, but I don't think its possible to fit Amalfi. So depending on when you are going you may want to consider the option of cutting one of the other items like mamcalice says and instead overnighting somewhere in the vicinity of Naples which will enable you to see a litte more here.
Also, if you go to the Vatican early in the morning, then you will have some time left over in the day to do other thngs- its not a full day event,so you may want to keep that in mind. City sightseeing bus without a roof is particularly good for this city (Rome) and also seeing Trevi after dark is a definite must.

travelhorizons

This is way too busy an itinerary - sometimes less is more. You probably wouldn't want an A&K trip, but see this itinerary for an idea of a well designed itinerary that sets a realistic pace: http://tinyurl.com/3dtmmq8

Some notes:

(1) Borghese Gallery needs to be reserved in advance

(2) Vatican Museum is better in the afternoon. The cruise ship passengers visit in the morning. Get advance reservations with a group tour and skip the hours in line.

ellenem

I find I get a better idea of how hectic a trip is if I think about it as nights instead of days, which clearly shows how often you change hotels. You itinerary translates this way:

Night 1: Rome
Night 2: Rome
Night 3: Rome
Night 4: Siena
Night 5: Florence
Night 6: Florence
Night 7: Cinque Terre
Night 8: Cinque Terre
Night 9: Cinque Terre
Night 10: Venice
Night 11: Venice
Night 12: Varenna
Night 13: Varenna
Night 14: Milan
OR
Rome-3
Siena-1
Florence-2
Cinque Terre-3
Venice-2
Varenna-2
Milan-1

Keep in mind, if you have two nights someplace, it means you really have only one full day in that place, with a travel day on either side. Granted, some of these places are closer together, but most of these connections will take more than half a day. Without knowing your interests, I can't tell which of these places is a priority for you and whether so brief a time in each location will satisfy you. My instinct is to eliminate 2 or 3 of the 7 hotel destinations.

JBX

Minimum .....eliminate the Cinque Terre, and give 1 of those days to Florence and another day to Venice.

Also, go from Rome to Florence (train schedules on Trenitalia website, www.trenitalia.com). You can visit Siena as a daytrip from there.

janisj

ellenem is right -- its easier to think in terms of nights not days.

But even if you do count in days --it doesn't work the way you have it listed.

If you spend day 4 in Rome -- it can't be counted as a day in Siena.

Then if you spend day 5 looking around Siena -- that isn't a day in Florence. etc etc.

Your 2-night stops give you just about 1 full day in those cities. A one-nighter = less than a full day.

ira

Hi bb,

I'd skip Pompeii, unless it is very, very important to you, for when you visit South of Rome. It is a very long day trip.

Train schedules and prices are at www.trenitalia.

Enjoy your visit.