darbyvt

We are five girls late 20s planning a trip to Italy in October 2008. At this point probably 10 days, a few of us might add a couple of days on if we can swing it.....

We would like to do Rome, Tuscany, Florence, maybe Venice, and if at all possible, the Cinque Terre. I think Tuscany and Cinque Terre are the top ones for most of us....

Now. I have heard that it's not a bad idea to fly into Venice and out of Rome. Is that true--price wise as well?

Any help determining if we can do all these places and a reasonable itinerary for how many days each spot would be much appreciated. We are so excited we can hardly wait--just need a little guidance! Thanks.

BowenLinda

Even if the 10 days approximation does NOT include your travel days, this is a fast-paced itinerary. If this appeals to you, go for it but realize you're going to spend a lot of time packing/unpacking/travelling to your next stop.

I'd drop 2 of your possible destinations and focus on 3. What about a Big-3 trip: Rome, Florence and Venice?

Or maybe Venice, Florence and smaller Tuscan towns/villages?

SusanP

I agree, 4 destinations is too many for 10 days. Assuming 9 nights in Italy, I would recommend fly into Venice, stay 3 nights, train to Florence and stay there for 3 nights with 1 daytrip to a Tuscan town, train to Rome for 3 nights, fly home from there. You definitely want an open-jaw flight (into Venice/out of Rome). Have a great trip!

ricerco

From Los Angeles, we flew into Venice and out of Rome. It worked out fine. Price wise is was just fine. Also think of the time you would waste to go back to the other city (plus train fare)

We did the major areas (Venice to Florence, a week in Tuscany then Rome). But we had 15 days. Consider that you also lose a day or so in travel. I would elminate a city somewhere. 2 nights minimum in any city. More is always ideal. It's a nice feeling to really get to know an area.

Sharane

Maybe it would be better to rent a villa in the Tuscany area and do day trips from there. I believe you can do a day trip to Cinque Terre from there and definately Florence. It might be more relaxed.

j_999_9

I too think the itinerary is a little crowded, but you said you might be able to stretch it a few days past 10. So, anyway, here goes:

Land in Rome. Forget doing much the 1st day -- too jet-lagged. Spend 2 days in Rome visiting the highlights: Clseum, Sist. Chpl, Vtcan Sq., Sp. Steps, Trevi.

Train to Florence. 2 days there -- Duomo, Acaddemia, maybe Piazzale Michelangelo; arrange a day trip via guided van into Tuscany. I highly recommend contacting Luca at hillsandroads.com. Others here have used him, too.

Train to CT via Pisa. If you want to see the leaning tower, hire two cabs at the train station, go to the tower, take your pictures, then head back to the station to catch the connecting train to CT.

In CT, I recommend staying in Monterosso or Vernazza. There's a boat that runs from Mont. and stops at all the towns and continues down to Portovenere. Good, cheap way to see the landscape and visit the towns, especially if the weather's nice. Or you can use the train. You'll probably want to hike the trails above Monterosso or Vernazza, too.

CT to Venice via train. Kind of a killer, because I believe the trip takes about 6 hours, so it's nearly all-day travel. But that's the deal if you're set on visiting CT. Anyway, 2 days in Venice visiting the usual spots and just walking around and getting lost. Fly home out of Venice.

I make that to be about 11 or 12 days, including in-country travel. If you can't do that, I'd cut either Rome or CT -- save one of them for another time.

hopscotch

Ditto most of the above. I would hang in Rome. Maybe do Florence. Skip Venice and CT.

ira

Hi D,

>I have heard that it's not a bad idea to fly into Venice and out of Rome. Is that true--price wise as well?

Yes.

See www.kayak.com, www.1800flyeurope.com and www.mobissimo.com.

You have too many stops for 10 days.

The CT in Oct can be windy, chilly and cold.

Tuscany in Oct can be brown and bare.

How late in Oct are you going?

jacabsmith

Hi friend,
It’s very good that you have decided to go Bibione. It’s really a good tourist place in Venetian coast. I was there last time and got all the things to enjoy. I stayed in 'Hotel Bellevue', which I was booked from http://www.hotel-bellevue.it/ and I hope it will satisfy all your points and make your stay a pleasant one. .
Happy Holiday!

darbyvt

Thank you so much for the responses so far. We haven't set official dates (because we are five women!!) but the last thought was the 18th-26th of October. Basically sometime in Sept or October, still trying to narrow exact dates.

The thing with Rome is two of us have already been there. Tuscany was our main goal, we initially just talked about renting a villa there for the entire time. It sort of seems that the consensus is more go to Florence and day trip to Tuscany than stay in Tuscany???

I personally really want to do the CT....maybe better left for another trip weather wise though? We just thought we could do a day or two max in Rome and Venice just to fly in and out of and spend all time possible in other places.

Jumping around...we had also discussed the Amalfi coast. Would that be a better option this time of year to just hang down there instead? Still in planning stage so open to anything!