Dear Friends,

I need help please. We are a couple and are planning a Trip in May 2019 and have shortlisted a Trip to Italy. Honestly, i do not have a proper plan in mind and hence need help.

- We have 10 days with us excluding Arrival & Departure.
- Rome is top of our list as well as Venice (Hope May is a good time to visit)
- In addition, what else can we plan & see ? Cinque Terre, Florence? (We have seen Milan earlier)
- Can we do this on our own or is it suggested to do a guided tour. (We have done tours on our own earlier in Europe)
- We love Culture, History, Local cuisine etc...

We would love to some suggestions to help us plan our trip and itinerary.

Thanks,
Nitish

Make it a city trip visiting Rome, Venice, Florence, traveling by train between the cities. If you need a break from the city, you could do a day trip to Tivoli:
and find a similar outing from Florence.

Yes Rome, Florence and Venice - fly into Rome and home from Venice - trains are great - book your own discounted tickets online yourselves - www.trenitalia.com and www.italotreno.com - two competing rail systems using similar trains and same tracks and stations - www.seat61.com has sage advice on booking your own tickets - general info trains - BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com. Rome 4 nights; Florence 3 nights; Venice 3 nights - could do day trip to a Tuscan hill town from Florence - like Siena just about an hour by bus. You won't need any tours or guides and museums and major sights have tour guides on site.

Just one more person here in agreement with all the suggestions above.

Yes, agree with all above, but surely you have access to guidebooks and websites.

I am yet another who agrees with the Rome-Florence-Venice (or reverse) itinerary with a few day-trips. Ones I like are:

Rome - Ostia Antica
Florence - Siena
Venice - Burano & Torcello

My preference would be:

Rome 4 nights - four days in city, the first of which is jet-lagged
Florence - morning train (~2.5 hrs with transfers) and 2 nights - 2 "days" time in city...probably no time for a day trip.
Venice - afternoon train (~4 hrs with transfers) and 4 nights - 3 days in city

ssander

It's better to fly into Venice and out of Rome. Venice is a great place to get over jet lag and acclimate to Italy. Also flights from Venice tend to leave uncomfortably early and cheat you of some vacation time. Whereas there are many flights out of Rome.

Dear All, Thank you so much for your suggestions, advice and Tips. We really appreciate them. Thanks again.

Based on the various inputs, we have mow decided to do Venice, Florence & Rome (in that order) with 3 days each in Venice & Florence and 4 days in Rome. Hope the same is fine.

We love exploring and sampling local cuisines, culture etc... Would be thankful if i can get some suggestions on "Not to miss" restaurants, Beer gardens/ halls etc...

Also looking for suggestions for some great centrally located budget B&B hostels.

Thanks again,
Nitish

For "home cooking" you could try this place: A restaurant off the beaten track
but I think you would need a car, and it would be as part of a day's outing from Florence.

I think your itinerary is perfect. May is a nice month weatherwise but you'll get the crowds, its impossible to avoid them unless you go in the dead of winter.

Regarding hotels, these are not hostels, but are B&B centrally located and reasonably priced. Check them out and see if they're within your budget. In Florence https://www.touristhouseghiberti.com/en In Venice https://www.alpontemocenigo.com/

Where you eat depends a little on where you are staying, especially in Rome which is a big space.

There is also a danger that you end up eating in tourist places, many of which have buskers outside trying to entice you in. I would recommend a few options.
1) ask the hotel when you are staying there, yes they may well send you to their cousin's place but if the food is dire they may lose a client, so worth trying
2) get a book like the "rough guide" which never lets me down
3) go to the noisiest place, it will tend to be without tourists and full of locals (though in Venice most locals don't live in the city)
4) tripadvisor.co.uk hasn't been trolled too badly so it gives you a good idea.

The other issue is that Italians love to eat and talk about eating and one of the reasons is there are so many types of local food (not just Italian) and getting an idea of this requires a certain local knowledge when you see the menu outside. Good luck.

Let's Go Italy or Let's Go Europe has a wealth of info on hostels and B&Bs and airbnbs - any major library has it - just copy the few relevant pages. I've been in a superb B&B a few blocks from Florence's main station and also in Rome near Termini station but it was about 8 year ago so can't comment on names, etc. I've also been in a total dump hostel in the same Rome area so yes do your research. Venice has an official HI hostel but few others - bargains can be had on the Lido - Venice's beach area just a short vaporetto ride from San Marcos - real deals can be had IME there - really neat hotels for a fraction of many less nice hotels in Venice proper.

I also recommend Tourist House Ghiberti. These are VERY comfortable lodgings. However, it's not terrific for people who need hand holding and directions or want a B&B host to make reservations for them. The owner runs a great B&B, more comfortable than any I've stayed in, with better touches in the guest rooms. But he is extremely reticent. If you are good at independent travel, this place is for you.

I've never stayed in a conveniently located B&B in Rome. The only one I've used, and I liked it, was B&B Arco del Luaro, but I didn't find it convenient. Breakfast was tickets to be used in a nearby cafe. Bed & Breakfast a Roma - Arco del Lauro