Lynn

This is our 1st trip to Italy. We are young retirees and are planning a 2-3 week trip in September 99. We are thinking of flying into Milan and then visiting Lake Como. Which town do you suggest? We've heard Bellagio. Then we plan to take the train to Venice. We'd like to take a day trip to Padua and/or Verona. How many days do you suggest for Venice and side trips? We will then take the train from Venice to Rome and meet with a Tauck Tour for one week to Orvieto, Todi, Assisi, Siena, & Florence ending in Rome. Should we rent a car in Naples for Sorrento, Positano, and the Amalfi Coast? How long do you suggest for this portion of the trip? What should we see?

Linda

Florence is a favorite city. Michaelangelo's David is a must as is gelato at Vivoli's. Robert & Elizabeth Browning had a flat there before she died. Ponte Vecchio is the covered bridge with jewelry booths, Pitti Palace, Fiesole. We spent 4 days there & loved it.

francesca

I would recommend a weekend in Venice (3 days is better, more if you want to see every single museum). Rome needs at least 5 days, a week. We spent a week on the Amalfi coast. You are better off with a car. I would avoid a car in any Italian city, esp. Rome and Naples. Enjoy your trip. Italy is stunning.

Nicole Varol

In September of 1997 we took a trip to Europe, and the Italian portion of the trip included Bellagio (Lake Como) and Venice. We enjoyed Bellagio very much -- the scenery is beautiful, the town small and charming. We found our stay there very relaxing. As for Venice, you can never spend too much time there in my opinion (I've been 3 times now and still haven't seen half of it). But I think 3 nights (4 if you can spare it) would be sufficient to have a good visit. If you'd like to see photographs of these places from our personal travelogue, visit http://www.lunadesigns.com/travels/.

Paul Rabe

I can only repeat and emphasize something said earlier -- do NOT use a car in Italy unless you have the nerves and reflexes of a race car driver. There is virtually no spot in Italy you could not get to faster, cheaper, and with less stress by using trains and walking than by driving. Take a bus tour of the Amalfi Coast but, unless you want more terror than on a roller coaster (except, this time, you MIGHT fall off!), do NOT, repeat *DO NOT* drive a car in Italy!

Mary Beth

Hi Lynn, <BR>My husband and I returned from two weeks in Italy in October. We stayed in Florence, Assisi, Rome and Sorrento. We had 6 nights in Rome and we could have easily spent the entire two weeks in Rome. There is so much to see. We took trains and buses. Although it did take more time than by car the traffic in Rome is crazy and I would not have wanted to drive on the Amalfi coast. This is all easy access by bus. If you do not have a hotel in Sorrento, I would highly recommend La Tonnarella. It is on the outskirts of the town but we had a room with a terrace and breathtaking view. You can get a bus to the hotel but it is not a bad walk. We loved Italy and I would like to return some day.

Joe

We're planning to go to Italy next October; probably a week in Sorrento and then another week visiting Florence and Venice. What's the weather like then? Is October the rainy season?

Jean

We landed in Milan on 10/20 and flew home from Rome on 11/1 - two weeks ago. We visited Milan, Como, Lugano, Venice, Florence, Sorrento, Capri, Rome. <BR>The weather was just right for walking around - just needed a light sweater. We had one day of rain in Florence - just needed a light jacket and umbrella.

elaine

<BR>I went to Italy for the first time for <BR>ten days this past Sept-Oct. I went to Florence and Venice only, with a day trip to Siena. Florence is wonderful, especially if you care about art, history, the Renaissance, etc. "David" is a sight I will never forget, and Florence itself, though a bit congested <BR>is charming. I also highly recommend Siena, which is worth more time than I was able to give it, and of course it is surrounded by the beautiful Tuscan countryside. <BR>That said, I can't say enough about Venice, it was and will be again the experience of a lifetime. It is like nowhere else. Please give it 3 or 4 days, even if you don't care about too many churches or museums. Just to walk around there, to take the boats, to see <BR>St Mark's square and the Doge's Palace, not to mention spending a few hours in a canalside cafe, will be unforgettable.

elaine

<BR>I went to Italy for the first time for <BR>ten days this past Sept-Oct. I went to Florence and Venice only, with a day trip to Siena. Florence is wonderful, especially if you care about art, history, the Renaissance, etc. "David" is a sight I will never forget, and Florence itself, though a bit congested <BR>is charming. I also highly recommend Siena, which is worth more time than I was able to give it, and of course it is surrounded by the beautiful Tuscan countryside. <BR>That said, I can't say enough about Venice, it was and will be again the experience of a lifetime. It is like nowhere else. Please give it 3 or 4 days, even if you don't care about too many churches or museums. Just to walk around there, to take the boats, to see <BR>St Mark's square and the Doge's Palace, not to mention spending a few hours in a canalside cafe, will be unforgettable.

elaine

<BR>I went to Italy for the first time for <BR>ten days this past Sept-Oct. I went to Florence and Venice only, with a day trip to Siena. Florence is wonderful, especially if you care about art, history, the Renaissance, etc. "David" is a sight I will never forget, and Florence itself, though a bit congested <BR>is charming. I also highly recommend Siena, which is worth more time than I was able to give it, and of course it is surrounded by the beautiful Tuscan countryside. <BR>That said, I can't say enough about Venice, it was and will be again the experience of a lifetime. It is like nowhere else. Please give it 3 or 4 days, even if you don't care about too many churches or museums. Just to walk around there, to take the boats, to see <BR>St Mark's square and the Doge's Palace, not to mention spending a few hours in a canalside cafe, will be unforgettable.

Tom

My wife and I just returned (11/5) from 2 weeks in Italy. We started in Milan and ended in Sorrento. We had half a day of rain the whole time. Sorrento was beautiful for exploring (sunny & 70-75), but much cooler at night. In general, the weather was perfect for walking (a lot, so bring good walking shoes) and exploring.

Joe Lomax

For your proposed itinerary, trains should work fine, though you may have <BR>difficulty in finding trains to Assisi at convenient times, and they do not go to the Amalfi coast. I would like to respectfully disagree with Paul with respect to driving in Italy. I am a middle aged man without the reflexes or nerves of a racecar driver, but I have successfully managed to drive in Italy each time I have been there. When driving there, I found myself thinking, "What do they expect of me?!" This is the crux of the problem with driving in Italy, a matter of expectations. We expect people to drive in one manner, they expect people to drive in another manner. If you would like a more extensive discussion of this, I would humbly suggest you go to my article on "Have You Considered Driving In Italy" at: http://www.initaly.com/travel/lomax.htm

Carol

Hi Lynn: <BR> <BR>Definitely make it a 3-week trip: 1 week for Northern Italy (Milan, Bellagio Venice), spending at least 3-4 days in Venice; 1 week for the Tauck tour; and 1 week for Rome and the South. You really don't need to rent a car for Sorrento and the Amalfi Drive. I'd suggest taking the train to Sorrento from Rome (it's about a 2 hour trip) and stay 1-2 nights there. There's a bus from the main square in Sorrento that does the entire Amalfi drive, and it stops in Positano. You can get off in Positano, stay there for a while, and then pick up the next bus and continue on to Amalfi. If you do this part of the trip--be sure to visit Ravello. You have to take another very short bus ride from Amalfi up to Ravello but it's well worth it for the unbelievable views from Ravello and the incredibly romantic gardens in Ravello itself. But you may fall so in love with Rome that you decide to save the side trips for the next time! Have a wonderful time.

Amik

Lynn, It's early enough to reorganize and re-plan your trip. <BR>We were in northern Italy this past summer, traveling with a rented car. Generally, there is no better way to tour a country. True, Italians are fast drivers, maybe even nuts, but they are good drivers and very polite on the road. Italy has a good Autostrada system, most are tollways, which we found very efficient to pay using a regular credit card. Here is a (maybe useful) tip: if to rent, it's MUCH cheaper to rent outside Italy, like in Switzerland. How about flying to Zurich, rent a car and cross the Alps down to the lakes region in Italy? Milan has NOTHING to offer to the tourist. Visit the lakes region for 2-3 days (Lake Maggiore is also a beautiful area, with some splendid places), drive to Venice, stay there 4 days and simply get lost there... Drive to Florence and stay 4 days there, drive one afternoon (before sunset!) to Sienna and some other little towns there, drive to the Italian riviera, Cinque Terra, Portofino to see some of the most beautiful little port town in the world. Then drive down to Rome and the rest of the south about which I can't tell you, since we've not gone there. But there is a BIG diference between you driving, having your own schedule, making last minutes decisions, and taking the train. Just don't rent a big car (roads are narrow around the lakes and in other rural places, even inside cities), and stay away from the left lane, that's the passing lane, and unlike here in the US, Italian do use it ONLY as a passing lane, and they will pass you fast. <BR>Hope I gave you enough to think about. Amik.

Sally

We just got home from two weeks in Italy. We rented a car from Hertz before we left the US. It only cost $120 for four days( I had CDW insurance on my Gold card).We picked it up in Florence, drove through Tuscany to Umbria and returned it in Orvieto. This was the best part of our trip.We loved Venice, Rome was interesting, but very hectic and crowded and polluted.

John Rizzuto

We were in Italy during the middle of October for a week. Weather was great ... warm days , nights on the cool side. A light sweater or jacket is needed for the nights. I would recommend making your trip 3 weeks rather than 2 weeks. There is much to see and getting from one area to another does eat up time. We flew into and out of Rome spending a few days in the mountains southwest of Rome, a few days on the Amalfi coast and the final 2 days in Rome. We rented a car at the Rome airport and drove everywhere. I've been to Europe many times including Italy and have lived in both Germany and Paris for one year each. I have never had a problem with driving in Europe, but the Amalfi coast is definitely not for the feint of heart. We entered the Amalfi coast from Salerno and even though it was October ... not much traffic, I did find the driving challenging and my fiance did find it somewhat terrifying. The views driving the Amalfi coast are awesome and not to be missed, but be aware there are only two rather narrow lanes with one S-curve after another. Driving around 20 mph is ok and even the impatient European drivers who want to pass you any chance they get is ok. The hair raising part is the many tourist buses who take up not only their lane, but half of your lane as well. The most challenging part of the road is the drive from Salerno to Ravello, Amalfi, Praino and Positano. After that, proceeding to Sorrento is much easier ... wider lanes, less curves, etc. However, the views from Salerno to Positano are also the best. By the way, our opinion is that the jewel of the coast is Positano without seeing Ravello which may cause us to change our opinion. Amalfi was ok, but didn't compare with Positano. We weren't impressed with Salerno or Sorrento. Bumper-to-bumper traffic on the autostrada caused us to get off South of Naples on our way back to Rome. Without any doubt, this was the worse driving I had ever encountered in the many miles I have logged driving around Europe. As you get closer to Naples which I wanted to avoid, the driving became worse. I suppose the best description of the other drivers (by American standards) is that they were simply crazed. You cannot imagine how they drive unless you witness it firsthand. Red lights and stop signs are taken as mere suggestions, often overlooked. Drivers from side streets will pull out into your lane forcing you to stop to let them go and if you don't .... they will express their displeasure with you in several animated ways. It is not unusual to find a driver coming at you head on and on one occasion I banged side mirrors with one car. Of course, neither one of us bothered to stop. Prior to this trip I would have said that driving in Rome is the worse I had ever encountered, but when we finally did arrive in Rome, I found driving in Rome was more like child play. The towns/cities South of Naples are also the dirtiest I have ever seen and won't miss never seeing them again. Ditto for what little we saw of Naples. We just drove through a small section since I had no desire to be there. However, we loved Positano and will certainly return. I am an advocate of driving a rental car around Europe and have never taken a tour. The advantages are coming and going on your own time schedule and discovering the many little wonderful surprises almost everyplace you venture. At the same token, the suggestion of taking a tour bus from Sorrento to see the Amalfi coast is quite understandable. You really don't need a car for a stay on the Amalfi coast. A bus tour would let you see the many beautiful views and I would stay in Positano where a car is more a hinderance than anything else. Positano deserves anywhere from 3 days to a week. There are many wonderful little shops, hotels and restaurants to occupy your time. There is also a beach for sunbathing and swimming. <BR> <BR>As for Milan ... must sees are: the Duomo which arguably has the best stained glass of any church I've visited; the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele which, I beleive, is the world's first enclosed mall. There is a mural in the ceramic or marble floor of a bull which you must place one of your feet on and turn in a complete circle for good luck. And you can't miss seeing Da Vinci's Last Supper which is housed in the small Santa Maria delle Grazie refettorio which is not that easy to find. Although it is touted as being the most expensive piece of art in the world ... I wasn't that impressed with it. At the time I viewed it, it was undergoing much needed repair and may appear better, today. Interestingly, on the opposite wall is the Crucifixion by Giovanni Doanto Montorfano who used the same technique as Da Vinci, but I felt did a better job than Da Vinci. More interesting is the fact that the room that stores these two masterpieces was bombed during WWII (by the British) and the only thing that survived the bombing was the 2 masterpieces on opposite walls! I'm not that crazy about Milan. At the top of my list is PAris and every other large city around the world is a distant second. <BR> <BR>Lake Como is about 30 miles north of Milan and is certainly beautiful. With the Alps as a backdrop, the lake is magical. I drove around the lake to Bellagio which is a nice, little, picturesque town. The drive around the lake is slow and took several hours. On the way to Venice from Milan is the hill town of Bergamo which is a walled medieval town where Pope John XXIII was born. I found Bergamo more interestng than either Padua or Verona. I liked Venice. What is not widely known is that if you are driving you can take a car ferry to the Lido which is one of the larger islands of Venice. We had the advantage of not having to park our car and have to carrying all of our luggage on the pedestrian ferries. On the Lido we drove to a wonderful, inexpensive hotel, no charge for parking, and were able to drive around the Lido. There were also water taxis that were inexpensive to visit the other islands of Venice to see the Basilica di San Marco which is not to be missed. It is a very old church and much different than any other church you have probably seen. We only spent a few days in Venice, but I had a favorable impression and it is on my list for places to return to for a closer look. <BR> <BR>If you take the train from Venice to Rome there is much you will miss. The region of Tuscany is one of the most beautiful areas of Italy. On one trip I had my son who was 14 at the time and now 20 and the one thing that sticks out in his mind is the drive through Tuscany. The drive north from Florence is one of the best. One small town we stopped in was San Gimignano which is a walled medieval city which is high on the list for italians to visit within their own country. It won't disappoint. While there I checked out a few hotels and still have their brochures: Hotel L'Antico Pozzo and Hotel Leon Bianco. Both are 3 stars, but there are 3 stars and there are 3 stars. The rooms at both of these hotels look wonderful and the price is cheap ... $55 - $65 ... suite for about $80. Other cities close by are Siena and Florence. <BR> <BR>I would caution you about trying to see too much in one trip. You can easily spend a week in each region ... one week in the North (Milan, Como, Bergamo, Verona, Venice); one week in Tuscany (Pisa, Sam Gimignano, Siena, Florence); one week in Rome; one week on the Amalfi Coast. Keep in mind it takes time to get from one area to another. Rather than trying to see everything in one trip, plan on taking several trips and seeing just one region at a time. I still have to see Calabria and Sicily as well as a few places on the eastern side of Italy. <BR> <BR>Well, I've certainly written more than I had planned, but if any of what I have said helps it will be worth it. <BR> <BR>Good Luck. I am sure you won't be disappointed.

Jo

My husband and I leased a car in France for 6 weeks. We rented four houses a week in each, and in four different areas of Italy - The Luniginia area which is in the most Northwes area of Tuscany (not many Americans know about this area). This a lovely area with lots of small villages - A large villa 12 miles south of Florence on a working vineyard next to a small village - One house in Positano (we parked our car for the week and took the bus) A week is too long in Positano unless you go to relax on the beach. Would stay in Revello if I went back - The last place in Italy was in the Umbria area not too far from Perugia and Assisi and near Lake Trasimiento. It was an apartment in the walls of an old castle. Umbria is also a lovely area. Would go back. Driving is very easy in Italy if you stay out of the big cities. The Autostrada was easier than driving our freeways because they do not have as many on and off ramps, and they stay in the right except for passing in the left lane. <BR> <BR>My husband died last, but since we had learned the routine of driving and touring the small villages where the local people are wonderful, this Spring, I rented a car and a house for a week and toured the beautiful walled hill towns. This is the way to really see the ways of the people of Italy. The people are what Italy is about. I do not speak Italian.

Denise

Tuscany tuscany and then some more. Drive across to San Leo and San Marino - the countryside is just spectacular, green valleys, forests, rivers, villages. Like the last poster said, it isn't hard driving in Italy, particularly if you had just finished driving in Turkey. <BR>I have just finished reading Under the Tuscan Sun since returning home. I read it before going to Italy - I got so much more out of it after having been there. I will return. Denise <BR>

Marisa

I have been to Italy several times. The first time we went, we did a car tour of Italy, starting from Sicily and ending up in Milano. I strongly recommend that you go to Capri - it is abslutely beautiful. Go to "La Grotto Azzurra" (the blue cave) - that is where the kings used to bathe. We stayed in Salerno and it was very nice. I would not go to Napoli if you paid me! It is crime ridden and dirty. We then went to Rome and other than the beautiful architecture, Vatican City and the history, I was not impressed by the crowds and traffic. We then went to Firenze which I also highly recommend. I think it is the most beautiful city in Italy. We enjoyed ourselves very much. We then went to Pisa for a few hours just to see the Leaning Tower. It was a nice thing to see. I don't think they let people climb up to the top anymore. We then went to Milano to visit with family. There we went to Lago di Como and it was OK - not very impressed with Milano and the areas surrounding it. Finally, we went to Venezia - it was very nice to see a city surrounded by waterways but other than that it was smelly and dreary. If you can, I suggest to go to the island of Murano - this is where they make things out of glass. You can take a tour of a factory. Don't get pressured into buying something if you don't want to! I would only stay in Venice for a maximum of 3 days. I would suggest, if you can, to see Sicily. It is absolutely beautiful - great history and pretty scenery. If you have any more questions, please let me know. <BR>