I have about 12 days for travelling before a new job in August. I have never travelled to Italy before. I am at a lost. I need to set up an itinery for the first two weeks of August. I appreciate any help possible. Here are some of my many questions.
Can I do all Venice, Florence, and Rome in 12 days and not feel rushed because I don't think I will be back to Italy again for a long time? If not, which cities can I combine considering geography and time availabilty?
What is the best mode of transportation between cities in Italy, plane or train or bus?
Which is the easiest, least expensive city to fly into and should I get an open jaw ticket?
Any suggestions on hotels?
I am sorry, I guess the list of questions goes on and on. I should stop right here and hope some of you guys can shed some light into this matter.

Thank you.

MN

Hi,

I'll start you off:

Yes, you can do Venice, Florence and Rome in 12 days. I'd probably spend 5 days in Rome, 4 in Florence, and 3 in Venice.

You don't say where you are flying from, but an open jaw ticket is definitely worth looking into. One option is to fly into Rome and out of Venice. These tickets are usually not much more than a round trip, and save travel time because you won't have to back track to get home.

You can take the train between these cities.

Hope this gets you started. I don't really have any hotel suggestions, but I know lots of other people on this board will.

Karen

Hi at,

In addition, the best mode of transportation between these cities is the train.

You can buy all of your tickets at the train station at FCO if you fly into Rome or the train station in Venice if you start from there.

What is your budget for hotels?

I'd spend 5 days Rome, 5 days Venice, and 2 days Florence. Or 5 days Rome, 4 days Venice, and 3 days Florence if you use one day in Florence for a daytrip somewhere else.

Thank you for the responses on this list. I will be flying out from san francisco.
I wonder if it is too hot in Italy in Aug or will shops be closed in Aug like in Spain?
What is the best sequence to do it(Rome, Florence and Venice or R-V-F or ?) (from the response, it seems flying into Rome is best)
I am hoping hotel can be less then 100 Euro but I think I might be dreaming too much.

MN

Hi there,

I'd do Rome, Florence, Venice, or vice versa...thats the way the trains are most convenient.

Try www.eurocheapo.com for hotels.

In Venice you could try www.hotelgalleria.it it was a wonderful hotel, great location, and very reasonable rates. You'll need to book quickly though!

Have fun

IMHO, open jaw tickets are one of the best ways to make the most of your time...but cost is usually a determining factor.

If the 12 days does not include traveling to and from Italy, I would do 5 days in Rome, 4 days in Florence and 3 days in Venice. The time in Rome and Florence also allows a day trip to say Pompeii or Siena by train.

Yes, Italy will be hot in August. So if air conditioning is important to you, be sure to inquire about that when checking out hotels.

There are several hotel sites that I have used which you might find helpful:

www.florenceby.com/
www.Tuscany.net
www.veniceby.com/
www.venere.com/
www.expedia.com

And this site is helpful because it has lots of reviews by people who have stayedin the various hotels: www.tripadvisor.com

You better get going...August is around the corner! Good luck planning!

It really depends (as others have said) on whether you get an open-jawed ticket,if not I would plan my trip between Florence and Rome with some time in the coutryside and small towns between them.You mentioned that you don't want to be rushed and I think this schedule does it better.
I realize that feeling you won't come back for a long time has you wanting to see as much as possible, but traveling between these cities will take up a lot of your precious time.
Once you figure out for sure if you are going to all 3,there are many here that can help with recommendations.
Have fun planning!

Thanks for all the advices. I guess I have to get working on the planning and let you all know how it goes when I come back.

Thanks

MN