Help w/ plans
 

My girlfriend and I are trying to plan a 2 week trip to Italy in November. It will be our first time in Italy. We will be flying in from New York City. The cities we would like to visit are Rome, Florence, Naples and Venice. Any help anyone can provide will be very helpful in terms of planning; which cities to go to first and how much time to spend in each city as well as places to stay. I know it may seem like we would like to see a lot in a short time but since it is our first time in Italy, we would like to get a feel for the country. Thanks to all for your help.

4 cities in 14 days is pretty doable. That gives you about 3 days per city. An open-jaw ticket into Milan/Venice and out of Rome or Naples would make it a bit easier to avoid doubling back. If not, I'd start out by spending a couple of days in Rome, then heading north to Venice for a couple of days, then to Florence and then to Naples. Plan to spend your last night in Rome. Depending on your interests, you may want to allocate your time a bit differently. I didn't care very much for Naples, except as a stopping point to Sorrento. And similarly with Florence except that it has great Renaissance art. I spent more time in Venice and Rome. There are lots of posts here recently about hotels in each of these cities. Good luck with your planning... sounds like a great trip!.

Personally I'd skip Naples and visit only Rome, Florence and Venice.<BR><BR>Start in Rome for about three days...then train to Florence for two days and then train to Venice for two days and train back to Rome for the balance.<BR><BR>Just an opinion.<BR><BR>US

Please don't be offended by what I am going to tell you. How could anyone possibly help you plan your trip. You don't say what interests you, what budget constraints you may have,what type lodging, whether you plan to fly everywhere, use trains, rent a car, or anything to use as a guide. Half the fun of travel is doing the research and planning. You should go to a library or big book store and look through some travel guides, use the search option for this forum and use the search engines on the web to get some ideas and decide what your interests would be. After doing that a forum such as this can help you with specific questions. No one can plan your trip for you nor should you want that. I could give you an itenery for every hour of every day of your trip but you might not like anything I would do. One more suggestion would be to consider not spending all your time in the large cities you mention. Look at small towns in Tuscany, Umbria, and the Amalfi Coast for example. Your trip is going to cost considerable money so get your money's worth by doing the proper planning. I hope your trip is a great one.<BR><BR>Larry J

We plan on flying into Rome and leave from Venice with trains in between. I don't really care too much from what I know of Venice but it seems like a place to see for a day or 2 once in a lifetime. We are young and like to walk around to get to know places. As far as cities are concerned, day trips are a thought. I'm on this forum because I hate organized tours. Thanks for your help.

Stan, for a first taste of bella Italia you are better off staying with the big 3, with a day trip into Tuscany from Florence. We cannot tell you hotels without knowing your budget range. All 3 cities are not cheap--2 stars will cost you $80 to 120--3 stars about $180.<BR>A good hotel source is www.venere.com<BR><BR>

Stan,<BR><BR>Consider this:<BR><BR>1. Rome for seven days<BR><BR><BR>My wife and I went to Rome for 11 days a couple of years ago..the Roman Forum, the Pantheon, Spanish Steps, the Vatican, Trestaverre, Capitoline Hill, wine bars and restaurants and great wandering around..a great city!!! <BR><BR>2. Florence for 4 days <BR><BR>Two full days in Florence with the Ufizi Gallery, the Pitti Palace, the duomo and baptistry, the Medici tombs and numerous museums, shops, gellato, wine and great restaurants and then spend a day in sienna and another day at San Gimianaon (sp) and oyu will get a great taste of tuscany!<BR><BR>3. Venice for three days<BR><BR>A very unique, one of a kind place. I do not care for it as much as others on this board but you will find a lot there.<BR><BR>And, on the way from Rome to Florence...stop off at Orvieto for a real treat.<BR><BR>hope this helps<BR><BR>US

Hi Stan,<BR><BR>My best advice is - go with an open mind! Italy will surprise you in many ways. Venice is wonderful with much to see and experience. Don't short change it until you see it.<BR><BR>On my first trip to Italy, I only planned 2 days in Rome because I thought it was just a big, crowded, polluted city. Wrong. I loved Rome and can't wait to go back for at least a week!<BR><BR>Buon viaggio!

Hi Stan,<BR><BR> As you can see, there is a lot of mixed opinion.<BR><BR> Do you have your flight booked yet?<BR><BR> Why are you going to Naples?<BR><BR> I think you will find Venice much more interesting than you think.<BR><BR> My suggestion,<BR>4 nights in Rome, 6 nights in Florence with daytrips to Siena, Lucca and Pisa, 3 nights in Venice.<BR><BR> Get started on doing your research. It is not too early.

My thanks to all for your advise. Ira the reason for including Naples is due to the fact we heard it was beautiful and the food was the best in there.