Two or three couples will be traveling to Italy next May. Please take a look at what we are planning. We welcome comments and suggestions. We will be arriving in Rome at 7:45am on Sunday, May 13th- one question is since it is so early, should we just keep going and go on to Venice and then backtrack to Rome? We have 2 weeks and are planning to split the first week between Rome and Venice(but what order?)and rent a house in Umbria the second week
Rome and Venice are musts for our first trip to Italy. We also want to slow down the second week. I had hoped to fly into Rome and out of Venice to cut down on backtracking, but the difference in airfare was huge.
Thanks to all of the fodorites for the information provided about hotels, sightseeing etc.

Hi Leilei,

I don't think itmakes too much difference since you will be returning to Rome following Umbria anyway.

It's up to you if you want to hit the ground running with the intensity of Roma, traveling just about 40 minutes further from the airport.

Or, if you want to travel a few hours and maybe snooze a bit on the train enroute to Venice. Venice would be a bit more relaxing start, but with more travel your first jet-lagged day.

What locations are you considering in Umbria? I visited Umbria last Sept and loved it. Less English spoken, fewer tourits, money goes further.

Buon viaggio!

Keep checking the open jaw airfares. We flew out of DFW and there was absolutely no difference in the fares (in and out of Rome vs. into Rome and out of Venice).

It will be around 9 am by the time you acutally get to Rome. Sounds good to me. You can take a cab or van to your hotel or apartment, storing your luggage if your room isn't ready. I don't like to do any "major" or expensive activities the first day, in case I'm too tired to appreciate them. A walk around the Campo dei Fiori would be nice. Also, early morning might be a good time to visit the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain. The Piazza Novona would be a good idea, too.

You should plan to make Rome your first stop. You don't know how all the members of your party will react to jet lag, and going on to Venice right away might leave some people feeling ill or extremely cranky -- which would be a poor start to your trip.

I would suggest that you not plan any group activities the first day. Let people find their own rhythm. In fact, it's not a bad idea to agree ahead of time that every day in Venice and Rome is a "free day" for couples, with a plan to all regroup for dinner together.

When you get to Umbria, you will probably only have one car, so you will have to travel as a group. Still, it might be good to stay in a villa/farm with convenient public transport to both Perugia and Assisi, in case some people would rather do independent sightseeing there than jump in the car and visit, say, Spoleto or a lake.

My general advice is that travel is inherently stressful and has been known to wreck friendships. As much as possible, let people do their own thing, and work out ahead of time how meal tabs are going to be divided, and whether everybody is happy to spend a lot on money and wine, or who wants to go budget.

Good luck!

Good advice from Nessie !
Let people have their space, but I would add one more comment. Give every person a homework assignment---they need to have skin in the game.

Great idea, Bob.

I agree with all of the advice about staying put in Rome. Possibly your hotel will be ready for you by the time you clear customs, collect your luggage and travel into Rome. At the least, they will store your luggage until your rooms are ready.

On our recent trip, my luggage did not make our connecting flight (but my children's suitcases did - go figure!) I was very glad we had not made arrangements to travel onwards as I had to wait several hours for my suitcase to arrive on a later flight.

Hi L,

Good advice to look for open-jaw flights.

I prefer into Venice/out of Rome.

If you already have tickets, I suggest that you keep on going.

There is some interesting scenery along the way.

You will have the train trip to calm down and get into the swing of being in Italy.

Thanks for all of the good advice! I will suggest that we stay in Rome.
Dayle- We haven't decided where to stay in Umbria.We are still doing our research. I would like to rent a house near Assisi- seems like that would be a good location for exploring north and south Umbria. Do you have any suggestions? Where did you stay? Would either a day trip or a one night trip to Florence be feasible( from Assisi)?

If you want to see Firenze, it might make more sense for the group to make a one-night stop there between Rome and Venice. Arrive in Firenze in time for lunch and leave the next day after lunch.