debrad149

The following itinerary is for our May 09 trip to Italy and we would love opinions on if it is doable and makes sense. I know based on my other posts that our plans have been all over the place, but we now think we have secured the full two weeks off of work for my husband, so we feel like our options have opened up a little bit.

So this is what we have in mind:

Depart Friday evening, arrive Rome Saturday morning (sat. is day 1).
Day 1-4: Rome
Day 5: travel from Rome to Florence
Day 6-7: Florence
Day 8: travel from Florence to Venice
Day 9-10: Venice
Day 11: Travel from Venice to some part of northern lakes area (to be determined)
Day 12-14: some lake area
Day 15: Depart Milan for home

We are not counting our travel days (between cities) as full days because we don't know which train we'll take and how much time we would have on those days. And we just added the lake thing last night so we really have no idea where we would be staying. Possibly Bellagio, but only because I read that it is only about 30 minutes from Milan. Any advice on that area would be very helpful!

What do you think? We are trying to combine art/history type places with plain old beautiful scenery and relaxation. I know a lot of people recommend going the opposite direction (ending in Rome) but we talked about it and would both prefer to start our trip on a more hectic note and end in a more relaxing area. This will be our first trip to Europe and our last big vacation for awhile, so we want to get as much in as we can without cramming in too much.

Also, we would really like to go to Pompeii and have read that it can be a long day when you're staying in Rome. What are your thoughts on that?

sheri_lp

I think you have a good plan and aren't trying to push yourselves too hard. If you don't mind a few hours on the train each way, it's hard to miss Pompeii.
You could do it on your Day 4 in Rome with an early train out, (about 2 hours to Naples) then switch trains to the Circumvesuviana it's about 45 minutes to Pompeii Scavi (don't get off at the other Pompeii stop) and go back the same day.
Or you could depart Rome on Day 4 amd sped that night in Naples. Take an early train, drop your luggage at the hotel, see Pompeii, then train up to Florence the next day on Day 5.
I arrived late on my one night in Naples and just walked into the businessman's hotel across the street from the train station, which was actually quite comfortable with breakfast included. Don't stay there if you really want something with more character and charm.

ellenem

Bellagio is not 30 minutes from Milan. Best case scenario from Milan, you might reach Bellagio in 2 hours. Malpensa (Milan) airport is between Milan and Bellagio.

I think you schedule and allowance of time is reasonable.

FYI, anticipated transit time by fastest trains for your routes:

Rome to Florence: 1.5 hours, direct

Florence to Venice: 3 hours, direct

Venice to Bellagio: (about 5 hours: train Venice to Milan, 3 hours; Milan to Varenna, 1.5 hours, ferry to Bellagio, 15 minutes, plus time to make all connections)

debrad149

Maybe I read 30 miles instead of 30 minutes...would that make more sense?

debrad149

Now I have no idea what I was looking at, since I've been reading about so many different places. We'll just leave it at "somewhere on a lake" for now...

ira

Hi deb,

Nice plan.

> we would really like to go to Pompeii ...<

Fly into Venice, then go to Florence, Rome and Sorrento.

Fly home from Naples.

Enjoy your visit.

winesaavy7

My advice is don't skip the Giardini Boboli or the Palazzo Pitti in Florence. Also make sure to take some walks/rides upto the hills overlooking the city. There are some great things you'd never find if you didn't venture out onto the outskirts a little...... If it's the season where they are offering special passes into the secret Vasari Corridors-that's a cool not-every-day opportunity as well!

adrienne

I'm jealous - this looks great. But no Siena?

I think adding Pompeii would be too much running around and would cut your Rome part of the trip to a bit more than 2 days (day 1 is partly taken with getting into the city, checking in to hotel, unpacking, etc). It's very full day trip from Rome.

I also think it's a shame to miss the archeological museum in Naples which completes the Pompeii sightseeing as many object from Pompeii are in the museum. Suggested reading is the book Pompeii by Robert Harris.

My advice is to choose Pompeii and the museum in Naples or the Lakes and if it's Pompeii add an extra day in Florence and Venice.

italianconcierge

Hello there.
Your plan is good up until the part where you want to return from Bellagio to Milan and think it takes 30 minutes.

It is not a 30 minute trip! What is your method of transportation? Helicopter?

If you are using public transportation then you will most likely take the boat from Bellagio back to Como then a cab to the train station and the train to Milan centrale toswitch trains to the Malpensa Shuttle. Just typing it takes more than 30 minutes!

Also I would skip Pompeii this time. Save the south for your next trip. You will have plenty to see right where you are raher than trying to cover it all on one trip and in two weeks.

You can take a ES -Eurostar train from Rome to Florence and Florence to Venice. That will save you some time. Second class is very comfortable, no need to purchase first class tickets.

Enjoy your trip.

Dayle

debrad,

I agree that trying to visit Pompeii when you only have 3 days in Rome would be a mistake. You will LOVE Rome and 3 days is very minimal for any visit.

Save Pompeii for another Italy trip, focusing on the the south.

Buon viaggio!

NeoPatrick

I think going to Pompeii from Rome but not seeing Sorrento, Capri, Amalfi, Positano, etc. would be a huge mistake. In other words. That area is a whole separate trip. While I loved Pompeii and spent a full day there, I just don't get the idea of making that a day trip from Rome!

Grcxx3

We did Pompeii as a day trip from Rome. It was what worked best for us, but we were in Rome 6 days.

Ideal? No. Doable? Yes.

cathies

Hi, I think your itinerary sounds good now. Others will give you advice re the practicality of it all, re going to Pompeii etc. I thought I would just add my opinion re the train travel. We enjoyed travelling by train and regarded those few hours on the trains as an enforced rest in between the days where we walked for hours as we discovered Italy. If you are going to need a snack on the train, then we found that all of the train stations have very good sandwich bars. We found the food that was sold on the trains to be expensive and not so good. We also bought our tickets at the station rather than booking in advance and we happily settled for 2nd class unless the trip was going to be longer than about 3 hours and then we treated ourselves to 1st class. I wish I was going too

bobthenavigator

Nice overall plan, but forget Pompeii !
As for Lago Como, you want to stay at Varenna if you plan to use trains. But, on day 14 you need to stay your last nite in Milan or even closer to the airport if you have an early flight. Malpensa is 30 miles west of Milan--the lake is well north of Milan--it would take close to 3 hours from Bellagio if you took trains. You need to plan that segment well.

debrad149

Okay, it sounds like our trip is a go then! We will probably not do Pompeii, or at least not plan on it. Thanks for all of the advice!

Now on to all the details...

PSGMARTINO

I agree to leave out Pompeii this trip - there is so much to see in Rome - you'll not want to leave!

I think your trip sounds great. We also end our trip next June on one of the lakes before flying out of Malpensa. We haven't decided which town yet. I have not received responses to several emails sent - perhaps because it is off-season??