aanyclk

I'm planning a trip to Italy in Oct, and have one precious week. I've never been to Italy, and I know i can't see it everything in one week. Been reading some forums and intrigued by the idea of Rome as a home base and day trips elsewhere.
I am interested in the food, wine, history, architecture, and the people. I'd like a taste of city as well as the countryside.
I'd like to see Tuscany, Venice, Rome and Florence in particular, but I know I can't do all of those in this one short trip. (I'll have to promise to return to Italy in the future!)
Any suggestions on itinerary? All input is much appreciated.

aanyclk

I should add I'm an active, single woman in my mid-40s traveling with a friend. Looking to economize where we can but some comfort is desirable (any suggestions on accommodations are also welcome; looks like from the other threads i've read here that renting an apt. or staying at a b&b might be more interesting and more economical than hotel stays).

annhig

hi annycik,

well, well done for realising that in 7 days, you can't see it all, and for contemplating staying put in Rome for all the time rather than dotting about.

that of course is option no 1 - at a pinch you could do Florence as day trip, but really it's too far to make it worthwhile. Orvieto OTOH makes a good day-trip by train - about 90 mins each way, and easy access to the town from the station.

option no 2 is to split your trip into 2 - fly into one place, out of another on an "open -jaw" ticket. [look for the "multi-city option next to the round trip button" - it shouldn't cost much more than a round trip ticket]. the obvious choice would be Venice - lovely to arrive in, relaxing for a few days while you recover from jetlag and get used to being in Italy, and easy to get to Rome from as the station is right in the city.

you could do 3 nights in Venice, 4 in Rome.

then you could see Florence and Tuscany next time.

Rastaguytoday

It's not really feasible to set your home base as Rome for one week.

Hopefully, you have booked an open jaw. Example: in to Rome and out of Venice. If that change is not too expensive, I would seriously consider it.

Florence is 2 days minimum, and Venice is also 2 day minimum.

There are side trips from each of these places also.

For one week, I would stick with the big 3 to get a flavor of Italy.

Best food comes from the Emilia-Romagna, which is usually not a touristy area. Find chefs from there for the best food.

Try Fodor's Essential Italy - Rome, Florence, Venice & the Top Spots In Between. I hear Fodor's writes good tourbooks.

uhoh_busted

annhig and I think a like on many things. For your first trip, stay in Rome (there is SO much to see) and only plan one day trip out of the city. Orvieto is great (also one of my favorite "hill towns") because it is close enough for a daytrip from Rome. That day, you can have a wonderful lunch in Orvieto, and when you get back to Rome at night, be satisfied with a late night pizza someplace near your hotel.

You will be back to Italy again someday, and you can fit in Florence and Venice on your next trip!

annhig

It's not really feasible to set your home base as Rome for one week.>>

why not, rastaguy? i agree with u_b that it's the best idea, with Venice/Rome also a possibility.

aanyclk

Thanks for these suggestions. I haven't booked yet, so I've got the freedom to fly into one city and out of another and annhig, I really like the idea of Venice for a few days and then Rome. Orvieto as a day trip also sounds very appealing. Rastaguy, when you say big three, you mean Venice, Rome, Florence?
Any thoughts on accomms in either Venice or Rome?

sarge56

aan, remember that you lose one entire day traveling.

If you have to, I'd fly into Venice. Spend 2 or 3 nights and get an early train from Venice to Florence. Florence could be your "day trip", as it is on the way to Rome from Venice.

If you catch the early train out Venice, it is only about 2 hours to Florence. See the Duomo, Michelangelo's David (at the Accademia) and Santa Croce. You can catch an early evening train to Rome and be there in 90 minutes.

Pack light- a carry-on is all you need for one week!

Buon viaggio!

nytraveler

You can do a rushed version of Rome and Venice in 7 days - but I would start in Venice and end in Rome - since flights from Venice to the US are usually at the crack of dawn - whereas from Rome yuo have aot more options.

That is the most yuo can do unless you want you trip to be a trou of the train stations of Italy.

Or you could stay in Rome and do a couple of day trips (Florence as a long one, perhpas Orvieto as a shorter one).

IMHO you need at least 3 full days - 4 nights - to really see even the most basic sights in Rome.

annhig

personally, i wouldn't try to do florence as a stop off on a trip like this - all you will see is crowds around the major sights with no time to organise yourselves to avoid them as you can on a long/er stay.

Definitely flying into Venice and out of Rome is a better option [than doing it the other way round] , but if you split your time up, you probably won't have time or inclination to do a day trip. never mind - you can decide when you get there because trains between Rome and Orvieto are very frequent and very cheap.

as an alternative you could do a 1/2 day to ostia antica or take the train and bus to tivoli to see the Villa d'Este. again, you can decide this when you are there.

for accommodation, it's difficult for us to recommend places unless we know your budget. there are a number of threads that you can search for here that discuss this; alternatively do a search for your dates on TA or booking.com and come back to us with what you've found to see if anyone has any comments.

happy planning!

aanyclk

Fantastic, and again thank you, annhig, nytraveler, sarge, uhoh, and rasta. appreciate all the suggestions. I'll do some searching on TripAdvisor and the threads here on accomms.

denisea

Aanyclk....if it makes you feel any better, we are going to Rome in September for.9 nights and have chosen to spend the whole trip in Rome ( with day trips to Orvieto, Ostia Antica and Tivoli). We will still struggle to see all the top sites with all that time! Clearly, I agree with annhig. We opted out of the Amalfi Coast on this trip to avoid too much time on trains and losing actual time at sites.

Mimar

Without a budget it's difficult to make hotel/B&B/apartment recommendations. But choose place close to the center. In Venice stay in Venice proper, not on the Lido or on the mainland. Otherwise you're cheating yourself. But almost anywhere in Venice is good; it's not that big a place. Likewise in Rome, if you stay in the Centro Storico, you see so much just walking around.

Joycefnp

I feel your pain......we have 2 weeks in Italy in September and are AGONIZING re: where to stay.

Having said that, choose 2 cities from your list of Venice, Rome and Florence. I think that flying into Venice and out of Rome is the best, as suggested above. Or fly into Florence or Pisa. We started in Florence, and stayed for 4 days. On the last day we hired a private guide who took us to several wineries and cities. The tour ended in Orvieto, then we took the train to Rome.
Florence is all about the art and the churches. If you go, you can make a reservation for the Ufizzi directly through the Italian government without being charged all the fees that the private bookers charge. I recommend reservations highly. You will smirk to yourself as you go straight in and pass the mile of people who didn't reserve a ticket ahead of time.
Rome is a magical city, and unlike Florence, many of the attractions are outside. I could spend a week just walking around and enjoying the fountains. Do however, see the Vatican.
I haven't been to Venice, it's on this year's itinerary.
Happy Planning!!!