Italy - 12 Day Itinerary Recommendations
Aug 9th, 2015, 04:51 PM
#1
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Italy - 12 Day Itinerary Recommendations
Hello!
My husband and I are in the process of planning our first trip to Italy (and Europe). We are thinking about going for 14 days (12 days including travel) in May or June 2016. We're in our late 20's and enjoy delicious food/history/arts. We love to immerse ourselves in the culture of the city we're visiting. We are traveling from Kansas City (Go Royals!)
In terms of what we'd like to see in Italy... we were thinking of the following:
- Fly into Rome
- Amalfi Coast OR Cinque Terre
- Florence (day trips to Siena and Tuscany)
- Fly out of Venice
We would love to squeeze in Modena to go to Osteria Franescana - although, I'm not sure we will be able to squeeze it in the time frame that we have. I was thinking we could potentially go before we go to Venice. Thoughts?
We are foodies and open to any restaurant suggestions you have!
Lastly - we're open to renting a car, but being first-timers, I feel that the train might be our safest bet (in terms of getting around).
Thank you so much for your help! Looking forward to your advice.
My husband and I are in the process of planning our first trip to Italy (and Europe). We are thinking about going for 14 days (12 days including travel) in May or June 2016. We're in our late 20's and enjoy delicious food/history/arts. We love to immerse ourselves in the culture of the city we're visiting. We are traveling from Kansas City (Go Royals!)
In terms of what we'd like to see in Italy... we were thinking of the following:
- Fly into Rome
- Amalfi Coast OR Cinque Terre
- Florence (day trips to Siena and Tuscany)
- Fly out of Venice
We would love to squeeze in Modena to go to Osteria Franescana - although, I'm not sure we will be able to squeeze it in the time frame that we have. I was thinking we could potentially go before we go to Venice. Thoughts?
We are foodies and open to any restaurant suggestions you have!
Lastly - we're open to renting a car, but being first-timers, I feel that the train might be our safest bet (in terms of getting around).
Thank you so much for your help! Looking forward to your advice.
Aug 9th, 2015, 05:00 PM
#2
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I'm sorry, butyou ar making the classic first timers mistake of trying to put 20 pounds of stuff in a 10 pound bag. This isn't as crowded as many I have seen from those in your position but I really think you need to make some hard decisions.
The best thing to do is to lay out the trip day by day, listing for each where you will start the day, where you will spend the day, any travel and where you will spend the night. the reasons to do this are:
- it is easy to fall into the tour brochure idea that 2 nights in a city means 3 days there. in fact it is the other way around, 2 nights in a city gives you ONE full day there
- it also makes it easy to avoid allocating the time to get from one place to another. For the trip you are talking about it will take at least a half day to get from one place to another, including time to pack, check out of the hotel, get to the station and then do the reverse at the other end. Even if the train ride is only 2 hours it will take at least 4 hours from hotel to hotel.
I would do this exercise and then figure out what your must sees are in each place. I can;t imagine spending less than 4 full days in Rome for a first trip - but suspect you just don't have that much time. And only you can decide what your must sees are.
The best thing to do is to lay out the trip day by day, listing for each where you will start the day, where you will spend the day, any travel and where you will spend the night. the reasons to do this are:
- it is easy to fall into the tour brochure idea that 2 nights in a city means 3 days there. in fact it is the other way around, 2 nights in a city gives you ONE full day there
- it also makes it easy to avoid allocating the time to get from one place to another. For the trip you are talking about it will take at least a half day to get from one place to another, including time to pack, check out of the hotel, get to the station and then do the reverse at the other end. Even if the train ride is only 2 hours it will take at least 4 hours from hotel to hotel.
I would do this exercise and then figure out what your must sees are in each place. I can;t imagine spending less than 4 full days in Rome for a first trip - but suspect you just don't have that much time. And only you can decide what your must sees are.
Aug 9th, 2015, 05:32 PM
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@nytraveler - thank you so much for the advice!
Completely understand your analogy of trying to fit a lot in a short amount of time. We will definitely go through the exercise you suggested to try to narrow things down.
We are open to not going to Venice to make time for locations such as Amalfi Coast or Moderna.
Based on your experience, I would love your input on your thoughts on those locations as it would help us narrow down our itinerary.
Additionally, we are not married to everything in Florence. We are open to a day trip to Tuscany versus Siena.
Thank you for your feedback!
Completely understand your analogy of trying to fit a lot in a short amount of time. We will definitely go through the exercise you suggested to try to narrow things down.
We are open to not going to Venice to make time for locations such as Amalfi Coast or Moderna.
Based on your experience, I would love your input on your thoughts on those locations as it would help us narrow down our itinerary.
Additionally, we are not married to everything in Florence. We are open to a day trip to Tuscany versus Siena.
Thank you for your feedback!
Aug 9th, 2015, 05:37 PM
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Just to add a bit....since you are in your twenties, and given your interests, you will certainly return to Italy! Given that, how about choosing Rome and the AC, or Rome, Florence & Venice, as a combo? You will have a more leisurely visit, can really appreciate all that each location offers, and not rush from place to place. You will return! There is more than enough to keep you happy in each of those locations, and you could always take a day trip or two, if you felt the need.
