Italy- 2 weeks
 

Hi There,

My boyfriend and I have just booked flights to and from Rome. We are spending a total of 2 weeks in Italy. Arriving September 11th and leaving September 26th.

We are looking for some guidance on what makes the most sense geographically. We know we want to see Tuscany, and want to spend some time in Positano. We will of course spend a few days in Rome, maybe 2 when we get there and one on our way back.

Looking for any suggestions on the order of how we see these locations. Suggestions on other close, cool destinations. We obviously want to take in culture, scenery and of course, amazing food! Any suggestions on time in each location who also be helpful.

Any information/opinions are welcome, loved getting advice from veteran travelers.

Thanks in advance!

I'll let others who are more knowledgeable offer specifics, but I just wanted to suggest that you consider stacking all your Rome days at the end. Assuming you are coming off a long flight, you'll be tired arrival day, so you may as well just plow through and continue on to, say, Positano. Enjoy your time there, then on to Tuscany, and end with 3 or 4 days in Rome. Three locations in three different environments (beach, country, city) in two weeks makes for a nice trip. Have fun!

Hi anderson,

I see that you are a relatively new fodors member so welcome!

The first thing to work out as you say is the order of your trip, and considered opinion here is that you put your stay in the place that you are flying out of LAST. So as you are flying out of Rome, put all your days there at the end of the trip. That means that you are in the right place for going home, and your stay there is not fragmented, thus losing precious time.

This generally works quite well as most flights from the US [making an assumption here] arrive in the morning, and you have the first day to get to your first destination, and if you are suffering from jetlag, you can recover while you are travelling.

as for how many places to see and where to go, i would limit myself to 3-4 places in a 14 day trip. when you speak abut Tuscany are you thinking about Florence? the Val d'Orca? the area around Chianti? Siena? would you consider driving?

a tentative suggestion would be this:

DAy 1 - arrive Rome. get train to Orvieto. [try googling the front of the cathedral there are you can see why]. It's a lovely place, about 90 mins on the train from Rome, has lots to see and do for a night or two, great food, and you can easily hire a car there, which you wouldn't want to do in Rome. Stay 2 nights.

Day 3 - pick up car and drive to ??? Montepulciano ?? . Stay 4 nights. Explore area.

Day 7 - drive to Positano. Stay 4 nights.

Day 11 - return car to convenient place and train to Rome.

Day 14 - fly home.

there are of course an infinite number of different ways of doing this.

I'm sure that others will have lots of better ideas.

Thanks so much for the replies, I really appreciate the fact that people take time out of their days to offer advice!

I am now absolutely going to plan all the days in Rome at the end, wonderful suggestion, makes perfect sense. We are arriving in the morning so to continue traveling does make the most sense!

I haven't really thought of the driving aspect, we are open to it, I just thought it might be intimidating, but we drive in downtown Toronto so it might be a breeze.

Where we go in Tuscany is very much in the air. Hoping to get some insight/suggestions are what would be a good stop!

Beach, country, city is exactly the trip we were hoping for.

annhig's plan is what I would do.

But I assume one of you is over the age of 25. If not, there will probably be a young driver daily surcharge added to the car rental rate which I think is 15-20 EUR a day, depending on the company. There may also be a charge for picking up the car in one location and dropping it in another. Whoever will be driving needs to have an International Driving Permit.

If this puts the kibosh on driving, you could train to Florence after Orvieto (or on arrival) and take day trips using public transportation to Siena, San Gimignano, Lucca, Pisa, Arezzo, Bologna...

If you are small and thin enough to wear Italian clothes, save some money for Rome -- the clothes are to die for. As are both the real and the "fake" (no pretense that they are real and have design difference) purses. IMHO the capuccini in Italy is the best coffee in Europe. As you walk around be sure to look up -- you will see amazing and old paintings and gorgeous churches -- around every corner is something amazing -- not just the "must sees" but the pure beauty. Again IMHO it's nice to learn a few basic words of the language -- it's a way of showing respect. Enjoy, enjoy!

We are both over the age of 25, but we don't have an International Driving permit.

We will be okay taking public transit, I have done some research and train rides seem very reasonable in terms of time.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

For Tuscany, you really need a car. Much of it is not served by train and buses aren't frequent to many towns (no Sunday service for many places). Amafli coast can be toured without a car as the buses are frequent and there are also ferries.

what ky said.

if you don't want to drive, I'd go straight from Rome to Florence, and base yourselves there. There are lots of places you can go from Florence using either train or bus and there's a lot to see and do in Florence too.

Then get the train to Orvieto and stay there for a night, and the next day carry on to the Amalfi. Finally get the train back to Rome and finish your trip.

perhaps next time you'll have found your italian feet and feel up to driving around a bit!

KY is right - you really need a car for Tuscany. You can get the IDP at your local AAA office - no test, you just pay a fee ($25, I think) and they take your picture and give you the IDP.

I like Ann's suggested itinerary, except I would NOT drive to Positano (my preferred town on the AC). I would return the car in Orvieto and train from Orvieto to Salerno and then ferry to Positano.

Then you catch the ferry from Positano to Salerno, then direct train to Rome.

ekc - I think that's a better idea than mine, if the OP decides to drive.

if not, I'd put Orvieto between Florence and the Amalfi as i think it fits in better there.

Have done your suggested trip a lot in last 15 years and Annig has a great route, especially if you want to minimize driving and maximize trains.
We are car folks so this is a trip to try if you want to keep car.
Pick up car at airport. Very easy. Drive north on the coast road to Grosseto and turn off to Tuscany. Drive to Montalcino and spend 3 or 4 nights. Great wine and food. Pictureperfect hill town. Easy to see Pienza, Montepulciano, Siena, etc. Val D'Orcia is spectacular. After that go a little north and spend 2 nights in Chianti area. Greve and Panzano are our favorites.
Then to Positano. A long drive. Break it up with a stop at Hadrian's villa outside Rome or Pompeii.
We have stayed a number of times in Positano, always with a car. Just have to find the right hotel that will accommodate you. Day trips by car to Ravello and Sorrento are great. Other small towns to visit. Also a visit to Paestum is worth it. Like a trip to Greece without the airfare. Then drive back to Rome. Stop at Pompeii on way back if not seen. Down side of this trip is car costs you each day (try AutoEurope).. Upside is that it opens the world of Italy to you, stopping where you want to rather than where the train wants to.. Getting lost on a dirt road in Tuscany is worth the price. Plus driving on the Amalfi coast is a hoot.

a variation on Skip's idea if you wanted a car in tuscany but not on the amalfi, would be to pick up the car as s/he says but return it in Orvieto, and then train from there.

Skip, if that's a route you've done a lot, ever been to Orbetello? I can thoroughly recommend it if you fancy something a little different. Massa Maritima is also well worth a detour.

Hi,
We are also planning a two-week first time to Italy trip. My husband and I are taking our 2 young adult kids. I am wondering why no one mentions Venice as a stop over? Shouldn't a new tourist to Italy see it at least once?
Thanks

Yes, Venice is fabulous! I think it wasn't mentioned here only because the OP didn't indicate an interest in it. The challenge with any trip to Italy is deciding what to leave out. Usually a two week trip (especially w kids) means no more than 3 locations. Rome, Florence, Venice is a very typical enjoyable first timer's two week trip. I should add that those three cities are most easily visited by train. The reason a car is recommended to the OP here is because he/she wants to visit Tuscany. To get between small towns in the country, a car is needed but in larger cities a car is actually a hindrance (expensive and challenging to park, no drive ZTL zones, etc).

I just returned yesterday from another trip to the Amalfi Coast. I would ditch the car idea. Parking is extremely limited. Driving on the coastal roads with their hair pin turns, sheer drops, and trucks roaring up right behind you can be very nerve wracking.

I would recommend taking the Eurostar from Florence to Naples, then either arranging a private transfer to Positano ( about E120), or taking the local train to Sorrento, then a SITA bus or boat to Positano.

My husband and I are taking our 2 young adult kids. I am wondering why no one mentions Venice as a stop over? Shouldn't a new tourist to Italy see it at least once?>>

Maks - msteacher has it right, I think. but I agree that Venice is well worth visiting and we spent a week there with our "young adult kids" [there ought to be a special word for that I think]. you can click on my screen name to see my TR if you like. IMO it makes a great place to start a trip, and you could add a couple of other places into the mix, perhaps ending in Rome, which is also a wonderful place to visit. [I've got a trip report about a week there too but there are loads of other TR reports about both cities here].