ok..here it goes: We've got 2 full weeks and will be travelling w/ a 12 yr old... <BR> <BR>Day 1 - Leave Dallas <BR>Day 2 - Arrive Milan a.m. and spend the night there <BR>Day 3 - Leave Milan via train to Venice a.m. <BR>spend the night in Venice <BR>Day 4 - Venice <BR>Day 5 - rent car, drive from venice to Florence. Spend the night in florence. <BR>Day 6 - Florence w/ day trips. Spend the night in Florence <BR>Day 7 - Drive from Florence to Siena w/ daytrips. Spend the night in Siena <BR>day 8 - Drive from siena to Assisi w/ side trips. Spend night in Assisi. <BR>Day 9 - Assisi w/ side trips <BR>Day 10 - Drive from Assisi to Rome w/ side trips and drop off car at end of day. <BR>Day 11 - Rome to Pompeii via train a.m. Back to Rome in evening. <BR>Day 12 - See Rome <BR>Day 13 - Rome <BR>Day 14 - Rome <BR>Day 15 - Get to airport for a 1:00pm flight <BR> <BR>Are we nuts?? Obviously we want to spread it around without spreading ourselves too thin. We just wanted your opinions. Thanks. <BR>

Looks pretty good to me. I've never been to Pompeii, so can't comment there. <BR>I would make one change, if it was me. <BR>On arrival Milan, I would leave straight away on a train to Verona, which is en route to Venice anyway. Milan is really just an industrial city, with a (very) few attractions, whereas Verona has the true essence of Italy, and is a great place to stroll around to get over the jet lag, and have a relaxing informal meal on the piazza near the Arena, before a welcome early night. <BR>On a scale of 10 I'd give Milan a 2 and Verona 8. <BR>With an a.m. Milan arrival you would be in Verona for lunch.

xx

Hi Sandi, <BR>We have just come back from a short trip to Italy (8days). We spent 3 days in Florence , 4 in Rome and our last in Verona. We LOVED Verona and were very sorry that we hadn't at least had 2 full days there. We also flew into Milan and got a train straight out to Florence. On the way back we spent our last night in Verona and caught a lunchtime train back to Milan to catch our evening flight out, it all worked out just great. We had our 21 year old daughter with us and she says Verona was her favourite and can't wait to go back. <BR>Hope that helps : )

I never thought about Verona and don't really know much about it...can you tell me and where is it located?

It doesn't sound bad, it is a little tight and I wonder if you should allow some flex time for unavoidable delays, etc. I believed the portion of the trip that would be more enjoyable for a typical 12 yr. old is the last portion of your trip (Pompeii-Rome). By that time your 12 yr. old have been spending quite a bit of time in the car. I wonder if you should try to fit on Day 5 or 6 a relaxed activity (park, hiking, nature walk) to unwind a bit from the pace. <BR> <BR>Also, I am not sure you'll be able to drive to a city, do city sightseeing and ALSO side trips from the city all in a day and a half (i.e. Assisi). My best advice is once you get to a city (the ones you picked up are WONDERFUL), park the car and do city sightseeing, forget about the car until the next time you have to move on. <BR> <BR>Overall, your trip does sound incredible and I am sure it'll make for great memories! Have the best time!

The problem with going to Italy for two weeks is that it should be six weeks! Unless you are sure that you'll never get back to Italy, and thus, this is your only chance, I would definitely cut back on some of your destinations. You've created a "if this is Tuesday, it must be Belgium" sort of intinerary. You really haven't left yourself time to really enjoy most, if not, all of the sites. <BR>1. I'd cut out some of the side trips. In your Florence part, for example, you've allocated a day and a half for Florence and side trips. Heck, a day and a half devoted just to Florence is a tease! <BR>2. As one of those who can't get enough of Venice, again a day and half is tease. <BR>3. Why not keep the car one extra day and drive to Pompeii (a site you shouldn't miss)? It's a fairly easy drive on the highway and much less tiring and hectic than taking the train or bus. Check with you hotel about where to leave the car overnight when you arrive. <BR>One of the joys of traveling in Italy is taking the time to enjoy where you are. You plans leave little time for that. You'll be exhausted halfway through the trip! <BR>Please don't get me wrong. I offer this advice so that you and your family, like us, will have the trip of a lifetime on your first trip to Italy! <BR>

Though I love Milan, considering your 12yr old, I agree that Verona would be a better option for spending the first night in Italy. If you're travelling in July or August, though, you may have difficulties in finding a room there, due to the Opera Festival. Verona's midway, on the rail track from Milan to Venice. Your son would love the Castelvecchio, the Arena (though a visit may not be possible in July/August due to the festival), Julliet's house and tomb, etc. The train ride from Milan takes 1:35 hours and, as pointed out by Tony, you'd be there for lunch in piazza Bra or piazza dei Sigori/delle Erbe. <BR> <BR>Your stay in Venice is IMO very tight. You should aim to maximize your time there. The train trip from Verona takes 1 1/2 hours (one other plus for spending the night in Verona instead of Milan). I would try to get the 9:09am (or 9:33am) train, to be able to take off in Venice, after hotel check in, around noon. <BR> <BR>If you're planning to leave Venice in the morning to Florence, forget it. I'm sure you'll stretch things the most you can and you won't be able to leave before mid afternoon. The fast drive (nonstop on Autostrada) from Venice to Florence would take about 2 1/2 hours. You wouldn't be able to see much enroute. Also, once you're planning only a single full day in Florence, you should forget about using the car; it would stay quiet in a garage ... <BR> <BR>As a result, I can't see many reasons to rent a car in Venice. The price you'd be paying (2 extra days rental + 2 days parking in Florence) doesn't seem to be worth it. I would take an afternoon Eurostar from Venice to Florence and rent the car when ready to leave for Siena. <BR> <BR>You should try to shortly visit San G. enroute from Florence to Siena. This is a kids must. <BR> <BR>Most probably, you'll be able to leave Siena right after lunch, with plenty of time to reach Assisi on a reasonable hour and visit some enroute. <BR> <BR>I would plan to leave Assisi in the morning but, considering your plans to visit Pompeii, I would do it a bit different. Instead of driving to Rome, I would plan to spend the night in Naples or vicinities (Caserta, with its grand palace, or even Sorrento, would be possibilities). The fast drive to Naples from Assisi would take about 4 1/2 hours. If you leave Assisi early, you'd have plenty of time to vist a couple of sights enroute (like Orvieto, Tivoli villas, etc). This way, you'd be in position to visit the Pompeii ruins by car, saving you a lot of time. You may then drive on to Sorrento, deliver the car there and take a train (actually two trains) back to Rome. I figure you would also save quite a bit of time, relative to returning it in Rome, and you would avoid driving into Rome (which some people classify as nightmarish Of course, you may always return your car in Naples if you prefer or take your chances in Rome's traffic (which I would do, but I know my way). <BR> <BR>Paulo <BR>

I have to agree with the above poster. Of course, everyone has different travel goals - some people want to see a little of everything, others want more in-depth travel in fewer places. <BR> <BR>However, your schedule sounds exhausting. Do you really want to spend that much time in a car? The only part I agree with is spending only a very short amount of time in Milan! (no offense, really) Please keep in mind that you will be spending significant amounts of time packing/unpacking/repacking, checking in and out of hotels, being in transit from one city to the next, and lugging about extra items like souvenirs from one city to the next. <BR> <BR>I guess you're flying into Milan and out of Rome? In that case, maybe you should skip Venice and simply travel south, through Florence, to Rome and just concentrate on those two areas. Or if you're dead set on Venice, just do Venice, Florence and Rome. That way, you will have more time to experience Italy outside of a train or car.

As someone else advised, just be sure you can vary from this if you decide to. My worst habit is to set an itinerary that I think can't be changed, and I travel full speed ahead at all times. Fortunately, I travel with much more laid back people than I. Having just returned from our second trip to Venice and Florence in two years, I can tell you, at least for those two cities, that leaving after a day and a half (if all goes exactly according to your plan) will be hard. We had planned day trips from both cities, because we were to be in each 4 full days, but we never had time to take them. Some of your "errand" type things like renting a car, finding the hotels, (even if they are already reserved), buying train tickets, etc. will take more time than you may think. I am an itinerary setter, but just know that things may not follow the plan and adjust accordingly without getting frustrated.

Thanks everyone for your input...We are definately considering spending the night in Verona instead of Milan, and then on to Venice. Paulo's other suggestions were great. I've become so addicted to this forum since my first trip last Oct. Thanks for everything...by the way, the trip is this Oct.

Sandi, as usual, Paulo has it right--pay <BR>heed. No reason for your car until you leave Florence, and do Siena enroute to <BR>Assisi. Force yourselves to stay up <BR>that first day---do Verona. Have fun !

MY GOD! Slow down and enjoy the pace of Italy! Here is what i advise- <BR> <BR>1-Forget Milan and get the first train to Venice on arrival. <BR> <BR>2-Venice 2 full days. <BR> <BR>3 - Take the train from Venice to Florence. It a good ride and you won'y have the stress of a car in Italy. Italians drive like maniacs and parking is generally unavailable. <BR> <BR>4-It doesn't look like you have allowed enough time in florence. Its is suppose to be the best city in Europe! Park yourself in Florence, slow down and see the city. It you feel like you have time try some of the side trips as excursions from Florence. <BR> <BR>5- Train from Florence to Rome, its only 2 hours. Don't bring a car into Rome. It is a traffic madhouse out of control. <BR> <BR>6-Leave at least 3-4 days to see rome. Its an amazing city! Take a bus trip to Pompeii. <BR> <BR>Thats my advise. I like to visit a city and experience the culture, people and lifestyle. For my taste it looks like you are spending more time in the car and then enjoying what Italy has to offer. RELAX! <BR> <BR>Also for good restaurants in Rome and other advise on Italy, check out my websight. It not completely finished but the Rome path is ready&gt; <BR> <BR>http://home.earthlink.net/~richardab/ <BR> <BR>Follow the path Enter&gt;Fly&gt;Europe&gt;Rome <BR> <BR>Have a ball!

Going directly to Venice, to maximize time there and adding a night in Florence (in this case I would plan for 2 nights in Siena and drop Assisi) is a question of personal preference and pace. If this is a first for Sandy, she'll get hooked anyway, and I would bet that a return to Italy will be in the works soon. <BR> <BR>Now, having 2 weeks to spare to visit the big 3 and else, I don't think that doing it in part by driving is a big deal. <BR> <BR>Let's suppose that the car is picked up in Florence and delivered in Naples. The drive to San G. and then on to Siena (90km) would involve no more than 1 1/2 hours in the car. Let's make it 2! From Siena to Assisi it's about 150km (either via Cortona, Perugia or Montepulciano ... take your pick) and no more than 2 1/2 hours should be spent in the car. Let's make it 3! From Assisi to Naples, via, say, Todi and Orvieto adds up to 420km and no more than 5 hours in the car. Let's make it 6! From Naples, back and forth to Pompei it's 60km and no more than one hour in the car. <BR> <BR>This would add up to only 12 hours in 5 days (or 4 "driving" days), enabling one (specially the 12yr old) to have a good taste of San G., Siena, Cortona or Montepulciano, Assisi, Orvieto (kids love the Pozzo di San Patrizio), eventually Todi and God knows what else along the way. <BR> <BR>We all know about the daytrip to Pompeii, from Rome. It's very difficult (if at all possible) to find a bus tour that is at least "reasonable" (one's lucky if one gets 2 hours at the site!). To do it on one's own, one has to leave early and return late (say, 11 hours or so total). <BR> <BR>It appears that most people think it's ok to be under way during 7 hours (on a single day) to visit Pompeii out of Rome. On the other hand, many of these same people consider spending 12 hours in a car (during 4 days) too much. Go figure! <BR> <BR>Paulo <BR>

Thanks again for the input. I was in Italy last Oct. and took almost 2 weeks touring the tuscany/umbria areas. So when I mentioned sidetrips, I was really talking about the 3-4 cities you can get to within 30min to an hr. from wherever you're staying the night. The though of taking the train more certainly is more appealing and cuts down on the high rental rates. There are certain cities in ticany that I want my husband and son to see, but we will review all the sugggestions and make time to hang out and enjoy..especially in Venice and Florence. Thanks again and I can't wait to tell everyone about it when we return.

Sandi, the mere fact that this will be your second trip to Italy in a year certainly tells me that this probably won't be your last trip there, nor for your family either. <BR>That being the case, I would certainly opt for spending more time in fewer places this trip, since you'll probably be going back!!!