Italy firstimer: Which city to start, which to depart?
 

Will visit Italy on my own for two weeks before flying into London and do further one month trip. My journey would cover Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan, and the Cinque Terre.
Is it good to visit Rome, then Florence, Venice, Milan, and Cinque Terre, before catching a train back to Milan airport? I?m afraid that if a train delays, I?ll lose other transport connection. Which is better: Milan Linate or Milan Orio something?
Or should I do Rome, Florence, Cinque Terre, Milan, and Venice? Should I choose Venice Treviso or Venice Marco Polo airport?
Or should I start with Venice, Then Milan, Cinque Terre, Florence, and visit Rome the last and fly to London from Rome Ciampino?

I?d like the transfer to be quick and safe and convenient. Need your consultations. Thanks in advance.

Jane Post

We just got back from our honeymoon starting in Rome, heading to Florence and lastly Venice. We had a car once in Tuscany but took trains between cities and had no problems whatsoever. Personally, I loved how we worked out the trip. Each place became a bit quieter and I don't know that I would've wanted to end in Rome. Don't get me wrong, we loved Rome and it's hustle and bustle, we just thought things were perfectly planned. We had open jaw flights and that was great too because we wasted no time backtracking. Why don't you see if you can fly into one city and out of another? I don't think it cost us more--and even if it had been a bit pricier, it was still worth it!

Do you want to tackle all this in just 2 weeks? If so, start in Rome and work your way to finish in Venice.
Rome to Florence by train (although not experiencing what's between seems a shame). Vist Cinque Terre as a dat trip from Florence and then train to Milan.Finally finish with a train to Venice.
You'll be spending a good percentage of your valuable time traveling, but I'm sure you will enjoy your trip.

The least stressful approach is to work things so that your last destination of interest happens to be your departure gateway. If you fly into (or out of) Venice, I would suggest VCE (Marco Polo) as it is closer than Treviso. It is also a beautifully designed airport, very efficient and hassle-free.

I'm sorry, I've only used Rome's main airport at Fiumicino (Leonardo da Vinci) not Rome Ciampino, so I have no idea how easy (or difficult) the transfer to the latter.

"OneWanderingJew" reports that he/she would rather finish in Venice and start in Rome because Rome is more hectic; I would do the reverse, for exactly the same reason. Good luck with your plans.

Hi
do a search here on
bobthenavigator.

bob is an expert on suggesting itineraries, and his past postings should be a good deal of help in addition to the suggestions above.

The idea from above of ending Italy with a quieter location before going on to London seems like a good idea to me as well.

Hi Jane,

Why Milan?

I agree with Ira--why Milan?
I would plan on 4 destinations and either start in Rome and end in Venice--or vice versa. The choice would depend on the best price/connection from your US gateway and the connection to London. Allow enough time in Florence to allow for day trips to Siena and perhaps Lucca by local transport. Maybe something like this:
Arr Rome--3 nites
Train to Florence--4 nites[day trips]
Train to CT--3 nites[location is key]
Train to Venice--last 4 nites

Just reverse that if starting in Venice. Good luck, and spend some time at slowtrav.com for other good planning input.

I agree with bob's suggested itinerary.

If you really feel like a hard-charger and want to squeeze in a fifth destination in your two weeks, I'd say deduct one night each from Florence, CT and Venice and spend 3 nights on Lake Como between your stays in CT and Venice.

That might be a bit too much overall, but it's a nice sampling of top-notch destinations.

I?m a fashion designer. That?s why I?d love to go to Milan. Joking, ha ha ha? I thought Milan is the only gateway to Lake Como.

Thanks to all and every one of you. Finally I?ve got a reasonable (yet ambitious) itinerary. I?ll consider flying to London from a quieter airport (yep, I hate crowds). And will do more research on Bob.

Submitting a holiday break request soon. Wish me luck!