Italy for the first time
 

Please can I have some advice on planning a holiday to Italy for the first time. We have about 23 days, active enjoy walking, very fit, early 60's, like a wide range of experiences. We like not too rush, use trains and hire a car for Tuscany. Like to stay in Tuscany for a week. Rather use bases. How much should we aim to cover in Italy with this time frame. Looking at end of April or end of September. is one time better for travel. Probably fly into Rome.

Our last trip to Italy we flew into Rome where we had 4 nights based in Trastevere. From Rome, we went to the Cinque Terre for 6 nights where we did some amazing walks. We then went onto Tuscany for a relaxing week of eating, walking and sightseeing and we finished the whole trip with 4 nights in Venice.

So basically 3 bases, i might find April still not perfect weather, May would be nicer.

I'd look at maybe Tuscany, the Dolimites, Emilia Romana maybe

It is worth looking out a map of Italian railways, they can be a life saver for getting around. Buses tend to be locally owned and plan by region.

If you're looking for seaside experience as part of the plan, I'd choose the Amalfi Coast over Cinque Terre, just because of the likelihood of getting better weather in the south.

Three, maybe four, bases sounds right. Look into renting apartments/homes as a base in each place and doing day trips.

Can't top the Amalfi Coast for spectacular views. Walk/Path of the Gods might be of interest, as well as Paestum, Ravello and maybe Pompeii.

We were in Rome a few years ago for 9 nights and still didn't see it all. We also took day and half day trips from Rome to Orvieto, Ostia Antica and Tivoli (Hadrian's villa and Villa d'Este)...enjoyed them all.

Figure out your bases so you can fly into one city, like Rome and out another, maybe Naples or Milan depending on what you decide your focus will be.

i agree about going south first, to maximise the chance of good weather.

in 23 days you could manage 4-5 bases depending on your style of travel - and if you can fly open jaw [into one place, out of another].

As you've never been to Italy before, I would suggest flying into Naples and going to the Amalfi first of all, then Rome, Tuscany, Florence and finally Venice.

Thanks for all the replies.
If I stay in Tuscany, would Florence be a day trip or would you stay also in Florence.

Is late April / May better than late Sept/Oct?

I would think the weather would be best in Late Sept/Oct and starting on the AC at that time of year would be a great plan. It will be warmer in Sept than April/May. I don't know anything about Tuscany but am sure you will get an answer to that question from many of the Italy experts on this site. Enjoy your trip.

personally I would stay in Florence for a few days as there is so much to see and do there, and I prefer late April /May as the days are longer and the flowers/gardens fresher, and it may be cooler, which is what I prefer. We were in Florence for a week at the end of October a few years ago and it was still pretty warm.

if you have a particular yen to swim in the sea [my DH loves doing this] September would be better as the water will be warmer.

swimming isn't a high priority.

Regarding Tuscany, May has the green fields and red poppies. Sept has the fields plowed under, but the grapes on the vines ready for harvest. Like most places of great beauty, each season is special.

May will have longer days. I visited the Amalfi coast the last time in mid Sept. It was crazy busy, and extremely humid. My othe trip there was in late March. Pleasant daytime temps, torrential thunderstorms at night, and no crowds at all. It was a great time to visit Pompeii, but the towns were almost too quiet and much was closed. Thr wisteria were blooming and gorgeous.....

okay an itinerary, please comment

should I leave south of rome for another visit

have still 2-3 nights to allocate

venice 3 nights

verona 2 nights

florence 3 nights

rome 4 nights

tuscany 6 nights

amalfi coast 3 nights

have another 2 -3 days where

looks good

remaining days, Bologna, Ravenna, Modena, Ferrara

Bologna has the best rail hub for a bunch of little citta' in the Emilia Romana, one of the best food provinces in Italy, other towns mentioned are more specialist but an easy train trip away.

would we go further south say sicily

"would we go further south say sicily

not for 3 days

In April or September, both beautiful, do not add another place.
Add a day to
The Amalfi Coast (so much to do and see there, enough for a week or more)
Venice and visit Vicenza or Burano and Torcello
Rome (perhaps a day trip)
Florence (day trip to a hill town, even if you have done one, see another or take day tour of some kind)

End of April would be my choice for longer days and fresh stuffed zucchini flowers!

We loved Spoleto, Montalcino, Perugia, Gubbio, Montepulciano. Maybe for your second trip to Italy!

If I were lucky enough to have that many days. I would add another day to both Rome and Florence rather than adding another area. We were there in mid October and had some nice days and some rain in Florence. Temps in Venice were cool as well. It might be nice to go when more is in bloom. April /May sounds lovely.

Our first trip to Italy we visited Lake Como, Rome, a smaller town in Tuscany, Florence and Venice. Flew into Milan, train to Rome to meet up with friends, rented a car when leaving Rome and turned it in in Florence, train to Venice. We have since visited Italy six more times and only traveled south of Rome the first time last fall, to Naples, Sorrento, Capri, Amalfi Coast.. Heading back to Rome in October.

I like it. I would put the 2-3 "extra" days into a couple of the places you have already listed.

have another 2 -3 days where>

If in September how about the Italian Lakes district - Lake Garda is a convenient stop by train between Venice and Verona - a few days on the lake by boat is wonderful - or put them into say Rome and do a day trip to Tivoli for the Villa d'Este water gardens and Hadrian's Villa

or another into Amalfi - Cpari, Pompeii and Naples too make wonderful day trips - Sorrento would be the most convenient base for the Amalfi itself and those other sights.

Trains - long-distance trains - can book discounted tickets on www.trenitalia.com - regional trains and buses like in Tuscany for for short hops no need to pre-book - dirt-cheap flat fare - buy at stations as you go - for lots on Italian trains check www.seat61.com- great info on discounted tickets; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com. There is an Italy Eurailpass but it is rarely cost-effective for an itinerary like yours which involves many regional trains and buses.

Thanks for all the responses. I do wonder whether we should stay north of Rome, including Rome. This means not going to Amalfi Coast. Any comments. How is Amalfi Coast rated in the must see spots. Also if we go april/may we would be arriving during Easter. Is this a problem?

Okay comments please on this modified plan

starting late April

fly into Naples
5 nights Amalfi Coast
4 nights Rome
3 nights Florence
6 nights Tuscany
3 nights Venice

another 2-3 days we could still allocate
would I stay in Naples for 1 night or just get to AC

I would allocate more time to Rome as you currently only have 3 days there. Maybe 2 more nights in Rome (so 6 nights, giving you 5 days) and 1 night to Venice or Florence depending on your interests, giving you 3 full days in whichever city you choose instead of your current 2.

You would have a nearly perfect plan for a first visit if you follow jamikins suggestions for extra days in those two cities.

Buon viaggio!

Okay comments please on this modified plan>

seems very leisurely to me - few more nights perhaps in Lake Garda en route to Venice?

Before you make any final plans for a week in Tuscany, using public transportation, I suggest you do some research on bus schedules. Getting around the smaller towns of Tuscany, including many of those mentioned above, is not at all easy by public transportation. The schedules are designed mostly for students going to secondary schools in the larger towns.

For instance, if you're staying in Montepulciano, you would probably find that most buses to Siena leave very early in the morning (before 7 AM), so that students can get to school on time, and return to Montepulciano in mid-afternoon. You might also find that Siena is practically the only destination you can get to easily, because that's where the schools are.

If you're staying in Siena, you will find buses to more destinations, because lots of small towns send students to Siena, but you may find it even more difficult to get to these towns and back in one day, because there are not any students traveling in that direction. And getting from one small town to any other small town in Tuscany may be downright impossible unless you spend a night somewhere along the way.

Here is a website with bus schedules for the province of Siena in Tuscany:

http://www.tiemmespa.it/index.php/Vi...na/Extraurbano

Buses are less frequent on Saturdays, and many towns have no bus service on Sundays.

Another issue to be aware of is that many Italian towns and cities have very large territories, and if you see a charming B&B in Lucca, it may be many kilometers from the center of town, and nowhere near a bus stop. Be sure to ask about transportation before reserving anything.

Tuscany is also served by trains, but they mostly serve larger towns, and the stations are often some distance from the town itself, partly because so many of the towns are on hilltops. (That's why they're called hill towns.) Siena, for example has a train station down in the valley below, although there is a sort f escalator that brings people up to the town. The train station that serves Montepulciano is at Chiusi, and from there you need to take a bus (50 minutes) into town.

Here are some towns with fairly good public transportation connections.

Siena has connections to Florence by bus and train, and also to other towns in the province of Siena, with the caveats mentioned above.

Florence has good train connections to Siena, Pisa, and Lucca, and Pisa and Lucca have good connections with each other.

Florence also has connections with San Gimignano, by train or bus as far as Poggibonsi, and by bus from there to San Gimiginano. Florence also has bus connections to various Chianti towns, although service is very scarce to some of them.

Florence has longer distance connections by train to Arezzo, Perugia, and Assisi, the last two in Umbria, and all on the same train line.

You can see train schedules on http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en . You have to use the Italian names of the cities, but I think Florence (Firenze) is the only city in Tuscany that has an English name.

For the stay in Tuscany, if you enjoy moderate hiking them hire a house rental around the area near Pienza or San Quirico. Both a wonderful little towns with vibrant night restaurants.

The rolling hills around the towns offer incredible vistas, buy a Kompass 1:25,000 map which gives you a scale to pick out the old cart paths and bridleways. You will end up far, far away from tiresome tour parties and probably bump into some local incredible characters.

We love the countryside and really do not like Florence. In the heat, full of tour parties it can wear you down very quickly.

Personally, yes I would cut out the south of Rome for another visit. You are trying to achieve what we have effectively covered in 18 visits.

Yes to public transport in Venice and Rome (I wouldn't drive in Rome and have driven over 700,000 mile in Europe).

However, consider car hire to and from Tuscany, there are just so many quite, magical corners which will be easily accessible by car.

Driving in Tuscany however can be slow going -fine as you should not be in a hurry - I found driving during the long noon period was good as I was the only car on the road.

thanks for the comments, yes, we will hire a car to get around Tuscany, trains and buses for the rest.

Thanks Dayle you suggest we have near the perfect plan. PalenQ suggests it is to leisurely and BritishCaico recommends to cut out the south of Rome for another visit. I appreciate all your points.
I am a little confused though. We like variety in a holiday with a range of experiences.
Any further clarification would be appreciated for our first visit.

kiwinz - you are just getting feedback based on our own preferences. Only you can decide if you like to take things a bit slower and savour places or whether you want to move around faster and move faster. I think the recommendations I gave above are a pretty good balance.

I personally like to spend 1 week in a place to really get to know it.

To each their own - I am sure you will have a fabulous trip.

thanks jamikins, polnt taken.

Hi Kiwinz
I'm late to this party & just wanted to say I think the last Itinerary is a really good framework for a first visit.

And that's all it needs to be - a loose framework. You can stay a day more or less according to your whim once you get there, if you're happy to be flexible.

I like to have a few bases in Italy, drive in the country areas & use public transport in the cities. That said, trains can be a great way to travel between cities, too.

Have fun - it's a beautiful country

PalenQ suggests it is too leisurely>

I did not mean 'too leisurely as you read - very leisurely is not the negative you may taken it as. I think it's a fine itinerary - #2 - a sweet leisurely itinerary - a nice one!

Cheers!

thanks PalenQ appreciate the clarification

Thanks for all the assistance. I am now looking at the order and looking at starting south and moving north. If I flew into Rome and stayed there for 5 nights then moved to the Amalfi Coast. From AC would I go to Florence or Tuscany? Then onto Venice and fly out from there. Or is there a better way to do this?

the basic plan is sweet- Tuscany - if renting a car to do Tuscany then you may want to rent it in say Arezzo, Orvieto or Chiusi and drive up thru Montepulciano, Siena and other famous hill towns to Florence - returning the car there or in Siena (short bus ride from Florence).

That makes total sense -always moving towards Florence.

You can take a direct train from Naples to Orvieto in just over three hours -an IC train - you can go it a half-hour quicker via high-speed trains involving an easy change of trains in Rome.

Orvieto if the have car rentals you like makes a great start- maybe even stay the night sans car in this unique awesome to me city-if no cars you want take a local train from Orvieto to Chiusi which has several major car rentals opposite its train station.

kiwinz,

Sorry I am just now getting back to you. As jamikins says, we are giving feedback based on our own preferences. jamikins also lives in the UK, so gets to visit frequently. Those of us who travel so much further, have to make adjustments based on our priorities. Even so, I have finally learned to slow down a little. With each trip to Italy, I do plan longer stays mixed with short stays depending on what I want to do and see at each destination.

Rome - is best when you are not in a frantic rush to see everything on your list. No matter how much time you have in Rome, you will never see it all. It can be a bit busy especially if you are visiting the main attractions so best not to feel stressed!

My first visit to Rome was only 1.5 days the week before Easter. It was the last destination on the typical tourist whirlwind 11 day visit. I had heard that Rome was just a big, crowded, polluted city so just planned on a "see St. Peter's, see the Coliseum" check off. We arrived, checked into our hotel and started walking, turned a corner and WOW - there is the Coliseum! We walked for 12 hours straight. Me with bronchitis, a sinus infection and a 102 degree fever. I finally gave out at midnight and guess what, I fell in LOVE with Roma! We didn't get to see much from the inside due to winter hours years ago before the visiting hours were extended, but what a great intro to Rome. Just enjoying the beauty of the city and sights at night, the lively streets, beautiful people, and the musical Italian language.

I say you have the perfect trip because I too enjoy a mix of cities and countryside, architecture and art, food and wine, history, etc.

If you start on the Amalfi Coast, that is a nice place to adjust and get over jet lag, very tourist friendly, beautiful scenery and great seafood. Also much to see!

Then you are ready for Roma. Totally agree that 5 or 6 days there is just right for a first time.

Leave Rome, stay overnight in Orvieto. A unique town with one of the most beautiful duomos in Italy. It remains one of my favorite towns. Pick up a car and enjoy the Tuscan countryside for your next destination. Driving in the countryside is a joy!

Drop car and visit Florence. How long depends on your level of interest in what it has to offer, as jamikins suggested.

Train to Venice and end your Italy trip in a relaxed visit. Wander off the main tourist track of Piazza San Marco and the Rialto. Visit Burano and Torcello. Research all there is to see in Venice. There is a lot! 4 nights is much better than 3.

Can I come along? I'll carry the luggage!

Thanks Dayle much appreciated your thoughts. on our trip. As we are flying from New Zealand and going to start at the Amalfi Coast, should we try to fly into Naples and then by train to AC? otherwise it is to Rome and then train to AC perhaps too much after a 30hr flight.