Luna22

My boyfriend and I want to escape New York City on a romantic vacation to Italy.

We would love visit these places;
Amalfi Coast, Capri, Tuscany, Sienna, Florence, and Venice. We have 10 days.

I'd love your suggestions on time to spend and what to not miss, places to stay etc.

I've never been to Italy so I'd love some advice on what makes sense. We're ok with moving around but we don't want to be in transit all of the time.
I'm happy to keep it down to 3 places.
We 're big fans of wine and food of course.

Can anyone suggest an itinerary?

We plan to visit Sept23-Oct3 we're flexible to add a few days. We are on somewhat on a budget, but would splurge in a few places. We like rustic accomodations with charm, art and history.

Thanks for your guidance.

elaine

You're happy to keep it down to three places? The usual three for a first-time visit are Rome, Florence, and Venice.
But, I'm going to suggest that you pick two of those three. (My own first trip there was Venice and Florence, and I had no regrets.)

If you like, from Florence you can easily daytrip to Siena, and/or spend a day in Tuscany.

The Amalfi Coast and Capri are not convenient to the other places which are quite a bit more northerly. If you want Amalfi and Capri (assuming you are not going in winter)then Venice would be out.

Also, fly into one city, and out of another, so you don't have to backtrack in order to go home.

rex

You need to hustle to make the arrangements, but with 10 days, you can do this very nicely.

Fly into Florence (or Pisa) - - connect through LON, PAR, FRA or MIL (or other choices); first four nights in Florence; with a day trip (by bus) to Siena; maybr one day out touring in some other part of Tuscany

Then three in Amalfi/three Venice (or reverse the order - - but more options for flying home from Venice perhaps); you can fly economically between Naples and Venice - - see www.whichbudget.com

Best wishes,

Rex

mari5

You could skip Venice this trip and catch it perhaps on another trip. It is not close to the other places you mentioned.
Sorrento is nice and there are loads of side trips from there....Capri, Pompeii, Amalfi,Poisitano
Then Sienna or Florence would be great for a Tuscany central location....you could rent a car and drive this area and visit hill towns, the Chianti area.

Since you said "romantic", I guess you should consider Venice...If I don't say this, then I will get a lot of flack from other people &gt
You can see and do a lot in 10 day...does that include 2 travel days or 10 actual days in Italy!?

rex

Bringing your message back up "to the top" since you are (somewhat) new here... how do I know that? click on your own name - - it's a valuable tip that Fodors fails to tell you when they send you that intial e-mail confirming your registration...

Worktowander

We did a similar trip in early April by flying into Rome (four days), train to Siena (1.5 days), train to Venice (four days), flew home from Venice. It was a great trip, and although I wasn't pining to see Rome before the trip, now that I've been there I would have kicked myself for skipping it.

Have a great time!

ira

Hi Luna,

With 10 days and romance in mind, I suggest fly into Venice 3 nights, train to Florence 3 nights with a daytrip to Siena by SITA bus, train to Rome and fly home from there.

Milan and Bologna are also convenient to Venice.

Also see Helpful Information: Italy 2
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34568596

Luna22

Thanks you guys.

I just saw a great fare in Orbitz for $541.00.
Flying into Venice and out of Rome with a 9 hour layover in Madrid on the way there.

We thought we'd pop out and have dinner in Madrid while there. Does this sound crazy?
If not is there a place you guys would recommend?

Is the coast a must see?
I keep getting mixed reviews.

This is how the trip is shaping up.
•fly into Venice 3 nights
•train to Florence (Tuscany, Sienna) 3 nights
•train from Florence to Naples or Salerno?
To get to Positano ultimately.
I need adice here. Does it make sense to take a train or fly? This is if we do the coast at all. Help here please it gets muddy for me. Not sure if this is too much.
3 nights?
•train from Naples to Rome. 1 night

Thank you all

Bux

Dinner in Madrid could be nice. It will certainly open you to better food than you're likely to get in flight or even at the airport. I was in Madrid in May and recall the airport not being that far from the city relatively speaking. What times are your flights? Beware that Madrileños tend to eat late. Dinners with friends at bars might be arranged for as early as 9:00 PM, but reservations at restaurants were commonly made for 10:00 PM.

Your reduced itinerary sounds reasonable. Itineraries are very subjective. On my first trip to Florence as student who had recently studied renaisance architecture, I found I needed to stay 8 days in Florence. This year on my fourth trip, I will spend two nights and where I eat will be more important than what I see.

Tiff

<This year on my fourth trip, I will spend two nights and where I eat will be more important than what I see.>

Hmmmmmmmm, Bux, I am quite intrigued, please do tell Luna and all of us, where will you eat?????

ira

Hi luna,

Good itinerary.

Good airfare.

If you go from Florence to Salerno, I suggest the ferry to Positano.

Positano – Amalfi - Salerno (P.zza della Concordia):
See http://www.salernocity.com/comune/tr...i/costiera.asp

dan_woodlief

It makes sense to me if you are using Florence as your Tuscan base. For some people, I suppose one day in Florence is enough, but our three full days were packed. I had planned an optional trip to Siena but never had time. I would suggest devoting two days to Florence and do some type of daytrip into the Tuscan countryside or Siena for one day during the middle section of the trip. Three nights in Venice would be a great start to the trip. Don't cut time there.

suze

While in theory dinner in Madrid sounds nice, in your shoes I would pay more and get a plane ticket to where you really want to go! 9 hours to get out of an airport, to a part of a city you don't know to find a restaurant, then back to the airport when you are jet lagged from a transatlantic flight... well doesn't sound like much fun quite honestly.

The rest of your plan is shaping up great though!

hlocke1

Hi Luna --

I'd recommend leaving out the Amalfi Coast and Capri this time. Although they are amazing and not to be missed, they are harder to get to and would be better suited with a trip to Rome. Once you do that, you could spend 3-4 nights in Tuscany/Siena, 2-3 nights in Florence, and 3 in Venice. We did a very similar trip last year for our honeymoon. It was a nice amount of time in each place and very romantic. Since you're really into food and wine, Tuscany is the perfect spot to start out!

As far as accommodation goes, have you told us your nightly budget?
Good luck! -h.

rex

I would call the airline directly (some of them do still answer the phone... eventually!)... and ask if you can turn your 9 hours layover into 33 hours. Stumble through Madrid coping with the after-effects of your sleep-deprived trans-atlantic flight. Dine, enjoy one thing and move on to Venice the next day... far more in sync with Europe time, and much better prepared to enjoy Venice soon after you arrive there, in a way less groggy state.

mari5

Bux: what's Madrid Spain got to do with a question about Italy.?

I'm sorry if I'm missing something.
Sounds nice however.

suze

mari... from our OP... <just saw a great fare in Orbitz for $541.00.
Flying into Venice and out of Rome with a 9 hour layover in Madrid on the way there.>

Luna22

Thanks you guys.

Well that fair that looked so great was no longer available whenI went to purchase, its now 714.00 more realistic I suppose.

I have a Venice question where to stay.
Budget 150.00 per night.

suggestions?

Cheers
Luna

ira

Hi Luna,

>I have a Venice question where to stay.
Budget 150.00 per night.<

Look up Pensione Accademia and La Calcina.

Also enter <Venice and hotel> in the "search this forum" box.

suze

Pensione La Calcina is my favorite. It's a fabulous 3-star hotel. For your budget you could get a non-view (which is still lovely) double room with private bath. Breakfast is included. Love this hotel. But so do lots of others so reserve early early early if you're interested.