travelmiss

Hello all! I'm very excited to be traveling with a friend through Italy in early May. Here is our plan - I'd love any feedback or tour recommendations!
In general, is it better to explore the areas around Venice and Florence (Siena, etc) independently or by a bundled group tour? Do we have enough time in Rome? Any tips on Cinque Terre or in general? Any transport tips? We are planning to travel only by train.

Venice - 3 nights
- Day 1 - arrive late afternoon
- Day 2 - explore Venice
- Day 3 - boat tour of Murano and other islands

Bologna - day trip enrote to Florence (5 euro luggage storage for the day)
- Any tips?

Florence - 4 nights
- Day 1 - arrive in the evening
- Day 2 - explore florence
- Day 3 - Tuscany region tour
- Day 4 - explore florence

Rome - 3 nights
- Day 1 - arrive late morning, explore rome, Sunday market
- Day 2 - pasta making excursion, afternoon in rome
- Day 3 - Naples day trip
- Day 4 - Morning in rome

Cinque Terre - 2 nights
- Day 1 - Arrive late afternoon from Rome
-Day 2 - Explore Cinque Terre all day/night

Milan - 1 night
- Arrive mid-day from Cinque terre, explore Milan in afternoon and evening

Flight home

bilboburgler

This is a "full-on" visit, hope you don't tire easily or suffer jet-lag

Have you heard of the slow travel movement? Not that I fully believe in it but it was invented in Italy and allows you to flavour your travel rather than rush. We are al different in what we want from a holiday. Personally, I cannot see how you can visit Tuscany in a day, with or without a tour. Much as I like Siena, I would change it for a train tour of Pizza, Lucca, Pistoia and Prato. Use the Regionale train (like a slow commuter train which does a circular route) and you could do these 4 cities in a day without a coach.

Doing something similar up in the hills of Tuscany is harder by train but you could do Colle di Val d'Elsa and Siena by train, though the historical centres are a short walk from the stations. (if was doing Colle, hire a taxi to take you to the gates at the top of the old town and then you walk down to the elevator to the new town and the station (worth it just for the knees), while it is not a built on the sort of hill that Siena is it gives you a fair idea of what living in a fortress city was like and this city had a sort of "civil war" going on for 100 years or so inside it so there are special paths that women used to avoid the daily knife fights in the main streets. Siena itself is on a hilltop and you need to take the escalators to the wall level and then walk from there. The Duomo is very special, as some idiot seems to have spread marble cake decorations all over the front, but hey if you like cake...

Shoes, take flats which are well broken in.

read up seat61.com on Italian trains.

isabel

It is a fast paced itinerary but it's not crazy at all and if you like to be going all day long it's quite doable. Some people like to sleep in, have long meals, take afternoon rests. I personally don't so I could do your itinerary but a lot of people love the 'slow travel' style. Just know what your style is. Also do a lot of research. It sounds like you already have (for example you know how much luggage storage is at Bologna).

For Venice you don't need a 'tour' of the islands. You just take the vaparetto (which is like a bus on water) to which ever islands and then explore on your own. You probably will want to get a vaparetto pass - they come in one or two day (or longer) so you can ride up and down the grand canal on your Venice day and also go out to the islands.

Re "Tuscany region tour" - there are plenty of one day bus tours that take in some hill towns, visit a winery, etc. With your time frame that's probably your best bet. Just know that you'll be in little towns with tons of other tourists (on your bus tour plus others) when they are most crowded. Not the best way to experience them. Personally I love Siena and would take the bus (not train) from Florence to Siena for a day and just explore on my own. Siena (and Florence) are IN Tuscany and Siena, while larger than the small villages, is in fact a 'hill town'.
Or you could do as suggested above and take the train to Pisa and Lucca (easy to combine both in a one day trip).

I would skip Naples probably. You have very little time in Rome. But as you have it planned as a day trip (eg no hotel involved) you can always decide once you are there. If after your two afternoons in Rome you still want to then go for it.

KarenWoo

While everyone has their own travel style, I do think your itinerary is rushed, but it looks like you want to see as much as possible on your trip. You want to sample different places. is this the way you normally travel? I prefer to spend more time in a place to see as many sites as possible and to also have time to just wander around and savor the place, and relax at cafes. (When I was in Rome many years ago, we spent 7 nights there.) Some people like to keep on moving and get a small taste of many places. There is no right way or wrong way. Just make sure you aren't spending more time in transit than actually being at your destination.

Regarding Rome, however, I think 3 nights is not nearly enough time. Rome is a big sprawling city with many interesting historical sites. There is so much history, art, and architecture in Rome. I definitely would not do the Naples day trip. Do you have a guidebook? Do you plan on seeing the Colosseum, Roman Forum, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican Museums, Spanish Steps, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain? And there's more . . . .

Would you be willing to delete Milan from your itinerary so you could add one more night to Rome?

whitehall

For me, that’s plenty of time to enjoy the areas you have selected. We don’t care much for Milan, so I think a short stay there is a good idea. And, absolutely no need for any group tours, except perhaps for such things as your "pasta making excursion" but even things like that can be arranged on your own.

Instead of listening to others about what THEY would do, as far as time constraints, I always recommend googling: what to do in 2 or 3 days in a particular place. It will give you an idea of various itineraries. Also, trip reports here will give you an idea of what others have done in similar times. Only YOU know what your travel style is.

Last fall, we stayed in Florence and Bologna, and visited lots of places including Siena all by rail, and here is our trip report: Florence or Bologna? 7 nights early October

We also based in Rapallo and took day trips, most by rail to such places as Cinque Terre. We were able to hike between the three towns where the trail is open and train to the other two villages, all in one day, but we had perfect weather. Rapallo/Cinque Terre/20 Places/8 Nights Sept/Oct

PalenQ

Yes fast-paced with precious little time in Rome itself. Trains are great - book them yourselves to nab discounted tickets on high-speed trains at www.trenitalia.com or www.italotreno.it/en - two competing rail systems using same tracks and stations - www.seat61.com has adroit tips on booking own discounted tickets - general info trains BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com.

whitehall

That can be corrected by giving up the day trip to Naples. Some people do take day trips to Pompeii and even Pompeii and Amalfi but that can be an exhausting day.

kja

It definitely depends on what you hope to see and experience, and I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful trip no matter what you decide, but this plan is decidedly fast-paced. A few comments for your consideration:

You’ve basically given yourself 1.5 or 2 days for Rome, a city that can easily warrant 5 or 6 days just to see its most significant highlights. And you are taking 1 day that you could be using to visit Rome to go to Naples – a very long day trip that will not give you much time there. (IMO, Naples and the Amalfi Coast easily warrant a week to a week and a half, just for the highlights.) You might do well to consider skipping Naples on this trip.

Exploring the main walks of the Cinque Terre takes only 1 day – but if there’s rain (not unusual in early May), it’s likely that the trails will be closed. If the Cinque Terre are a priority, consider giving the area at least 3 nights so you have a back-up day if the weather isn’t obliging on your first day. Or skip the Cinque Terre on this trip.

I agree that travel style is critical to planning a trip! My travel style is not slow, but I spend more time in the locations I do visit than many people because my interests are wide-ranging and I want enough time in any location to see the things that have caught my interest over the years. I am up and out from breakfast until dark, on the move without a mid-day meal and with few, if any, breaks. Personally, I would rather skip a location entirely than just skim it, particularly if it means skipping things I want to see in the places I do visit. So, for example, I felt “rushed” with “only” 4 full days in Venice; obviously, others find less time suitable for their purposes.

Rather than google what you can do with X days, I would encourage you to get or consult a few guidebooks, decide what YOUR priorities are, and then decide what time to give each location. IME, itineraries of the “what to do with X days in Y” have little overlap with my priorities and often seem to me to be decidedly insipid.

Hope that helps!

Traveler_Nick

At the very least move CT. Doing it from Rome will take longer than from Florence.

Other than that it depends on your interests. You'll see plenty of train stations. Not much else. If you're a train lover sounds great.

It doesn't seem you have even one full day in Rome.

Instead of making a list of cities make a list of the things you hope to do or see. Then decide if you have enough time.

kja

Well said, Traveler_Nick!

janisj

I would get home after this whirlwind really disappointed having spent so little time in Venice and especially in Rome.

As it is you have one free day in Venice and barely one full day in Rome. You are in Rome parts of three days but VERY fragmented. If it was my trip - which it isn't - I'd drop the CT and add those two days to Rome or one to Rome and one to Venice.

janisj

Didn't see the prior two posts -- I agree, instead of a laundry list of destinations, figure out what you want to see/do and then allocate appropriate amounts of time in each place.

whitehall

Of course, googling what can be done in “x” days is merely a starting point for any travel planning. It will give you an idea of what others have done, often from websites of companies who also publish guide books (e.g. Rick Steves recommended itinerary for Venice).

I personally find printed guidebooks to be limited and often outdated. Same for some web itineraries, but I can quickly double-check anything I am interested in. The web is virtually unlimited. Some say they don’t know what questions to ask google, and, if not, then use a guidebook. I know what questions to ask, so web searches, suggestions from posters here and trip reports from posters here generally provide sufficient guidance for me. YMMV.

travelmiss

Thank you! This is all very helpful advice.
We decided to definitely cancel the Naples day trip to have more time in Rome! We are flying out of Milan so we can't cut that out unfortunately for this trip. If you have any tips for getting from Rome to Cinque Terre please let me know! Also more tips on exploring Tuscany would be helpful. What did you LOVE the most?

kja

Consult rome2rio.com, and be sure to click through to the underlying links, as the main web pages aren't sensitive to seasonal variation in schedules.

Traveler_Nick

https://www.trenitalia.com/

Wake up early. Be at Termini station to catch the 6am train. Spend almost the next four hours on the train.

That's the quick option

PalenQ

Will you have a car for Tuscany - or just going by train or bus for day rips from Florence?

KarenWoo

You are smart in canceling the Naples day trip. As I said previously, Rome is a large city with many, many wonderful, historic, and artistic sites. I'm sure that once you are there, you will wish you had more time, but at least you will be in Rome for several days, which is better than nothing. You can always return, if you wish.

FWIW, I use guidebooks all the time; I buy the most recent version, and I have never found them to be outdated. I like Rick Steves, but he does omit some destinations. IMO, the two best guidebooks are Rough Guides and Michelin Green Guide. I also like guidebooks because all of your information is in one place. I guess I am old-fashioned. While I am very computer literate (used many different programs at work), and I use other technology, I prefer having a printed guidebook with me when I travel. I don't like to rely solely on technology because you never know when you might not have good wifi connections or cell phone service. At least I always have my trusty guidebook with me, which doesn't depend on wifi and cell service.

kja

I'm with KarenWoo on this issue! And even though I hate to damage a book, I readily admit that I rip all the irrelevant pages out -- just taking the pages I want makes it a much lower-weight option, and I even rip pages out as I go.

Traveler_Nick

Guidebooks obviously have value but it's easy enough to see how quickly they become outdated. At the moment open any guidebook on either Rome or Florence and check the free admission dates for the Colosseum or the Uffizi . It's impossible for any book currently on sale to have the updated dates. Worse since the new schedule is likely to change every single year the best the book can do is pointing you to the official websites.

Opening and closing dates and times, special displays or even rules change all the time. A guidebook that was written and edited a year ago is only going to have the information from a year ago. It takes time to write,edit,publish and distribute books.