crooks21

I have put together an itinerary for our trip to Italy. We will be there for 2 weeks in late April to early May. We love food and wine and like to see as much as we can when we travel. Here it is:
Fly into Rome- 3 nights
RyanAir flight to Venice-2 nights
train to Florence-3 nights
train to Cinque terre-1 night
pick up car (La Spezia) drive into Tuscany-4 nights in one or two places and town hop (visiting San Gimignano, Chianti region (if possible) Siena, Montalcino and Lucca)
Leave car at Rome airport- fly out

I know it is a lot, but we really like to be on the move when we travel. Anything you would add or remove? Any must sees I am missing? Thanks for any help you can give.-KC

hamlet

That depends - is this a first trip to Italy or are you revisiting some of those cities? With that itinerary you will see a lot, but it's so much I don't know if you'll be able to remember or enjoy. I suggest you cut out one part of it and add on to the others. Others might say to cut out 2 areas, but I have had the tendency to cram in a lot on trips at times.

Leely

I'd probably cut a night in Florence and add it to either Venice or Rome. Not sure why you're going to Cinque Terre for one night only, so I'd be tempted to cut a night from the general-Tuscany portion (skip one of the hilltowns or maybe Lucca) of your trip and add another in CT. I haven't been to CT in years and years, but I remember it was kind of a pain to get to, so I wouldn't want to do that for just one night.

Whatever you do, enjoy your trip.

pippy4tao

Hi There,

It seems a little squished. I mean 1 day in cinque terre? wow, that's fast. Normally some of your day will be taken up in getting there. I suggest slowing down and being able to take your time.

I also would suggest maybe going south. Positano, Almalfi, sorrento, Capri, etc. are wonderful places to see. It would be warmer south and you can still see Rome.

I didn't care for Florence much. Venice is great, but not the best either and so far out.

Take a look at my travel blog regarding Italy. You might find more ideas

http://www.nomadwannabe.com

Ciao

Theresa

ira

Hi C,

I wouldn't fly from Rome to Venice, the train from Rome FCO to Venice San Lucia will get you center to center just as quickly.

I would take 1 night from Florence and add it to Venice.

I hope that you are leaving the car at FCO the night before you fly home.

nma

Take a night from Tuscany and add it to CT!

LaBellaDona

You certainly will be busy! Here are a few ideas...

Fly into Rome then fly or train directly to Venice - 2 nights (I would prefer 3 nights - but then Venice is my favorite...)
Train to Florence - 3 nights
Train or drive to Cinque Terre - 2 nights
(I would really suggest staying 2 nights in CT, if you're cure you want to go there. It will take you a while to get there and the beauty of it is walking/hiking/training to the 5 towns. That's one full day)

Then spend your time driving through Tuscany - north to south. And end up in Rome for 3 nights. That makes it much easier to get to the airport and cuts down on travel time and aggravation of dropping off the car.

Have a great time -

crooks21

thanks for the help. Do you think we will have any trouble driving to Rome the morning of our flight? We will probably stay in Orvieto and give ourselves a good two hours to get to the airport and another two for check in.

crooks21

This is our first trip to Italy. We ahve decided to add a day to Cinque terre. Is Cinque Terre too cold at this time of year?

Westhighlander

Hi there. That's not an itinerary, it's your worst nightmare, it's THE holiday from hell.

The whole thing about visiting Italy is that you take it slowly. I'd cut out CT unless you can give it at least three days: oh, and cancel your car from La Spezia - you don't need it. And no, it's not too cold! Where doooo you come from!
Then you cancel your Venice flight and book the train, (Trenitalia) which is fast, friendly, clean and efficient, will take you from city centre to city centre (well, almost) in a stress free environment, and will also allow you to see what everyone should see in Italy, its beautiful countryside. Then you cancel your Florence reservation and stay instead in Lucca, getting there, once again, by train from Venezia, and from where you can reach Florence, Siena and pretty well everwhere else, by train, again, and in less than an hour in each case.
Now you can hire your car. But forget all that stuff you've read in travel guides about Chianti, Montalcino etc etc, just get yourself over to Arrezzo, then go a bit further north-east to the upper Tiber Valley. Then come south a bit and into Umbria, the true, green heart of Italy. Go to Spoleto, whatever you do, and to Norcia, one of the smallest walled cities in Europe. That's the REAL Italy - the one you go around slowly.

Oh - and by the way, it doesn't sound as though you've looked at a map yet. This is always advisable and you can buy them at bookshops among other places.
Best of Lucca.
Westhighlander.

Jeffrey

Too many places, too little time. This is a roadtrip, you will see nothing but the highway.

jabez

Crooks21
I think you are seeing a pattern here.
I realize that many first time isitors try to "see as much as possible." Most advice here emphasizes the experience and enjoyment of the short time you are in Italy.
You've designed a crammed three week visit. In two weeks this schedule becomes frantic and confused.
Rome,at best, is "okay" with three nights. I believe it really takes a minimum of 4,but it's okay.
I agree taht flying to Venice is not wise. I also believe that you need to skip Venice or plan on flying out of there instead of Rome.
Florence is okay at 3 nights.
Drop CT.
If returning from Rome,spend your last day and night there. You would have missed so much in your short three days there,you'll be glad that you had one more taste of this great city.

crooks21

Thanks for the help guys-We are flying to Venice b/c the flight with tax and all is 10 euro, 20 euro for both of us which is about 60 euro cheaper than the train and 3 hours shorter in distance, even with check in and Ryan Air provides a bus to and from rome and Venice that is 5 euro each into the heart. AS far as cramming the schedule, I think you are right. What would you delete? I really want to see Venice so that is a must.

jabez

Why not start your trip in Venice? Can you get the same price and leave right after you arrive?
If Venice is a must and Rome seems obviously a big part of your trip,I'd add a night to Venice ans subtract CT. I might spend one less night in Florence and add to the hill towns or Rome.
What are your other "musts"?

dgg

I didn't read all the other posts carefully so I apologize if this has already been stated. My guess is that you can't change your international flight to go directly to Venice, but why not pick up your domestic flight from Rome to Venice immediately upon arrival and end up in Rome? IMay not be possible, but a thought.

Glad you added a day to the Cinque Terre. Other than that, your itinerary looks busy, but fine. There is so much to see in Italy that it can be difficult to cover everything in the typical American 2 week vacation abroad.

jabez

dgg
I think you stated it better than me. although a lond day, I'd try and get my Ryan flight right after my Rome flight arrived.

crooks21

Thanks for all the advice and help.

ripit

BTW, don't listen to these old cranks that say that two weeks is not enough time to see half of museum x in city y, let alone all those places, blah, blah, blah...

If you like to move around, go for it. Just pay a lot of attetion to making sure that you travel as efficiently as possible. Take overnight trains whenever feasible or fly if more efficient. Check train schedules and really think about how much daylight you will be spending on the road, rail, air, etc.

FYI, on my second trip to Europe I visited all of the places on your list plus Brussels, a day each on the Rhine and Mosel, Provence, the Luberon and Nice on an 18 day trip! I remember almost everything from the trip. Granted I probably would never repeat that trip again, however I am really glad that I did it because it gave me ideas as to which places I'd really like to return and see more slowly.

Yeah, it can be hectic at times, and yeah, some places can get short changed. And so what. If you don't do justice to a place this time around, go back another time and stay longer.

crooks21

Ripit-Thanks. I agree with you and I think our trip will be amazing. Anything you feel we shouldn't miss please pass my way.

ripit

The tough part is the RT through Rome. In order to hit all the places you want to hit, it is difficult to avoid at least one 6-8 hr. daytime train, which I try to avoid as much as possible. I think you have done a pretty good job of avoiding this issue, however I'd be inclined to make the following changes:

* Instead of flying to venice, pick up rental car in rome and drive to tuscany. I like Siena for a base - it is magical after dark. Stay 3 nights rather than 4.

* From Tuscany, drive to CT, drop car in la spezia. Stay 2 nights instead of one.

* Train to Florence. Stay 2 nights instead of 3.

* Train to Venice. Stay 2 nights. Take midnight sleeper train to Rome - leaves venice at 12:04AM and gets to Rome around 7AM the morning of your flight. This gives you your arrival day plus 2 full days and 3 nights to spend in Venice.

One night in CT would be cutting it a bit short. If you wanted to be hyper-efficient, Florence can be seen in a day on the way from CT to Venice. Florence was not my favorite place in Italy, but I wouldn't skip it either. If you catch an early train aroung 7:30 AM, you can be in Florence by 10:30. You can stash your bags at the train station. Make reservations ahead for Ufizi and Accademia. The cental and most scenic part of Florence is very walkable (watch out for Vespas). If you do this, add the nights you were going to spend in Florence to Tuscany and Venice. You can also see Florence as a day trip from Siena.