Italy itinerary
Mar 17th, 2010, 10:42 AM
#1
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Italy itinerary
Everyone has been so helpful. This is the itinerary I have set up for 10 days in Italy.
Day 1 land in Rome and spend the night
Day2 Take train to Florence
Day 3 Florence
Day 4 Florence rent a car and tour small towns
Day 5 Drive from Florence to Vernazza (Cinque Terre) and spend the night
Day 6 Drive to Varenna
Day 7 Varenna
Day 8 Drive to Venice ( Is this a very long drive?)
Day 9 Venice
Day 10 Venice and leave for Madrid
Do you think we are driving too much? Is it a long drive to Varenna from Vernazza. Too much time in Florence?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. We leave on June15.
Thank you.
Day 1 land in Rome and spend the night
Day2 Take train to Florence
Day 3 Florence
Day 4 Florence rent a car and tour small towns
Day 5 Drive from Florence to Vernazza (Cinque Terre) and spend the night
Day 6 Drive to Varenna
Day 7 Varenna
Day 8 Drive to Venice ( Is this a very long drive?)
Day 9 Venice
Day 10 Venice and leave for Madrid
Do you think we are driving too much? Is it a long drive to Varenna from Vernazza. Too much time in Florence?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. We leave on June15.
Thank you.
Mar 17th, 2010, 11:42 AM
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Florence is pretty close to Venice, so it doesn't seem ideal to me that you'd go to Florence, then away from there, and finally end up back in that area. What if you went from Rome to Cinque Terre, then Varenna, then Florence and end in Venice. Just my thoughts if those are going to be your destination cities.
Mar 17th, 2010, 12:02 PM
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Far too much !
You can really only do 3 destinations in that time:
Land Rome--train to Florence--3 nites--day trip to Siena
Get car--drive to CT via Lucca--stay where you can park--not Vernazza
Drive to either Lago Como or Venice--not both
Too much driving--too much hassle.
On your itienrary, where do you park on day 4?
In Vernazza, how do you park?
In Varenna, how and where do you park?
You can really only do 3 destinations in that time:
Land Rome--train to Florence--3 nites--day trip to Siena
Get car--drive to CT via Lucca--stay where you can park--not Vernazza
Drive to either Lago Como or Venice--not both
Too much driving--too much hassle.
On your itienrary, where do you park on day 4?
In Vernazza, how do you park?
In Varenna, how and where do you park?
Mar 17th, 2010, 12:20 PM
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As Bob says, way too much!
I don't even know how to answer your question as to whether it's too much time in Florence. A day and half too much in a city filled with some of the greatest art around, plus lots more? You'll barely scratch the surface.
And if you're arriving in Rome in the morning, you only have one jet-lagged day there. Or are you just not at all interested in Rome? I must admit that I am biased, as it's my favorite place, but still...
Anyway, too much driving and too many destinations for that amount of time.
I don't even know how to answer your question as to whether it's too much time in Florence. A day and half too much in a city filled with some of the greatest art around, plus lots more? You'll barely scratch the surface.
And if you're arriving in Rome in the morning, you only have one jet-lagged day there. Or are you just not at all interested in Rome? I must admit that I am biased, as it's my favorite place, but still...
Anyway, too much driving and too many destinations for that amount of time.
Mar 17th, 2010, 03:07 PM
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All the above is good advice--too much in too little time. You need to get a handle on drive times between your various destinations. The website www.michelin.com allows you to put in your starting point and destination and will give you distance and time of travel. Its not perfect but will answer questions and infrm you of what's reasonable. It does not take into account stops, refueling, getting lost etc.
Trying to "cover" Rome, Florence, Cinque Terre, Lake Como and Venice on a 10 day trip on your way to Madrid is way too much.
Trying to "cover" Rome, Florence, Cinque Terre, Lake Como and Venice on a 10 day trip on your way to Madrid is way too much.
Mar 17th, 2010, 05:00 PM
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if you're going to basically skip Rome anyway, you can stay at the FCO airport, and change to a flight to Florence. That arrival day doesn't count for much, but when you wake up in F. the next morning, you've gained a whole day.
Mar 17th, 2010, 08:52 PM
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Your help has been so invaluable and I want you to know that I appreciate all your thoughts and advice.
Years ago I had been to Varenna and really want to see it again after 30 years. CT is not necessary and I have spent time in Rome on two separate occasions over the last 4 years. My husband has never been to Florence and Venice so we would like to keep that in the itinerary.
With that in mind I would like to take the train to Florence and spend 3 days there and visit th local towns. Then I would like to go to Varenna for 3 days and then on to Venice for the remainder of the time.
So, can we drive from Florence to Varenna or is a train something to be considered. Also, the same question applies to going from Varenna to Venice?
Is it reasonable to think we can drive from Florence to Varenna or is that over the top?
Thanks again everybody for all your help.
Kitty
Years ago I had been to Varenna and really want to see it again after 30 years. CT is not necessary and I have spent time in Rome on two separate occasions over the last 4 years. My husband has never been to Florence and Venice so we would like to keep that in the itinerary.
With that in mind I would like to take the train to Florence and spend 3 days there and visit th local towns. Then I would like to go to Varenna for 3 days and then on to Venice for the remainder of the time.
So, can we drive from Florence to Varenna or is a train something to be considered. Also, the same question applies to going from Varenna to Venice?
Is it reasonable to think we can drive from Florence to Varenna or is that over the top?
Thanks again everybody for all your help.
Kitty
Mar 17th, 2010, 09:31 PM
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"So, can we drive from Florence to Varenna or is a train something to be considered. Also, the same question applies to going from Varenna to Venice?"
Both routes will take you approximately 4 1/4 hours of driving--not considering any stops, visits or side trips. Your call, but that's a lot of driving for such a short trip.
Both routes will take you approximately 4 1/4 hours of driving--not considering any stops, visits or side trips. Your call, but that's a lot of driving for such a short trip.
Mar 18th, 2010, 01:25 AM
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Hi Kbarshay. As others have mentioned, parking is going to be tricky (and most probably expensive) in both Cinque Terre and Varenna. But both these destinations can be reached easily by train.
From Florence, you can take a train to Pisa and then on to Monterosso al Mare (Cinque Terre), and then you can travel back & forth between the five villages (including Vernazza) easily by local train or boat, so you won't need a car here.
To get to Varenna from Florence or Venice, you could take a high speed Eurostar train to Milano, then there are regular connections to regional trains to Varenna. Again, once you're in Varenna you can tour the other lake towns by boat and on foot, so you won't need your car.
You could also conceivably catch an Intercity train from Cinque Terre (Monterosso) to Milano and then on to Varenna as above. The services between Monterosso & Milano won't be quite as plentiful, but take a look at the Trenitalia website (there is an english language option) www.trenitalia.it and you might find something that works for you.
If it were me, I would only rent a car for the day/s that you want to drive in and around the Tuscan countryside.
From Florence, you can take a train to Pisa and then on to Monterosso al Mare (Cinque Terre), and then you can travel back & forth between the five villages (including Vernazza) easily by local train or boat, so you won't need a car here.
To get to Varenna from Florence or Venice, you could take a high speed Eurostar train to Milano, then there are regular connections to regional trains to Varenna. Again, once you're in Varenna you can tour the other lake towns by boat and on foot, so you won't need your car.
You could also conceivably catch an Intercity train from Cinque Terre (Monterosso) to Milano and then on to Varenna as above. The services between Monterosso & Milano won't be quite as plentiful, but take a look at the Trenitalia website (there is an english language option) www.trenitalia.it and you might find something that works for you.
If it were me, I would only rent a car for the day/s that you want to drive in and around the Tuscan countryside.
Mar 18th, 2010, 05:03 AM
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Since the OP has already indicated that she will not be going to CT, only to Florence, the small Tuscan towns, Varenna and Venice, she will need a car only for the small Tuscan towns. The car can be rented in Florence and returned to Florence. Everything else can be accomplished by train. With 10 days, I would allocate 4 to Florence (including the Tuscan countryside) 2 to Varenna and 4 to Venice.
Mar 20th, 2010, 03:14 PM
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Thank you for all your great suggestions. The plans are following mamcalice's recommendations. Last question: Any recommendations for good hotels in Venice and Florence? I previously stayed at the Lungarno in Venice which is great but I would like to stay somewhere else. Thank you all.
Kitty
Kitty
