Italy itinerary
 

Hi, my fiance and I recently decided to take a 2 week trip to Italy at the end of April-early May. My very preliminary plan is to fly into Rome for 3 days, then spend a week driving around Florence/Tuscany, with a stop at Cinque Terre, and then rounding out the trip with 3-4 days in Venice.

What is a good base for exploring Tuscany/Florence? I would like to keep hotel stops to a minimum. Can I stay in one good central spot and take day trips to Lucca, Siena, Pisa? Or is that too tiring to drive back and forth?

For Cinque Terre, where do people stay? If we hike the trail, how would we get back to our car/hotel?

Any thoughts or comments, in response to these questions or otherwise, would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Updates to original post:

Am thinking of driving from Rome to Tuscany, then ending the Tuscany leg in Florence and then taking a train from Florence to Venice.

Is driving from Rome to Tuscany worth it?

This fall we drove from Rome to Greve in Chianti. Almost all of the driving was on the autostrada and definitely not worth it. I imagine if you took a more scenic route, you would enjoy the drive. But unless you are using someplace in the Tuscan countryside as a base, I would train from Rome to Florence and rent a car there if you want it for rural Tuscany. I'd turn in the car in Florence or Pisa and take the train to Cinque Terre (you have no need for a car there) and finally take the train to Venice.

2 weeks? 3 is preferable if you plan to go from Lazio to Tuscany to Veneto. However looking at your itinerary it sounds like you want to focus on Tuscany most of all.

A trip to Italy in 2 weeks that includes Rome, Florence and Venice is pushing it. Only 3 days in Rome on your list? Is this your first time? You should spend more time in Roma! :)

My advice:
fly into Rome (that takes most of your first day) - day 1
Rome - day 2, 3 and 4.
day 5 - train to Florence (hotel in Florence is advisable for day trips in Tuscany)
(depending on your interest):
day trip - Siena & San Gimignano, day trip 2 - Pisa and Lucca, day trip 3 & 4 your choice (or just explore Florence), then take the train to Cinque Terre and do the hiking.

Then take the train to Venice. (3 nights)

Rome - 4 days
Florence - 6
Venice - 3
fly out last day

Try to fly out of Milan, very difficult to fly from Venice to North America.

Depending on your destination, flying out of Venice to North America is not that difficult.

I would skip the Cinque Terre on this visit, unless you are really into moving around a lot.

mly78, I like your ideas in your second post.

Although 3 days in Rome is short, it can certainly be done. You could drive from Rome into Tuscany. The only part I don't like is driving out of Rome but we have done it several times.

Driving to a base in Tuscany isn't that difficult. The point of the car is not to drive to Florence, but to drive to a smaller Tuscan town and explore the area.

You could day trip into Florence, or add it as a stop, but 4 stops are a lot in two weeks.

Then train to Venice and fly home.

Or reverse the order.

The possibilities are huge. I think we can be of a lot more help if you tell us what things are drawing you to Italy, and what types of things you like to do and see do, and dream of seeing and doing in Italy.

A trip that includes Lucca, Siena, Pisa and Florence to me seems a bit too much of some similar types of sites. I know people might scream at that, but I would include something different than a larger Tuscan town.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. If it helps, are coming from NYC and this is our first trip to Italy. We love to see different things when we travel(art in moderation, nature, city life). We are not religious, so after a while frescos and churches will look the same to us.

We spent 2 fabulous weeks in Turkey last May and stayed in 4 places (without feeling rushed) by renting a car for a week (for staying in Selcuk and Pamukkale) and taking domestic flights to Cappadocia and Istanbul, so I am hoping that I can work out an efficient itinerary for Italy.

Venice is a must. I can't imagine skipping Rome or Florence. I am really interested in visiting Chianti but would rather hike Cinque Terre. I can skip Siena and Lucca.

So, maybe I can do 3 whole days in Rome, spend the 4th day traveling to Florence, then spend days 5 and 6 exploring Florence, then rent a car on day 7 and take the scenic route (is there one?) to Cinque Terre and hike on day 8 day, then travel by train to Venice on the afternoon of day 9, then spend days 10-12 in Venice. Does that sound unreasonably hectic?