Hello all! My boyfriend and I are 26 years old and are planning to be in Italy Oct 10-29, and I need advice on the best way to travel through italy, or the places that are a must see. We are mostly interested in the culture, and site seeing. We had in mind these places: Florence, Venice, Rome, Amalfi Coast, and any thing else you can recommend. I do not have the faintest clue how much time should be devoted to each place. These places are not a must see, and really we just want to get the most out of our time in Italy. Specifically, how many days should be spent in what places?

Please provide guidance on a trip that will be well worth it in Italy Oct 10-29. Thank you for your help!

Sincerely,
Anxious Procrastinator

Dear Anxious

The train system is pretty good in Italy and many of the cities you want to go to were not designed for the car so leave your driving skills alone. Basically the first day is a bit dead as you will be jet lagged so don't plan alot. Mondays tend to be the day museums are closed.


We don't know were your flight lands or takes off but basically you will find enough to do in Venice for three nights, Florence for three nights and Rome for 4 nights will very little research. Amalfi coast, no idea what people do here, but up to you. I'd spend more time looking at all the northern cities you have just missed, like Siena, Bologna, Palma, Ferrare, Ravina etc etc.
Venice is unique so I

Get the Michelin Green Guide for Italy. It will tell you what should be seen in each city.

The standard of course, is Rome, Venice and Florence. With more than 2 weeks I would say you have ample time for 4th location. I would start with 4 Venice, 4 Florence, 5-6 in Rome and the remainder on the Amalfi Coast. I agree with bilboburger that there are a lot of other places to see as well that could be your 4th location - we were big fans of Bologna and the Piemonte region.

I would start by reading trip reports from others on this board that include lots of details of what they did, where they stayed, where they ate. See which places interest you the most. Trip Reports are designated by the orange book to the left of the title thread. All trip reports are listed just below "New Topics" on the first page of the Europe Forum.

We have been to Italy 4x now. Here are links to my trip reports - these also include pictures:
http://www.fromhometoroam.com/catego...eflorence2005/
http://www.fromhometoroam.com/catego...-tuscany-rome/
http://www.fromhometoroam.com/catego...es-milan-2010/
http://www.fromhometoroam.com/catego...pe/italy-2013/

Thank you all for the helpful information. It's greatly appreciated.

Yes indeedy trains are best for going to the famous tourist cities you have dreamt about going to forever perhaps - cars are a liability in such towns - swathes of the town centres are off-limits to private cars - parking can by expensive and you can't leave anything of value in your car if parked on a street, etc.

For lots of great stuff about Italian trains check out www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id12.html.

If you want to lock yourself into a certain train months in advance you can get the limited number of discounted tickets and save quite a bit but then you have no flexibility - you cn always always IME get on trains just by waiting until you are in say Venice to buy a ticket - so so many trains - only book in advance if you are 100% sure of the time and date of the train - www.trenitalia.com is the site of the Italian State Railways.

October this year??

You need to get your itinerary figured out and hotels booked ASAP. October (even the second half) is very popular. This is the same time frame we travel, and I usually have lodging booked by late spring... although I admit I'm a bit OCD when it comes to finding the type of lodging I want in my budget range.

If you want to go to the Amalfi Coast, IMO you should put that at the beginning of the trip. Any later and public transportation services will have reverted to off-season schedules, and you may find it harder to get around to everything you want to see. Also, the weather will most likely be better the earlier you go.

If you start at the Amalfi Coast and work your way north, ending in Venice, you need to know your flight options home from there. For many, getting home from Venice usually involves both an extremely early departure and multiple connections with attendant risks of delays along the way.

If you find that airfares into/out of Rome are too good to pass up, then go to the Amalfi Coast immediately on arrival. Don't spend any time in Rome. After the AC, train to Venice, then go to Florence and end with Rome. It will take the better part of a day to get from your town on the Amalfi Coast to Venice.

ttt

We had in mind these places: Florence, Venice, Rome, Amalfi Coast, and any thing else you can recommend. I do not have the faintest clue how much time should be devoted to each place>

19 days

Rome demands the most time - 3 full days IME
Florence 2-3 days
Venice 2 days
Amalfi 3-4 days - base it and do day trips to Capri, Pompeii, along the Amalfi, etc.

put a day in to travel between each and add days to any and use them as a base to do day trips to smaller towns - like from Florence a day in Pisa for the Leaning Tower and also a day trip to one of those proverbial Tuscany hill towns - Siena is just an hour by bus

In Rome day trip to Tivoli's Villa d'Este and Hadrian's Villa - near each other - a wonderful day trip to two amazing sights.

Venice - extra day exploring outer islands like Torcello, Burano, etc.

You are planning your vacation Italian-style -- relax, take it easy, go with the flow! It's good that you're already feeling that cultural rhythm.

In all seriousness, although some hotels will certainly be fully booked at this peak time, you shouldn't have trouble finding places (as long as you don't have your heart set on specific hotels).

Sometimes, I find it's helpful to get a good idea of how others plan out their itinerary in these areas. Then you can modify to suit your interests. I work for a tour company that regularly travels to these regions (in fact, we will be in "Rome, the Amalfi Coast & Sicily" at the same time as you!).

You could take a look at the first 7 days of our itinerary online (Rome and the Amalfi Coast) to get an idea of how to space out your travel.

http://www.ipswichtours.com/small-gr...t-sicily-tours

I would try to find the right accommodations first -- the rest will fall into place once you have a bed in each location.

I hope you have a great trip!

Jean Moss
www.ipswichtours.com