Italy Itinerary Advice Please
 

We are working on finalizing our itinerary for a three week trip. We are meeting friends and visiting with Family so our locations are pretty much set, but the amount of days and order are flexible. When I showed this itinerary to a freeing who lives in Verona she said go to Lake Como first, then Venice, then fly from Venice to Lisbon. (so we don't drive across the country twice).

My girlfriend who lives in Milan says don't do that. I have no idea. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Also, we are debating between leaving late May or mid-June. We are concerned that towards the end of the trip (if we went mid-June) would get to hot to sightsee.

Thanks for your help!

Day
1 Departure
2 Arrive Rome - Lazy Day
3 Rome
4 Rome
5 Rome
6 Rome
7 Travel to Lucca
8 Lucca
9 Lucca
10 Lucca
11 Lucca
12 Lucca
13 Travel to Venice
14 Venice
15 Venice
16 Travel to Lake Como
17 Lake Como
18 Travel to Milan - Fly to Lisbon
19 Lisbon
20 Lisbon
21 Depart Lisbon

You could do as your Veronese friend suggests (with Lucca between Lake Como and Venice) or alternatively go from Rome to Venice to Lucca to Lake Como to Milan. Either of those routings make more sense than what you've got now. (Plot it out on a map.) Look at flight times and costs to Lisbon from Venice and Milan. That should help you make your decision.

And I'd go in May. Better for avoiding crowds as well as heat.

Why so long in Lucca? Family there? We got bored after about 3 days.

You're one of the few people who consider travel time from one location to another. So many people think they can twitch their noses and be in another location hundreds of miles away in 2 seconds. Kudos!!

I think your plan looks good. The other option is to travel from Lucca to Lake Como to Venice, correct? I like this plan.

If this were my trip I would not spend the time to go to Lisbon for 2 days but use that time to explore other places in Italy.

Are you driving or taking trains? If the transportation is via train I would check times and routes before making a final decision.

Late May for the start of your vacation sounds better. Even so, many places will be very hot by mid June, at the end of your trip. Be sure to get hotels with AC.

Mimar, I am going to plot it out on a map now. I want to limit the travel time as much as possible :)

As far as Lucca, we are planning to base there and do a lot of day trips, Pisa, Florence, Sienna, Cinque Terra and San Grigomo (spelling?) are all in play. We wanted to rent an apartment and be able to play the trips by ear, depending on the weather.

Adrienne, my husband's brother and sister-in-law are stationed in Lisbon so we are going to pop in for a few days to see them.

As far as transportation, we were thinking (we are open to suggestions) no car in Rome, train to Lucca, rent a car in Lucca for day trips. Keep the car and drive to Lake Como, (connecting with friends from Milan along the way). Return the car outside of Venice and the. Fly out of Venice. We don't need transportation in Lisbon.

Leaving in May is sounding like a better idea. Sightseeing and sweating doesn't sound super fun. :)

Check first from where you can get the best flight to Lisboa and plan accordingly.
Vueling has usually good offers from Venice whereas easyjet flies from Milan Malpensa.
TAP flies from both airports to LIS and is usually a bit more expensive.
Lake Garda is close to your itineray from Lucca to Venice and Lake Maggiore is some 20 miles from Milan Malpensa airport. Both lakes are at least as beautiful as Lake Como. Google for them.

I just checked Vueling and they don't fly direct from Venice to Lisbon. The least expensive direct flight from Venice to Lisbon is $100 more than from Milan to Lisbon. We are 3 people ($300).

With this in mind does it still make sense to go to Como before Venice?

Mapping the driving directions,
Lucca to Venice 3 hours
Lucca to Lake Como 4 hours

Lake Como to Venice 4 hours

I am super confused about the best route and if it is worth the $300 to fly out of Venice.

I'm rather confused about your driving times. But as "Lake Como" is not a defined place, it's difficult to check anything.

Don't forget that a car could be useful in order to explore the Lake Como area or for the somewhat tricky transfer from some Lake Como villages to Malpensa airport, whereas it will be useless in Venice.

For intercity journeys, the car may be chaper than the train. Count with about 60 EUR for fuel and road toll for the Lucca - Venice leg; the train (standard fare) would cost about 50 EUR/pax.

Given that the flights to Lisbon from Milan are cheaper, I'd do Rome to Venice to Lucca to Lake Como to Milan.

I don't think the car will be all that useful for this trip. Driving into cities you must find and pay for parking, then get your self into the center. The centers are either pedestrian or driving is limited to locals (ZTLs). If you drive by chance into a ZTL, a camera will photograph your license plate, the car rental company will identify you (and charge your credit card for the service) and you'll get an expensive ticket in the mail months later.

Take the train from Lucca to Pisa or Florence. And take the train to the Cinque Terre. There's no road directly between the 5 villages (hence their preservation); the road is inland. You must park at the top of a hill and climb down. Better to take the train or a boat between towns or walk if the trails are open.

You could drive to Siena and San Gimignano. Also there are a number of villas open to visitors in the Lucca vicinity.

On Lake Como, most visitors stay midlake and travel around the lake by the little ferries. So you probably don't need a car there either. There's a bus to Malpensa from the town of Menaggio. Or you can train from Varenna to Milano Centrale on to the airport. If your flight from Milan is early, it's better to stay in town or close to the airport the night before your flight. In fact that's my general rule in Italy. Too much can go wrong.

" I'd do Rome to Venice to Lucca to Lake Como to Milan"

That means:
Rome - Florence - Venice - Florence - Lucca - Monterosso - Lucca - Florence - Lucca - Florence - Milan - Varenna - Milan - Malpensa