Italy Itinerary for 1st Timers
 

Planning 1st trip to Italy in early March, 2013. Below is a draft of the itinerary. I would appreciate ALL suggestions.
Day 1 (Mon) Leave NOLA for Rome
Day 2 (Tues) Rome - (Hotel Adriano) Free Day
Day 3 (Wed) Rome - Ancient Rome
Day 4 (Thurs) Rome - Vatican
Day 5 (Fri) Rome- Pompeii
Day 6 (Sat) Florence - (Hotel degli Orafi)
Day 7 (Sun) Florence - Galleria dell'Accademia, Duomo, Uffizi
Day 8 (Mon) Florence - Drive/Bus/Train to Tuscany/Sienna/Cortona
Day 9 (Tues) Florence - ?
Day 10 (Wed) Venice - (Locanda Oreseola) Fish Market, Strolling Zattere & gondola ride
Day 11 (Thurs) Venice - St. Mark's Doge's Palace (Secret Tour), Bell tower, Gallerie dell'Accademia
Day 12 (Fri) Travel home

My intention is travel by train between cities, but might consider dropping off car in Venice.
I've looked at flying into Venice & out of Rome, but the total hrs. were much more this way due to longer layovers.
My goal is to buy the airfare and confirm the hotels no later than Oct. 31st.
I'm so appreciative for all comments and/or suggestions of things to do and, more importantly, places to eat.
THANK YOU!
bON

Overall, I like it.
I would add a day to Venice---that odd day the 9th---and bus to Siena for an all day trip on the 8th since museums in Florence are closed that day.

Do not lock into the sequence until you see the flight times from Venice---may be very early. You may see better prices in Jan. but early March should be good anyway.

May bee your first but I bet not your last---we have gone back 16 times now.

I would leave out Pompeii and do a day trip to Orvieto to get at least a feel of a smaller town in Italy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...th/4201069529/

Instead of Pompeii (you'll see major ruins in Rome itself) I would take a day trip to Orvieto to get a feel for smaller Italian towns.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...th/4201069529/

Looks good and I agree with BTN that you should take day 9 and add it to Venice. I would also reverse the order - fly into Venice and out of Rome. Venice is a great place to start your vacation, since there are no vehicles and all of the walking helps in getting over the jetlag.

Wow. Congratulations on putting together a sensible itinerary. You will have a great time. You have some tight individual days, but no rushing from city to city.

Day 2 in Rome could be just gentle wandering around the city generally between the Corso and the river - via Coronari, Navona, Pantheon, Fiori, Ghetto. Maybe also Trastevere if you have the energy. Stay outside to combat jet lag. Me, the very first thing I do in Rome after checking in is go to St. Peter's.

Your Day 5 is a bit of a stretch - a VERY long day trip. But doable.

I am not really crazy about Florence but can recommend San Miniato, Santa Croce, Santo Spirito. And the Bargello perhaps instead of the Accademia.

For Day 8, you might consider renting a car for the day and driving from Florence to Siena and then to San Gimignano and back to Florence. We did this several years ago and it was a very pleasant day.

I would just add Day 9 to Venice, taking an early morning train there and arriving around lunchtime.

Try to see Frari, Salute, and Miracoli in Venice.

We absolutely adore Florence and find so much to do there. Do NOT skip the Accademia as Robertino suggests. The Michelangelo David is worth the trip to Italy.

Just so you know, you can't see both Siena and Cortona in one day from Florence using public trans. It would be physically possible if you drove, but IMO you wouldn't have enough time in either town. Plus you'd have the added excitement of trying to avoid getting traffic tickets in both Florence and Siena for violating the limited traffic zones.

Siena is easy to reach by bus from Siena, and you could easily spend a day there. If you want to stay for dinner, check both the bus and train timetables because there may be a later train departure than bus departure back to Florence.

I agree with Michael about Pompeii, especially if the weather isn't good.

Rome has so much to see, but if you really want to get out of the city one day there are a few options. Ostia Antica (the ruins of the ancient port town), Hadrian's Villa (more ruins), Tivoli, the Umbrian hill town of Orvieto, the WWII landing beaches at Anzio with the nearby American cemetery at Nettuno.

IMO, the Venice fish market is more interesting in the very early morning hours, so I would put it on the itinerary for early Thursday morning rather than Wednesday afternoon.

I agree with mamcalice about Florence. So much to see, never enough time.

Hey BR,

Good plan.

How important is Pompei? It will be a verrrrrrry looooooong day.

As noted, you can visit Orvieto, and/or Ostia Antica.

((I))

Your trip is quite well planned and not too rushed. Looks as if you also thought out the flight schedules.

I would not be crazy about the day trip to Pompeii from Rome, but it is understandable why you would want to do it and you've allowed time.

I would make a change and go to Venice on day 9, so I had two full days in Venice.

Distance between Rome and Florence isn't great, so you will have a good deal of day 6 in Florence, and can easily see the Duomo and Baptistery, perhaps even Santa Croce or one of the galleries.

You seem to have an interest in art, so you might enjoy the Borghese Gallery in Rome. It is a beautiful space. You do need reservations and they give you two hours for the visit.

The train is perfect for all of your trip except to Siena/Cortona. A bus works best for Siena, but I've not been to Cortona, so don't know if you need a car to do both efficiently. Other posters will know.

It can still be quite cool in early March. Be sure to have jackets/sweaters.

Hope you love Italy!

OK, so don't skip the Accademia. The Bargello is very good though.