McCooper

We are travelling to Italy in April. Arriving Apr 10 depart April 24. My present thinking is to
Arr Apr 10 - get settled in Rome
April 11-16 in Rome (including possibly a day trip to Pompeii)(6 days)
April 17 -20 travel to Florence (including possibly a day trip to Pisa/Siena)(3.5 days)
April 20 -April 23 travel to Venice (3 1/2 days)
April 23 train back to Rome and stay overnight to depart April 24 at noon OR April 24 flight from Venice to Rome to depart April 24 at noon (there is a Lufthansa flight that would work).
(We have to fly in and out of Rome).
Any thoughts very much appreciated, including as to itinerary generally, as to order (Rome Florence Venice) and as to whether it is better to take train back or plane.
Thanks!

panucci

Looks good. I would definitely go to Siena over Pisa. You might also consider Ostia Antica instead of Pompeii. It is an easy excursion from Rome and has very well-perserved ruins. Another day trip from Rome would be Orvieto, just an hour train ride.
Plane or train back to Rome? Just give yourself plenty of time at the Rome airport. Long lines and security takes forever.

McCooper

Thanks very much for the tips, especially re Rome airport - I had not heard that before!

iluvitaly

I agree with panucci...just wondering if you could get an "open jaw" flight..into Rome and out of Venice.
This option would save you the day of travel back to Rome.
I like your 6 nights in Rome, and Ostia is a good alternative to Pompeii. But Pompeii is doable..you can get a shuttle service to get you there and back (or train round trip) and hire a guide for your time at Pompeii.
I would also opt for Siena/San Gimignano for a day trip from Florence.
This is easy to arrange..a bus tour that will take you to both towns, with tours in the towns, and plenty of time on your own.
Venice in 3 days will be hard..but then, you will just want to start planning your next trip..
which is a good thing. Have fun with your planning~

Deloris

Sounds good. Do you HAVE to fly out of Rome? Lufthansa flies from Venice to Frankfurt then US. If you HAVE to fly out of Rome, fly to Rome. MUCH less complicated than trains, etc. Book your tic with the int'l package here so you get a better deal.

ira

Hi Mc,

>We have to fly in and out of Rome..<

I suggest that you go directly from Rome FCO to Florence, then to Venice, then train back to Rome for your visit there.

One less day of packing/unpacking.

McCooper

Thanks to you all for your helpful suggestions. I will look into the day trips suggested.
In terms of order, I was intrigued by the Florence, Venice, Rome suggestion. It would be hard to bypass Rome but it would save a rush at the end (we do need to fly out of Rome). Of the three cities, how would you rank them in terms of "hectic" - would Rome be more rushing around to tour than Venice for eg?
Many thanks for your help!

eroz

In order of "hectic" most to least, I'd say Rome, Florence, Venice. But you can set your own pace. I think Rome just has so much to see that people make it hectic. Venice was lovely and you can def. move slower.

ira

Hi mc,

>I was intrigued by the Florence, Venice, Rome suggestion. It would be hard to bypass Rome but it would save a rush at the end ....<

I didn't intend that you bypass Rome, just that you save it for last. By the time you have seen Florence and Venice, Rome will be much less stressful than if you did it at the start.

McCooper

Thanks very much - gives me some good ideas.
Ira, thanks - I knew you didn't mean not to do Rome, I just meant hard to bypass it on the way to the others rather than doing it first!

mjs

I just have a few thoughts here. Generally I think less is more but in your case with two weeks I would be very tempted to expand your trip in Tuscany or to the Amalfi. I like others recommend a open jaw. If an open jaw is not possible it suggests that you are flying directly into Rome from abroad, probably North America. Many airlines coming from across the Atlantic stop someplace like London, Frankfurt, Paris or Amsterdam which allows an easy change of flights to/from many points in Italy so an open jaw otherwise would be usually easy. If you are flying into Rome directly from the US you will probably arrive in the morning in which case I would recommend trying to fly to Venice that morning. I generally find the first day in Europe to be quite tiring after a long trip and do not relish trying to keep going all day touring so I try to travel on to my furthest point while I am still in a traveling mode. If a flight to Venice Is not time or cost effective I would do the Eurostar train if this does not make your total trip from home too ghastly. This should get you into Venice in the afternoon and you can get settled, wander around alittle bit, have dinner and crash early. The next day should have you fairly fresh and ready to go.
Would stay in Venice April 10, 11, 12 and either leave Venice the evening of the 13th for Florence or early in the morning of the 14th. This gives you a full 3 days in Venice. Stay in Florence until the 18th at which point I would move on in the evening to Rome and spend 6 nights and 5 days in Rome. During your stay in Florence You can do a day trip to Siena, possibly rent a car for a day to explore the countryside around Florence, do a 1/2 day trip to Pisa or a full day trip to Pisa/Lucca during your Florence stay. (not necessarily all of these things)
Another possible itinerary I can think of has you leaving Venice the evening of the 13th for Florence.
Stay in Florence until the evening of the 16th. This gives you 3 days in Florence. Consider using the 15th for a day trip out of Florence to Siena or.....
Leave in the late afternoon of the 16th by Eurostar to Naples. Have a car and driver pick you up at the Naples train station and take you to Sorrento where you can spend 2 nights. Spend the next two days exploring Pompeii and the Amalfi coast than train to Rome during the early evening of the 18th and spend the rest of your time in Rome.
One last itinerary which might work would be to train to Florence from FCO on your first day. Stay 4 nights in Florence. Leave for Venice early on the 14th and stay in Venice for 3 nights. Fly from Venice to Naples on the morning of the 17th and spend the afternoon of the 17th at Pompeii on the way from Naples to Sorrento. Spend the night in Sorrento and explore the Amalfi the next day with your driver. Leave for Rome in the early evening of the 18th or sometime on the 19th if you decide to spend more time on the coast.
Obviously all of the above itineraries can be tweaked abit for your interests bu do offer you some other options to the one you have presented.

McCooper

Thank you very much mjs - I would love to go to the Amalfi coast as well so appreciate that suggestion, as well as the others. Thanks for taking the time to give me so many options to consider.

anitabelle

We were going in/out of Rome but I just got flight tickets from Rome to Venice for July 20 for 1 way. We really wanted to start off with Venice and work our way down to Rome. The ticket is cheap through Expedia.com 1 way instead of change all the tickets. Let me know if you need help.
Anita