Italy Itinerary Help
 

My husband and I have 20 nights in Italy. We will be using public transportation. Is this a reasonable trip? We have previously done a day trip off a cruise ship in Venice, Florence and Rome. Is it best to use the train or bus between these cities? We will each have a 22" roller bag. We will fly in to Venice and out of Rome.

Oct 13-17 4 nights Venice

Oct 17 - 20 3 nights Cinque Terre
Viareggio and Pisa day trip on way to Florence (Oct 20)

Oct 20 - 23 3 nights Florence

Oct 23 - 27 4 nights Siena

Oct 27 - 28 1 night Assisi

Oct 28 - 30 2 nights Orvieto

Oct 30 - Nov 2 3 nights Rome

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

This is a very reasonable trip. I travel to Italy several times a year and use public transportation each and every time. IMO, it is best to use a train in between the larger cities of Venice, Florence, Rome. I would recommend utilizing the www.trenitalia.com website and inputting your city pairs (i.e. Venice to your Cinque Terre town - Monterosso or?) then printing out a train schedule for each subsequent town you will be going to. That makes it easier to determine your itinerary, travel times and agenda. Plus, you can take the print-out with you to the train station ticket office and just show them the time you want to go, train #, etc and you are all set. From the Siena train station, I took a local bus into the town proper, then walked to the Campo di Palio area, Duomo, etc. Assisi is accessible via train too, and there is a local bus from the front of the train station that takes you up the hill to the town centre.

When leaving Rome for your return flight home, you can take a bus to the Roma Termini train station, then the "Leonardo Express" to the Fiumicino Airport (usually leaves from track #s 24-27). Tickets cost 9,50 euros each, the trip takes 35 minutes and leaves every 30 minutes starting at 5:52 am thru 10:52 pm daily. Buon viaggio!

seems like you'd have a blast. my only question is why 4 nights in sienna. maybe you could use some of the nights there for a southern jaunt to naples/amalfi. just a thought. or maybe more time in rome...

Now to me it looks a little heavy on Tuscany and light on Rome. Are you planning on lots of day trips and on hiking the CT? If not, I'd consider taking a night or two from CT and the same from Siena and adding them to Rome. That's just based on my interests, though.

Hi K,

A few comments:

The CT can be cold, rainy and foggy in late Oct.

Florence is 1:30 hr away from Siena by bus. One is easily done as a daytrip from the other without changing hotels.

Have you considered renting a car for your week in Tuscany and visiting the small towns in the area?

Only 2-3 nights in Rome?

((I))

I personally would rely less on the train - as we were foiled by rail strikes on our honeymoon. We were glad we rented a car through most of our stay. A gps is definately a must though as they do not seem to believe in road signs at all, just signs pointing to the nearest town! I too think you are spending too much time in Siena unless you are using it as a base to tour Tuscany (for which a car is best).

You could be in Rome and daytrip Orvieto. Three nights in Rome is only two days in Rome.

Thanks so much for these helpful suggestions. I appreciate the advice, and welcome more ideas.