LubaG

Any suggestions - 2 couples - First Timers (2 weeks early Ocotber - arriving in Vence, leaving from Rome :Tentative schedule: Venice(2 nights), Bologna (1 night), Florence (3 nights), Rome (2 nights)Naples or Capri or Sorrento, or Positano). We want economical, but also charming, old world etc.

Do you suggest staying in Sienna and eliminating one night in Florence. Also, a bit unsure of Amalfi Coast - where, how many days.

All suggestions welcome!

nytraveler

You are making the same mistake that many first time travelers do - thinking you can - or want to - travel at the pace of a very quick survey guided tour. EVery time you change cities and hotels you lost the best part of a day - and you will remember little but train stations and hotels.

In 2 weeks you should do at most 4 cities. I would do just Venice, Florence and Rome and take a couple of day trips into the countryside from Florence.

To spend less than 3 days (4 nights) in Rome is simply a waste of time - you will see practically nothing - even of the major sights. (When we do a large city for the first time we try to do at least 6/7 nights - so we can see more than 3/4 sights, can get a feel for the city and some of the neighborhoods, spend some time relaxing in a cafe, watching the world go by and getting a real feel for the city's unique atmosphere.)

You really need to focus more - or you will miss the essence of Italy - and spend a lot of extra money with all that traveling around.

sjj

I'd limit your trip to Venice, Florence, and Rome. Your current plan involves a lot of travel and a lot of checking into and out of hotels. I suggest two days in Venice, three or four in Florence, and the remainder in Rome.
If you want to see Sienna, you can take a day trip from Florence.

annhig

hi luba,

what the others have said - x n.

as you are arriving in venice, and leaving from Rome, it makes sense to restrict yourselves to the area in between. this is not really as limiting as it might seem - you could spend many weeks in this area and not see it all.

taking your proposed destinations in turn :

Venice - allow yourselves at least 3 full days, 4 nights. apart from anything else, you may need to recover from jet-lag. if you think you won't fill 3 days in Venice, have a look at my recent trip report of a week i spent there with my family. [just click on my screen name].

bologna - by all means spend a night there. it is thought of very highly by those on this forum who have visited it.

Florence - after two cities, I would NOT recommend staying in another, if you want to remember anything about what you have seen where. a better choice IMO would be an agritourismo in the country or hotel/ apartment in a small town which you can use as a base for touring.

Rome - after your sojourn in the countryside, return your car [I'm assuming you'll hire a car when you leave Venice] at Orvieto, spend a night there if you like, and in the morning, take the train to Rome, where you will not need a car. 4 full days is the minimum here, 5 for preference.

of course, you are free to fill your holiday with as many places as you like. But you actually want to go home having a had a holiday, not needing one!

remember - less is more.

regards, ann

anna_roz

I cast my vote for no more than four (4) stops with more time in Venice and Rome, less in Florence (it is a relatively compact city), and maybe a short visit to the Tuscan countryside.

Anna Roz

bfrac

I agree with everyone that advises more time in Venice, then my suggestion is instead of staying in Florence, stay in Fiesole, a hill town that looks down upon Florence. We did this on our first trip to Italy and we very glad we followed the suggestion when it was made to us. It gave us a break from the "city" atmosphere and we could relax on the terrace at night and look out over Florence and see the Duomo and even hear music playing.

You can easily take the bus from Fiesole right into Florence and it will drop you at the Duomo (No. 7 Regresso). It was about a 15 minute ride on the bus. You can also easily do day trips from here.

Then I would move on to Rome and give it more time as others also advised.

Giovanna

Agree with the others about cutting back on your destinations. But I would definitely not drop Florence, particularly if you are art lovers. Just seeing David would be worth going there for me. Also touring the Uffizi is a remarkable experience.

I've not been to Bologna (would like to visit there someday) but a night there could be another day/night to spend in Florence, which would be my choice. Staying in Bologna overnight just means another hotel, more train travel, and unpacking and packing.

I don't think you will be disappointed in spending your two weeks in some glorious places. Venice is incredible, Florence is wonderful and Rome is fabulous. So much to see and do in all three places.

We love the Amalfi Coast, but as the others have said trying to cram it in is too much and your entire trip will be just a blur. At least it would be for me.