Italy trip in two weeks, help????
 

My wife and I have 8 days in italy and are flying in and out of rome. Looking to spend three days in rome and rest somewhere else. We will be traveling by train and are considering venice, amalfi coast, or florence/tuscany. We are in our late twenties and looking for a mix of culture, sights, and nighlife. Thank you very much.

With so little time, I'd recommend you skip Venice on this trip or you'll spend the better part of two solid days just going to and from Venice by train.

Florence is an easy train ride from Rome and then you could do some day trips by bus (Siena, for example) or train from there, though I personally think renting a car to visit some of the smaller hilltowns is more enjoyable than day trips from a major city.

The Amalfi coast is nice, too, would afford you nice coastal experience to contrast with Roma. You could combine this with a visit to Herculaneum if archeology is of interest.

However, I strongly recommend you make some more definitive plans and hotel reservations before you go...it's a bit late in the game.

Hi

Early september on the Amalfi Coast should be quite nice. Don't know if you will be able to book a room though.

Consider staying in Praiano.

Thanks for the info we will be backpacking and staying hostels so will finding a room be difficult, it hasn't been on previous trips to europe.

When are you going? That may well determine how easy/difficult it will be to find lodging.
I'd recommend Florence and Tuscany for the other five days. Florence certainly offers the combination of culture, sights and nightlife that you are looking for. As previously suggested, Siena is a good day-trip destination from Florence.
As much as I love Venice, I agree with a previous poster that you save that city for your next trip.

Ooops, I just realized that you are leaving in two weeks. Therefore, I suggest that you look for lodging immediately!

I beg to differ from the others here - you can and should do Venice on your trip. It is only 4.40 hours on train from Rome to Venice. Although 8 days is not a lot it still is enough.

We were in Italy in June this year and visited Rome (5 days) with a daytrip to the island of Capri (Blue Groto was one of the highlights of our trip), Florence (3 days) with a half-day trip to Pisa (had to see the leaning tower -it was awesome) and a 4 hours tour to a castle in a Tuscan village including wine tasting , and 3 whole days in Venice. It was perfect trip for the first time, if we get a chance again to go to Italy great but this one could not have been better. Venice is very very unique and you should no miss it. If I were in your position I would probably skip Florence and do Rome, the Amalfi coast, and Venice.

You will get a lot of different opinions/perspectives here, which is the best part about this forum. Best is to read a little about each of the specific places and decide based on what your personal preferences are. But don't miss Venice.

I can't vouch for them b/c we haven't stayed there yet but we're about your age (unfortunately slightly older) and are doing a similar trip in early October. We're staying at Albergo La Scaletta in Florence, Frances Lodge just outside Sienna, Albergo California in Positano and Hotel Aberdeen in Rome. All had good reviews on this board and are in the $100-150 price range with breakfast every day. Florence has a ton of nightlife, as do Positano (actually Sorrento) and Rome, I don't know about Sienna since I've never been there. All have tons of culture and sights. The Amalfi coast is more resort like but beautiful none the less. We cut Venice from our trip due to time (we have 12 nights) and personally having been there before, it was my least favorite place in Italy of those you're considering. Plus it's the furthest from Rome.

Brando

This is what our experience in Rome was like, I may have missed a few places, but I listed places where people also hang out at night in the first group:

SEE IN THE DAY AND NIGHT
Trevi Fountain...toss in 3 coins so you will be sure to come back

The Pantheon

Spanish Steps (nice to be there in the evening, it's kind of a hang out, wine and cheese is nice here)

Piazza Navona



SITES TO VISIT IN THE DAY
The Coloseum

Vatican Museum

Sistine Chapel

The Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica

The Swiss Guards

St. Angelos Castle (beautiful view of Rome)

If you miss Circo Massimo you are not missing much

Statue of Moses in a church called San Pietro in Vincoli

Brando,

We spent a day in Florence (could have used one more day). Our room was at San Giovanni (email address: [email protected]). The window to our room opened to the main street and had an awesome view of the duomo! City was filled with statues done by Michaelangelo, modern and very busy. Well dressed people.

and

Three days in Venice, it is an amazing place. You leave with the feeling that you were just in another world, an incredible adventure.


Hope this helps you both with your decision.

Happy traveling!

ttt

With only 8 days (7 nights?) I'd stick to Rome and maybe someplace smaller, like Orvietto for a night, then Florence if you must (but you might enjoy Siena). Then a quick train back to Rome so you can return. Bon voyage!

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