10 day trip. Fly into Rome, go to Cinque Terre, then to Florence and Hill towns then to Venice to fly out from. Spend few days in each site. Any suggestion on better intinerary and best modes of transportation between points? Too much to chew off in 10 days? Thanks for any suggestions.

Are you taking off on the first day and leaving on the tenth? If so, you really only have an 8 day trip. Make it 7 if you are flying out of the States, since you will lose one day to transit.

I'm not an expert on any of those places so I can't offer you advice on how much time to spend on each. However, I think that in order for you to get constructive feedback from people who have been there, you should specify if your 10 days are 10 full days, or if they include your arrival/departure flights, and where you are flying from. As an American, I always find that my itinerary gets messed up by the loss of the first day. I am also constantly surprised at how long it takes to get from one place to another, so when planning a trip, I don't count the days traveling between cities as a day in either city.

Having said that, most of the forums I've read recommend a minimum of 3-4 full days for Rome. Hope this helps.

I would do 2 days in the Cinque Terre, 5 days in Florence with day trips to some hill towns rather than packing and moving hotels, and 3 days in Venice. You won't want a car in CT, Florence, or Venice so public transportation is the way to go. Take the train between these three places. You can easily access Siena by bus from Florence (1 hour each way). I've only done the hill towns by car so can't advise which other towns are easy to get to by bus/train. Many hill towns do not have train stations.

Hi P,

I think that you might find better schedules flying into Venice and out of Rome.

With only 10 days, I suggest 2 nights in Venice, 3 in Florence with a daytrip to Siena, 4 in Rome with a daytrip to Orvieto.

Perlasteve - are you planning to go to Rome at all? The way your post reads is that you are only flying into Rome, not stopping there. Can you clarify please.

"Too much to chew off in 10 days?"

Yes. I'd skip CT on this trip.

Hi, I'd agree with all that you have too much going on. Either drop Cinque Terre or Florence, if you are to do 2 nights in Venice and 4 in Rome (don't go off to Orvieto, that's for another trip) The choice is natural beauty at Cinque Terre or historical and artistic beauty of Florence. Venice is unique, and you can't think Italy without Rome. Train is best for travel, don't think of a car, and flying is hours of getting to and from airports.
It will be a great trip, just simplify.

ttt

Agree you're trying to pack way too much into too few days. Unless you've already done Rome it deserves 3 full days at a minimum (my first trip was 6 days and we've gone back again and again to see more).