Itinerary for first time trip to Italy
 

Hey everyone!
I know that this question pops up all the time. I’ve tried to plan my trip to Italy by myself (which I usually do without problems) but this time after few travel guide books I’m lost. There is another reason. I haven’t been to EU 25 years and I cannot use my traveler’s experience because I don’t sense EU mentality and culture. Is it possible that somebody will help me to plan this trip or just give me some pointers?
I will travel with family 2+2 (11 and 20). Wing to Venice on August 25, 12 and return from Rome on Sept 12. (19 days). I already made a reservation for 2 nights (Aug 25, 26) in Venice and rented a car for Aug 27. The rest is open. I would like to visit major tourist attractions, explore Tuscany (rent a condo, BB, hotel?...use it as a base to see Florence, Siena, Pisa, Lucca, Cinque Terre on one day trips?). It will be nice to go as far as Naples and Pompeii. Return to Rome for 2-3 nights and fly home. Thanks in advance for all your help.

Drop Naples and Pompeii. You don't have the time for it. Since you will have a car starting in Venice, take a small detour via Ravenna to see the mosaics.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...57622914503405 and the next 11 pictures in the set.

You might want to stay west of Florence to see Florence and Pisa. If you stay in Pistoia, Florence is an easy commute by train. Others recommend Lucca, but trains are less frequent from there. For a different restaurant experience try this: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...aten-track.cfm

I see you're from Toronto. You may not have a sense of how hot it will be in Pompeii in August with the sun beating down and little shade. I would give it a miss at that time of year.

In case you are wedded to the notion of Pompeii here are some tips:
wear long sleeves and long pants (no halters/tank tops, shorts)
hats/umbrellas
sunscreen
very sturdy shoes (no flip flops, etc).
pack lots of water

There's lots to see in Tuscany and Umbria - save Naples and Pompeii for another trip.

I would definitely rent an apartment either in/near a town for dinners or on a farm agritourismo where you can have dinner prepared for you. After a hot day of sightseeing and driving you want to relax and not have to get back into the car to go someplace for dinner.

Another suggestion re Pompeii: Spend the previous night nearby, and be at Pompeii when the gates open and temps are the coolest. But rather than Naples/Pompeii, I would think about the Dolomites and/or the Lake District.

It's probably going to be hot in Tuscany too, so I wouldn't set too ambitious a pace. You can always add excursions if the temps are more tolerable than expected. You're also going to be dealing with huge crowds in some of these places and may want to escape to quieter spots on some days.

IMO, you should add a night to Venice to give yourselves two full days to explore, adjust to the time difference, etc. I would also add another night (or two) to Rome at the end. Two nights would be only one full day; three nights only two days.

Whatever the final plan, I would look to return the car before Rome and take the train into the city.

Thanks all. For sure i will add one day to Venice and Rome. I did not realize that 2 nights in Rome is only one day to explore. Anybody brave out there to spell out full itinerary?

What I do may have nothing to do with what you want to do, but this was our itinerary last year. I tend to travel pretty quickly, and in retrospect wouldn't have cut any time from any of these places.

Day 0: leave US
Day 1: arrived in Rome, checked into apartment, grocery shopping, walked to Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain
Day 2: Vatican City - Scavi tour, St. Peter's, Vatican Museums
Day 3: underground tour of Colosseum, Forum, San Pietro in Vincoli and Santa Maria Maggiore
Day 4: cooking class in Trastevere, walk around neighborhood, back to Pantheon area
Day 5: Galleria Borghese, Borghese gardens, Spanish Steps, Santa Maria della Vittoria
Day 6: Morning train to Venice; check into b&b, walk to Piazza San Marco, Rialto Bridge
Day 7: Day trip to Burano and Murano, climb campanile at Piazza San Marco
Day 8: Doge's Palace, Museo Correr (if it hadn't been pouring down rain, we would have walked around more after the Doge's Palace rather than visiting the museum)
Day 9: Vaporetto down the Grand Canal, train to Varenna via Milan, ferry to Bellagio
Day 10: Walk to Castello di Vezio, explore Varenna
Day 11: Villa Carlotta, Menaggio
Day 12: Train to Milan, check into hotel, shopping and Duomo (couldn't get tickets to see the Last Supper)
Day 13: Fly home

The trip got more relaxed the further we went, which was exactly how I'd planned it. If I did it over again (with decent weather), I'd skip Murano and spend that afternoon and the next walking around - seeing Salute and/or the Frari, or Peggy Guggenheim's house, or whatever else.

I am also from Toronto travelling to Italy (Rome, Tuscany and Venice) in mid-August to late August with my family. We have 14 nights in total. If I had more (as you do) I would do one of the following:

Venice (adding the day as suggested) - 3 days
North Tuscany somewhere between Florence and Siena - a b+b or agriturismo with a pool - 7 days
Cinque Terre - 2 days
Rome - 6 days
(extra day??)

OR

Venice - 3 days
Lake District - 3 days (maybe Sirmione on Lake Garda)
Tuscany - 7 days
Rome - 6 days


Actually a third idea - I might ditch CT and Lake Garda and do the Amalfi Coast (Sorrento base) after Tuscany and then to Rome. Ahhh. I need a month! You should check all of these places out because you know your family best and what will appeal to them. I wouldn't do more than 4 bases though. But that's me - and I don't like to rush.


I am planning on Rome for only 4 days and am finding it tough to schedule everything in. I don't want to exhaust us all in the middle of August heat and want to see things at a relaxing pace. I figure my kids will go back to Rome one day as adults so just want to take in the city and have everyone enjoy it.

Where (and if) you base yourself in Tuscany will depend on which cities/towns you most want to visit. You should take a look at a Tuscany website to get your bearings and I suggest looking at the agriturismos on this site to get a good idea of what these places are like: http://www.agriturismo.net/.


PS - I will be in Venice when you are there. Just finishing our trip!

Thanks for ideas. I added one day to Venice. From ther I'm planning to take 7 days somewhere between Florence and Siena in Bb or apartment with kitchen. Do you have any opinion re II Paggino in Radda?iwill use it for day trips to Florence, Siena, CT and some driving around Tuscany. It looks like I. I'll have spare time between sept 3-8. On 8th I would like to show up in Rome till 12th. Any suggestions?
Jemierin...ur right. I made a mistake trying to show my kids as much as possible in California. We had a blast with a lot of stops and not rushing but too many things in limited time made them tired and lost attention. So this time I would like to call it an introduction to Italy 101.

Cinque Terre isn't a day trip and is a pain to get to.

The rest is what appeals to you -- all great places. Consider also San Gimignano as a day trip from Florence.

You should also look into the Umbrian hill towns - Perugia, Assisi and Gubbio are all within about 1/2 hour of each other.

Jax76...thanks!
Do you think that in CT I should take a hotel for a night?
Any experience with booking BB? The one Im trying to book asked me to make a deposit (50%) through PayPal + 13E for a service charge. Is it normal?

You can't really do CT as a day trip - getting in and out takes too long. If you're set on it, spend at least one night. You'll want to hike at least one trail, and it's worth wandering through one or two of the towns. Monterosso has a wonderful old church up a long staircase. Just make sure you pick the right trail - the one between Monterosso and Vernazza is a killer. Also, some places require a deposit but unless it is a non-refundable rate, you should get it back if you cancel before the deadline. Never heard of a site charging a fee to the customer. Try contacting the hotel directly and make sure you pay with a credit card (although most of them won't let you protest an international charge -- check with your issuer).