Can you check this over and please post your opinions? We are starting to finalize plans. We have yet to do Venice but that will come later.

Monday fly out of US
Tusday arrive Rome -Hotel Aberdeen
Afternoon do Colossum,forum and Jewish Ghetto,Pantheon
We were thinking of the hop on hop off ATAC bus and going to the colosseum for about an hour and a half.

Night rest and retire early

Wednesday morning-
Borhese Gallery and then head to the Vatican.
We have a Scala Reale tour there at 1pm. We thought we would eat lunch nearby.
The Vatican tour is four hours.
At night we were going to do a self guided walking tour.
thursday Scavi Tour St. Peters this is 1 1/2 hours then out to the Catacombs.
Friday- see whatever we were too tired to see or want to fit in. Get a car and drive to Florence.

Friday afternoon in Florence Duomo
Saturday the Battistero and Piazza Signoria
Sunday Accademia and Uffizi and then evening in Fiesole

Monday San Giangimo, Siena and the Winery Dieviole

Tuesday -Pisa then drive to Venice

Please check this out so far and tell me what I need to add, skip or if I am going to be too tired.

I have no idea what to expect travel time to and from the Vatican/St. Peters or the best way to get there.

Your plan sounds fine. As long as it reflects your interests, it should work. You will find your days very busy, but that's the only way to experience a lot. I think you need a reservation for the Borghese gallery these days. If you do anything in Rome on Friday morning, it's going to be tight getting a car, driving to Florence, checking into a hotel, and going to the Duomo. It's possible, but very difficult. As for travel time from your hotel to the Vatican, my suggestion is to get a taxi. From your hotel, the time shouldn't be more than 30 minutes. Enjoy your trip.

Thanks, Wayne. I appreciate your answer.

Hi robbie,

Your Florence itinerary is very good. You will have time to relax after your hectic time in Rome.

Robbie,
itinerary looks good, just a note re: Scavi Gallery. It has to be booked at least 3 weeks in advance with Vatican so keep this in mind.
Sophia

We already have our confirmation for the Scavi tour. Thanks though for the word of advice.

Hi robbie,
I haven't actually been to italy yet(am going in nov). From the research I've been doing, seems like the only time you really need a car, is for your winery, san gimignano, siena day. Also pisa is in the opposite direction of venice (from siena). So unless you are very particular abt pisa, I'd suggest assisi on the way to venice from siena as an alternative to pisa. I wont be going to assisi or pisa, but many fodorites have waxed poetic about assisi, and I'm inclined to trust them

Your plan sounds good. I wonder about your first afternoon in Rome though. You will probably want to rest sometime and you may not feel like being so ambitious. We took most of a day to do just the forum and the colosseum. The pantheon is in the heart of the city, not by the forum and can be seen when you are walking around.

We took a taxi to the Vatican museums from the Termini and it took about 15 minutes.

Enjoy your trip!

Hello,
Looks wonderful, can I come too?? ;-)

We really enjoyed seeing the Baptistry (St. John's Baptistry) right next to the Duomo and Cathedral in Florence. It was 3E per person to enter, but we felt it was well worth it for the 8th and 9th century ceilings and art inside.

We also very much enjoyed the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens in Florence.

Have a great trip!

You are planning a very nice trip. Not knowing what time of year and how many days you are planning on, it is difficult to give specifics, but here are a few thoughts:

Wednesday in Rome will be an exhausting day. We did the Scala Reale Vatican tour, and you are on your feet the entire time?except if you get to sit in the Sistine Chapel, and that?s just for a few minutes at best. And you will be doing that after walking through the Borghese all morning. My guess is that your walking tour that night might be shorter than you may have planned.

Friday in Rome?If you are driving a car into Florence, be sure to check with your hotel that they have convenient parking. If they do not have parking, I would consider taking a train to Florence, and then renting the car when leaving Florence. Also, I would recommend having reservations to the Accademia and Uffizi to avoid waiting in lines.

The Monday after Florence is a bit ambitious. Both San Gimingnano and Siena are fabulous towns and can easily lull you into staying the entire day, or at least the greater part of a day. We eliminated Pisa twice from our last two trips because it was a bit out of the way and there were so many wonderful hilltowns around Siena that we could not drag ourselves away. But if you have your heart set on Pisa, I would head there directly from Florence and when finished go to either San Gim or Siena?not both-- and spend the night in whichever town you choose. That way, you get to see some of the town and are closer to the Dievole vineyard.

Driving times are usually longer than you would expect, mainly because you are driving on unfamiliar roads and if you are anything like us, we get lost?as do most people.

Depending on how much time you have, you might want to consider staying another night so that you get an early start for your drive to Venice.

You have all given so many wonderful suggestions. I am feeling energetic now but I guess the bottom line is it seems we need to go with the flow. We just want to get everything in and I am not sure how we can do that.

You are absolutely correct that you must "go with the flow."

It is virtually impossible to do everything...because there is just so much from which to choose.

Most of our most memorable moments were serendipitous...stopping to smell the flowers, enjoying a meal slowly, stopping for gelato, allowing the road to lead us to unknown destinations...and what fun it is to get lost in Italy.

You really do want to slow down a bit so that you can savor your experiences. If you miss something, don't worry because you will be enjoying something wonderful whevever you happen to be!