Itinerary help for 10 day trip to Italy with college age sons
 

We are planning a 10 day trip to Italy with our 19 year old twins in late May. With a day on either end for flights, we have 8 days in Italy. We have flights to and from Zurich booked already, so will need to arrange flights, car rental, or trains to Italy. We are pretty flexible and would like a good variety of activities...food, Roman ruins, history, architecture, a little art/museums, and just generally enjoying the culture and scenery. We were originally thinking Rome, Florence, Venice, Cinque Terre, but also are interested in Sienna, Bologna, hill towns in Tuscany, Lake Garda, Sirmione, Lake Como, (Yes, it would be nice to have gone for 3-4 weeks!). Given the time available, would love to hear some itinerary suggestions. We don't want to spend all our time on trains or buses.

Thinking more, we are inclined to skip Rome, Venice, and Cinque Terre. Florence plus some of the smaller cities and towns are sounding interesting...Bologna, Ravenna, Sienna, Fiesole, Verona, Tuscan hill towns, are also maybe closer to one area. Would like to maybe stay in ~3 places.

Considering you will use part of a day getting to Italy and may need to be back in Zurich the night before your flight, you will have only 6 full days and 2 half days on the ground in Italy. From Florence, you could do some day trips, or rent a car and do some 1 or 2 nighters in smaller towns or countryside. With such short time, don't bother with Fiosole. Verona is a bit far for a day trip, unless you are going from there back to Zurich. I am not a big fan of Verona, but it does have a wonderful Roman Arena. Sienna is beautiful. Bologna is lovely and has great food.

What do the boys want to do?

We spent six days based in Florence with our teens, taking day trips to Bologna and Pisa/Lucca. They turned themselves loose for a half day in Florence, and for almost the entire visit to Lucca (they bicycled around the city), but for the most part we took in the art, the food (especially the food!), and the culture together.

Happy Planning!

Yikes, going to Zurich for a visit to Italy. I'd focus on Piedmont, the upper PO valley and northern Tuscany so Turin, Milan, Lucca, Pisa

Now choose 2 to stay in

Milan is not the most agreeable city in that part of Italy, but I do love Turin. Elegant city with a possible car interest for the boys. Genua (Genova) is another interesting - and very contrasting - destination nearby.

May be it would make sense to book a connecting flight from Zurich to Rome. By train, you may waste almost a full day for this leg.
We can try to help if we know your exact arrival/departure dates from Zurich airport.

Why has no one asked about the elephant in the room?

Why on earth are you flying in and out of Zurich if what you want to do is visit Italy? That makes no sense whatsoever.

I can't fathom why anyone would book RT tickets to Zürich for a brief 6-day trip to Italy. Perhaps you got a "good deal" on tix to Zürich, but it's almost certainly a false economy as you're going to spend a fair bit of money on trains and lose 2 days of your trip. Is there ANY way you can change those tickets? At least into Zürich and out of somewhere in Italy?

If it were me (and it's not), I'd get out of Zürich the fastest and most economical way possible to anywhere in Italy that has decent public transport and just stay there until it's time to trek back to Zürich again. Probably Turin for me. Take a couple of day trips and the vacay's over.

Hmmm...Zurich was about $600 cheaper per ticket and it was only 3 hours to Lake Como. Not sure why it isn't possible to go from Zurich to Lake Como for a day or so, then maybe on to Florence spending the rest of time there and in surrounding area? Or should we suck up the fees to change flights Milan or Rome?

If you decide to go to Venice (beautiful!), or Rome, or Sorrento area I can offer suggestions for those places. I'm looking at heading to Cinque Terre one of these days so no input there.
Personally if you have 8 days in Italy I'd stay 2 places 4 days each, or at a max 2 days / 3 / 3 days . Personally I like soaking up a place rather than run from location to the next.
Is it possible to partially change ticket and at least fly out of another city, thereby saving the return to Zurich?
If not, plan a doable circular trip in the northern lake district.

OK, while Zurich is not ideal, what about something like this? The one thing I am not sure about is Venice. Go to Venice, or skip it and just rent a car after leaving Florence and see sights along the way back, including Lake Como, Sirmione?

5/20: Fly to Zurich
5/21: Connect to Florence arriving at 1:40 p.m.
5/22: Uffizi, David, explore Florence (night in FL)
5/23: Rent Vespas, countryside, winery tour (night in FL)
5/24: bikes in Lucca or hill town(night in FL)
5/25: Sienna (night in FL)
5/26: day in Bologna, train to Venice (night in VN)
5/27: Venice (night in VN)
5/28: rent car/drive to Lucerne ~5 hrs(night in Lucerne)
5/29: Depart Zurich at 11:30 a.m.

Where are you coming from that it was US$600 less per ticket to fly RT to Zürich? That doesn't sound right.

At any rate, a couple of random thoughts:

Please don't jump in a rental car after an all-night flight and make a three-hour drive into Italy. Really bad idea for you and everyone else on the road with you.

Vespas for a winery tour? That sure sounds like courting fate.

Renting a car in Italy and returning it in Switzerland will cost you a king's ransom.

You're still trying to do too much. You've got a very short time for this trip. You're going to Italy, where life is pretty laid-back outside the major metropolises. Why race around? Pick two places and enjoy them. I doubt two 19-year-olds are going to be happy sitting on trains and in the back seat of a car for a week.

StCirq...yes that is right on the airfares. We're flying from Denver and extensively searched options. Read my message again...we are not jumping in a car; we are flying from Zurich to Italy. And thanks, but we can handle the Vespas and know to not to overdo on the wine. To give you credit, you are right on the drop of charges. We are finding that those are pricey.

We have found a reasonable and convenient connecting flight to Rome. So...here is what we have now. Found a car rental that has a reasonable drop off.


5/20: Fly to Zurich
5/21: Connect to Rome arriving at 12:40 p.m. (night in Rome)
5/22: Colosieum, Vatican, Pantheon, Trevi, etc. (night in Rome)
5/23: Colosieum, Vatican, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, etc. (night in Rome)
5/24: a.m. 1.5 hour train to Florence, explore Florence (night in Florence)
5/25: Florence (night in Florence)
5/26-5/28: Make our way back to Zurich (6 hour total drive time from Florence) with stops in ???
5/29: Depart Zurich at 11:30 a.m.

SO...

Need ideas for 3 full days from Florence to Zurich. And would like to hear thoughts on activities and places to stay in Florence and Rome.

Well, $600 x 4 = $2400 is not to be sneezed at obviously but it still doesn't make much sense to me if you want to visit Italy.

Have you considered visiting Switzerland instead since that is where you have found a good price for?

"5/26-5/28: Make our way back to Zurich (6 hour total drive time from Florence) with stops in ???"

Make that more like 8 hours drive time, with construction and traffic delays. We have only been living and driving around Europe for four years, but have found that most driving times need a +25% estimate.

With this new itinerary you might want to add either a day to Florence or Rome (though I, personally, would just base in one of those cities), depending on interests, and then split the drive on 27 May with an overnight in Milan. You have about 2 days in Rome, and about 1.5 in Florence. Enough time to race through some highlights, but not enough time to enjoy either city more comprehensively.

you guys with your crazy american dates :-)

You may be happy driving Vespas, my only concern is are you used to what Italian drivers are like around you?

You are going to need a fair bit more research into what Rome has to offer you if you are including the Trevi fountain, I'd look at a few visit rome threads here first

Rather than more stops,
Add a day to Rome and if you finish with Rome, do a day trip to Ostia Antica.
Add a day to Florence, and if you finish there, add a day trip to Sienna or Luca and Pisa or get a driver for a day for a tour.

You are still seeing interesting places with less time changing hotels, etc.

See if you could fly from Florence to Zurich. Might not cost that much more than a car. Use the extra time for real sightseeing, walking and eating, rather than through a car window.