Hi,
My husband and i are going to italy for 8 days are thinking of this:
Day 1 and 2 in Venice - then take the train to Florence on day 3 - how long does it take to get there???
Day 3 and 4 in Florence - does it make sense to make Florence our base and then do day trips to the Tuscany regions or rent a car and drive thru them on day 5???
Day 6, 7, 8 - Rome. (and then onto greece for another week - has anyone done this kind of trip before if so any help would be appreciated)

We're going to fly to Anthens and then go island hopping for a few days.

Too ambitious?

Thanx,
dana

For me it is too ambitious, with so little time in each place it would feel like a whirlwind to me, spread thin without much detail coming through.
Also, getting from one place to another often eats up about half a day each time unless you travel at night, assuming all goes smoothly.

Are you flying to Venice from overseas?
Then day 1 is pretty much lost to fatigue. I would plan days 1-3 for Venice. I would plan days 4-5 or 4-6 for Florence or elsewhere in Tuscany, depending on your interests. Remainder of the time in Rome. That's the way I'd plan it if I absolutely insisted on seeing all three areas on that trip.

What I really recommend is just choosing two of the areas and saving either Tuscany or Venice for another time. But that's me.

Tuscany is my favorite and renting a car to drive through for one day is a total waste. PLus you'll hate yourself. Save it for another time and train from Venice to Florence (3 hours ish) and FLorence to Rome. But go back for time in Tuscany some day.

I went to www.trenitalia.com for train schedules but could not find any - what am i doing wrong? when i put in the departing and arrival station, dates and time, it came back with nothing...

Did you use the city names Venezia, Firenze, and Roma?