itinerary input
 

-arrive am in Rome
-2 days and 2 nights in rome
Stay at Albergo Santa Chiara
-Train to Orvieto (2 nights total)
Don't know where to stay yet, but looking for something central and cheaper.
Rent a car on second or day for to drive to Montepulciano, Pienza, Montelchino, wine tasing. Second night back in Orvieto.
-Next day drive to Sienna (3-4 nights)
Day trip to San Grimignano on second day.
1-2 Free days for bike ride or cooking class.
-Drive to La Spezia, and drop off car, the take train to Cinqua Terra. (3 nights/two full days)
-Train back to rome (1 night)
-Fly Home

You're pretty well decided.

Blackduff

koala,
You might consider going directly to Orvieto then you could have three days in a row in Rome at the end. While in Orvieto you might want to do a day trip to Pitigliano and Sorano (or Saturnia and Sovana) or maybe Civita di Bagnoregio. You could see Montepulciano on the way to Siena and do a daytrip from Siena to Pienza and Montalcino.

So many places, so little time.

Feel free to e-mail if you want more information on these towns.

Henry

I would change to 3 nights Rome 1 night Orvieto at the beginning of the trip.

I have some itinaries on my web site that might be of interest to you. emilyandjim.info

This is our first trip to Italy in late September, so we are kind of clueless, but I have read several posts to get information as well as Rick Steve's. Were kind of rushing Rome, because we know that we'll be back some day, so we are just doing 2 days to see some basic sites, then moving on to the country side and smaller towns that would be more our style. A few more questions.
1. Would it be better to rent the car in rome and drive to Orvieto, or is taking the train there and then renting the car in Orvieto faster and possibly less expensive. (I haven't priced it yet, but time is more important than money right now.)
2. We thought the day we arrive in Orvieto we would take the bus to see Civita Di Bagnoregio, but I also hear it is a pretty drive, so would it be better for us to rent a car one day earlier and drive there? It looks like rental is about 60E a day.
3. Is it too much to see all three towns of MOntepulciano, Pienza, and Montalchino in one day while on our way to Siena? If I had to see only one of the three, which is best for culture and Wine? Is there any must see sights in any of the towns? Any Idea how long this drive would be if you didn't stop?
4. Any Idea how long the drive is from Sienna to La Spezia? Would we have time to stop in Luca to ride a bike around it and still catch a train in La Spezia to Cinqua Terra before Dark?
5. Any ideal how long it would take to travel by train back to Rome on our last day?
Thanks for all your help.

1. That's first of all a matter of taste, of course. For train schedules (= time necessary for doing the trip by train) see www.trenitalia.it
2. I'd definitely go by car - if at all. Civita di Bagnoregio is perhaps Italy's most overrated sight, and really famous only with Americans (a mystery why); Italians plus the rest of the world don't consider it an important place to go. I don't say it's not nice, but there are definitely dozens of nicer and more interesting sights both in Umbria and in northern Lazio.
3. It's absolutely doable to see the three of them on one day, without unreasonable racing. Re: art, Montepulciano is the winner; re: wine, Montalcino may be even better, but this, again, is a matter of taste.
4. www.viamichelin.com has an idea, and even precise distances and travel times
5. see answer 1

Thanks Franco. Maybe we'll skip Civita, my friends said other than taking a picture of it from a distance, it wasn't really that interesting either.