We are going to be in Italy in September and so far, have the following itinerary. May be a lot, not sure, but we want to see as much as we can:

Sept. 13 Arrive Florence (by about 10:30am) Whole day free
Sept. 14 Day tour of Tuscany (Siena, San Gimignano)
Sept. 15 Day tour to Cinque Terre
Sept. 16 Free day in Florence
Sept. 17 Lv Flor about 2pm and go to Sorrento
Sept. 18 Sorrento - Possibly go to Capri
Sept. 19 Tour of Amalfi Coast (Amalfi, Positano, Ravello)
Sept. 20 Lv Sorrento and get to Rome by Noon - remainder of day in Rome free
Sept. 21 Morning Free - 3pm Ancient Rome tour
Sept. 22 Assisi and Orvieto
Sept. 23 Rome - morning free, afternoon tour of Vatican
Sept. 24 Home

What do you think? Any suggestions/ideas or is it ok the way it is?

Thanks!!

Hi T,

The first thing you should do is go to the trenitalia.com web site and see the time it takes to travel by train. Then go to one of the driving web sites such as mappy.com to see driving times.

Then add an hour minimum to either end of the time required for checking out of hotels, getting to the station, finding new hotel. Add more time for missing the train and getting lost!

Add up the time spent in traveling from place to place vs. the time actually IN the place.

Having been to both Orvieto and Assisi - this day is really not doable. Too far apart and both deserve a full day. CT day trip is also impractical. Takes too long to get there.

Unless you are 100 years old and will never return to Italy, SLOW DOWN. You have 10 real days in Italia - choose 3 - 4 places.

Something like:

Florence - 2 days
CT - 2 days
Tuscany - 2 days
Rome - 4 days

If you really want to see Assisi this trip do:

Florence 2 days
Tuscany 3 days
Assisi 1 day
Rome 4 days


Buon viaggio!

Oh yeah, up and down, back and forth....really not a practical plan.

Take Dayle's good advice.

With only 10.5 days, I'd limit the hotels to three.

Pay attention to where you are on what days of the week. Most museums are not open on Mondays. Most shops are closed on Sundays.

If this is your first trip, I suggest you study some guide books to know what you're going to want to see in each city/area. Unless you are a devout Catholic, the time getting to/from Assisi may not feel well spent.

I think you're trying to see too much in amount of time you have. You'll never see everything so rather than trying to check off as many cities as you can pick fewer cities.

If the time it will take to travel to/from a city is equal to at least half of the time you will spend awak in the city than cross it off your list.

Thanks everyone - guess we're going to modify the itinerary a bit.

Hi T,

>guess we're going to modify the itinerary a bit. <

Excellent idea.

There are reasons why Venice, Florence and Rome are the usual stops for first-timers in Italy.

Why not Look at the map, your itinerary seems a real zig zag. You need 3 days at least in Rome, 2 days in Florence. Your first day will be tiring. Florence is a big crowded busy city. I would forget 5tere and add a whole day in Orvieto, it's really amazing, and a little straighter than zig zagging back and forth to Florence.Start in Flo. End up leaving in Room. I assume you are traveling by train? Stay away from Naples! Get a cab at the train station to the docks, go by ferry to Procidia, stay at hotel Celeste. This is a charming little Island/fishing village very laid back. You will need at least one day to really "see" Italy as it is!Whatever you do please look at a map, and an Italian map for the trains! You will be spending too much time zig zaging around and missing some real charming countryside because you will be exhausted! Start in the North, end in the South! give your self a whole day to get to the Airport in Rome!