Need Help -- First time to Italy
 

My friends and I are planning the following trip to Italy -- None of us have been:

3 nights in Florence (includes 1 day trip to CinqueTerra)....then 2 nights in the Tuscany region (maybe 1 night in Siena) .... and then 3 nights in Rome (or maybe spend one day and one night down in Capri)

I would REALLY appreciate any tips on where to stay and how to plan this.....Would love suggestions on wineries to visit, etc. ... and other other advice!

I greatly appreciate it!

A little more information, please! Are you 20 or 70? Male or female? What do you and your friends enjoy? Culture, adventure, the outdoors, food, art, cities, small villages, etc.

Three females -- all 28 years old.

We love wine, appreciate art and would like to mingle with the locals!! Oh and we love to dance -- we would like a mix of the city scene and the wineries/beautiful village scenery. Probably not looking for any crazy outdoor adventures, but we would like to try out new things that we couldn't experience here in the US. Definitely want to have a classic pasta meal and pizza.

Any thoughts?

What a great trip, you may want to check out some guide books, either at the library or from a book store and just read about some of the places to figure out what interests you most. Also, read some of the trip reports on this board (and others) for inspiration (this is one of my favorite things to do).

In terms of some advice, I am not sure how long the train to CT is from Florence, I have been to both places, but don't think I traveled that path-if it is long, CT may be hard to experience in part of a day (though it is amazing and worth any time you have). I am sure some people know the specifics better than me.

I visited at an slow time of year, but as I remember,many wineries and vineyards in Tuscany are different than in the US, they aren't all open all the time to visitors, many are quite small and have limited hours or require a phone call. There are a couple of larger ones, Castello Banfi near Montalcino for example that are bigger and easy to just stop in.

I would strongly suggest that you not plan a day trip to the Cinque Terre from Florence. It will take about 3 hours each way, so you really wouldn't have any time in the Cinque Terre.

If you want more time in the countryside, then spend more time in rural Tuscany.

Also, if you only have 3 nights for Rome, I would suggest that you not also try to fit in Capri. Again, the travel time would really eat into your wine, art and mingling time.

What time of your are you going?

You'll be able to have pasta meals and pizza 24 hours a day, if you want!

A few questions:

What time of year is this trip?

Will you have a car for the days in Tuscany?

If you go to Capri, will you fly home from Naples, or would you have to return to Rome?

A few comments:

The one-way travel time between Florence and the Cinque Terre is 2.5-3 hours. So, you'll be trying to see all the treasures of Florence in one day and spending half of the second day sitting on a train.

Two nights in Tuscany means only one full day and a few hours on the days before and after. I don't think I'd take the time to change hotels between nights but rather stay the two nights in a central location to the places you want to visit.

Rome to Capri will take half a day. If you stay only one night there and have to return to Rome, you'll have only two partial days to explore the island. That's probably enough time if you're not planning to relax, but again it's a lot of time lost in transit when you could alternatively see more of Rome. If it were my trip, I'd skip Capri.

You definitely should not try to combine Florence and Cinque Terre, in one day. Spend the time, this trip, in Florence.

Thanks guys! We are going in Sept. I think we will have a car for the Tuscany portion....Can anyone offer names of hotels, wineries, etc. that you have stayed at and recommend?

Try using the search feature to read the many hotel recommendations.

We hire a private driver when staying in Florence to take us to the vineyards as they are not all in a row and the good ones (smaller and more interesting) require appointments. A rental car would be a good choice as long as you do not opt to base in Florence.

I think you would be bored to death staying in the countryside if you are looking for any kind of nightlife at all.

I agree that CT would not be doable in this short a trip, and also would eliminate Capri unless you want to spend much of your vacation driving in traffic.

So do you all think we should consider spending the night in Cinque Terra then. Maybe even get in late from Florence, do dinner, and then early morning hike?

And do you all agree on cutting out the Capri excursion?

Many thanks again!!!!!!

I would think that Capri and Cinque Terre offer similar experiences. Both seem like a long way to go from your other destinations for just one night. I'd choose one of the two and concentrate the time you alloted for both on the one location. But with only 8 nights, I'd probably skip both of them since you seem more interested in touring wineries in Tuscany.

Florence - 3 nights
Tuscany location - 2 nights (stay in one location for 2 days, but drive to other towns and wineries)
Rome - 3 nights

Or, depending how interested you are in Renaissance art, you might do
Florence - 2 nights
Tuscany - 3 nights
Rome - 3 nights