charbran11

My husband and I and another couple are planning a trip to Italy for Jan or Feb of '09. Since I just had a baby last Mar and he'll be almost 2, I didn't want to leave him for an extremely long time. So we were thinking either 7 or 10 days. We haven't decided that much yet. And i was thinking it'd probably only be wise to visit two cities/towns. We wanted to do Rome, Tuscany, and Venice. But seeing as we will only be there aobut a week, it seems more practical to only go to two places. Since we will also have to catch a train or something to travel between cities. Or would you recommend a car? I really need help deciding on where to go. I got a book about Italy but there is just so much in there, I don't even know where to start and I feel very overwhelmed with it. So any help or suggestions on this would be greatly appreciated.

wanderlust5

Having been to Italy 8 or 9 times, sometimes for extended vacations, I would say if this is your first trip I would recommend just renting an apartment or villa somewhere and staying put for the entire visit and maybe planning some day trips. This will be a wonderfully relaxing visit if you do, and you won't feel rushed or crazed to see anything.

If you stay in Tuscany, you could use many places as a base. You could rent a car and depending upon where you stay, you can do day trips to San Gimignano, Siena, Florence, San Vincenzo, (the list is endless).

If you stay in Sorrento, you could do day trips to Pompeii, Amalfi, Positano, Capri...

If you stay in Venice, you can explore Murano and Burano, the Lido, the Veneto, Verona...

Since you are going in Jan/Feb, unless you like "cooler" vacations, my suggestion would be to stay as far south as possible. It will still be cool, but not icy as northern Italy can be in Jan/Feb.

Of course, you could go for Carnivale in Venice for early next year if you are adventurous, but it is very cold at that time of year.

I would recommend buying a few travel books to narrow down locations that seem of interest, and I would scour this site for trip reports and information. There are tons of postings on where/when to go.

jgg

My first recommendation would be to really try to stretch it to the 10 days. 7 days is just not enough time in my opinion. With 10 days you could leisurely see two cities. My personal recommendation would be 5 nights in Rome and 4 nights in Venice (assuming you lose one night flying). It is an easy 4.5 hour train ride from Venice to Rome or vice versa. If you are really into art then I would switch Florence for Venice (we just preferred Venice - but just a personal preference).

Is there anyway you could go in March rather than Jan./Feb.? The crowds will still be down but the weather much better.

I would spend sometime on this board (while baby is napping) reading through trip reports and decide which areas really spark your interest in terms of what others have seen and done.

ira

Hi C,

Since it will be the dead of winter, I think that cities will be better than coastal areas or small towns.

You could split 1 week between Venice and Florence or Venice and Rome.

With 10 days, you could visit all three.

SusanP

This is a no-brainer!

Take the 10 days.
Fly into Venice and stay 4 nights.
Train to Rome
Stay in Rome 5 nights and fly home from there.

Perfect.

maryanne1

Having been to Italy in Jan. I would go to Rome and stay the week there. I was glad I did this on my first trip as there is so much to see and experience in Rome. The weather was cold,but so nice without the crowds. No wait to get in St. Peters or the Sistine Chapel. My 2nd trip in May I did visit Florence and Venice. I think they would be cold cities in the winter.

travel_hen

I would try to aim at 10 days; there is so much to do and see in Italy.

If you mind the cold weather, then I suggest to stay further South since it is going to be cold in Jan/Feb.

I would not suggest renting a car if you decide to visit Rome or Venice. Rome have plenty of public transport and Venice is walkable and small city. Both cities are wonderful to visit.

If you decide to visit Tuscany(a big region), I highly recommend a rental car since public transport are scarce especially if want to visit small Tuscan towns. Also, this option give you the most flexibility to explore.

I would suggest discussing this with your husband and friends on where the group wanted to do and places to visit so you can narrow down the choices.

emcash

My husband and i did the 3 major cities in 8 days-- 2 nights in Venice, 2 nights in Florence and 3 nights in Rome It was an amazing trip and we didn't feel rushed at all. We had both been before (but not with eachother) so maybe that made it easier. I might, in your case, skip venice, as it might be umcomfortably cold in January, but I can't say for sure.

dawnnoelm

Charbran,

Not sure where you are traveling from but I looked into our family going to Italy in December/Jan. of 08/09 as well - one thing that I learned was that Venice was most likely going to be too cold for us. (We have ended up going to London and Paris so we will still be cold LOL).

I agree with maybe 4-5 nights in Rome and then perhaps train to Florence and enjoy the remainder of your trip there - flying out of Florence.

The further north you get - the cooler it is. I would stay away from the coast as it is likely from what I read to be fogged in ect.

Have you thought about how you are going to stay in touch while you are gone?

I do not recommend a car if you stay in Rome and Florence. Obviously if you do Tuscany you will need one.

I would do a few tours in Rome - we really enjoyed the tour of the Forum, Collosieum <sp>, Palentine - we used Context Tours upon the recommendations of this forum and I could not have been more pleased.

Marycang

Just saw your posting re: 7-10 day trip to Italy. As a mother of four and Marriage Family Therapist with a specialty in therapy with families of children under age 12. I was sad when I read your words,.“Since I just had a baby last Mar and he'll be almost 2, I didn't want to leave him for an extremely long time”. I am sure that you have not thought what 7-10 days is to a child that age. You know that you will return in 10 days, but your baby does not have the ability or maturity to know that.
One solution is to take the baby and a caretaker and stay more days. Both you and the baby win..