GypsyGurl

I am overwhelmed!! I have checked out books from the library to help me plan a family trip to Italy in October of 2011. There is sooo much to see and do and places to stay and..... I would love to have someones three week itineray that broke down where they stayed, the cool places they visited, basically I need someone to hold my hand because I am clueless but I am also a compulsive planner. To help you out I am taking my fifteen year old daughter, my husband and myself. I love art, he loves history and she loves clothes and cute italian boys My goal is to travel the boot from top to bottom starting in Milan going South and then flying home from Rome.
Thanks for your help!!

sheri_lp

Is this for the whole month of October, or how long?

Mimar

Have you ever been to Italy before? (I'm guessing not.) Have you traveled in Europe? Do you plan to rent a car? Take the trains? How much do you want to spend for a night in a hotel? Do you want rooms for 3 or a double and a single? (There are lots of single rooms in European hotels.)

How do you travel? A new city every 2 days? Or do you settle in one spot for a while and do day trips?

Your interests are more city-like -- as opposed to, say, small Tuscan hilltowns or seaside locations. And the weather's not so reliable in October. Resorty, vacation spots like the Cinque Terre, the Amalfi Coast, and the Italian lakes will be closing down for the season.
Whereas the museums and stores and historic sights in cities are open year-round.

Rick Steves lists his opinion of where to go if you have X days. Have you looked at his guidebook to Italy? And the Michelin green guides rate sights as 1-, 2-. and 3-stars, the latter being worth a whole trip. Does your library rent DVDs? That's another form of research you can share with your family.

You will get more responses on this thread. Also consider hiring a travel agent to plan your trip. There are Italy specialists.

iamq

Lots of cute Italian boys in Rome. Lots of other things too.

ggreen

Ditto what iamq said! Seriously, I was going to say that all three of you will find your interests aplenty in Rome.

IMO, Rome is good place to start your trip - I would spend at least 5 days there, though you could split that between the beginning and end of your time in Italy. Rome is a great primer on all things Italian! To that end, you could fly round-trip to Rome; it would then be easy to train to Milan to start your descent of the boot. Or fly into Rome and out of Naples...

bobthenavigator

You can do a fair job of seeing most of Italy in 6 weeks, but we are going back for our 16th trip and still find it fascinating. Here are some sample itineraires I have used over the years that may help.
BOB the NAVIGATOR’S FAVORITE ITALY ITINERARIES

Here is an updated version of my favorite itineraries & my “Bella Italia” photo gallery. I hope you enjoy.
http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/show...y.php?cat=3827

1. BELLA ITALIA: Five destinations in 15 days—car & train travel
* Arrive in Milan[MXP] & depart from Venice[VCE]or vice versa.
* Itinerary to include the Italian Lakes, Ligurian coast, rural
Tuscany, Florence, & Venice. Suggested timing is 3-2-4-2-4.
* Option: Drop the coast & rent a villa in Tuscany[ 3-7-2-3].
* Best time to go: May & June or Sept. & Oct.

2. LA DOLCE VITA: Three destinations in 12 to 14 days-car & train
* Arrival & departure from Rome[ FCO] or arrival in Naples
* Itinerary to include Rome, the Amalfi coast, and Tuscany
* Best time to go: Easter to end of October
* Option: Fly into Naples & stay at 2 locations on the coast

3. CLASSIC ITALIA: Three destinations in 12 to 14 days-car & train
* Arrival & departure from Rome—may start trip in Florence
* Destinations to include Florence, Rome & Tuscany/Umbria
* Best time to go: Anytime, but May & Oct. are my favorites
* Option: Consider a weekly rental in Tuscany/Umbria

4. SICILIAN CHARMS: Five destinations in 15 days—car travel
* Connections to Catania & Palermo via Rome or gateway city.
* Itinerary to include Taormina, Siracusa, Palermo & more.
* Best time to go: March to November—May is best for flowers
* See: http://www.slowtrav.com/tr/tripreport.asp?tripid=634

5. THE VILLAGE SAMPLER: My favorite venues for those who enjoy natural beauty and quaint, small villages. Arranged north to south.
* Arrive Milan & depart Rome—car travel-- 3 nites per location
* Itinerary to include Lago Orta, Castelrotto/ Ortisei[Dolomites],
Portovenere[Liguria], Montalcino[Tuscany], & Spello[Umbria].
* Best time to go: May to October for the lakes and Dolomites
* Option: Pick 3 out of 5 and stay longer in Tuscany/Umbria.

Echnaton

October is a good time to visit and within three weeks you can see a lot.

For a first-time visitor, this would be my recomendation:

- 4 days Rome
- 4 days Pompeii, Herculaneum, Amalfi, Capri, Napoli
- 4 days Tuscany
- 3 days Venice
- 6 days Northern Italy - Verona, Lago di Garda, Dolomites, Milano, Lago Maggiore

- totals 21 days.

If you prefer a more relaxed pace, then skip Pompeii etc. or shorten Northern Italy and use the days for relaxing on a fattoria, on the beach etc.

SusanG

It's great to know your priorities -I totally concur with the suggestions about Rome. As far as art and architecture and history go, well you have everything from the Forum (a must see) to the Vatican, and countless small churches where you can walk in and view a Carravagio hanging on the wall. If you do go to Rome (here I am diving right in, hope that is ok) my personal recommendation is that you stay in the Piazza Navona, Campo de Fiori area which is the historic center, but there are many varied opinions on this topic! In this area, you can walk from your hotel to many, many wonderful thing, including the Pantheon, many stunning churches (my favorites include Il Gesu, Santa Maria Sophra Minerva, and Sant Ignazio). This forum is a great place to get assistance, one thing I would recommend that is that you go to the bookstore, sit down and leaf through some of the other books. For example, for art - Florence cannot be beat. Rome does have a lot of very cute boys....and then you need to think about if you are seeing a couple of cities, what else do you want to do? Tuscany? The Amalfi coast? So many wonderful things to see...it is overwhelming...but you will have a fantastic time, best, Susan

GypsyGurl

Thank you so much for your help!! To clear things up a bit, yes this is my first time to Europe. I have never even owned a passport until this year! We will be traveling by Eurail with a backpack for each of us. I am used to staying in really nice places, (my husband has spoiled me) but I would like my daughter to experience staying in a farmhouse in Tuscany, maybe a castle or even a hostel. So, any suggestions on nice, clean places to stay along the way would be great as well. Thanks again for your help!

nytraveler

Yes - but the OP wants to see al of Italy in 3 weeks. Frankly I don;t think this is possible unless you are constantly on the move.

First, you hve to decide if you want to do Sicily - which will take a week in intself.

Then you decide if you want to do northern italy - the lakes area and Venice.''In 3 weeks would pick probalby 5 places and do day trips sfrom them as you want.

Also - do open jaws flights - and in October start in the north - land in Milan and return from someplace farther south - perhaps Naples - to avoid wasting time retracing your footsteps.

I wold start with someplace in the lakes in the beginning of Oct, then move on to Venice (see some of the Veneto), Florence (see some of the hill towns from there or stay in one and do day trips by car) then head for Rome (at lest 6 nights - 5 days) and then to Sorrento (to see Pompeii, Naples archeo museum, and if the weather is good Capri and part of the Amalfi Coast).

But - you really need to decide what things are MUSTS for you and then link them together.

As for hotels - without a dollar budget there isn;t much people can do that is useful. Are you looking at tripes for $150 with shared bath and stairs versus elevator or do you want to spend $400 per night on 2 rooms and have more comfort and space?

bobthenavigator

Set your itinerary first, then worry about where to stay.

GypsyGurl

My budget is 10,000 for three weeks, what I need to see is the David, Last Supper, Tuscany (I would like to take a cooking class there), Pompeii, Rome( I want to visit the places that were in the movie Roman Holiday), Venice and the Vatican. I would like to eat gelato on the Spanish steps, be able to sit down, break out my sketch pad and just lose myself in the beauty of Italy. I am not a touristy type person and my husband hates crowds so I would like to avoid places that are super crowded (if possible.)Also, Is it possible to get to all of these cities by the Eurail? I like all the ideas about how I need to focus in more on spending time in just a few places, that helps alot.

GypsyGurl

Bob, I just read your itineraies and looked at your pictures. Beautiful!! So my goal over the next couple of weeks is to set down an itineray using yours as a template. Thanks again for posting!!

mamcalice

I'm not sure about Eurail but the trains in Italy can get you to most of the places you indicate you want to visit (except for the Tuscan farmhouse, which will require a car).

DonnaVeronica

Italy is very, very expensive so plan accordingly. FYI: They do not allow food or drinks on the Spanish steps

ggreen

GypsyGurl, I had to LOL that in one sentence you mention <i>the Spanish steps, be able to sit down, break out my sketch pad and just lose myself in the beauty of Italy</i> and the next <i>I am not a touristy type person and my husband hates crowds so I would like to avoid places that are super crowded</i>. I totally get your excitement around this trip (congrats on the passport!!), but of all the places in Rome, you happened to use one of the most crowded as your example!

As mamcalice said, Italy is totally easy by train - and for city-to-city travel, much better than Amtrak.

From your mentioned interests, IMO, I think you could combine some of bobthenavigator's itineraries, for example La Dolce Vita and Classic Italia. nytraveler's suggested itinerary is also really good. (FYI, "open jaw" means "multi-city" - fly into one and out of another.)

Oh, and while I am averse to adding in detail when you're still figuring out where to go, I can't help but mention the Galleria Borghese in Rome: a mansion full to the brim with the very best in Baroque art.
http://www.galleriaborghese.it/default-en.htm

ggreen

One more thing: Keep in mind that the very things that you most want to see in Italy are, of course, some of the most iconic sights in the country. Meaning that by their nature they are touristy -- and crowded, some more than others. Going in October will alleviate some of that, but you will need to gird yourselves for the crowds in places like the Vatican, around the David statue, etc.

That said, when you get down to planning on a day-by-day level of detail, make sure you balance the busy-but-must-see with the down time of sitting in a quiet cafe losing yourself in the beauty of Italy. For example, we inched our way through a guided tour of the Vatican one morning, then spent the rest of the day wandering the back streets towards Campo dei Fiori. The same can be said for the cities/towns you visit: balance busy Venice and Rome with less touristy/crowded places.

zeppole

gypsygurl,

I think your budget of 10,000 for three weeks is plenty, and that your list of personal "must-sees" and must-dos are completely doable in a three-week trip, including visiting the via Margutta in Rome, which is where Gregory Peck had his apartment in Roman Holiday, and you have time to get out your sketchbook in Tuscany.

But first of all -- I don't think you want a rail pass for this trip. Others will chime in, but I think you would be much better off buying whatever tickets you need on a point-to-point basis, and otherwise renting a car. Three sets of train tickets are not necessarily cheaper than a car, and given what you want to do and see in three weeks, a car will make that easier to accomplish.

I suggest that you fly into Milan and spend your first night there so you can see the Last Supper. Take a train after that to Venice. After Venice, take the train the Florence.

From there, I highly recommend you rent a car and head into the countryside to stay on a working farm. If your daughter is at all interested in the "Twillight" series, you might consider a farm stay near San Gimignano, where they cultivate saffron as well as produce wine, but also it is an easy base for visiting Volterra, one of the homes of the Twillight series. Check out Tripadvisor for San Gimignano, making sure you click on the "specialty lodging" category.

If Twillight is of no interest to your daughter, there are literally hundreds of working farms throughout Tuscany with accommodations that serve meals made from home-grown produce to guests. They are not hard to track down on Tripadvisor. Take a look at Agriturismo Marciano, which has an excellent position for touring rural Tuscany.

From there, I suggest you drive that car to Pompeii for a couple of nights and see the excavations. Before you leave that area, take the train into Napoli to see the archeological museum there, which holds many of the treasures removed from Pompeii. If the weather is nice, you might also want to drive the car to Paestum, to see the ruined Greek temple, and then along the Amalfi drive to see the views.

When you leave the area, drive the car to Rome's Ciampino airport, drop it off, and take a taxi or bus into central Rome.

If you absolutely do not want to rent a car, consider Agriturismo Marciano near Siena -- but be willing to spring for some taxis into Siena to hook up with trains and buses that will enable a few day trips beyond Siena.

For Florence, consider Tourist House Ghiberti for lodgings (check Tripadvisor for most recent reviews), or an apartment for a 4-night stay or more.

For Pompeii, consider Hotel Santa Caterina.

From Rome, consider an apartment on the via Margutta, where Roman Holiday was shot

http://www.rome-rentals-co.com/apart...t-margutta-120

but there are lots of other choices.

Have a great trip!

GypsyGurl

zeppole
My daughter is dancing in the living room right now with excitement. We never thought about including the Volterra in our visit but thanks to you it is now a must see and she is super-excited!! Your plan looks do-able as well and I truly appreciate the time you took to plot it out for me.
Thanks again!
Gypsygurl

GypsyGurl

ggreen,
Yes, I am totally excited and have so many thoughts running through my head that I am probably not making much sense. Like I said earlier, I have never been outside of the country so to be traveling to Italy is a dream come true for me. I let my husband know what you said about tourists, and he said he will be fine, he will be to distracted by the beauty. I am glad I made you laugh! I guess I am pretty excited about this trip
Thanks again for your help and I am sure I will be keeping this board full with my questions.
Gypsygurl