Hello!

We're going to Italy for our first anniversary in the Spring. This will be our first trip.

We will be there for 2 weeks and definately want to visit the following: Venice (2-3 days), Cinque Terre (2 days), Rome (2-3 days) and Almalfi Coast/Capri (3-4 days). We're pretty set on wanting to visit those specific places.

We are using frequent flyer miles and I just found out that we can fly into one city and out of a different one. (I posted a while ago not knowing this was possible -- so it changes quite a few things . . . which is why I'm reposting now.)

Any suggestions of where to fly into/out of? Also, what order would you suggest we visit these cities/areas? Finally, we're thinking of doing mostly trains, but are also interested in driving for one of the "longer" travel sections so we can take a couple of days and stop in some small towns along the way, etc.

Any and all suggestions are welcome. I'm determined to plan this myself . . . but right now I'm feeling a little overwhelmed!!

Thanks so much,
Cindy

Hello Cindy, Have we talked before? This trip sounds somewhat familiar.
I would start in Venice and end in Rome and have a car in between. I regret you do not have time for Tuscany, but perhaps you can see parts of Tuscany as you drive from CT to Amalfi. My best advice is to check out your FF options. That will determine your sequence. See some of my articles at slowtrav.com that may help your planning.

Hi bobthenavigator,

Yes, I posted a while ago -- but I was under the assumption that I had to fly in and out of the same city to use our FF miles . . . which I just found out isn't true. That changes a lot. Also at the time of my previous post, we were planning to have a car the entire time . . . but now are thinking about doing 1/2 and 1/2 car/train.

Thanks for your reply -- I'll check out your articles.

Cindy

Maybe Bob can help with this one too, but I always determine travel order by potential weather. I don't know if that makes much difference in the Spring, but if you're getting into summer weather, I'd think I'd want to be in Rome before it gets too stifling warm and hit Venice last.

We've only been in September, so we travelled from Northern Italy South.

Your itinerary looks spectacular!

Hi

You might want to fly into Naples, visit the AC, train up to Rome and on to CT, pick up your car there, spend a few days driving to Venice and leaving from there.

WOnderful! We were just there for the first time in June for our Honeymoon. Fly into Venice, 3 days is good, Train to Cinque Terre 2 nights so you get 1 full day if possible. REnt a car (in La Spezia maybe? You may have to train to Pisa to get your car, a quick train ride from 5 Terre). Stop in Lucca, San Gimignano, Siena, Montalcino and any other towns you have time for (and a few nights hopefully) as you drive S to Rome. Turn your car in outside of Rome then continue on to explore that city and Amalfi Coast.
(Or turn it around and fly into Rome, Head immed to Amalfi, then Rome, then rent car into Tuscany to 5 Terre ending in Venice).

I've been to Italy several times and it's impossible to do it all in one 2 week trip so I won't suggest different locals, you've picked some good ones. However, with your schedule, you'll be spending a lot of time in the car. Your shortest travel distance is Rome to the Amalfi Coast which is at least 3 hours, more if you stop off in Pompei. The most fun I've had in Italy is not trying to do too much in each trip and vowing each time to come back. you could easily spend a week doing Rome and the Amalfi Coast which are closer together. The next trip do Tuscany and the CT. The next trip do Venice, Milan and the Italian Lakes.

Too many good locations in too few days. You CAN do it, but you'll spend far too much time moving from one location to another and checking in and out of hotels. Very stressful. Slow down and relax a bit. You will return. Save something for next time.

As Degas said, too much. Please factor in the loss of a minimum of 1/2 day moving from place to place. And if you're renting a car, factor in the time doing the paperwork to rent and check-in and also time lost in looking for parking in medieval towns.