Planning a trip to italy - Please Help!
 

Hi,
We're planning our first trip to Italy for the next spring/early summer.

We want to try to book tickets for miles, hence the early start on planning.

So far, this is the itinerary we've come up with for 14-15 days. We haven't decided whether we're going to drive or take trains between our destinations. What is the best option? Please let us know if it's doable and not too optimistic.

Arrive to Milan - stay 2 nights
Lombardi region - stay 3 days
Italian Riviera (Genoa, San Remo, Portofino) - stay 3 days
Florence
(day trips to Pissa, Siena) - stay 4 days
Venice - stay 3 days
Fly home from Venice.

We're thinking to leave Rome for a separate trip since it seems like you need to spend at least a week there.

Any comments on the itinerary and suggestions on where to stay and what to see will be highly appreciated.

Thank you!

Hi an,

Sounds like a nice trip.

If you enter the "(city name) AND hotel" in the 'search this forum' box you will get lots of suggestions for where to stay.

Looks like a good start to me. I would not spend 2 nites in Milan but go straight to your Lombardy destination--I assume one of the Lakes. I would have a car for the first half of the trip and drop it as you arrive in Florence. Malpensa airport is 30 miles out of Milan and you can get the car there and head out. You could use more time in Florence if you plan 2 day trips. Good luck--do not miss the HELPFUL INFORMATION: ITALY posting here--just search on that title.

I agree, it looks good. What is your price range for hotels? I'm assuming you're looking for a room for 2.

Thank you very much for all your replies. Our price range for hotels would be under $250 per room per night.
We also like the character in our hotels and would like to avoid the hotels which look the same no matter which country you're in.

Thank you!

Looks like a good itinerary--you'll see a nice variety of places.

I spent two weeks in Italy and visited Rome, Assisi, Florence, Siena, and Cinque Terre (had been to Venice and Verona on a previous trip). It felt like the right amount of places for the time I had. I don't think you necessarily need a week in Rome--three days was fine for me--but now you have an excuse to go back. :)

I rode the trains and had a good experience with that, but nothing beats the freedom of a car. Just don't bring it into Florence!

..y 2 cents woth...agree "straight to lombardy" rent car for the fiorst week and drop it before florence..you do NOT need a car in florence..would drop Pisa but keep siena (easy day trip by train from florence)..then train it to venice..re hotels try venere.com and cross ref here and tripadvisor..good luck!

We like to use FF miles for Europe too, and we like to stay as long as possible when we're over there. I'd suggest that if you can possibly stay longer than your planned 14-15 days to include a few days in Rome, by all means do it! It seems like by staying longer we wring more value from our miles.

There's a wealth of good information about all aspects of your trip here on the message board and in the archives. If you need help in accessing the archives, just let us know.

I clicked on your name to bring up any messages you had posted in the past. I see that in February you posted that you were going to Rome with your fiancee. Is the trip you're planning now the same trip?

I highly recommend Santa Margarita Ligure as a base for your "Italian Riviera" portion. And if you take Bob's advice and shave a night off of Milan, I'd do 2 nights in SML and 2 in one of the Cinque Terre towns (I think daytrippers miss the magic of the Cinque Terre). We were very happy at Hotel Jolanda (at Bob's suggestion) in SML a few years back.

I think you could even shave a night from Florence (3 is plenty) and from what I've read here recently regarding Pisa, it may not be worth the daytrip (I haven't been). Siena, however, is a great visit.

Have traveled to all these areas very easily by train, even in the Lake Region. So I imagine that driving should get you around to more places (and faster). Some suggestions:

- LOMBARDY: Milan is better to stay if you know people there. Otherwise, 1 ngt/day is sufficient. Hopefully by next yr, the Duomo's face will be visible (right now it's under renovation). Lake region is wonderful- primary choices would be Maggiore or Como. Lago di Como is easy to get around w/o a car (though you see less of smaller villages and hidden views).

- LIGURIA: Note that San Remo is near France border and on the other side of Cinque Terre. San Remo is 2.5 hr while CT is 1.5 hr train from Genova. So you'd be backtracking when you head to Tuscany. For Liguria, I'd suggest Genova, stopping by Camogli (picture perfect town similar to Portofino but fewer Louis Vuitton & Gucci stores, if any). Definitely see Santa Margherita-Ligure/Portofino. And Cinque Terre is a must. If you drive, I believe that Monterossa (largest of 5 villages) is only place where there's parking. The other villages are accessible only by train (or hiking). Camogli, SML/PF, CT are all in one direction east of Genova.

- TUSCANY: If you are in fact driving from Liguria, Pisa is on the way to Florence so might as well pop in there (just to say, "been there/done that"). Pisa is best in early morning to avoid throngs of tourists. Very lovely walled city of Lucca is nice as well and btwn Pisa & Florence. Words can't even describe Florence (or Venice or Rome for that matter!). If you daytrip Siena, you should take the SITA bus (it drops you off right in city centre, whereas train station is outside of town), takes less time and allows you to take in the Tuscan landscape. Might also consider San Gimignano as another daytrip option.

Have fun! There's a lot of info about Italy on these boards.

Thanks for your replies, everyone!

My main concern is that we don't overextend ourselves. We just put tickets on hold arriving to Venice on May 8th and flying out of Milan on May 21st. Would we be able to swim during our stay at Liguria?

Betsy, unfortunately that trip to Rome never materialized. We went to San Francisco and Napa instead in May to meet with my fiancee's friends. I still want to do it but maybe as part of another, shorter trip to Italy when we'll do Rome and Amalfi.

Hi anuta,

>...another, shorter trip to Italy when we'll do Rome and Amalfi.<

I suggest that you will need 2 weeks for that one, too.

Good for you--do not overextend.
You have a good approach here---4 destinations in 2 weeks. Your takeoff time at Milan may dictate your final destination, but do consider the magical Lago Orta. You will not be sorry.

We did a similar trip last year flying into Venice and out of Milan. We are very active and we did a very aggressive trip. Here is our itinerary as an idea(but we did include Rome) and our hotels...all in your price range. We typically pick small/european 3 and 4 star hotels.

Arrive Venice - 1 night at Antica Locanda Venezia

Train to Rome - 3 nights Hotel Barberini. Pick up car...drive to Orvieto for part of the day an on to Siena.

2 nights in Siena at the Santa Caterina. Drive to Florence and drop off car.

3 nights in Florence at Hotel Hermitage. Train to Camogli (right next to Portofino)

2 nights in Camogli at Cenobio Dei Dogi. (Day trip to Cinque Terre by train). Train to Milan

1 night in Milan (I can't remember this hotel off hand). Fly home.

This was a pretty busy trip, but we loved it. I would recommend 1 more night in Venice and definately don't recommend more than 1 night in Milan. Get tickets to the Last Supper Painting in advance if you plan to go (we did...we were glad as others were turned away because it was sold out).

If you omit Rome, add more time in Venice and maybe another night in Tuscany. Don't know much about lombardy area....

Good luck...You will LOVE ITALY!!