I'm trying to plan a trip to Italy and having never been to Europe I have no idea how much travel time is required between cities and if we will feel overwhelmed trying to see so many places at once.

We'll be traveling in Mid May 2011. Ideally we'd like to fly into Rome and I'm assuming if we're going north to Milan we should fly out of there. We'd like to see the history and the traditional touristy places, but would also like to go off the beaten path, hence the stop in Lake Como and/or Lucca.

If we spent 2 nights in each city will we be spending more time traveling than seeing the sights? We don't need or want fancy accomodations, we expect to be utilizing every minute we can seeing everything we can.

Thanks, I appreciate any and all feedback!

Jess, the answer is simple. Average 3 nites per destination and make your next one no more than 4 hours travel time. I would stay north and see Venice, Como, and Milan for this trip.

I would not include Milan on a first visit to Italy. Even if you fly home from Malpensa, you do not have to enter the city. I like Milan well enough and there is a lot to see, but it would not be my priority on a first, or even a fifth, trip to italy. If you include Lake Como, spend your last night there and then drive to the airport and fly home. (Hopefully your homeward bound flight will be in the afternoon.)

I do not think that three days is enough for Venice or for Florence and certainly not for Rome.

I would not consider visiting any of those cities for 2 days, especially not on a first trip.

Do no more than 3 places. Rome alone deserves minimum 3-4 full days, which means 4-5 nights. You will be jetlag on your arrival day, so don't expect to accomplish much on day 1.

Your idea of an open jaw ticket is a good one, if you want to see Rome as well as those more northern areas.

I have to laugh when I read responses like "the answer is simple". It's only simple if you leave the traveler out of the travel plan. Or Rome. In other posts, bob is usually more candid about really personally diskliking Rome and Florence, so of course it is "simple." Just X them off YOUR trip.

JessDTX, some destinations on your list are no more than 90 minutes apart by train and some others would be better done as day trips from a base location -- not spending 2 or 3 nights there.. If the point of going to Lago di Como is to get off the beaten path, you need to know that in Mid-May it will be filled to the brim with tourists. While Lucca doesn't get the mobs that Flroence does, it is an increasingly popular tourist destination.

If you expect to be utliizing every minute seeing everything you can, you may very well end up feeling overwhelmed, even if you only stay in one town. If by "seeing everything we can" you mean following guidebook recommendations for suppsoed MUST SEES, you may end up being quite bored as well as frazzled. There are very few people who are equally interested in Roman antiquity, Venetian palaces, Renaissance painting, Catholic religious iconography and byzantine mosaics. But guidebooks don't mention that, and they make everything sound equally urgent to see.

If you don't want to start eliminating destinations, sit down with a good guidebook and decide what attracts you in each city. The guidebook will tell you how much time it takes to see the sight you have chosen, and when the sight is open. Then you can add up how many hours you will need to have a rewarding but relaxed trip.

Lucca is easily reached by train from Florence, and can be done as a day trip without switching hotels. If you would like something more off the beaten track, but still beautiful and rich in art, consider going to Arezzo instead.

If it turns out there is really very little you would like to see in Florence, consider doing it as a day trip en-route to Venice. (Stow your luggage at the train station.) Instead of going to Lucca, pick a day trip from Venice or Rome (like Padova or Orvieto) to see a smaller town besides the mega-tourist cities.

It is better, I think, to see Lago di Como as a day trip from Milan, because if you plan to go up there for one day, and it rains that one day, the view is gone and that is all you came to see. If you stay in Milan, and it is rainy, you can take a day trip to LOTS of other places -- Verona, Torino, Mantova, Bologna -- it's a long list.

If you do decide to take the risk of rain and book yourselves into Lago di Como, you can always day trip to Milan if it rains, and you can also arrange to have a car service take you to Malpensa airport if the only reason you are going to Milan is because of the airport there.

Be sure you take the trip you want to take. There is nothing wrong with eliminating destinations, but don't eliminate them on the basis of geography. Eliminate them because other places call to you more.

Have a great time in Italy!

Congratulations on your first trip to Europe.

Heres' a few planning points . . .

Does your 10 days include your arrival and departure days? Keep in mind that on your arrival day you may be troubled by jet lag and may not be up for much sightseeing. Your departure day usually is all about getting to the airport and flying home. So if your 10 days includes your arrival and departure days, you may really have only 8 days for quality sightseeing and traveling within Italy.

Another good way to estimate travel: Every time you change hotels (move from one city to another with your luggage), you will lose at least a half day to making this change . . . checking out off the hotel, traveling to the train station, waiting at the station, riding the train, traveling from station to the new hotel, checking in to the hotel. Making some of these connections might use even more time. So, if you think you will have "2 days" in each place in your 10-day schedule, you will more likely have less than 1.5 days in each place. This does not leave much time to "get off the beaten path." This does not leave much time to see many of the "traditional touristy places" for these locations either.

As others have said, with 10 days, I'd choose no more than 3 hotel locations. Look at your list and prioritize each location, choosing the three cities of most interest to you. Verify the days of the week that your prioritized sights are open—for example, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence is not open on Mondays, so if this is a must-see for you, plan accordingly. It would be unfortunate to miss seeing one of your most anticipated sights because you didn't realized it was closed on the day you planned to see it.

Let me add that most people don't like Rome because they rushed through it. As much as I love rome, I actually recommend to not stay there unless you plan on at least three nights. Venice, my least favorite of the most popular three, can take less time because it's small and is actually more an experience than a place to examine.
Of the places you listed my choices would be:
1.Rome
2.Train to Florence
3.Como
4.Last night Milan.
I don't think you'll want a daytrip in Florence, but Lucca is nice and easy to get to. It might be a great late afternoon visit and bike ride.

Jess,
We just did a 11 day trip Rome/Tuscany/Florence/Venice.

Our travel style we find 3 nights in the first place to get over any jet lag and then about 2 nights per destination.

My husband and I both have a bit of "ADHD", and that reflects in our travel style. Italy is simply "packed" with amazing sights.

My advice is to pick the top 3 of your proposed choices and enjoy them. For example, just because of personal preferences, I would eliminate Florence from our last trip and spend another day in Tuscany and Venice.

I know it's hard to feel like your "limiting" yourself, and might be missing out on something amazing! Italy will still be there for your next trip.

Research your interest in each area and try to pick the 3 general locales that, as Zeppole puts so eloquently, "calls to you most".

Good Luck
Tina

If you are looking for advice on what cities to drop or keep from your list, you're going to have to go with your own judgment. Venice is my favorite city by far and one that I keep revisiting. We spent 7 nights in Rome, which was worth it, but I have no great desire to return.

Consider flying into Venice, taking the train to Florence, and then continuing by train to Rome. That way you see the big 3. Venice (which I love) is a great place for getting over jet lag. You can wander around in a daze and not worry about getting run over by a car. This leaves Rome for when you're wide awake and used to Italian ways.

How you distribute your 10 days is up to you. I'd give Venice at least 3 days, to include getting over jet lag. Florence, while pretty, is of most interest to those who like Renaissance art and architecture. It does make a good base for day trips, for example, to Siena by bus, to Pisa and/or Lucca by train.

You can look up train times at www.bahn.de/i/view/USA/en/index.shtml. This is the German train site, but it covers all Europe and is easy to read. Closer to your departure you can look at www.ferroviedellostato.it/homepage_en.html, the Italian train site, for the actual schedule during your trip. However, Trenitalia does not accept US credit cards, so you'll have to wait until you arrive in Italy to buy the actual tickets.

I've been assuming you're an American. If not, ignore the above warning about credit cards. And you may not be flying overnight over many time zones.

Wow, thanks for the quick and well laid out information! I think most of you are right, in that we're going to have to scale back to 3 cities. We will definitely need to sit down with a guidebook and figure out our must sees and be sure to leave time for the "off the beaten" path activities, like the bike ride to Lucca Jabez mentioned. To answer your question ellenem, we were counting on 10 days in Italy not counting travel days so, 12 days total.

I appreciate all the help as I really didn't know where to start. I think it's easy to get sucked into the big cities because of all the tourist hype so I think we feel overwhelmed because you hear people talk about what you must see. It's taken me 29 years to get to my first European vacation so the thought of "do it on your next trip" doesn't seem so realistic, though I'm thinking that after 1 trip it can be addicting and I'll make it a priority to come back!

One more question, do you think it best to go through a travel agent or plan this on our own? We have contacted an agent, but the prices that were given seem higher than I've seen online in my limited research. Have you found great deals on particular sites or just let an agent handle your plans?

Thanks again!

Most of the people here at Fodors create their own itinerary and book their own flights and hotels without the help of a travel agent, because it is easy to do, they enjoy the planning, and they can often find the better deals you noticed.

Glad you will have 10 full days to travel!

on your own....for airfare, plug your info into Kayak or Bing (they compare prices for you). You can also try different city combos, to see if there is a significant cost difference, which may impact your itinerary. You can research hotels here and on tripadvisor.

I tend to book hotels directly, so once you narrow down your choices, check the hotel websites, but also check websites like venere.com (which also has user hotel reviews).

For the record---I love Rome, and I like Florence.
I just like Venice and Lago Como better.

"...like the bike ride to Lucca Jabez mentioned."
LOL, you might not want to bike from Florence to Lucca. But, biking on Lucca's wall is very nice. Rome is always my favorite, but I am a huge history nut. I return for another week this fall after many stay and nights.
I love Como and so does most everyone else. But it adds a lot of travel time, assuming you begin in Rome.
With your limited time, I'd choose either north or south. Fly into Milan, then maybe Como and Venice (possiblr a nother town not far from Venice).
If Rome, rent a car at FCO and drive to Montalcino. Spend the night there. Slowly drive north (scenic way) and spend two nights in Chianti. Leave you car in Florence and stay two nights there with a possible few hours detour to Lucca. Train to Rome and finish your last four nights there. It's a busy schedule, but you will experience a lot.