Thoughts on itinerary:Rome,Florence, Cinque Terre & Venice in 12 days
 

I'm looking for feedback on an itinerary for our first trip to Italy next month (end of May). We are landing in Rome and departing in Venice. The itinerary would be as follows: Rome 3 nights (Day 1-4), Florence 3 nights (Day 5-7), Cinque Terre 2 nights (Day 8-9) & Venice 3 nights (day 10-12).

We want to see a bit of everything on this trip. We aren't art or history junkies - though we appreciate them both & are looking forward to viewing some significant masterpieces and pieces of history. We just don't feel the need to spend most of our trip in 1 or 2 cities solely to enjoy those types of activities. On a previous trip to Costa Rica we covered 4 cities in 14 days, each city being 4-5 hours apart and we still felt we could've added one more city. I know it's not the same type of country by any means but what we learned from that trip was that we're ok with an avg of 3 nights in a place and relocating frequently. Given this, what are your thoughts?? Is this still too crazy of an itinerary?

Looks like a realistic itinerary. I think you will enjoy this trip. You can go back another time to spend longer if you see something you want MORE of (like Tuscany) and not feel like you are missing major "sights."

It's not a trip I would enjoy, but this is your trip. A couple of things you should keep in mind: You'll lose a half day or more moving from place to place, so it's really not 3 days in Florence, 2 days in CT, 3 days in Venice. CT to Venice is 6-7 hours. Also, depending on how long your flight to Rome is and how well you tolerate jet lag, your first day in Rome could be a blur.

I have a couple of friends who covered three Hawaiian Islands in a week and said that they would gladly do it again. So, the moral here is, you know your limits and you, clearly, took that into the account when you decided on your itinerary.
IMO, three nights in Rome means two days; two nights in CT means one day, etc. I would stick with the big three this time around but, again, this is your trip.

For a first trip to Italy, I would recommend Rome, Florence, and Venice. You will have more time in each city and less exhaustive time on the road. Is there a specific reason why you are visiting Cinque Terre on a first trip? I am curious.

Hi L,

Enjoy your visit.

Not being art or history 'junkies', I'd take a day off Florence and add it to Rome. There is just SO much to see in Rome. Florence is lovely, but smaller than Rome, and from how your post sounds, I'm guessing you're not one to spend an entire day in an art museum. If you are interested in the highlights, you should go with the basic guided museum tours. Other than that, I think your plan is fine.

Just to be clear, I meant the basic guided tours given by the museum, not guided tours of Italy itself.

I actually think that your timing is perfect as I have made the same trip on a few occasions but I was in Cuomo instead of CT (but doing that this summer). I believe you can also take in a day trip from Florence into Tuscany. If you reserve the Museum tickets in advance you will save a great deal of time. That includes the Coleseum, forum, vatican, in Rome plus the Florence museums. I have been told that trips like this one is too busy but it's how we always travel and enjoy ourselves immensly. good luck and enjoy.

Thanks so much for the replies everyone. Just needed some reassuring, but I am happy with this itinerary. To clarify -- we do have 3 full days in Rome as we have an overnight flight from TO, we arrive in Rome at 7AM. I know overall it's not a ton of time & our days are going to be cut short with travelling, but I'm content with that. We'll definitely have to return to Italy again to see this and much more!

GoodLuckGirl, we are seeing Cinque Terre because it appears to be such a beautiful coastal area like nothing we've ever seen. It seems like a nice area for some down-time for a couple days from the other places with major sites/monuments/art pieces.

Thanks all for the responses & helpful tips!! Looking forward to our trip! :)

Just so you know how to plan your days:

I don't know where "TO" is, but landing in Rome at 7:00 a.m. means you might be sightseeing by 10:00 a.m. An overnight flight means you'll have some level of jet lag, and you'll likely start running out of gas by late afternoon.

Depending on where you're staying in CT, the earliest you can start your sightseeing on Day 8 is perhaps noon (or after lunch). Depending on your base in the CT and the location of your hotel in Venice, you might not be out sightseeing on Day 10 until after 3:00 p.m.

Dear lucy1010,
I am planing to travel to Italy in mid-May. Although I have been there many times, I have never visited Cinque Terre. On this trip, we will be based in Tuscany, and we considered visiting Cinque Terre,
After reading your posting, you made me happy that we included this area as part of our itinerary.
May your first trip be the beginning of a life long "love affair" with Italy.
Buona Fortuna

"<i>we do have 3 full days in Rome as we have an overnight flight from TO, we arrive in Rome at 7AM.</i>"

I'd try to add at least another full day to Rome. You can't count day 1 as a full day. Well, at least most people can't.

You will have flown overnight (I <i>think</i> you mean from Toronto -- not sure what TO means) and will probably be jetlagged and possibly sleepless. Then getting to your hotel and checking in and just getting acclimated -- don't count on major/heavy duty sightseeing on your arrival day.

Personally, I would head to le Cinque Terre by train from Rome, then Florence, then Venice.