Tips on travel to Italy
 

I am planning to travel to Italy in late November/early December.
I have planned around 1.5-2 days stay in Venice. 1-2 days in Florence and 3-5 days in Rome. I would want to visit some places around Florence and Rome but I am totally confused.
I found the following options on internet.
- Pisa and Lucca from Florence in a day
- Sorrento, Capri and Pompeii in a day from Rome
- Sorrento and Pompeii in a day from Rome
- Sorrento, Capri and Pompeii from Rome with 1 night stay in Capri
- Orvieto in a day from Rome
- Sienna, San Gimignano in a day from Florence
- Cinque Terre in a day from Florence
Capri seems really nice but how good an option is in November?
Could you please suggest the best option from the above options or any additional option that I might have missed.

How many days do youh ave in total? What time do you arrive and depart, and from which airports, if you already know? There are lots of options above, and knowing how much time you have will enable the options to be pruned down.

What interests you? Countryside, wineries, art, religion, architecture?

Another question - where are you coming from? It sounds as though you are thinking two nights in Venice, two nights in Florence, and half a dozen in Rome. Is this the case?

1st December we reach Florence by train from Venice and fly out of Rome on 6th december night (8:40PM Rome time).
I intend to plan out the days in between. I have not booked the trains/hotels yet, only the flight from Rome is booked. I am planning to take morning train from Venice.
Based on the best possible choice I would be deciding the time for trains and number of days of stay in Florence and Rome.
I would prefer natural beauty. I understand Sienna, San Gimignano are famous for wine tasting but should I prefer it over capri or any other place?

I would say that Capri wouldn't be great that time of year. The ferries and boats out to capri depend on the condition of the weather and sea, and you are likely to have issues where you might not be able to catch a boat/ferry back to the mainland. So I'd say you can cross that off the list.

Pompeii is doable in a day from Rome, albeit a long day. When I did that 2 years ago, we left at 7am, stopped in Naples for an hour and then had quick bite to eat before we entered into the Pompeii site. I was there 4 hours inside the ruins and didn't get back into Rome until after 8. Just know that your going to spend 4+ hours on a train or much longer if you drive or take a tour service.

We are coming from Venice...You are right Peter :)

When do you arrive in Venice - it sounds as though you are flying into Venice. Hopefully you'll have a couple of nights there before you travel to Florence.

Don't worry too much about trains. The train from Venice to Florence departs about every hour, and takes about two hours.
At that time of year, you don't need to book train tickets in advance.

You can check train times here: http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/homepage_en.html

Just enter the date and time that you want to travel, and the options come up. I'll be in Venice in early December too!

If I rule out capri..Is it worth to stay a night in Sorrento if I have time? Or is Sorrento worth only a day trip?
Or would Naples and Pompeii be a better option over Sorrento and Pompeii? Or any of the other places above?

Is this your first trip to Italy? If it is, my recommendation is to stay in Venice, Florence and Rome. Leave the side excursions for another trip. There is so much to see in these historic cities that you do them a disservice by being there and taking day trips away. In the brief time you have, you'll never be able to see what these cities have to offer. Only if you've been to Italy before should you try to make the side trips you are considering.

29th November we fly into Venice from Paris. Reach Venice 29th November afternoon. 2 nights in Venice. 1st December we move to Florence.

Yes, it is my first trip to Italy. I felt that 2 days in Florence might be too much and I could plan 1 day outing or stay only 1 day in Florence and move to Rome. 4.5 days might be too much in Rome if I stay 1 day in Florence.

OK, seven nights.
Two nights in Venice (one and a half days)
Two nights in Florence (one and a half days)
Three nights in Rome (three days plus the day that you leave).
I think that you might consider adding a day to Venice, and leaving Florence for the next trip. Three places in seven nights is a lot of moving around, and the way it is planned, you will reach your hotel in Venice pretty late on 29th November, and only have one full day there.

Remember that each time you move, it takes half a day. Worth a thought, anyway.

I'm really confused by your plans. It seems that you will be staying in Florence and Rome but not visiting sights in those cities as your days are planned with side trips. So why stay in Florence and Rome at all?

Why do you want to go to Sorrento? It's a nice town but I would not want to be there if the weather is rainy or cold and damp which it very well may be in December. Sorrento in the rain is so different from Sorrento in the sunshine.

Rome to Sorrento - 4 hours on the bus or 3+ hours on the train plus time to get to the bus/train station in Rome so that is 4.5 hours each way = either 7 or 9 hours round trip.

Rome to Pompeii - 2 hours on the train to Naples, 1/2 hour on the Circumvesuviana train to Pompeii plus time to get to the train station in Rome (1/2 hour) plus time to change trains in Naples (1/2 hour) = 7 hours round trip plus time to see the Pompeii site.

You could not possibly see Capri, Sorrento, and Pompeii in a day. Look at a map and see how far apart they are. Capri is an island so you are dependent on boat schedules.

If you really want to see all these places then go from Florence to Sorrento and stay over night. Then go to Capri and stay over night in Sorrento. Then go to Pompeii, visit the archeological museum in Naples, and return to Rome for your last night.

You're only spending 2 days in Florence so I'm not sure how you'll manage 3 day trips.

Don't you want to see things in Florence and Rome? Again, why are you going to these places just to leave them?

I would be visiting places in Florence and Rome. I felt that I could manage 1 extra day from the trip and thought of one of the above outings in that 1 day. I understand it would be lot of travel but I would want to see a number of places if possible :) but at the same time not miss out anything in major cities...Do you think that would not be possible?

I reach Venice 29th arnd 12:30 in afternoon. I think that 1.5 days should be fine in Venice..What would you suggest?

You have such as short time in Venice, Florence, and Rome that you will not be able to see everything in these cities. If you like art, architecture, churches then you will not be bored in Florence and Rome. If you feel that you've seen 1 church or museum you've seen them all then plan a reasonable day trip each for Florence and Rome that you could decide to take once you get there. Leave your options open.

If you're interested in ruins then go to Ostia Antica which is just outside Rome (about 1/2 hour on the train). It will give a flavor of a ruined Roman town without the long journey to Pompeii.

Forget the Sorrento, Capri, Pompeii trip for now.

Put together a daily itinerary to determine what is enough time in each city. I don't think 1.5 days in Venice is enough, especially if you want to visit the islands. But again, I could never be bored in Venice, Florence, or Rome no matter how much time I spent there.

"I felt that I could manage 1 extra day from the trip and thought of one of the above outings in that 1 day. I understand it would be lot of travel but I would want to see a number of places if possible :) but at the same time not miss out anything in major cities...Do you think that would not be possible?"

Everyone has told you that is not possible, nor recommendable. With 1.5 days in each city, you want to take a full day to leave and go elsewhere and then have only a half day in each? This is a fly by itinerary and it sounds like you are looking to just check things off a list.

You are completely underestimating the time it takes to even scratch the surface of Venice, Florence and Rome, let alone day trips.

With your schedule as planned, I'd stick with Venice, Florence, and Rome.

I would not do any day trips from Venice or Florence since you have so little time there.

Your time scheduled in Rome gives you the only option to take a day trip. I would wait until I was there, see how I felt, and see how the weather was before choosing to take a day trip. Both suggestions that follow would have no trouble buying train tickets on the day you depart.

= Hill town: Orvieto is just an hour from Rome so it is a good option and would give you a taste of a scenic Italian hill town.

= Ancient ruins: Pompeii (allow 3 hours travel in each direction) is a long but worthwhile day trip to see ancient ruins. OR go to Ostia Antica for a smaller but similar experience just an hour from Rome.

Nov 29: arrive Venice midday
Nov 30: Venice
Dec 1: train to Florence
Dec 2: Florence
Dec 3: train to Rome
Dec 4: Rome
Dec 5: Rome
Dec 6: depart Rome evening

On the other hand, based on now seeing this written out, I personally wouldn't leave Rome for a day trip, but your interests may be different.

"I would be visiting places in Florence and Rome."

Such as? This will give us an idea of how much time you need in these cities.

"I would want to see a number of places if possible but at the same time not miss out anything in major cities...Do you think that would not be possible?"

It is possible, of course. And I understand why you want to do that. However, with all the day trips you want to add it is not really worth it unfortunately.

You have 1-6 Dec in Florence and Rome. IMO, stay 2 nights in Florence and the rest in Rome. No day trips at either, except perhaps Ostia Antica from Rome, as adrienne said.

The other thing you have to consider is that the days are considerably shorter at that time of year, limiting how much sightseeing you can cram into a day. I would bag the Sorrento/Pompeii/Capri leg - if you're that anxious to take day trips from Rome, stick with Orvieto and Ostia Antica.

With the short days, you really haven't allocated enough time for any of the cities. Enjoy three great cities and don't spend all your time traveling.