ret

Hello,

My husband and I will be traveling to Italy in Spetember. We arrive in Rome and fly out of Venice. So far, I booked 4 nights in Rome and the last 2 nights in Venice. Now, I'm trying to plan the remaining 6 days/nights. Here is a tentative itinerary:

Day 1: Assisi, Perugia and stay the night in Siena
Day 2: day trip to San Gimignano/night in Florence
Day 3: Florence
Day 4: Florence
Day 5: Cinque Terre
Day 6: Cinque Terre

I have a few questions:

1) Should I spend the night in Siena or just travel to Florence on day 1?
2) Should we rent a car for the Tuscany area? I've heard and read pros and cons.
3) Finally, can someone help me out with the train schedule....where can I find an on-line timetable to really plan out arrival and departure times.

This is my first trip to Italy and I'm feeling slightly overwhelmed.

Thanks!

Big_Red

For trains in Italy try:

trenitalia.com

there is an Englich language option on the opening page.

jenwalk

stay an extra night in Sienna...may I recommend Hotel Duomo....ask for the very top room ...I think it was 56? It has artwork of views out the two windows.....to the Duomo and to the tower over the piazza....you'll love the cinque terre...again, if you need a place to stay email amy at [email protected] for "Punta A" ..an apartment with a to die for balcony over the sea...exercise those quads before you go! Plan your departure time in Venice to the airport carefully.....unless you use a water taxi (90 euro last summer) you'll need to watch the times...just do the research and you'll be all right...if you drive go to Lucca....and buy a Rick steves Italy book...but most of all Enjoy!

jenwalk

And, of course, a Fodor's book, too...I kind of thought that went without saying...JW

nessundorma

You cannot possibly do Assisi and Perugia in one day and get to Siena. In fact, you should spend the night in either/both places if you really want to see them (and that is cheating Perugia incredibly; it's a major Italian city).

If you are mainly interested in seeing Firenze, do not rent a car. If you are mainly interested in seeing some of the small towns and beautiful countryside of Tuscany, do rent a car, and day trip to Firenze.

I suggest you do 4 nights Rome, 3 nights Firenze/Tuscany, 2 nights Cinque Terre and 3 nights Venice.

jjber1

I highly recommend renting a car. We drove almost the same route you are planning and it was easy and so convenient having a car. We stayed off the toll roads as they are very expensive and driving the back roads, which are all very good, was much more fun and more scenic.

jjber1

I almost forgot. If you like Italian pottery be sure to add Deruta or Orvieto to your itinerary. These two towns are famous for their beautiful Italian pottery and the towns themselves are quite charming. They are both in Tuscany and not really out of the way. The pottery is incredible and so much less expensive than buying anything comparable in the U.S.

Dayle

Hi RET,

I agree, day 1 is far too much and not possible. I have not visited Perugia, but loved Assisi and spent an entire day there. Could have used a second day. I think you need to decide your priorities and save one of these areas for your next trip.

Buon viaggio!

Mimar

You definitely don't want a car in central Florence or in the Cinque Terre and you definitely do want a car to try to approximate your ambitious itinerary in Umbria and Tuscany.

You're trying to do too much. Umbria and Siena/San Gim and Florence and the CT in 6 days including transportation time. (Remember each time you change hotels, it takes a good part of a day just to check out, get yourself to the new place, and check in.) I'd say pick 2 of the 4 places. Maybe skip Florence unless you're huge fans of Renaissance art and architecture. Or do Florence as a day trip (by bus) from Siena.

rlbplf

You should be thinking of how you get to Venice for the last two days of your trip. Try to work Florence into the second to last stop and then train to Venice, we did this and it was very easy. You should probably drop the CT portion and have a rental car for the Tuscany portion. You can return the car in Florence and perhaps someone else could recommend a pickup point for you. We have not been to Assisi or Perugia but have been to Siena. Perhaps you could train to Siena, see that city day 1, rent your car and drive to San G, base there for a night or two to see the Chianti region. Then drive into Florence. I think your itinerary is ambitious as you laid it out. Mimar is correct about losing time in changing towns and hotels. Don't forget the getting lost part of driving, it will happen and therefore add time. Driving also allows you to find that village, sight, etc. you did not anticipate and causes you to spend some time there. Part of the adventure of driving!

angelah861

Hi,

My husband and I just returned from 3 weeks in Italy. We spent a week in Tuscany and did a day-trip to Cinque Terre.

I agree with "rlbplf" that you should go to Cinque Terre first and then to go to Florence. We did the reverse route, stopping in Venice first, then Florence, Tuscany and Rome. I definitely recommend renting a car if you want to get around to Siena, San G, etc, but NOT for Cinque Terre or Florence.

We picked up our car in Florence and was "anchored" just north of Siena for the week. We drove to Pisa, took the train to Cinque Terre and back. And on our last day, returned the car to Florence and hopped on a train to Rome.

We booked our trains early enough on Trenitalia that we got discounted tickets (i.e., 29/39 Euros from Florence to Rome). It's so convenient and makes for a stress-free trip to the train station.

Angela

Lexma90

I would also say to switch the order of Florence and the Cinque Terre, so you can pick up a rental car when leaving Rome, have it through Tuscany and Umbria (where you will definitely need it) and to the Cinque Terre (doable by train, but time-consuming to do so) and then east to Florence. You can drop off the car upon entering Florence, and then take the train to Venice.

It is kind of a rushed trip, I agree; you have a lot of two-night stays that mean you'll only get about 1 1/2 days in each location. But only you can decide what to drop...

If you want to get a feel for the Tuscan countryside, consider dropping Assisi and/or Perugia (which are actually in Umbria) and add more time to go to some of the smaller towns or cities. I would drop Perugia; I know many people love it, but it just didn't click for me; maybe I just like the smaller towns more (though I was surprise at how much hubby and me both enjoyed Assisi).

ret

Ok, I'm convinced day one is too agressive. What if we just spend 4 nights in Florence with day trips to San Gimignano and another to Siena, take the train to CT and then to Venice? Is there a problem with transportation from CT to Venice?

rlbplf

Wish I could help you with the train option you suggested but we have only taken the train from Florence to Venice. My guess is getting a train connection to CT from Florence may be difficult but I will let someone with more knowledge help with this one. Another thing to consider is the frequent train strikes that occur. This happened to us in Florence. Our train was delayed for several hours while they worked out the strike. When we learned of the strike someone who knew the drill said, "don't worry, they only last a few hours" and sure enough they were right. Again we don't have a lot of experience with trains so someone please help with this.

socaltraveler

Glad you can see day 1 is too aggressive. If you go straight to Florence, maybe spend 3 nights there, you could then spend a day/night in Siena. If you had a car for part of this trip, you could visit San G on the way to the Cinque Terre. On our last trip in April, we started in Rome, took the train to Siena and picked up our car there. We used the car to drive to the CT and take day trips around Tuscany.
Again, from a personal point of view and recognizing that everyone travels differently, I would add another day in both Tuscany and Venice and save the CT for another visit.

Huitres

Hi ret: There is not a "problem" with train travel between Cinque Terre and Venezia, I have done it often. On the trenitalia website, I entered the city pairs of "Monterosso" (not sure which CT town you will be in) and "Venezia" for mid-week travel in September. There are trains leaving every other hour, beginning at 5:19 am, stopping in Milano, arriving in Venezia at 11:38 am (6h19m), while another train at 7:35 am stops in Bologna, arriving in Venezia at 1:16 pm (5h41m).

The trenitalia website is an excellent tool that I recommend to everyone (including myself!) for helping plan travel itineraries, times, etc. What you might do is print out the itineraries for the portions of your trips that you will be taking a train(s) and get the listing for that particular day's trains. Take that sheet with you to the ticket office at the station and you can show the attendant to get the right train ticket you need. Buon viaggio!

ret

Thank you so much for the detailed response....I truly appreciate your help! And, we are planning our staying in Monterosso so it looks like all is good.

Weezie

Just want to put a plug in for your second itinerary using Florence as your base. What you described is actually a combination of the best of two of the trips I have done. We, too, stayed in Monterosso but if I went back I'd stay in Vernazza. My reaction may be more to the place we stayed rather than the town--I just thought Vernazza was one of the most charming places I have ever seen! Have a great time--I'll be back there the last week of September too!

bmarie85

I agree with the person who said to stay in Vernazza instead of Monterroso. Monterroso is nice for the beach, but that is it- it is not half as charming as the 4 other villages. I stayed in Riomaggiore and will be returning this summer to stay in Vernazza. It is so easy to go to all the villages with the constant trains going back and forth. If you can change your reservation, go for Vernazza or Riomaggiore- they're spectacular!

CRAZY4TRAVEL

I would skip Perugia on day one. Assisi can be done in a fews hours and then move on to Siena as you will want to get there early enough to see some of the sights...otherwise why bother going there at all. Remember that many of the sights are closed during the lunch hours and the daylight hours may be shorter depending how late you are traveling in September.