Two Weeks in Italy

Old Aug 3rd, 2016, 04:25 AM
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Two Weeks in Italy

Just planning a trip. My expected dates are depart Boston on June 23rd, arrive in Italy Saturday am. Would like to fly back on Friday 7th. Tickets are not booked yet, but I would like to book tickets in the next two weeks. Its my 50th birthday celebration so we are not 20, but we are young 50 year olds and fairly active. Not cross fitters, but not couch potatoes either.

First trip to Italy and I want to visit several cities and move about, but don't want to make it so hectic that we don't enjoy what we see. Are there any sites out there that I could see proposed travel routes? Also, are there any passes similar to what Paris has to see attractions?

Thanks for your help!
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Old Aug 3rd, 2016, 04:39 AM
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Generally first timers do Rome/Florence/Venice with side orders of Cinque Terra or Pisa/Lucca all of which is in the north of the country and can be accessed by trains, assuming there are two of you trains make a lot of sense.

For your second trip you could start adding Boglogna/Parma/Verona/Ravenna/ Milan/Turin or maybe visit the countryside of Tuscany by car.

Beyond that as you go south Naples comes up a lot along with the coastal area and Capri, before you start to look at Sicily/ Basilicata/Puglia as a more gritty southern area.

If you search on this site by any of those names you'll find advice.
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Old Aug 3rd, 2016, 05:01 AM
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Thank you!
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Old Aug 3rd, 2016, 06:15 AM
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You have 13 days, including your arrival day. Your first day or so will probably be impacted by jet lag; you'll be wide awake at 3 AM, sleepy during the day.

I suggest flying into Venice and get acquainted with Italy by wandering the back "streets." Venice has only water traffic and foot traffic, no cars, trucks, vespas. Then take a train to Florence. How long you allot for Florence depends on how interested you are in Renaissance art and architecture. You could rent a car (from the airport to avoid fines for driving in the locals-only zones, ZTLs) and see a bit of the south Tuscan countryside. Drop the car in Chiusi or Orvieto and take the train to Rome.

So maybe
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Old Aug 3rd, 2016, 06:23 AM
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continued...damn tab

3 nights Venice
2 nights Florence
3 nights Tuscan countryside
5 nights Rome

Get open-jaw plane tickets into Venice out of Rome. These (called multi-city on airline web sites) should cost about the same as round-trip. If you drive, you need an International Driver's Permit to accompany your home license. An IDP costs about $25 at your local AAA office, including photo. Also car rentals in Italy require you buy CDW.

You don't have much time to plan but I think you should look at a guide book or two. Rick Steves suggests itineraries according to how much time you have.

How do you expect to select hotels?
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Old Aug 3rd, 2016, 08:50 AM
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I would also recommend flying into Venice and out of Rome. My husband and I did a 2 week trip around Italy in 2012 and had a magical time!

2 nights Venice
2 nights in Monterosso (Cinque Terre)
3 nights in Florence
3 nights in Sorrento
5 nights in Rome

In Florence we did a tour that took us out to Tuscany and to a couple wineries plus Monteriggioni. We explored the other areas of Cinque Terre and in Sorrento, we went to Capri. We should have done Amalfi instead, but we missed the boat. While in route from Cinque Terre to Florence, we spent a couple hours in Pisa before getting back on the train.
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Old Aug 3rd, 2016, 02:44 PM
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We took our first trip to Italy in May 2015, spending 12 nights there. We tend to move around a bit more than many recommend here, but I think we were able to see most of what we really wanted to see. Here's a link to my trip report:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...y-may-2015.cfm

Lee Ann
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Old Aug 3rd, 2016, 02:51 PM
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Are there any sites out there that I could see proposed travel routes?>

Well if going to the main cities - Venice, Florence, Rome and places like the Cinque Terre or Lakes district or Amalfi trains are great and once there local transportation superb - check these rail-oriented sites for lots of info on Italian trains: www.seat61.com- great info on discounted tickets that can save you a bundle; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com - check out the latter's free online European Planning & Rail Guide's Italy section for itineraries.

In 13 days I would concentrate on the big three Venice, Florence and especially Rome -places where cars are useless - trains are so fast and modern. You are not traveling enough if on trains to make any railpass pay off.
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Old Aug 3rd, 2016, 03:34 PM
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If Venice > Florence > Rome doesn't sound like "enough" for you, you could add another stop, but think about what is drawing you to Italy. Surely there must be something there that you in particular want to see.

There are also US to Milan flights, so you could do something like landing in Milan,

Mid Lake region of Lake Como, 2 nights.
Venice 3 nights
Florence 3 nights
Umbria (Perugia, Assisi, Spello, Spoleto, pick one) 2 nights
Rome 4 nights

The thing is, you can move these locations and blocks of time around endlessly. The important thing is that you see what you've always wanted to see.

Another itinerary could be Florence, Naples, Amalfi/Capri/Sorrento, then Rome. Or skip Naples and do Florence, an area of Tuscany, then the south, then Rome.

Endless possibilities.
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Old Aug 3rd, 2016, 05:17 PM
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What are you wanting to get out of you trip to Italy? Food/wine, outdoors, cities, etc?

Definitely go for an open jaw flight- fly into one city and out another, that way you can maximize your time in Italy.

We were just there within the last year and made Bologna/Modena/Parma our 2nd stop on the trip and really enjoyed our time there. Lots of food related activities there; parmesan cheese, prosciutto, balsamic vinegar. We also made a point of stopping in at Osteria Francescana, a world ranked restaurant in Modena. I should note we didn't 'stop in', reservations are definitely needed. Something to look into if that's something that interests you.

If you are into wine tasting and traveling to wineries, I would suggest the Umbrian region, specifically Montefalco around Perugia. A less visited area than the Chianti region (which is always worth visiting), but still very established and respected, with it's own wines.

We have found that mixing larger cities, with smaller/less touristy cities or more rural areas helps to give us a snapshot of a country in a two week time frame.

Hopefully all this is helpful.
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Old Aug 4th, 2016, 12:46 AM
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Italy is either no 1 or 2 for wine production, so you will find wine everywhere, ditto olive oil, ditto artisanal cheese.

I too prefer smaller towns, so you may find somewhere like Padova interesting and a short train ride from Venice
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Old Aug 7th, 2016, 08:26 AM
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Everyone has given some really thoughtful and detailed advice! I am very grateful. I see a lot of the same responses so I am going to map that out. My first thought was just to nail down arrival and departure cities and then put the pieces in from there. This is a great start for me.

Thanks so much everyone!
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Old Aug 7th, 2016, 12:22 PM
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http://www.forbes.com/sites/ceciliar.../#29e9f4535e0c

A huge % of Extra Virgin Italian Olive Oil is said to be fake!
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Old Aug 7th, 2016, 01:17 PM
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I'm not sure about virgin water either.
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