My husband and I are thinking of going to Italy in May. We would be there for a full 10 days arriving in the morning on day 1 and flying home on day 11. We are trying to figure out the best itinerary for us and are thinking of flying into Venice for 3-4 days then taking the train to Florence for 2 days and spending the rest of the time in Rome. I would also love to see Tuscany or some of the Amalfi Coast. Is there a way to fit that into the trip? If so, where should we visit and between which stops? Any hotel recommendations would be helpful also - trying to stick to somewhat of a budget so keeping cost in mind. Thank you in advance for any insight!!

With 11 days you really don't have all that much time. You should decide what are your must see and do's first then figure your days in each place. If on the other hand you want to rush around you could spend 3 days in Venice, take an evening train (appx 2+ hours) to Florence have two full days there spending part of one Siena there are all kinds of day- half day bus tours from Florence. Again take an evening train to Rome (appx 2+ hours)have full days in Rome, either take a day tour to the Amalfi Coast or hire a driver. It will be a long day but its doable.
The problem is trying to cram all this in you will be somewhat rushed

Personally, I like to see as much as I can when I go on vacation.

Personally, 2 days in Venice was plenty for me to enjoy the beauty and the vibe. It's a small place so you wind up retracing your steps quite a bit.

I spent another 2 days in Florence. (In retrospect, I could have spent 1).

Rome obviously requires the majority of your time and rightfully so!!

To this day, I still regret not incorporating the Amalfi Coast into my plan!!

That's just me talking....

cscan..

You're onto a good plan, although I haven't been to Venice in ages, you may want to consider having at least 3 nights there because (I'm assuming here) if you are arriving on a Trans-Altantic flight that first day you may be very tired and fighting a bit of jet-lag, so getting aclimated may take a day (or so). Then you would have 2 full days in Venice. My first day on a European trip is always a "throw away day" because I tend to be very tired and not wanting to do a lot of "heavy" sightseeing.

I agree with the poster above who recommended a day trip to Siena from Florence but in that case going with your 2 days alotted for Florence would mean one would be taken up with a day trip to Siena, it just depends on how important exploring Florence vs. exploring another Tuscan town/city is to you.

Rome always has my heart, and I think if you can give it as much time as possible that is a good choice, there is so much to see or do there. I know the Amalfi Coast is beautiful but you may find that something will have to "give" in your itinerary and if it's Amalfi, that could always be a reason to return to Italy. ;-)

As for budget friendly accommodations, you can try looking into staying in convents. I've not done this myself but have friends who have and they had good experience, but many times convent accommodations come with a nightly curfew.

You only have 9 sightseeing days + a jetlagged arrival day (10 hotel nights).

Venice - 3 nights
Florence - 3 nights
Rome - 4 nights (gives you 3 sightseeing days for Rome)

You can take a day tour from Florence to the Tuscan countryside on one of your Florence days. You should look at the calendar to plan Florence because many museums/sites you may want to see are closed on Monday.

This tour (10 hours) operates daily and would give you an overview of several places.

http://www.caftours.com/excursion-to...andscapes.html

This tour is 5 hours, but you only visit a bit of Chianti.

http://www.caftours.com/chianti-auth...-a-castle.html

There are quite a few other tour companies in Florence that offer day trips, but Monday's tend to book up since things in Florence are closed.

http://www.caftours.com/excursions-and-day-trips.html

Amalfi coast is too much out of your way in such a short time.

Masterphil's plan would have you spending barely one full day in each of 3 cities which are some of the most densely packed with art works and architecture in the world. These things need time and space to take in, which is why I don't like the Venice - Florence - Rome combo. By the time you've got to Rome, you are likely to be suffering severely from Art overload and have little idea of where you saw Tinteretto and where Botticelli.

A better idea, IMO is to stay somewhere smaller in Tuscany [ hiring a car makes this a lot easier] and perhaps to do a day trip to Florence. Then return your car to Orvieto, spend half a day/night there, and then get the train to Rome.

It is also very well worth remembering that every time you move you lose at least 1/2 a day, so if you move 4 times, you lose 2 whole days, which is a lot out of a 10 day trip.

Well, to each his own. I don't agree with annhig. We did that exact trip our first time to Italy (Venice, Florence, Rome). Each city was so different from the next, that we were excited to see everything every day.

I would do 3 nights Venice, 2 nights Florence and the rest in Rome. Fly into Venice and out of Rome (open jaw).

The train from Venice to Florence takes about 2.5 hours. From Florence to Rome, 90 minutes.

There is more than enough to see in Florence and, therefore, I would not (on this trip) spend one of those days on a "day trip" to Siena or Tuscany. Just my humble opinion.

If you have a local big box bookstore, go browse the Italy guidebooks and find one (or more) that you like. And you can also have a better idea about what you want to see where.

The two things on my "A" list would be Michelangelo's David in Florence and Vatican City (including St. Peter's and the Vatican Museums [which includes the Sistine Chapel]).

But, as I said, to each his own. (You might also read some trip reports here to get some inspiration.)

I am going back in April and this will be my first Italy trip (of 5) where I am NOT going to Rome. (She is my eternal love and I'm trying not to think of this as forsaking her.. just visiting with some of her more-neglected relatives. )

Buon viaggio!

No one can really tell you how many days you should spend anywhere without knowing what you hope to see/do in each place. And, like sarge56, I think to each his/her own. I could spend the entire time in any one or two of the places you mention.

And no one can give you meaningful hotel recommendations without knowing your budget in numbers/rates terms.

I did 4 nights Venice, 4 nights Florence, and 5 nights Rome -- totally occupied every moment and I had no day trips, except if you call going up to San Miniato in Florence a daytrip (but it's really just going to the edge of the city). I also did some walks in Rome that were a bit further out, but not much.

Convents are probably your best choice for budget accommodation. I got great hotel rates in low season, but the 3* hotels I chose were cheap in winter and pricey in May. I stayed in a convent in Florence which was pleasant and interesting.

I would say that if you want to also see Tuscany (for example), leave out Venice. Or the same for the Amalfi Coast. Especially if you are trying to do this on the cheap, it just does not work to rush too much.

I am returning to Italy for the 3rd time in July. I agree Rome, for me, needs the most time. Venice can easily be done in 2 days and you won't feel like you missed anything, it's small and you will definitely find yourself retracing steps! lol...all that said I LOVE Venice, so first trip, it was a day trip to Venice via train from Florence. I fell in love with Venice. Went back a second time to Europe and Venice was the only place I went to in Italy, since a day trip on the first time around was "enough" per se, but I really wanted more! Spent 3 nights-2 full days- in Venice. For me, Florence can be done in a day (which Honestly Venice can be done in a day also, but I was sooo enchanted with it!)...so 2 nights in Florence. Then the rest in Rome. That is how I, personally would plan it. This time around, I am going with friends who have never been to Europe, so we are doing:
5 nights in Paris, flying to Venice (EasyJet) for 3 nights, train to Florence early morning, there all day and all the next, leave early evening to Rome for 5 nights. May change it to 2 nights in Venice and 2 in Florence, just not quite sure yet.

kesnow- You say Florence can be done in a day?

Have you been to the Boboli Gardens? Up San Miniato way and down through Piazza Michelangelo? Across the Ponte Vecchio, into the Oltrarno? To the top of the Duomo and through the Baptistry? Done the Uffizi, seen "David" at the Accademia? Been to the Basilica of San Lorenzo to see the beautiful celestial ceiling in Old Sacristy? The Michelangelo tombs in the Medici Chapels (Dawn, Dusk, Night, Day)? Been to the Central Market to sample Italian delights? To Santa Croce to see the tombs of Michelangelo, Rossini, Galileo, Machiavelli?

I'm happy to see that you are going to give it some more time next trip.

All good advice. Obviously everyone loves Italy and would be completely thrilled to spend months there. On our recent trip we flew open jaw in Venice out Rome , arriving in Venice by nine a.m. I think excitement lends you a bushel of anti jetleg fighting energy. Having said that , our first day was spent wandering Dorsoduro, visiting Gloriosa dei Frari and then a trip to St. Marks just to relax that first night . We didn't feel overtaxed and we didn't plan anything too early in the day for the following day. It is possible to make your first day, if arriving early, a full day.

We spent three nights Venice and trained to Florence early the fourth day.
We spent the next three nights in Florence , taking the express bus to Siena early afternoon the fourth day.
Stayed that night in Siena and had a wonderful driver, Andrea, from Hills and Roads take us through Tuscany where we had a farm to table lunch and then on to Rome.
We spent three nights in Rome.
We had several night tours, the Colosseum and Vatican, so that freed up our days for other things. We took a wonderful food tour with Joseph from Walks of Italy. Some may feel they should have more time in Rome and I agree we didn't see everything, but the drive through Tuscany was one of the highlights of our trip. As many have said, to each his own.
Perhaps it would help by making a list of what really matters to you and allot the days in the places that you will need the most time based on what you want to do.