We are planning a trip to Rome, Florence and somewhere else in Italy in Early October for 10 days. I only want to spend a couple of nights there. The rest is up for grabs.

How much time does Florence need?

Where should we go from there? The listings of Sorrento/Pompei or Tuscany sound great. Don't want to bite off more than we can chew. Do we need a car? How is the weather in October?

Any advice will be a huge help.

The weather in October is changeable. We have experienced hot weather in Rome, plesant weather in Florence, and rain in Umbria, all in short period in October.

I think Florence, Rome, and Sorrento/Pompeii sounds like a lovely trip.

If you can tell us more about your interests, and what you expect from the destinations. we can probably give you some good feedback.

Hi Goldiept,

Have you visited Rome before, so you definitely know you only want to spend a couple days there?

I ask because on my first trip, we didn't really plan time in Rome because we had "heard" that it was just a big, crowded, dirty, polluted city. We had only 1.5 days in Rome.

LOVED Roma! The city blew me away with thousands of years of literally everything - architecture, history, art, plus the food, culture, energy. Couldn't wait to go back and spent several days in the city the next visit.

I'm looking forward to my next trip when I'll defintely rent an apartment in Rome for at least a week.

For your trip, either option would probably be very nice in Oct. I would choose Tuscany just because less travel would be involved.

My preferences would be:

Florence 2 days
Tuscany 4 days
Rome 4 days

Buon viaggio!

I is easy by train to do Rome, Florence and Venice for the 10 days. We did this our first trip to Italy.

4 nights Rome
3 nights Florence - with a day trip to Pisa, Lucca, or Siena or ???
3 nights Venice

I loved all 3 cities and will be spending more time there this next trip and including Assisi.

Hi G,

>How much time does Florence need?

Well, you could zoom through it in a day on the way from Rome to Venice, or spend 2-3 nights and enjoy it.

>We are planning a trip to Rome, Florence and somewhere else in Italy...

The only "somewhere else" that I would recommend is Venice.

I would fly into Venice and out of Rome.

Hi,
Thanks so much for all of your input. I promised my daughter that I would take her to Venice so am saving it for a trip with her - hopefully during a biennale - then across to Croatia. Have been to Rome twice for a week each time and loooooved it but want to see more of Italy.

Will a week for Florence, Tuscany, Amalfi Coast and Pompeii be enough time? I'm not an old lady yet but have thoughts that I may not come this way again so want to make the most of it. I also do not want to feel rushed.

Any suggestions for hotels in Florence?
Thanks again.

Goldie

Tuscany is on the way between Rome and Florence and you'll be there just after harvest season. We stayed 5 nights in Rome on our first trip; on our second trip, we had 5 nights in Florence (including the arrival day which really doesn't count with jet lag) and felt we could have spent more time there....so, if Florence is not your first stop, 5 nights would be perfect.

Depending on your budget, there are plenty of hotel choices in Florence. We needed two rooms for the family and stayed at Hotel Accademia. Very nice, clean, well located - a couple of blocks from duomo, medici chapels, accademia gallery, etc. and 5-10 minutes from the train station. There were little cafes along the street and just around the corner in either direction. It was perfect for us but if you are looking for an elevator, onsite restaurant and/or room service, this would not be the place.

Hello Goldiept, I am somewhat confused. But I assume not counting the time you are planning on spending in Rome you have a week for the balance of your time in Italy? Do you mean six nights?

You will have a week I assume left of your trip after staying in Rome.

Goldiept, Sorrento/Pompeii is south of Rome and the countryside of Tuscany and the city of Florence is north of Rome. Personally I would skip Sorrento/Pompeii and go to the countryside of Tuscany and Florence unless Pompeii is really important to you and then I would spend the time south of Rome versus north of Rome. Keep in my you will lose time travelling from Rome to whereever you decide to next visit. Checking out of the hotel, travelling, checking into the next hotel etc.

As far as how much time one wants in Florence is up to each visitor's interest. Do you love churches, museums, art etc? If yes you would probably want more time in Florence than the traveller that doesn't really have that interest.

When you say early October do you mean 2008 or 2009? Have you purchased your airline tickets? I assume you plan on flying into Rome. Where do you plan on departing from to fly home?

A car, if you want to see a lot of the Tuscany countryside yes a car is a good idea. If you want to stay in Florence and take day trips to oh say Siena, Lucca, Bologna etc., that can be done via the train. And it is only a 90 minute train trip from the Termini Train Station in Rome to the train station in Florence. Best regards.

>>Tuscany is on the way between Rome and Florence<<

Florence is the capital city of the region of Tuscany. The way that Albany is the capital city of New York State.

Rome is in Lazio. Florence (Firenze) is in Tuscany.


Goldiept,

When you ask "will a week for Florence, Tuscany, Amalfi Coast and Pompeii be enough time?" and then say you don't want to be rushed, how are you imaging this trip? How often do you want to change hotels? Will you be driving or relying on public transport? Can you fly into Napoli and out of Firenze, or vice versa?

Thanks to all of you again. I now have altered the plan.

It will be happening in the beginning of November. Departing on the 7th and returning on the 18th of this year.

You sound so enthusiastic about Tuscany but I just don't think we will be able to spend time there. I love museums, churches, architecture so Florence is a priority for me. I feel the same way about Pompeii. My boyfriend isn't into that stuff and wants to spend more down time. So now it looks like
2 nights Rome
2 nights Florence
5 nights Amalfi coast with a day trip
to Pompeii.
Last night in Rome to be near the airport.

Where do you recommend we stay on the Amalfi Coast?

Any recommendations for hotels would be greatly appreiated too. I need to spend more time reading these forums.

Thanks.