Duggan

I know alot of the regulars here are sick of generic questions but I like to ask a couple just to set me in the right directions.

My wife and I are first time travelers to Italy and honestly neither of us have more than a generic knowledge of what there is out there.

Basically we are looking for help on an 8 days-ish trip. We want to go to Rome and Venice, the rest is more of an open book.

So I guess my question is what other town(s) would you hit in that context. I know that quite a bit will depend on taste, but I am trying to get a sense of what some of the other 'can't misses' there are. While I would prefer to be in a situation to take longer, or multiple trips, it is not in the cards so we are in a situation of hitting it as hard as we can and the more we see the better.

Any help or even direction to some similar posts would be greatly appreciated.

nocinonut

Hi Duggan, to get yourself in the right direction, get an Italy guide book or go to destinations here on Fodors and check out what might interest you in Italy.
Then type your interest in the search square here on travel talk and really alot of information will come up from previous threads. Read some of them to get a further idea, then post a thread question after you have narrowed your interests down and there are alot of travel experts here who will be glad to help from there on in, from what to wear to where to stay and eat.
Alot of posters here have just returned from Italy so they can give you first hand advice.

DougP

Your statement " the more we see the better" can be self defeating. If you spend a lot of time getting from one place to another it doesn't leave much time to "see" what you want. IMHO, 8 days is enough time to see two cities max and maybe some touring in a car between the two cities. Perhaps a small town overnight between Rome and Venice then fly back home from Venice.

baldrick

8 days should do for Rome and Venice. 5 nights in Rome and 3 nights in Venice. Take an open jaw ticket if possible, Rome / Venice or Rome / Milan.
Check clearly and thoroughly what there is to see in both cities before looking elsewhere. "The more you see the better" is OK for me, but apply this only on Rome and Venice. You can not apply this on entire Italy in 8 days.
Check on Venice and Rome on this site and other travel sites.

tudorprincess

Duggan, My parents have taken Perillo Tours to Italy twice and are taking their Greek Isles tour this spring. They like having things arranged for them and most meals and wine are included. I'd check the Perillo web site, maybe that's an option you'll want to explore.

Lorenzi

Youv'received some very good advice from the first 3 responses. The only thing I might add is a stop one day between Rome & Venice, stop in a smaller town in the country to see what most of Italy is realy like. Your staying in 1 large city & one small one, both very unique. Get a flavor of the Italian countryside and spend a day there. Tuscany & Umbria are fantastic and each are between your major destinations. If you travel by car you have a large selection of towns. By train, a few less, but you could check train schedules to pick a good one.

platzer

Don't listen to those people who tell you that you need to spend a week in every little town to appreciate it. I don't know what world they live in but most of us who travel get one chance to go to a country and want to see, and I mean "see," as much a possible.

As for you trip, the obvious omission is Florence, which appily lies almost exactly halfway between Rome and Venice, so you can do them in a triangular trip, so the travel time is the same as about going between Rome and Venice. Assuming that you arrive in Rome, you have a 1.5 hour train trip to Florence. Florence to Venice is 2.:45 and then Venice back to Rome is about 4-5 hours. So it costs no extra travel time to go to Florence. If you can travel open jaws, so much the better.

I suggest: Rome 3 day, Venice 2 days ,and Florence 3 days. Florence itself isn't worth 3 unless you are an art freak, but it is an ideal base for making for lots of good, quick day trips to the best known tourist places in Italy that are only about an hour away. In order, I would look at:

1. Siena - many peoples' favorite city in Italy

2. Lucca/Pisa - only 20 minutes apart, so you get to see two places in one trip.

3. Chianti. If you want to see the countryside and are interested in wine. Since you would be crazy to rent a car for your trip, look into a tour. Caf runs a nice 1/2 day wine tour that is relatively cheap.

4. San Gimignano - the best known, but very touristy hilltown. Very small, and maybe not worth the time on a short trip.

There is also

5. Fiesole is an old Etruscan town 20 minutes up into the hills of Florencce.

6. Assisi is 2 hours away, but it quite a place if you are the spiritual type.

From Rome, you might want to consider a quick trip to Orvietio, an hour away by train, to see a a real hilltown, if you don't go to San Gimgnano.

Any guide book will give you more details.

bardo

Yes, your question has been asked many times. The responses (correctly) are always the same. The fewer towns you hit, the more you will see. "hitting it as hard as we can and the more we see the better" is interpreted by the experienced traveler as meaning NOT a whirlwind of photo ops. SO... sticking with Venice/Rome will yield a memorable trip, whereas a stessful, overbooked frenzy will be a trip you'll forget (or want to).

baldrick

I could agree with Lorenzi, but then again,... you could go to Perugia or Assisi, or Siena or Florence, to see what the local flavor is like, but then again, it will only be a very little drop in an ocean of things to see. From Venice, you can always consider to visit Padova if you think "you have enough of Venice", 25 minutes by train, to see a mid-scale, normal italian town, whatever that may be...

baldrick

With the jetlag and a program as proposed by platzer, a couple of things cannot be denied:
- you will be happy to be back home and able to rest ( I hope you can do that on your job),
- 2 weeks later, you will need the pictures with subtitles to remember where it was you saw this or that.

Florence is an omission, so what? Maybe next time you can come and focus on Tuscany, Umbria and Florence.
It will still be there!

rex

Made one of the best trips of my life in 2001 with four other first-timers to Italy - - and it included Rome, Venice and Assisi.

Not that it was perfect - - maybe there are bumps in the road for every first-timer setting foot in Italy. Our itinerary was two nights Rome, drive to Assisi, two nights there, drive to Venice, two nights there, train to Rome, last two nights there. My aunt and uncle, in particular were overwhelmed by Rome in those first 48 hours (and the hotel, the Grand Plaza, left a bit to be desired). But having acclimated to "things different" in Europe (generally speaking) and in Italy, specifically - - they were thrilled by their last two days in Rome (aided by our relocation to del Senato).

If traveling by car seems too daunting to you, then Florence - - or alternatively, Verona might be a better choice (for train travel) than Assisi. In fact, increasing;y, I think that either Verona or Florence make an excellent FIRST destination - - milder than Rome - - and why waste time in lovely, lovely Venice dealing with jet lag?

Beyond that, you need a good half day at the largest public library/bookstore (or both) before you commit yourselves to plane tickets into or out of either Rome or Venice (or any other city) - - to think about how the logistics of the trip will work best for you.

Best wishes,

Rex

ira

Hi Duggan,

Eight days is perfect for Rome and Venice or (my preference) Florence and Venice. It is a bit rushed for Rome, Florence and Venice.

Open jaw flights will save you about a day of travel time. I suggest into Venice and out of Florence/Pisa or Rome, because early morning flights are easier to get to than from Venice.

You might find these threads helpful

Ira?s Trip Report
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34451044

Helpful Information: Italy http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34443340

Trenitalia Tickets Online
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34465647

ira

PS

Orvieto is a nice daytrip from Rome for a "hill town experience".

mclaurie

I agree with most of what's been said. Keep in mind too that you can take &quot;day trips&quot; from any 2 cities you chose, so by <i>only</i> going to 2 places, it doesn't mean you have to see only 2 places. Do a text search here for day trips-for example -day trips from Venice. Someone recently asked this question too.

SalB

mclaurie makes an excellent point. If you plan to stay in only two cities and make day trips, you won't have to worry about getting from one place to another, packing and unpacking and all the time wasting things involved in changing hotels/cities.

A good thing to think about.

RufusTFirefly

4 days Rome and 4 days Venice.

Duggan

Thank you for some excellent suggestions and ideas.