Italy itinerary suggestions - 1st time visitors Grazie!

Unless you are really set on seeing the art of Florence, I suggest you could just do Venice and Rome. Relax in Venice -- Rome will take a lot out of you, go slower.

First 3 nights in Venice (gives you time to get over jet lag and enjoy it).

2 nights Florence. Be sure to reserve Uffizi and Academia on your full day there.

The rest in Rome.

Yes, heat, humidity, and exhaustion can be a problem in late July. Making sure your hotels have AC will help you get enough rest. Unlike here, where 100% of hotels have AC, it's not the same in Italy.

My suggestion is to prepare in advance as much as you can. Rick's shows on Italy show regularly on PBS stations, and are often available on DVD from your local library. There are other good travel shows such as Samantha Brown, Rudy Maxa, etc. The more shows you can watch, the better prepared you can be to choose what sights you'd like to see and to recognize them when you see them. Also read thru guidebooks to get an idea of what attractions are available in the cities, suggested itineraries, etc.

After finding out what's out there and discussing with your H what interests you, then you're ready for the next step.

IMHO the more planning you can do up front, the better off you'll be. You ought to have a daily itinerary mapped out so that you have an idea of what you'll be doing, and where. You don't want to spend time chasing across Rome or any other city when you could have planned things so that on each day you're focusing on one area of the city so things are nearby. If you're taking trains between cities (which you OUGHT to be, given all 3 cities are well served by rail) you should also look up what times the trains leave on the days you'll be traveling so that you know your choices.

Hello Joanne. I was at those three cities in ITALY. Your travel plan in Italy looks good. Reserve Air Conditioned rooms in all three cities. In Florence, I recommend : have overnight accomodation at a hotel that is south of the Arno river. But affordable hotels there are very very old.

If you want to visit art galleries in ROME, I recommend : reserve your tickets for the Villa Borghese gallery. I think it is worth going in, for seeing the white marble sculpture.

I think splitting the remainder of your time in Italy between Florence and Rome will work. It's probably not a bad idea to focus your attention on art galleries if you have an interest in art. They usually are well air-conditioned to preserve the art - and you'll appreciate that as well.

Hi, if you have six days left over after Venice, I think you can easily fit in Florence and Rome. What I might actually do is spend maybe a full day and two nights in Florence and then get into Tuscany for a day or two. One thing RS has suggested is actually home basing in Sienna and doing Florence as a (long) day trip. Getting out of the crunch of city life for a couple of days might help with the exhaustion...

Two years ago we went to Italy in high season. The crowds are there, the heat is there, but it's still wonderful. Take my advice, though. Take lots of breaks, even if it means you don't see every last thing. You will be battered if you try to go EVERYWHERE. I especially recommend gelato breaks :)

Finally, make sure to bring a water bottle and stay hydrated. In Rome there were frequent public fountains where you could fill up. If water cannot be consumed you will see ACQUA NON POTABILE. If it can be drunk, you might see POTABILE.

Joanne, I tend to agree with the suggestions Brad offered. Three days in Venice, two in Florence and four in Rome would be about perfect. t shouldn't be too difficult to find open-jaw flights for Venice and Rome. That will allow you one day for travel and another two in Venice for touring and to get over jet lag.

With only a nine-day trip, you won't have a lot of time for touring around other towns so it might be best to focus on those three (especially as you don't want to start "feuding" with your husband over exhaustion).

I'd suggest using "fast" trains between Venice-Florence and Florence-Rome so that you don't waste any time. Just buy P-P tickets, which will include required reservation fees.

Happy travels!

A huge grazie por todos....hmmn, I speak Spanish not Italian though will work on some. In any event, thanks, I will take all of this info and work with it. Happy trucking to all (ha from the Grateful Dead and moi) and no, I am not a Deadhead! tee hee

Hi joanne, great choices you've made, so plan your time closely with reservations for all museums. On arrival spend that first day in full travel mode with reserved acadamy/david(!) soon as possible, enjoy a courtyard lunch-see rick's book cafes, walk the town to your fill and hit bed at your normal usa time as if you had never spent those hours on the plane. Have an early wakeup call and hit the streets moving to next reserved places. Jet lag is over-rated by many first-time travelers. Take rick's advice about using every hour to the maximum. This traveler has dozens of trips in his background, and loves italy best. You made super itinery to be filled with wonderful sites-remember reserve, reserve, reserve to save time. larry from springfield.

I like 3 Venice, 3 Florence, and 3 Rome. Always liked Florence more than Rome as a short-stay traveler. Rome, to me, eats time and energy and patience...and money, whereas I find Florence's human scale, culture, and rich beauty so accessible (despite the heat). Clearly a matter of personal preference, but I believe that Florence offers the traveler many rewards without exacting the same 'toll' as Roma. One obviously has to see the Coliseum and the Vatican and The Forum and the Pantheon, etc., but for us, three days was enough.