Preliminary Itinerary for traveling through Italy - thoughts?

You're going to get varied opinions on this but I like your mix of bigger cities and smaller towns. One answer is easy - fly from Paris to Venice. The train is just too long and as you noticed, the flights are cheap. I liked Siena but if you choose the CT you probably want to go Venice, CT and then Siena, in that order. Then Siena to Rome is a quick and easy train trip.

"Fly to Venice - Does anyone recommend this?"

I think most people here recommend flying this route unless you had 2 or 3 days to get between them. So in your case I would say definitely fly.

If this is your first trip I would say you're shortchanging both Paris and Rome with only 3 nights (2 full days each for sightseeing). If you've been to them before then it's ok. With your route plan, I personally would skip Siena and add a day to each (Paris and Rome) and go directly from Venice to Naples. Train is almost 6 hrs but flying (including getting to airports and waiting times) could be almost that too. The only non-stop flight I saw was on Easyjet but it was a night flight getting to Naples at 10:30. Other flights with a stop in Rome were timed better but took longer and cost more (those were on Alitalia). Are you planning to stay in Naples for the Amalfi coast or either Sorrento or a smaller town?

I have been to Paris, but my family has not. Originally we were going to go from Paris to Nice, but decided to cut that leg because the logistics seemed to difficult.

I'm looking into the smaller towns around Naples, like Vernazza. Thoughts? We are thinking this portion of the trip will be good to just hang out and possible go fishing. Yes, no?

Vernazza is one of the CT towns, not by Naples. But it's a good place to stay for the CT. For the Amalfi coast you could stay in Ravello, Amalfi, or Positano.

Definitely fly from Paris to Venice. The easiest way I found was to go through Orly airport and if you stay in the 6th or 7th you can take the Air France bus to the airport which is a lot easier than going through CDG. The train from Venice to Siena is actually two trains with a change in Florence. These are regional trains that don't require a reservation. I would check the luggage at the Florence train station and spend the day there, with a reservation to see the David (as long as it's not a Monday). I chose to stay outside the city walls in Siena and close to the train station which also makes it easier to get to your hotel and a rental car to head South. I would skip Amalfi and the CT and spend a night in a hilltown on the way to Rome, maybe Montepulciano before dropping the car in Orvieto, spending a night and then heading to Rome.

Wow. Ok, I really have looked at a map of the country! Haha! You're right. No where near Naples. So clearly it makes more sense for us to go to CT - and not Amalfi.

Thank you!

We loved staying inside the walls of Siena. That is where all the charm is. I remember the train station being just outside the walls, and an easy walk even with luggage, no?

Also, Vernazza is wonderful and we loved it there. Our friends visited last Oct and reported it was packed with people, lots of cruise ships bring people in. So, if your thought of hanging out and going fishing includes hordes of people, you'll be ok. If not, you might want to change your perception of CT. At least according to my friend.

I would also suggest staying inside the walls in Siena, go to CT and skip the south this time.

I think you should find a fourth night for Paris.

Day 1-4 Paris (4)
Day 5 Fly to Venice (3)
Day 6-7 Venice
Day 8 Train to Siena (2) with sightseeing stop in Florence
Day 9 Siena
Day 10 Train to Cinque Terre (2) with sightseeing stop in Pisa
Day 11 Cinque Terre
Day 12 Train to Rome (3)
Day 13-14 Rome

Wyo,

For visiting the Cinque Terre, you might want to choose another of the five towns to stay rather than Vernazza. The reason for that is that Vernazza is very "compact" and it quickly gets overwhelmed when large tour groups descend on the town during the day, and conditions like that are not a pleasant travel experience.

"If we were to go straight from Venice to the CT or Amalfi area, would you train or fly into Naples?"

Flying from Venice to the Cinque Terre would be absurd, as it's a relatively short distance and the closest you'd be able to get is Pisa or Genoa. After that you'd still have to use the train. Using the trains (especially the high speed versions which travel at up to 300 km/h) is most often the best method.

If you haven't travelled in Italy before, there are some potentially expensive "caveats" to be aware of when using trains and other public transit. If you need more information, post another note.

I would personally take the 3 nights from CT and add one each in Paris and Rome and Siena. That will give you 3 full days for Paris and Rome and 2 1/2 days for Tuscany and Venice.

I'm going to agree with Susan. If you're alone, you can set your own pace. There are 4 of you and you're only going to move as fast as the slowest person in the group, at any given time. Most people arrive jetlagged and sleep-deprived, to they aren't moving quickly or absorbing a lot on their first day or two. You will use 1/2 day every time you move. Yes, it's only 1.5 hours on the plane, but you have to pack, check out, travel out to the airport, arrive with plenty of time to check in, maybe check luggage (expect carry-on limits to be lower and strictly enforced, both for size and weight), maybe wait for luggage on landing, travel from the airport to your hotel, check in and drop your luggage. You should add 2 hours to the train journey. So Venice to Siena is going to take 6 hours at least, more depending on how far your hotel is from the train station in Venice where public transport (vaporetto) is very slow. You've chosen places that are either far apart or not served by fast trains, adding to your travel time.

Thank you, everyone, for the feedback. We have added a day to Paris and one to Rome and will divide the remainder between Venice and Siena/Tuscany.

That being said, is it possible to day trip to the CT from the Siena area? Is that suggested or recommended?

Looks to me it is about 3:45 min train ride each way. One leaves at 7:30 and arrives at 11:12 in Vernazza. Then leaving at 6:45 pm arriving back to Siena at 10:15pm. I think each directions has 3 changes. I looked it up for Vernazza but they are all very close to each other so the times wouldn't make much difference if you went to a different village.

I don't think it is suggested or recommended, but it isn't impossible. You could always put it on your list and see how you feel when the time comes. Travel is very tiring and you may think you'll do it decide to skip it. It would be a very, very long, tiring day!

Use bahn.com to look up train schedules.

Or, if you really want to see CT, maybe you should spend a couple nights there? I think the real suggestion is to add one night to each Rome and Paris.