10 days in Italy

Yes. Nice as it is, the travel time between places will eat up your 10 days. Plan something like a 2+ days in Firenze and Venezzia and 5 days in Roma. I am happy to help further if you want, having been there dozens of times over 74 years. cmluther@swbell.net.

Isn't Neuenswanstein in Germany? I would spend 4 days in Rome, 4 in Florence (which gives you time for a day trip to Tuscany) & 2 in Venice and save Neuenswanstein for another trip.

Don't try to see too many places in a short time.

On the first day in a new city, you usually need some time just to get oriented to your surroundings: finding the hotel, unpacking, making your way around the city - using public transportation, etc. etc.

Travel between cities eats up time. Even a 2 hour train trip means at least 4-5 hours NOT sightseeing - changing hotels, getting to/from the train station.

Venice, Florence and Rome all have so much to offer, and each is very different from the others. Take the time to explore and enjoy each one. If you are rushing around trying to see the sights, you will shortchange yourselves on the experience.

I don't know what your interests are, but for me, Venice, Florence AND Rome in 10 days is pretty agressive, without taking into account jetlag and time at the airport. Are you arriving on an international flight? Are you flying open jaw? It's a 45 minute train ride between Rome and the airport. I believe it is quite a distance from Venice to the airport there, and transportation within Venice is either very slow or very expensive.

I would say that's asking a bit much. You've got 3 bona fides Italian cities to see there, and I would spend my time experiencing as much of them and the Italian culture as I could. By changing countries, you're also changing cultures, thus making a big adjustment, which is significant for just one site. I'd save Neuschwanstein for another trip (excuse to return!) and immerse yourself into Italy. Fly into Rome, out of Venice. Spend 3-4 nights in Rome (you'll still have only scratched the surface there), 2-3 nights in Florence, 2-3 nights in Venice. If you take the max number of nights above for each, then you're done. If you take the minimum, then you can mix up your city visits with some Umbrian/Tuscan hill towns on your way from Rome-Florence-Venice. I don't know your style, but these should not be missed. After 3 nights in Rome, it will be nice to decompress for a night or two in Tuscany. Assisi, Siena, San Gimignano, Orvieto, Cortona, Montepulciano: these (and countless others) are all great towns to visit and see the other side of Italian life. It's your call, but I wouldn't miss it.

Thank you to everyone who has responded to my question. We took your advice and are staying in Italy the whole time. We'll leave Austria for another trip.
Yes, we are flying in Open Jaw, but into Venice and leaving from Rome. We were a bit intimidated by the stories we read of the hustle & bustle of flying into Rome and thought maybe Venice's airport would be smaller & eaiser for us first timers. Plus, we wanted to be at St. Peters Square on a Wednesday.
We appreciatd the recommendations on how many days we should stay in each city too, esp with jet lag to take into consideratoin. That has been helpful too.

Katherine, great decisions. And Venice is a much better place to start than Rome.

Katherine, We also want to start our next Italy trip by flying into Venice. Our last trip on RS Best of Italy tour (highly recommend it) we bussed from Dolomites to Venice and I really hope to see the islands from the air if we can get the right flight arrival times (and the weather cooperates). I also agree that it would be less intense to start in Venice instead of Rome. Have a great trip. Sherry

Katherine,

I definitely agree with the others. Neuschwanstein is better left for a future visit (as Rick says "assume you will return").

Visiting Venice, Florence and Rome in a time frame of 10-days is perfect. That's the same length as Rick's tour that covers those three cities. You might check the Itinerary of that tour for ideas on touring, time in each city, etc.

As you're "first timers", I'd highly recommend pre-reading Europe Through The Back Door before you leave. It will provide you with a lot of helpful information to make your trip go smoothly. The Italy Guidebook would be a good thing to pack along on the trip.

"thought maybe Venice's airport would be smaller & eaiser for us first timers"

Actually, FCO isn't too bad (I'll be arriving there in about two weeks). Transportation to the airport is very easy via the Leonardo Express. It's about a 30-minute trip (don't forget to validate your ticket in the yellow machine).

Be sure to wear Money Belts (especially in crowded locations like the Metro). Roma Termini (the main station) often appears chaotic but that's normal and you'll probably get "accustomed" to it.

Happy travels!

Katherine,

You made a great decision! You will be thrilled with Venice, Florence, and Rome!

Agree with everyone, stick to the three cities and add travel time.
Venice - two nights, max three.
Florance - two to three nights depending on how much Art you want to visit. You can order tickets for these in advance.
Rome - Minimum three nights. Would make it four.
Dean

You're worried about the Rome airport having too much hustle and bustle? Then prepare yoursef for the city itself :) (I didn't think the airport was all that intimidating, but I guess I am used to O'Hare!)

I also thought the Leonardo Express was a complete ripoff- I know, I might be beheaded by the folks here for saying that :) At 14 euros a piece, we didn't even have a seat (had to stand or sit on our suitcases- so much for "all first class)!) and then had to figure out how to get to the hotel from the train station anyway. A cab from the airport to the hotel apparently would have cost us about 40 euros. Our hotel at the end of the trip set up a car service for us from the hotel (a Best Western near Termini) to FCO for 48 euros. Door to door service was completely worth the little bit more.