10 precious days in Italy

You start by buying a good guide book. The RS Italy 2011 book is especially helpful for people who are going to Italy for the first time and have no idea where to start. It lays out travel times, logistics, and even suggests priorities and itineraries. I suggest starting there. Best wishes.

Have bought books and magazines and yet still, find the best advise is from speaking with others who have made a similar trip and can provide good info based on their own experiences. What is the travel time from the Amalfi Coast up to CT for example? If someone has done that trip, I would love to hear whether they rented a car or took train/bus, etc. We think Sorrento sounds interesting, as does Lerici, CT, Lake Como, Lucca, Positanto, Portofino.

Hi Lorraine, Do start with Michael's suggestion. It has some much info! It's pretty much all I've used in planning my first trip this Sept. I quickly googled the olive oil thing and without going to far down there was a place but oh my please be sitting down when you look at the prices :) http://www.cellartours.com/italy/culinary-tours/olive-oil-tours.html There has got to be others out there, at least I hope so, that aren't as expensive. You could technically do all of the places you listed but since Amalfi is so far out of the way I would save it for another trip and focus on the others. This almost matches the start of my trip. we are flying into Milan. The day after arriving we are going to Varenna for 2 nights. Then going to Vernazza for two nights. on our way to Florence we are stopping at Lucca and then are in Florence for 3 nights. After you get RS Italy book you can decide how many days for which town. I would suggest open-jaw flying. In Milan and out Florence. For train Schedules look at Bahn.com for pricing use Trenitalia.com and just use the current month but use the same day of the week you'll be traveling. For hotels I used VRBO.com and venere.com both are excellent. Do you have 10 days excluding flights? What time of year are you going. Planning is lots of fun!! Enjoy
Buon viaggio

On a 10 day trip "zipping" down to the Amalfi Coast from Northern Italy would be too much. Doesn't matter whether you drive or train, the trip is complicated. The destinations you say you want to see are the scenic, not cultural or historic, sites in Italy. So I'm assuming you're not considering Florence, Venice or Rome. CT, Lucca and Varenna on Lake Como are doable if you're flying in and out of Milan.

Doug's suggestion is perfect. And if you love shopping, throw in Milan - one of the fashion capitals of Europe. Amalfi is way too far to go, especially with only 10 days. Google Maps tells you that driving from Vernazza in the CT to Positano on the Amalfi coast is 7-8 hours best case scenario. Slightly longer by trains. Hardly a "zip." :-) BTW, I agree that you will want input from people who've done it, but the RS Italy book specifically will be a godsend to you. It will answer questions that you won't even realize you need to be asking. Happy travels.

Like the others have said, the Amalfi Coast is going to be quite a distance from northern Italy, but you might have a few options. Looking at the Trenitalia site, the fastest train from Milan to Naples runs about 5 hours, and figure another hour to Sorrento. I'm not sure how many (if any) fast trains run between CT and Sorrento - might be better to connect in a major city. The other option would be to fly between Milan and Naples; might cut down on a little travel time. I'd recommend spending at least 3 nights in the Amalfi Coast region, so if you can fit it in then go for it. If not, I'm sure you can find enough to do in northern Italy. Torino or Bologna might be good cities if you're looking for something a little less touristy.

Another vote for Doug's suggestion. Our trip last summer included Lucca, Cinque Terre (Manarola), and Varenna (and a few other places as this was a 2-week trip). these three would make a perfect combo for a 10-day trip. You could fly in and out of Milan, or into Pisa and out of Milan. Learn to use one of the rail sites for planning (schedules and travel time). I like the Swiss one, www.rail.ch It works for Italy and is easier to use than Trenitalia. (But for actual ticket purchase details I use Trenitalia). We had a lovely 2-bdr. apartment in Lucca, inside the walls. I'll send you a private message with the details if you are interested. It has a 3-night minimum. In Varenna we did a cooking class at Il Caminetto and I HIGHLY recommend that. And I believe my boss did an olive mill tour on his trip in 2008--I'll ask about the location and details. He and his wife came home with some wonderful olive oil.