12 Day Itinerary- Florence / Tuscanny/ Rome

What you have planned is fine. I suppose you could zip up to Venice from Florence as a Day Trip or a night, but Naples would require a couple nights in my opinion, unless you were to do it as a daytrip from Rome (even with fast trains, a long day) As for Tuscany, to hit several small towns a car would really be better, having a base then exploring each day works for many. Just read up on ZTLs and plan on parking outside of towns.
For the home base option, that might be a good idea for Tuscany and florence as a region, staying outside of Florence and train or car to different areas. For Rome, I would still prefer to stay in Central Rome if only to be able to wander at liesure and late dinners.

I had the same quandry about Tuscany when planning our trip. Do realize, that Florence is part of Tuscany. We stayed in Florence and took the bus to Sienna and back as a day trip. It was easy and enjoyable. I don't think 12 days is enough to do everything on your list. You could do Pompeii as a (long) day trip from Rome, but that would leave you with only 2 days for sightseeing in Rome. It's all a tradeoff. Personally, I would not miss Venice.

Hi Doug..We were in Italy last year for the 1st time. We flew into Rome and immediately drove to Tuscany. We stayed in a really quaint "farmhouse" on a hill overlooking Tuscany for 3 nights. I felt like we were in the movie Mamma Mia! Although we rented a car and did day trips to Lucca, Siena, etc., we found driving to be somewhat stressful. It could be that we're in our 60s but we're young 60s (if that makes any sense). Plus, our car broke down and we waited by the side of the road for 5 hours before we could get ahold of a driver to take us to our hotel (cost us 400 Eur!!). We found out that the Italian police do not help and, if they had stopped, they would have hauled us to jail for stopping by the side of the road! BTW, Florence is part of Tuscany and a must see. We took the train to Florence for a day but I could have spent more time in Florence. We then went to Rome and spent 3 days there. So much to see! Hold on to your wallet as 2 in our group got pickpocketed by the Spanish Steps. Then went to Sorrento/Amalfi Coast for 2 days. We didnt have time for Venice or Cinque Terre and I wish we had. We are going back next year with our adult children and cant wait to return to some places and visit new ones!!!

Hi Gail, (and anyone else who wants to contribute)- Did you find it better to get one hotel and stay there the whole time and commute in and out of Florence and Rome and around Tuscanny? Also, what is there to do in Tuscanny (not Florence)? When I typed up our itinerary and added the towns in the area- Siena, Montepulciano, Cortona, Volterra, Chianti, Orvieto- there wasnt really alot of actual sights listed. (compared to Florence and Rome which are loaded). Some Duomos and that's it. I know in 4 days I cant see all of those towns or if i want to, so I kinda have this "wander around" attitude at the moment, but want to get a clearer vision as to what towns we should hit, what there is to do there, and in what order. i am definitely more of a planner. I wish i could attach the Word Doc that i put together that shows my sample 12 day itin.

Sorry to multi-post: So at the moment all I can imagine after consulting some of the guidebooks online sights is that we will be wandering in and out of small towns and there markets and doing some wine-tasting and relaxing. Do i need 4 days for that? And the same for Pisa- is there really enough to do there in a day? I want to see the leaning tower, but a whole day to do so? With this logic I am thinking i could scrap the Pisa Trip and one day in the Tuscan hills and use that to go to Naples or Venice. But only after some help narrowing down the best Tuscan things to do and how to get around. i really want to avoid a car.

Hi Doug - We just returned from a wonderful trip that included four days in Tuscany using Siena as a base, no car. After exploring Siena for a day and a half, we took the bus to San Gimignano one day (very touristy but very beautiful) and did a Chianti tour with Tours by Roberto one day (excellent). After four days in the Cinque Terre, we spent the last night in Florence was fine but a bit intense after all the peace and quiet of the other places we traveled. The public transportation (buses and train) is very easy to navigate and quite convenient. Buon viaggio!

Doug, If you want to do Pisa, I would suggest 1/2 day in Pisa and then another 1/2 in Lucca which is close by and relatively easy to get to from Pisa. We did Pisa in 1/2 day and we even did the walk from the train station to the Field of Miracles. There's a bus that runs to Lucca from the Field of Miracles so that's an option if you don't want to retrace your steps to the train station. I won't know the bus schedules etc since my itinerary was different - was continuing on to Cinque Terre after a quick 1/2 day blitz in Pisa. I would suggest renting a car as it's easier to visit the small hill towns in Tuscany. That's what I did and it was great to be able to go wherever and whenever I wanted. I drove from Lucca to Sienna and made Sienna the home base for my daytrips to Volterra, San G and Montepulciano, before finally dropping the car in Assisi. I didn't think driving in Italy was all that stressful - but then again I grew up driving around in Malaysia so it's hard to say. Just have to watch out for the ZTL zones.

With such a short time I would limit it to 3 places - fly into Rome (3 nights), train to Florence (3 nights), train to Venice (3 nights). Fly home from Venice. Or you can do the same trip in reverse. It sounds like you are more of a 'big sights' kind of guy, and opposed to taking in the charm of villages. To wander around Tuscany it is best to do that with a car. During your time in Florence it would be easy to take a day trip to Siena. Pisa, in my opinion, is not worth going out of the way for. We stopped for a couple of hours there on our way from Lucca (loved Lucca!) to the Cinque Terre. That was plenty of time. We only did this because our train was stopping there anyway. Naples is out of the way, but if you feel strongly about going there you could substitute it for Venice. I always keep this in mind while planning my itinerary - two nights in a place equals one full day, and so on. So three nights is only two full days, and you have to factor in travel time to change locations too.

From the tone of some of your questions, you would be happier with an "urban" itinerary than a "rural" one. Meaning, you should focus on staying in the larger cities, and taking daytrips to smaller ones. This means you can leave when you have had your fill. It also means you don't need to rent a car (especially for such a short trip), but can use trains and buses. The point of "Tuscany" is enjoying luxuriating in the small villages and enjoying the scenic views (and the food and wine, of course). It's not for those looking for attractions with turnstiles. I share your taste (I can get bored easily with rusticating), so I understand. However, I loved staying in Varenna on Lake Como (another place with few turnstiles). But, Tuscany also has Florence, and other cities that are easy to see from Florence. If you envision seeing rural Tuscany, you really do want a car; if not, you really don't. You should not feel any pressure to see any place that does not draw YOU. Don't blindly listen to anyone who says that any place in Italy is a "must see" or "must not see." If you're going to small town Tuscany because you want to, great; if you're going because you think you "must," see something else. I'll agree with the others who said that seeing Lucca and Pisa in one day is very nice. In 1989, when I did this, I went to Lucca first, and by the time I got to Pisa, the knickknack vendors were literally packing up, so I got to enjoy the Field of Miracles in peace, and as the light was fading, the marble there was quite beautiful. Lucca was my favorite place on that trip. I also went to Siena on that trip, but contrary to Rick and almost all others, didn't care for it. I was ready to leave by about 3 PM; because I was seeing it as a daytrip from Florence, I did.

Last year, we spent a week in Tuscany in a farmhouse we rented outside of Cortona (with a rental car). We chose Cortona since it seemed to be centrally located off the Autostrada, near a train station, a beautiful hill town, and within 45 minutes to other hill towns by car. We took the train into Florence twice, once to see a soccer match, and a second time to tour the city. Spent two days in Cortona, a day in Siena, and a day in Montelpulciano. The last day, we drove up through Chianti region on the way to the airport. We thought about a day trip to Rome, but decided to save that for another trip. We purposely planned our trip to stay away from cities, and enjoyed the countryside. The only "city" we drove to was Venice, and all you do is park in the Parking Garage, which is at the end of the freeway going into Venice.
We are planning our next trip to Italy, and will do more travel by train, but plan to rent a car again during our 5 days in Tuscany. We love the small hill towns.

Well to clarify to some of the above comments, I am a planner but not necessarily an "urban" traveler or have to be doing something at all times. I know this can become a stressful, un-fun trip if you try to do too much, so I am balancing seeing a couple of big cities and the most important items, like colosseum, vatican, david, etc. with built in relaxing / romantic time in the beauty of the vineyards and hills. Next May will be our 10yr anniversary and we never got to go on a honeymoon, or really anywhere since 2003. I dont have to, nor do I want to be going all the time. There will be a point where there is such a thing as too many museums and churches. So i want to get lost in the culture and just relax. But to do so, funny enough, I want to have a general idea as to how to approch the tuscan country. And not just randomly hit as many small towns as we can. Pick the best two or three and know what, i anything, we should see beyond walking around, dropping into a winery (which are the best?), and enjoying a 2 hr dinner. So more of some guidelines and less an itinerary, which I think is more needed in Rome and florence. If it will let me, I will paste my itinerary in a new post. ADDITION to this discussion- how do people feel about tour guides for the main cities- are they worth it and what is the cost? I know there are also ones that handle the wineries or tuscan country.

Doug, My husband and I love Tuscany and honeymooned mostly in Florence years ago. I think your plan of limiting yourself to Rome and Tuscany will work just fine. If you stick to rail and bus Lucca, Sienna, and Pisa are all easy day-trips from Florence. But the only one of the three I would consider a break from the crowds is Lucca, but Lucca while charming is not a hill town. You could add more small town flavor by stopping for a day in Ovierto (not Tuscany of course) on the way to Florence. But most of the other hill towns are real projects with rail bus transfers to get to by public transport. It can be done, but you can't really town hop that way. An alternative would be to book a day tour or two from Florence. These are often expensive but worth it. They can get you into wineries, and make small town to small town transport easy. All you have to do is sit in the mini-van and let them do the driving. So, no you don't have to have a car to get the most out of Tuscany. If you do decide to rent car, I would use the train for Rome to Florence and stay a couple days in Florence without a car because a car would mostly be a nuisance in Florence. I'd stay in a smaller town or in the countryside for the auto portion of the trip.

I'd suggest you consider Orvieto. It has a nice mix of features. It's a little out of the main Tuscany tourist flow... about an hour outside of Rome by train. It has one of the most stunning cathedrals in Italy, in my opinion (both the mosaic facade, as well as the interior frescos). Also it's known for its wine, as well as Etruscan ruins. Plus there are beautiful views from the old town, and it's an enjoyable town for wandering.

Hi Doug You're getting some great advice here, We're just back from 22 days in Italy and I'm still in my happy Italia buzz LOL. Keep in mind that you basically lose at least half a day each time your change your home base. It sounds like you're leaning away from renting a car, which for a first time traveller to Italy is a good idea. Italy has outstanding public transportation and you really can get almost anywhere without a car. A few questions: What time of year will you be travelling?
Do you and your wife have a list of "must sees or must dos"? We always save Rome for the end of the trip and go straight from the airport to Termini and catch a train to our first destination. This past trip we did two nights in Orvieto which was a great place to relax and get over our jet lag. Personally I found Pisa very touristy but your opinion may differ. Lucca is lovely and would make a great day trip from Florence. Siena is wonderful, particularly in the evening after the day trippers have gone. We stayed five nights in Siena and used the bus to make a daytrip to Arezzo and took a fantastic tour with Roberto of Tours by Roberto. Going with guided tours can really maximize your time and enhance your experience of what you're seeing. You mentioned the Vatican, they offer a very good tour thourgh their website for a very reasonable price and you'll avoid the usually daunting line to get inside.

Hi Maggie, We would go next May. Below is the itinerary i put togetehr using Frommer/Rick. These seem to be the things we would most want to see in Rome / Florence. Once I got to the Tuscan countryside part of the trip I sorta threw a bunch of towns in there with no preference. (what I am trying to figure out here) My thoughts are to see the main cities and get the hustle out of the way in Rome and Florence and then relax in tuscany Sunday May 12, 2013 Depart Charlotte in late afternoon to fly to Rome. Arrive the following morning. Monday May 13, 2013 Rome- Day 1 Piazza del Campidoglio Fori Imperiali Colosseum Arch of Constantine Forum Romano Pantheon Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps Piazza Navona Tuesday May 14, 2013 Rome- Day 2 Piazza San Pietro Basilica di San Pietro (St.Peter's Basilica) Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel Galleria Borghese- Reservation Requried Wednesday May 15, 2013 Rome- Day 3
Open day to shift site-seeing to make room for various plazas and other items that come up, such as Catacombs, churches, or just doing nothing.

Thursday May 16, 2013 Florence- Day 1 Uffizi Galleria del Accademia Friday May 17, 2013 Florence- Day 2 Duomo Palazzo Pitti Museo Nazionale del Bargello Saturday May 18, 2013 Florence- Day 3 (Day trip to Pisa) Leaning tower of Pisa and Borgo Stretto Sunday May 19, 2013 Tuscany- Day 1 (Optional trip to Naples / Pompeii or Venice) Siena Enoteca Italiana Duomo Monday May 20, 2013 Tuscany- Day 2 Montepulciano / Montalcino Various Palazzo's and wine consortiums Tuesday May 21, 2013 Tuscany- Day 3 Chianti Castello di Vicchiomaggio and/or Castello di Verrazzano Greve and Piazzetta Santa Croce Radda Wednesday May 22, 2013 Tuscany- Day 4 Volterra / San Gimignano Estruscan artifacts Fortress in Monteriggioni Thursday May 21, 2013 Tuscany- Day 5 Orvieto Friday May 12, 2013
Depart Rome in early morning to fly to Charlotte

May 19th - You will be in Tuscany and want to do a day trip to Naples/Pompeii or Venice? Have you looked into how far away those places are?

Just a thought... How about arriving FCO take the Leonardo to Termini catch the train to Orvieto. From the train station you take the funiculare up to Orvieto, then catch the shuttle bus to the Duomo. (Acutally that sounds MUCH more complicated that it actual is LOL). Check in at your lodgings(or of luggage if they don't allow early check in) RESIST the temptation to take a nap. Check out the Duomo, stop at a wine bar for a light lunch and a cold glass of Orvieto wine. Wander Orvieto walk to the edge of the city and catch the breathtaking view. Have a nice dinner (Rick has some great suggestions in his book) then give in and go to bed. Next morning take the train to Florence and pick up your scheduled itineray from there. Take the bus to Siena where you can explore the city, and maybe book a wine tour. You can use the busses to get to a few small towns and relax. On the day you planned to go to Orvieto take the bus to Rome. your planned Rome itinery. You can also take the train from Siena to Rome though it's slow and involves a connection. This has the added advantage of putting you in Rome at the end of your trip making it easier to make your flight back home.
Another tip, for coming home, spring for the extra money for a taxi or car service back to FCO. If you are flying on an American airline you'll have to go thorugh Terminal five for the security check process and the Leonardo takes you to terminal three. They have shuttles to get you over there but it's an additional hassle when you're loaded down with luggage. Another thought-- using the above changes you could also knock off either the day in Pisa or one of the Siena days and add that to Rome and make a day trip to Naples and or Pompeii (Rick has a guide for this in the Rome book).

Also if you are in Rome on a Wednesday you could get tickets for the Papal audience.

Doug, I agree with Maggie on seeing Rome at the end of your trip instead. I think there are advantages to doing this: 1) Rome is huge and can be intimidating for first timers. Spending time in the smaller cities will help you acclimate yourself to Italy so by the time you get to Rome, you're good to go 2) You never know when transportation strikes in Italy might occur. Getting into Rome a few days prior to your departure can save you unnecessary headache and let you enjoy your time instead of worrying If you're deciding between Naples/Pompeii or Venice as a daytrip option from Florence/Sienna, I would recommend Venice as it's closer and to make it a daytrip from Florence instead of Sienna. Florence to Venice is about 2 hours commute via train whereas Florence to Naples is about 3 hours. From Sienna, it'll involve changing trains in Florence either way. Furthermore, if you choose Naples/Pompeii, you'll have to factor in another 30-40 mins train ride to Pompeii from Naples.