12 nights, first trip in Italy

Hi to you too! I expect you will love Italy, and it’s great that the grandparents will help you along. You probably know that July is one of the most crowded and hottest times to visit Italy, but you may have no other choice of schedule. Most of us would recommend you try to arrange “open jaws”or “multi-city” air tickets, meaning into your first city and out of your final city, so you don’t have to spend time and money back-tracking to get your flight home. I think your time allotment to the three cities is good. I especially like smaller towns, so some time in one or more small Tuscan towns or rural areas, and maybe a day trip from Rome to Orvieto, would be great ideas. Many people would suggest you reverse the order of the three cities. Venice can be an easier city to enjoy while getting over jet lag, and Venice can also be more of a hassle to depart from, because most flights leave early morning, and getting to the airport early can involve more hassle and expense. From Venice to Florence to Rome you can easily do by train, and you can get deeply discounted tickets for the fast trains if you plan your schedule about 120 days in advance. Happy planning!

My take on Florence - if you love Renaissance painting, sculpture, architecture, 3 full days barely enough. If that's not a priority, you can see the highlights in one day. Florence is certainly a good base for a day trip to Siena or San Gimignano by bus, Pisa and/or Lucca by train (Pisa is a 1/2 day, others have said so is Lucca and can be combined). Because of the driving restrictions (ZTL zones) in historical centers of towns, having a car may be more hassle than staying in Florence. For a less crowded time, stay in Bologna (renowned for its cuisine) and day trip by train to Ferrara, Padua, Modena, even Ravenna (exceptionally fine 5th-7th c. mosaics). If you only want to see the highlights of Florence, you could even stop for the day, between Rome and Bologna. Leave your bags in storage at the train station. You can walk from the station to all the main sights in 5-15 minutes.

Your itinerary just as it is looks fine to me. It's nice to see a plan that doesn't cram too much into far too little! As it will be hot, longer stretches in one place will allow you to sightsee at a more leisurely pace, without running from one thing to another, and take some long breaks just to sit with a beverage, cool off and do some people-watching. :O)

Whether to trade out Florence for a smaller town is entirely up to you but we LOVED the the city - crowds or not - and it's a great base for day trips, although with just 3.5 days I probably wouldn't plan more than one of those. Still, it's a decision easily made once there; if you feel you've seen enough in a day and 1/2 or so, then jump a train or bus somewhere else for the day.

You might want to consider taking one night from Florence and using it for Venice as there are also great day trips from Venice. The deciding factor, in my opinion, should be the days trips you want to take from each place. Otherwise it looks pretty good. Oh, just remember you "lose" a good bit of each day each time you change locations.

Larry: thanks for that answer, but have you well read my post ? Flights is booked and we are doing open jaw. We have chose to keep Venice for the end because, for us, it will be a bit like the icing on the cake ! We know that Rome could be a bit overwhelming, but since we will be there 5 days it should be ok. Our flight leave venice at 13:20, so no early departure there.

Chani, Kathy and TC: big thanks ! Like you,ve said, there cant be a really wrong decision between Florence, Venice and Tuscany. The only thing we are firm on it's our 5 nights in Rome.

It's all good. There are no bad choices, just never enough time (or money ☺).

If you are taking public transportation, your plan looks good. It would be easier to arrange a day trip from the countryside from Florence than to try to stay in a smaller down and day trip to Florence.

No matter how you decide, you are in for a wonderful trip! My wife and I dream of spending 3 or 4 weeks just in Rome, dividing our time between the touristy bits and just free form exploring the city. It will be at least three years before we can make it, though. I'm going with her on business trips to London/France this year and Tanzania in 2019!