1st time to Italy w/ our daughter

Hi NC, I personally think you should take Rick Steves new "Heart of Italy in 11 days Tour" which he is offering in the fall. His tours give you a lot of free time and yet everything is taken care of for you.

I'll second the suggestion for taking a tour. When you add up all the little things that you need to do in the country (find the hotel in the new city, check in, find the sights, get into museums, find places to eat, etc) I think that a RS tour lets you do easily 50% more than you could on your own. Your guide whisks you right where you're going, the bus drops you right at the hotel, etc. While tours seem pricy, when you multiply the time by 1.5x they start to seem pretty reasonable.

I think the RS tour also would be great but it depends on your budget. Have you considered a short the cheaper Cosmo or Trafalgar tour then fill in the rest yourself? It has its pitfalls with lots of shopping stops.All the convenience costs so perhaps your budget will dictate what you do. also you are realizing that INDEPENDENT trips can be overwelming for some.you may need a compromise in order to go forward. good thing Oct is not peak season.

I wish we could spend 11 days in Italy, but unfortunately we only have a week, so the RS tour is a no-go. I'll check out Trafalgar's website.

NC, with only a week, you will not have much time to see a lot of Italy so I would concentrate on one spot for the week and day trip from there. Rick Steves does have 1 week trips going to either Florence or Rome. From his Florence trip, he day trips to the Tuscany area. From his Rome trip, you could on your own, day trip to Orvieto (hilltown about an hour train trip from Rome). Another words, you could get the benefits of a tour (everything arranged) and still be adventurous if you so desire.

NC, I hope you don't mind more unsolicited advice but (assuming you're leaving from the States) if you have only 1 week and there's no way to get more time perhaps it would be better to postpone your trip until you have more time?

There are certain fixed costs; the plane to Europe costs the same whether you're spending 1 week or 1 month. Jet lag takes a few days to get over.

Also if you're considering other tour companies be sure to read Ricks article on "Bus Tour Self Defense" at http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/998tourtips.htm, discussed much more extensively in his book "Europe Thru the Back Door"

Don't let people discourage you - a week is great if that's all you have! But I will second the poster who said pick one city (I'd chose Rome) and do a day trip or two from there. If you stick with one city, you should be able to EASILY do it all on your own.

We'll still do Italy on a week and just concentrate on Rome. There should be plenty of day tips from there. Thanks to everyone who posted.

Hi NC, Since you have decided on Rome as your homebase, may I suggest that you reserve a hotel in Rome for 4 of your days and take the train to Orvieto for the other 2 days. Like I previously stated, Orvieto is just an hour train trip from Rome. The hilltown is so much more special staying overnight after the tourists have all left. Then on the second day there, you can day trip on a bus that leaves Orvieto (75 min bus ride)and takes you to another hilltown, Civita di Bagnoregio, which is Rick Steve's favorite. I think this would be a nice and relaxing contrast to hectic Rome and the hilltowns are also less expensive if you are trying to stay in a budget.

Three days in Rome, then head via train to Siena or Orvieto and rent a car for three days to drive around Tuscany. Take the train back and spend the last afternoon in Rome doing the things you missed. You will not regret the opportunity to visit the canyons around Civita di Bagnoregio, taste the Brunello wine of Montalcino and see the towers of San Gimignano. This should not be too hard to do.