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2 months in Italy - Itinerary advice :)

Hi guys!

I’m a 21yr old student from Australia and I have been studying in Rome. Before going home I will be travelling around Italy for an additional couple months and I’d love some feedback on my itinerary :)

I want to see as much of Italy as possible and doing it in under 2 months is not nearly enough! I will leave a brief outline below. Thank you so much for your advice!

SICILIA (7 days);
Palermo (1 night),
Siracusa (2 nights),
Taormina - including day trip to Mt Etna (3 days),
Catania (1 night)

MALTA (6 days);

NORTHERN ITALY (20 days);
Bologna (1 night),
Venezia (4 nights) - too much?
Trieste (3 nights),
Verona - day trips to Mantua & Vincenza (3 nights),
Trento (2 nights),
Lake Garda (3 nights),
Firenze - day trips to Siena & Lucca (4 nights)

Back home to Rome to see my friends for a few days

SOUTHERN ITALY (13 days);
Naples - day trips to towns along the Amalfi Coast (4 nights), unfortunately I cannot afford to stay in these towns in June/July,
Matera (3 nights),
Lecce (4 nights),
Polignano al Mare (2 nights)

Back to Rome for a week until I sadly fly home :(

Posted by
15259 posts

Sicily: one week is simply not enough. See if you can squeeze more nights there, like 10 to 12at least. Increase Palermo, which you can use to also visit Segesta and Cefalù.
Bologna: I’m not a fan of one nighters. Its only 35 min from Florence by fast train. I would add a night to Florence and take a day trip from Florence.
Venezia: 3 nights are probably enough.
Trieste: 3 nights? Unless you have friends there, I would decrease. You can see Trieste easily in a day.
Matera: 2 nights probably enough. Give yourself time for Alberobello.
Lecce: I presume that 4 nights are for day trips in the area.

Posted by
11361 posts

Roberto has given excellent advice. I would go so far as to say 3 nights in Malta is enough as you really need more time in Sicilia.

Posted by
15602 posts

First of all, without knowing your interests, it's hard to opine on the length of time you are spending in each place. Practical advice . . . . Allow time for things like laundry and finding your way around new places, and maybe just a "down" day once every 7-10 days. Moving around a lot is okay for 2 weeks, but can be tiring for 3-4 weeks at a time. Look at your plan on a calendar. If there are specific sights you want to see, make sure they are open on the day you'll be there. Buses can be few and far between on Sundays, so that's usually a bad day to travel if you can't take trains.

If you are concentrating on the eastern side of Sicily, don't go to Palermo. One night doesn't give you enough time to see it. Naples is a good base if you want to visit Pompeii and other ruins but it's too far to be a practical base for the Amalfi Coast. Stay in Salerno instead - not expensive, fast trains to Naples and Rome, good beach, close to the AC towns by ferry and bus.

Posted by
2 posts

Alex, have you been so long in Rome and have you never thought of visiting Viterbo, the city of the popes? It is only 80 kilometers from the capital, just 20-kilometers from Viterbo there is Civita di Bagnoregio, the city that dies, a magical place! 20 kilometers from Viterbo, still, there is the famous park of the monsters of Bomarzo, a mysterious and unique place. Just stop three days in Viterbo and you'll see wonderful things!
Best regards, Sabrina

Posted by
5 posts

Sabrina, thank you for your reply! I have actually been lucky enough to have visited much of Lazio during the semester but completely agree with your suggestions, they are beautiful places - particularly Civita di Bagnoregio!

I have also taken all of this advice and extended my stay in Sicily! Very grateful for everyone's help :)