This is our first time to Italy and we are planning to spend 2 weeks, leaving June 3, 2022. We want to get your thoughts on which city should we fly into and how to travel between each city. Also, get a recommendation on the number of days.
Thank you!
Fly into Venice and out of Naples. It’s better to arrive in Venice instead of flying home from there because most flights depart early in the morning and it's time consuming to get to the airport if sleeping near the lagoon. Most people who fly home from Venice prefer spending their last night at an airport hotel if catching an early flight. I would still check to see what time the first flight out is just to make sure. If it’s late morning, that’s better.
Following is the minimum of nights I recommend in each area:
Amalfi – 2 to 4
Rome – 3
Florence and include a day trip to Siena – 4
Venice - 3
Use the 'itinerary' tab for an overview of the highlights of each city. How long you spend in each will be dictated by what you want to see/do ---- https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/italy/venice-florence-rome
You could add the AC in the time you have but it is packing a lot into 2 weeks. You will not have the luxury the tour has of a dedicated bus to get you door to door every time you go somewhere, so you have less 'usable' time overall.
I would go in this order: Venice, Florence, AC, Rome as it likely is easier( cheaper?) to depart from Rome than Naples. Also easier to get to FCO from Rome than to Naples airport from somewhere on the AC
I would skip the Amalfi Coast and save it for a future trip to southern Italy. Rome, With only two weeks, Florence, Tuscany and Venice works much better. Fly into Venice, out of Rome.
Train from Venice to Florence( it is in Tuscany) . Pick up rental car for more rural Tuscany as you leave Florence. Drop car off at Rome FCO snd take taxi into city. Taxis have a flat rate from FCO.
Days allotted:
Venice-3- Fly into Venice
Florence 3
Tuscany-4
Rome- 4
Fly out of Rome FCO
We did a similar trip several years ago with our daughter and her husband. You did not say how many actual days you are on the ground. We had 12 days and 2 travel days. We flew into Rome and directly went to the Amalfi coast. 4 nights. Then a train from Naples to Florence and another 4 nights in Florence with a day trip to Tuscany. Last 4 nights were in Rome. I had told my kids they had to pick 3 places for that amount of time. No way could we have fit Venice into the itinerary unless we wanted to spend alot of time traveling instead of experiencing Italy. Remember every change requires eating into a day of your time. If you really want to do Venice I would add days on to your trip. Personality I feel you need at least 4 days to see the Amalfi coast. If you are only there for 2 days you are really only staying 1 night.
This was our third trip to Italy and the 1st for my daughter and son in law(as adults) so we were re-visiting alot of highlights for them.
The amount of time spent in each area also depends on your travel style----we like to take it alittle slower then what we did in the above trip but as they only had a time frame of 2 weeks we made it work.. Enjoy!
You would find Rick's Italy or Best of Italy guidebooks very useful.
I think it depends as previous poster says, how many actual nights you have in Italy. If you leave on a Saturday and come back on a Sunday, you would have 14 nights. If that was the case, you could do
Venice 3 nights, Florence 3 nights, Amalfi coast 4 nights, Rome 4 nights.
If you have 12 nights on the ground, you could do three nights each place but I wouldn’t. I would do three of them and tell yourself you will return.
Venice 3 nights, Florence 3 nights, Amalfi coast 4 nights, Rome 4 nights.
That's the order and amount of days I'd give each location if committed to doing all 4, and having 14 nights on the ground to work with. If you only have 12 nights on the ground in Italy, I'd cut the Amalfi Coast and save it for a future trip. That trip would look like:
Venice 3 nights, Florence 5 nights (including 1 or 2 day trips), Rome 4 nights
Most of us put Venice on the front end as flights out often leave very early in the AM; can cause some issues getting to the airport, and one has to get up at a lousy hour. Rome goes on the back end; should you hit a transport snag, the coast is not where you want to be the day you're flying home.
I'm a big fan of Florence and too often see new visitors cut it short. Then again, how much someone else will enjoy all that she has to offer depends on their interest in Renaissance art and architecture. We had no issue filling the better part of a week there with no day trips at all. Still, it is a great base for jaunts to Siena, Lucca, Pisa and some other locations so one doesn't HAVE to be the art dork that I am to settle nicely in for longer versus a shorter time. :O)
How to get around? Train, no question. Italian trains are comfortable and very efficient; you can generally get on one in the middle of one city and get off smack in the middle of another. If you can commit to a specific day and time to travel, you can also get some nice price breaks on tickets for the fastest of them if purchasing in advance. The "fast" trains are definitely how you'll want to get from Venice to Florence, and Florence to Rome. If taking day trips, there are a few exceptions, such as Florence> Siena, where bus is the recommended method.
If you keep the Amalfi, the better transport options depend on WHERE you are staying on the Amalfi or Sorrentine coasts; could be a combination of fast trains, slow commuter train, ferries, private drivers and/or buses. Whatever you choose, unless you're staying in Salerno, there is no DIRECT transport (meaning no change from one type of conveyance to another) to the Amalfi Coast via public transport.
This is a great introduction to train travel in Italy; highly recommend spending some time with it although I don't recommend using it to order tickets; we'll steer you to the best sources for that once you have your itinerary down.
To clarify about Venice public transportation.
Water taxis are like regular taxis and go where you want to go from where you are (or very near) at any time day or night. But you pay - a whole shedload of money - for all that personal attention. Water taxis between the airport and somewhere in the island of Venice start in the 3 digits. They are the fastest, most expensive and arguably most romantic... Unlike the comment up the thread they are available all night if you are willing to pay and be patient.
Vaporettos are public boats very much like buses, on a particular route with specific stops and they run to a particular schedule. As long as you have a valid ticket or pass and validate as you step on the dock you just hop on one when they arrive. Some docks have multiple lines going different or overlapping places. Maps are easily available and make the routes clear. They become less frequent into the night and all except one (the Number One) stop entirely around midnight or before. The number 1 stops a bit later and then the length of the number 1 route is operated by the occasional Night vaporetto, hourly through the night.
Alilaguna is a private company of boats providing transportation between several stops on Venice (different combination on the various colour named routes) for more money than vaporettos (none of which go to the airport) but less than water taxis. They don't run in the middle of the night.
There are land taxis and buses to the airport - buses are cheap and reliable and fast - from Piazzale Roma (abbreviated P.le Roma) and many people in the know use the combination of the bus and a vaporetto to reach their hotel. A joint fare is available if you take the right bus.
I hope that helps...
Thanks Nigel, for the feedback, I edited my post.
Mimi65- who is we? can you give us a bit more info?
Is this your first trip to Europe? Your previous posts indicate that you had to cancel a few trips.
How many NIGHTS do you have in Italy?
If less than 13- drop 1 location.
Which 3 locations are top priority?
Are you willing to rent a car? (only needed for Tuscany)
Agree with consensus above- in to Venice, out of Rome is always best, if possible. If not opposite can work- we’ve done both.
Fly to Venice 3 nights minimum
Train to Florence 3 nights minimum
Here is where you must decide-
rent car for Tuscany 2-3 nights?
or
stay in Florence 5 nights and day trip?
or
train to Sorrento?
Stay in Sorrento unless you have more than 4 days to give to Amalfi coast- have to consider your transit time/costs. Assuming interests include Pompeii? Capri? Naples?
Return to
Rome 4 nights minimum
Fly home from Rome
You have lots of options:
Venice- Florence- Sorrento-Rome
Venice- Sorrento-Rome
Venice- Florence- Rome
or
Rome- Sorrento- Florence- Venice
Rome- Sorrento- Venice
Rome- Florence- Venice
all quite easy via train, no car
Do some searches here on forum- many folks here have done similar trips.
Check transpo times and options here- just as a quick reference-
www.rome2rio.com
Only book tix on official sites
trenitalia.com
italontreno.it
Car rental
autoeurope.com
Once you have an idea of your itinerary, please let us know how we can help.
