2nd trip planning advice

LAURA, great suggestion to arrange the trip in the reverse direction! I have no idea what airlines operate from Texas, so wasn't sure what flights were available.

I agree, Lago di Como is an EXCELLENT place to get over jet lag!

Kathleen, with only 10-12 days to work with, visiting 5 spots in that time frame (including travel times) isn't going to leave much time for actually seeing each place.

You could consider Rome (3 days),Tuscany (2 days-which town?), C.T. (2 days-which town?), Lago di Como (2 days-which town?) and Florence (2 days). You'll lose the first day in flight times. Travel times will also have to be factored in, so to make this a more "comfortable" trip, I'd suggest dropping one place from your list (perhaps Florence as you've been there before).

I don't know what flight options are available for you, but perhaps "open jaw" into Rome and home from Milan would work?

Is there any possibility of adding a few days? Rick is certainly right with his comments about the short vacation times in the U.S.

I know someone from Procida, and it's definetly on my list of places to visit.

Good luck!

Whatever form your itinerary takes, the best idea, as mentioned above, is to fly into one airport and fly out another ("Open Jaw"). Almost all airlines (all of the big ones) will make this reservation. On our most recent trip to Europe, we flew into Florence and out of Zurich. We planned our trip between the two points. It was great.

I would fly into Rome and out of Milan. Since you have been to Florence before maybe you could do Siena instead. I returned to Florence on my last trip and found the city not as appealing on my second trip. I called my hotel in Siena and asked if I could come early, they said come on down. I stayed a total of 4 nights instead of the original 3 and was so happy I did. Rent a car and go see Chianti. Plenty of wine tasting... One note on wine tasting in Italy: I always find it best to say that you are interested in BUYING some wine and you would like to taste what they offer. Otherwise you will find them to be quite abrupt...

Hotel in Siena: Cannon D'oro

Dinner in Siena: Gallo Nero (local referal)

Lake Como is very close to Milan making it a good city to fly out of. There are not a lot of sites in Milan itself. If you want to see the last supper get a reservation now. The Cathedral and adjacent shopping mall are other sites in Milan to see. (I wouldn't spend more than 2 nights)

I would suggest flying into Milan and out of Rome. Most of the flights back to the U.S. from Milan leave very early in the morning which can mean an expensive taxi unless you are staying close by. I would suggest that you consider the following:

1) Fly into Milan and go directly to Lake Como (about 2 nights). Lake Como will be a calm place to recover from jet lag.

2) Cinque Terre (2 nights)

3) Florence/Tuscany

4) Finish in Rome

I think Laura's travel plan is good. Riding in trains from Lake Como to a Cinque Terre village can be slow. I suggest : ride in a train from Lake Como to Milan, and ride in the Express train from Milan to Monterosso (in the Cinque Terre). South of Genoa the trains are very slow, but the Express train might go on a different railroad track and thus go at a faster speed. I recommend stay at a Cinque Terre village three nights, if possible. If you were at Rome before, do you need to be in Rome again ?

I really feel like we need a couple days in Rome as last time I had my sons with us so we didn't get to fully enjoy the Vatican. So Rome we only need like 2 days. Florence can be dropped but maybe just 1 day.
Houston does not fly directly to Italy & I like the open jaw suggestion. We've been to Milan & really do not need to spend any ime there. Zurich sounds good!?!