31st Anniversary and going to Venice, Florence Tuscany- Itinerary help please

ae,

To begin with, congratulations on your anniversary! That's quite an accomplishment.

It's getting late so I've only had a cursory look at your plans. My first impression is that this is FAR TOO BUSY (IMO, of course), especially for a VERY short 13-day Itinerary and also since the majority of your travel is by car. With such a short time frame, you don't have time for a leisurely, meandering drive around numerous hill towns in Tuscany (at least not if you want to cover as many places as possible).

On some legs travel by car will be considerably slower than by train. The Freccia high speed trains travel at up to 300 kmH, so that's a more efficient use of very limited travel time. With the present plan, you're going to spend much of your trip seeing Italy through a windshield instead of enjoying both the special occasion and also the great experiences and ambience of Italy.

A few thoughts on specific points of your proposed Itinerary......

• Note that for driving in Italy, each driver will require the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. You'll also have to be vigilant to avoid the dreaded ZTL (limited traffic) areas which are prevalent in many Italian towns (especially Florence). Violating these will result in hefty fines, which you won't know about until several months after you return home. Although THIS incident occurred in Spain, it provides a good example of a "worst case scenario" for not having an I.D.P.
• There are also potentially expensive "caveats" to be aware of when using trains and other public transit in Italy. You'll need to familiarize yourself with the rules on that.
• Having a car in the Cinque Terre is not an advantage. Parking is expensive and it's far better to explore the towns using the local trains or boats (weather permitting).
• Especially for the Cinque Terre, it would be a really good idea to get some hotels booked SOON! It could be challenging finding hotels in all the places you mentioned, as September is "fall shoulder season" and it's usually quite busy in Italy.
• Staying only one night in the C.T. will not allow you to see much. You'll only have the afternoon and evening on the day of arrival for sightseeing, and will have to check out of the hotel by about 11:00. After travelling so long to get there, I wonder if it's worth the effort?
• Will you be using the Italy Guidebook to plan sightseeing, etc.? There's an enormous amount of information there, so you might consider that.
• IMO, you'll need to pare down your list of places considerably, but I'll defer that point to the collective wisdom of the group here. If you do decide to reduce the number of stops, I'd suggest making a list of the places you most want to see, listed in order of priority.
• For future reference, planning a bit further in advance would be prudent.

Good luck and happy travels!

i totally agree that you have way too many stops and too many nights in different places. You could find a central location in Tuscany, stay several nights and do day trips to Siena, Volterra, etc. Visiting Pisa, Lucca and Volterra in one day isn't really doable - IMO. i spent a week outside of San Gimignano several years ago and drove to Volterra, Siena, Montalcino and several small towns in Tuscany to visit winery's as day trips. You could also do day trips to Padua and Verona from Venice if you stayed a couple more nights. If you cut the trip to Venice, Tuscany and Florence, you can slow down and little and actually enjoy the places you visit - rather than dash from place to place. Another benefit of staying several nights in one place is the ability to rent apartments - which is most times less expensive and more enjoyable than hotels.

Congratulations on your anniversary!

I would agree with the others that this itinerary is too hectic; you're going to spend so much time just getting from place to place, finding your hotels, packing, unpacking, etc. I would also agree that driving in Italy comes with its own special challenges - including the inability to drive into central areas, avoiding the ZTLs, and hotels which don't provide parking. We love Italian trains because they're very easy, allow us both to relax and enjoy the view from the window... and sample the local grape/beer wherever we are with no worries about having to get behind the wheel!

Picking fewer locations and just taking day trips - by train and bus - will cut down on re-location time and allow you greater flexibility; tight itineraries are easily blown to bits by otherwise minor complications with weather, temporary upset tummy, flight delays and the like. Longer stays in one spot allow you lay low for a day, if need be, or choose local museum visits over an outdoor ramble should it pour rain.

I might cut your locations down to just Venice and Florence (which is in Tuscany, BTW) with a couple of days in the CT if desired: maybe do your Pisa trip from there instead of Florence? Firenze, especially, is a great base for day trips as public transport from there to points around Tuscany is frequent and often very inexpensive.

Another Congtats on your anniversary.
You are trying to stay in tooo many locations. Try this-

sept 6-8: Venice 3 nites.

Stay http://www.venere.com/hotels/venice/hotel-albergo-doge/?ref=860495&sd=6&sm=9&sy=2014&ed=8&em=9&ey=2014&rgval=2||-1#overview .

sept 9-12: Travel Venice-Padua (1/2 day)-Verona (1/2 day)-Peschiera (Lake Garda) 3 nites instead of the CT.

Stay http://www.venere.com/hotels/peschiera-del-garda/hotel-al-fiore/?ref=860495&sd=9&sm=9&sy=2014&ed=12&em=9&ey=2014&rgval=2||-1 .

sept 12-17 Drive to Tuscany 5 nites.

Stay http://www.borgorapale.it/ Apt Jacopo.

From this location, the farthest you would drive is 1H15m.

Day trips:

Day 1 San Gimignano, Siena.
Day 2 Montepulciano, Pienza, Montalcino.
Day 3 Assisi.
Day 4 Greve, Radda, Castelina all in Chianti. This takes you on the S222.
Day 5 either Voltera or Lucca and Pisa.

sept 17-19: Florence 2 nites.

Stay http://www.cross-pollinate.com/florence/apartment/683/Vivaldi-Balcony-Apartment .

sept 20 fly home

Thank you to all for your responses.

It was very kind of you to respond. Yes, we usually plan very far in advance, but didn't get confirmation of vacation plans from work until recently, so we are doing our best to work out a plan.

I am hoping to cut down the places significantly, upon your suggestions. Thank you.

Please suggest names of hotels you stayed in Venice and Florence and Siena - or near Multepulciano? We are looking for a hotel/apt budget around 175 E or less each night.

Again, thank you again.

Gerri has a good plan. If your heart is set on the CT, skip Padua and Verona ( you cannot do everything and as nice as Padua and Verona are, they "second trip" or "long trip" locations IMHO) and go directly to the CT. Do not rent a car until you are ready to see Tuscany. Yes, your transfer day to the CT, if you go there, will be a long train day, but it's more efficient than driving. When you leave the CT (or even Lake Garda if you choose that as a stop) rent your car to facilitate seeing the Tuscan hill towns and then drop it in Florence.

Italy is not like the Great American Road Trip where you load up the car and hit a different motel every night. Driving is a Pain-in-the-Ass and navigating an art form even with a GPS. Our most tense travel moments are always when we rent a car. By train and bus, Italy is far more efficient and enjoyable overall.

Auguri on 31 years You have us beat by 1 year1

Laurel is right, go to the CT. I was just trying to save you a 5-6hr. train ride.

Have used Vrbo, Cross-pollinate.com, Sleep in Italy.com, Tuscan Accommodations.com. all with great

success. We can recommend places, but they might not be what you are looking for. It's trial and error.

Places we have stayed:

Venice http://www.sleepinitaly.com/venice/cannaregio-apartments/apartment-bia-oro?r=s

Vernazza http://www.giannifranzi.it/gianni_franzi_rooms.htm.

Monterosso http://www.villasteno.com/en/.in

Have also rented apts in Riomaggori and Monterosso

Laurel has used this site for apartments. http://www.arbaspaa.com/default_en.aspx

Tuscany have stayed 3 times here http://www.borgorapale.it/

Florence. Members on this board recommend these:

http://www.hotellascaletta.it/ .

http://www.ilbargellino.com/,

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/affordable-florence-anyone-stayed-at-these-places.

Hope this gives you a place to start. For Hotels, try Venere.com or Booking.com

You might want to check out Slow Travel. Their website has lots of apartment reviews for Italy. I have found the reviews to be very accurate and have added a few reviews myself. The site is smaller than RS and Trip Advisor and feels more personal. They also advocate going slower, staying in fewer places and making day trips. There are also hotel reviews.

Thank you once again for all of your advice. It is so very appreciated!

It always helps to communicate with more experienced people.

Again, Grazie!

How very kind for you all to help!

Still trying to get hotels, so all of your advice is fantastic!

I just posted something on; Casa Cato in Vernazza (200E) vs. Hotel Stella della Marina in Monterosso. (140E)
Anyone been to either one?
What's the difference between staying in Vernazza vs. Monterosso?
Casa Cato and Hotel Stella both appear clean. Casa Cato more updated, but train noise below. Hotel Stella small, but needs updating. Casa Cato has big views. Hotel Stella some views, maybe.

Thank you again! Virtual Italian pastries for everyone who helped/is helping with advice:)

Congratulations on your anniversary! If you are going to Montalcino, there is a beautiful abbey not too far from there that you might enjoy - we combined a visit to the abbey with a day in Montalcino and it was a wonderful day. It is the Abbey Sant' Antimo, http://www.antimo.it. It is one of those postcard perfect settings you mentioned… we were in Tuscany for two weeks in 2012 and this was one of my favorite spots! We stayed in a villa outside of Volterra for my parents' 50th anniversary and drove all around Tuscany. One thing I would suggest would be to take your GPS with you for the rental car…and preload the Italy maps. My son had preprogrammed the location of our villa as "Home", so when we got in the rental car, all we did was push the "go home" button and it took us right there! We used it extensively with our maps - and while it might not always have taken us the most direct route, we always did end up back at the villa:)))

ae,

What's the difference between staying in Vernazza vs. Monterosso?

It's mostly a matter of personal preference. Vernazza tends to be more "informal" with a collection of small B&B's and private rooms (many don't provide breakfast), while Monterosso is larger and therefore has the greatest number of accommodation choices, including more "conventional" hotels (which do serve breakfast). Monterosso also has more restaurants and other amenities and the nicest beaches of all the five towns.

Given the somewhat short time until departure, you may have more luck finding accommodations in Monterosso, although you can certainly try Vernazza. Have a look at these lists for some possibilities.....

http://www.rebuildmonterosso.com/p/visitors-information.html

http://savevernazza.com/visiting-vernazza/

Internet addresses are provided and AFAIK these list are reasonably accurate.

The two top hotels in Monterosso are Hotel Villa Steno and Hotel Pasquale, but both are likely booked solid (doesn't hurt to check though). Both are located in the "old town". If you have a "generous" budget for such a special occasion, you could also check out Hotel Porto Roca (incredible views from their patio!). It's located at the far (south) end of the "old town" but I believe they provide transportation from the station.

Buon viaggio!