Please sign in to post.

9 day Rome and Florence itinerary feedback

My wife and I will be heading to Italy in October 19-27 and are planning on heading to Rome and Florence. Right now our plan is as follows:

19th - Arrive in Rome, walk around, relax, see what we can, eat gelato and drink some wine
20th - Colliseum, Roman Forum and Palladium
21st - Vatican
22nd - day trip to Pompeii
23rd - Sort of a free day in Rome. Walk around, see some of the sites that we haven't gotten to yet, more food, wine and people watching
24th - Florence
25th - Day trip to Tuscan countryside
26th - Florence
27th - Train back to Airport and head home

Is this a decent itinerary? I know I can add some things to my days in Rome, which we certainly will, those were just the highlights. I haven't done much research on Florence, so I'm not sure what to see there.

Thanks

Posted by
12113 posts

Suggest you head to Florence from FCO and schedule your time in Rome at the end.

Unless you have a night departure from Rome, taking train from Florence to catch a flight in Rome on your flight day is white knuckle situation I would not impose on myself. Too easy for any little hiccup ( random half day rail worker strike, equipment breakdown, etc) to leave you in Rome longer than you planned, because of a missed flight

Have you considered Ostia Antica vs Pompeii to save the wear and tear of the travel to Pompeii?

Posted by
444 posts

I am sure you will get lots of experienced folks replying, and I have not been to Italy yet-(leaving in 2 weeks), but I already know what you will hear (or at least a little of it anyway :) Your Rome itinerary looks fun to me, we have 3 days and are doing similar stuff- the Colosseum etc on day 1, the Vatican on day 2 and the Borghese on day 3. The rest of our time will be walking around and eating gelato, seeing the other fun stuff (Trevi fountain, spanish steps, Pantheon)...so much to do/see in Rome! We also have a stop in Naples, we we are seeing Pompeii then. In Florence, the big ones are the Uffizi, Accademia and the Duomo. But depending on what your interests are, that may be too much time in art museums. Also the Boboli gardens, Pitti Palace, Ponte Vecchio...we are also taking a day trip to Tuscan countryside! I'll have more to say when we get back next month. Enjoy your trip planning!!

Posted by
2124 posts

Yes, it's decent. Good that you decided two bases with only 8 nights on the ground. Couple things:

On the 22nd, make sure you start your daytrip to Pompei early. Plenty of threads here about that that you can research, but I know there's a 7:30 AM train out of Roma Termini to Naples. You want to be back to Rome by the dinner hour, about 8PM.

Depending on where you're staying in Florence, if it's north of the Arno River you should be able to walk everywhere. Check the RS books or any number of threads here. The Uffizi gallery and the Mercato Centrale have always been highlights for me.

I'm assuming you're flying into Rome and out of Florence, but maybe not?

Enjoy your planning!

Posted by
1054 posts

Your departure time from Rome to the US should determine if you start or end in Rome in above.

If you have a 10 am flight back to states and if you get to the airport around 7-7:30 you'll leave your hotel around 6:30-7am in Rome. Remember around 30 minutes to the airport from Rome. If you end in Florence the first train leaving Florence for Roma is 5:50 Intercity that takes 2.5 hours. You arrive in Rome at 8:26am. Add in another 30 minutes to get to the airport and you'll be there at 9am. Is that enough time for your international flight?

If you have a night flight say 7pm back to the USA sure you can do the trip as you have above. Train to Rome around noon. But if you have a departure before Noon, I would move your dates and train to Florence when you land. Start in Florence and ending in Rome

Posted by
16742 posts

..do Pompeii on a Catania trip.

You may have meant Campania? I'd agree: there's enough just in that region for another 9-day trip, and Pompeii is more quickly reached from Naples, Sorrento or even Salerno. Substituting Ostia Antica - which is much closer to Rome - is a good idea.