A few extra days in Italy- What to do with them?

Do you already have your other plans set? If not, I'd consider either starting as far North as you plan on going and working South, or starting South and working North rather than skipping around. (even if they are set, you can still change the reservations this far ahead) For instance, my trip went thusly: two nights in Verona, one night in Venice, three more nights in Verona (I have a friend who lives there), three nights in Florence, two nights in Lucca (daytripped to Pisa and Cinque Terre) then five nights in Rome. We also relied solely on trains, a couple taxis, a bus or two, and our two feet! The only thing I'd change about my trip is that I LOVED the CT and would instead stay there for two nights and daytrip to Pisa and Lucca. It's very beautiful, and the sea is a great break in the scenery from looking at all the museums, sculptures, architecture, buildings, etc etc that being "inland" offer. As magnificent as the other things are, it was a really nice break and I wish we'd seen more of it.
Regardless of what your plans end up being, I know you'll love it! Congrats on graduating, and buon viaggio!

Renee, in Vernazza try www.elisabettacarro. Under 90E for a basic room with a spectacular view.

Hi Renee,
First off, congrats on graduating! Next, definitely see some hill towns. The countryside IS Italy, and by missing it you're missing the culture of Italy. My wife and I went on our first trip to italy when we were in our twenties, and also relied solely on trains/buses. We started in Rome, then made our way through Umbria and Tuscany to Venice. Assissi, Siena, San Gimignano, Orvieto, Radda, Cortona, Civita de Bagnoregio are all accessable by train or bus, and there are tons more. From Florence, you can see quite a bit of Tuscany, and Umbria is easy striking distance from Rome. Spend at least two nights in a Hill town. Trust me, you won't regret it. CT is also cool, by the way.

What a wonderful way to celebrate your achievement! Congratulations! Venice to Naples is a long haul. Night trains are particularly unattractive, IMHO. Based on curent schedules (which don't change much) you can leave Venice at 20:09, arriving Naples at 07:35 with 2 changes of train and an 11 hour 26 minute journey. Ugh! Alternately you can leave at 23:30, arriving 10:05 with no change, a 10 hour 35 minute journey. If you go during the day you can leave at 06:27 and arrive at 11:30 (for example, there are other options), 2 fast trains, 5 hours 3 minutes. Naples to Milan is a similar challenge. Unless you are compelled to see Naples, this is a lot of time to spend on trains to/from Naples during your short time in Italy. There's plenty to see north of Rome. The Cinque Terre is a great idea and worthy of 3 nights, especially if you like to hike. Or you could go to Castelrotto, in the Dolomites, for an alpine experience, or to Lake Como. (You are right to not spend 4 nights in Milan!)

Laurel times two. Have a great trip!

If you want to meet other people your same age, I suggest either Siena or Bologna. They're both big university towns, with Siena having a lot of foreigners and Bologna having a lot of Italians. I second the idea of not spending all your travel time to get to Naples. For future reference (and for others reading this), railpasses in Italy are almost never a good deal. It's much less expensive to buy point-to-point tickets. Have a great time.

Wow these tips just appear like magic! Thanks everyone! I'm thinking we might spend our third day in Rome in Naples and then head to Florence. After Venice maybe we could spend a day exploring the hilltowns, then head for CT. I'm more and more convinced that I want to see Cinque Terre! If anyone has a favorite place to stay in CT (on the cheap side) that they could suggest that would be amazing. As I've been reading the forums in the past couple I've found that most people find they don't need an Italy railpass- bummer! However, our youth passes really weren't too expensive. I'm hoping that since we will be there in late April/early May we won't have to pay as many reservation fees and can use the passes just on the most expensive days of travel. Thank you all again for your responses! This is a really cool online community!

Your second plan sounds a lot better, it's good to do a directional travel (south to north). However, I may suggest to do the hilltowns while you are in Florence, because they are very close. After Florence, then head to either CT or Venice. There are several postings on CT and the different islands/hotel reccomendations, so if you search you should be able to find one! Youth passes are much cheaper than adult railpasses (around half the price) and while you can get some student discounts on p2p tickets too, on your first trip it might be nice to just use the railpass. I did last year when I was traveling from Arezzo to Zurich to Garmisch and back down to Rome, and I enjoyed having it. I would advise doing your passes for the long trips (generally the more expensive ones) but please note that you WILL need seat reservations (usually around 10 euro) for many of your train rides, in addition to your railpass. Going back this fall, I will not buy a youth railpass. But my travel will be much more spread out, and I am more informed on the costs. But was I happy to have one last summer? Yes, definitely.