A month in Italy and completely overwhelmed

I would start by visiting your local library and picking up some travel books on Italy (you will have many choices - start with the Rick Steves books since they're accessible and easy to follow). Approach it like a research project. You will have to do a lot of reading and info gathering, and books are an excellent resource for this task. They often have sample itineraries (and prices) already spelled out, so there is no need to reinvent the wheel. For distances, consult Michellin maps or Google directions between cities.

Have you planned an overseas trip of any length before? A shorter trip is obviously easier to plan because you have more constraints.

Congrats! Get a guide book, get a RS video, go to any basic resource before you dive in here and really learn what overwhelmed means (lol)! After many years of traveling, this is still how I begin--all the basics will be spelled out for you. "How long it takes to get form place to place" is not a guessing game--it is in books or available via a quick google search!
Of course much depends on your budget and airport, but the ideal scenario is to fly "multi-city" (used to be called "open jaw")--time of year will determine if that is north to south or vice versa.
For example, fly into Venice, stay at least 3-4 days
train to Florence, there and smaller town Tuscany for X days (depends on interests, your comfort level with driving--again, read that guide book!)
train to Rome, stay at least 4-5 days
train to Naples or Salerno, transport to Amalfi Coast (again, read that guide book--many options here that are again dependent on personal preferences) I would spend a week in this area--cap off the trip right (and there is lots to see if you visit Pompeii, etc.)
fly home from Naples
(or you could transpose AC and Rome if you have better flights out of Rome)
This is a basic outline that will be easily fleshed out by you once you research. Enjoy!

Hey, that is my standard line about going to the library - has a lot to do with being married to a librarian. BUT that is you best starting point. Then take those travel DVDs, invite you friends over, open a good Italy wine, and decided where you want to drink that next bottle in Italy. You have lots of options and patterns. Maybe two weeks in a villa -- you will need a car for that - but a week in Rome should not be overlooked with some days in Florence and perhaps Venice. I would go mid-Sep through Oct.

How exciting!
A good place to start would be with the RS Italy book and some maps.
Another good resource for early planning is to take a look at RS tour itineraries-
https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/italy

If it were me I'd probably divide the month up into to 5-7 nights segments more or less and do it in this order.
Travel by train but rent a car for the Tuscany portion.

Venice - 4 nights- fly in here if you can much easier to ARRIVE in Venice than is to leave
Lake Como? Cinque Terra?
Florence/Tuscany- rent a villa or stay a week at an agriturismo- rent a car for this portion and explore Tuscany hill towns.
Maybe add in a few days to see Assisi and Orvieto- which are in Umbria but close to Tuscany
Amalfi- 5 nights or so? with day trips to Pompei, Capri, etc
Rome 5 nights- I'd not plan any day trips there is too much to see and do in Rome
Fly home form Rome

Agnes tells the truth. Start your research with a couple of really good guides. They don't have to be the latest version, but should give you pointers about travel techniques, methods, and relative costs of your adventure.

While villas seem romantic, they will insulate you from the very sights you want to visit. To really absorb the Italian culture, try to immerse yourself into the cities and regions you want to visit. For example, it would never occur to me to rent a villa near Venice or Rome when I could become part of the actual city.

Check into alternative accommodation options, like VRBO or AirB&B, especially in the bigger cities where you plan to stay longer.

Decide on what kind of a trip you want to have. Your friends may not have the same touring goals or styles as you do. Do they want to visit beaches when you want to see Roman ruins? Are art and art museums more important to you, or do you like scenery. Get as many as possible on the same page. I have friends who spend a kings ransom on wonderful bric a brac and gifts for themselves and for others, while I grin as I pass the seductive siren of souvenir shops in favor of a gelato.

Google Maps can give you a breakdown on travel times, as well as Rome2Rio, a phone app that assists in the planning process. Consider a tour as part of your adventure to really get an idea from the professionals.

This is a great travel website, but you will need to do some homework before it really pays off for you. Look at the resources to the left of the page and begin your planning. Good Luck!

I'd be looking to rent a Villa south of Florence in the hill country of Tuscany. If you have enough people, see if you can find a cook to put some culinary magic on you.
With a rent a car, you can really cover some territory and see some great cities on day trips. If you're going to different regions of the country, a fast train is the most efficient way. Amalfi Coast by the way is about 200 miles south of Rome.
And by all means, don't fail to see Rome for a 4 day/night minimum. It's too important a city to miss.
You can Google "Italian villas" and "agriturismos" and find some really great places to stay. Or, go to Booking.com. Need to first figure out what city you want to be close to.

I think as you get into some guidebooks, the list of places you want to see will grow, and you'll probably decide that two-week stays in one place will constrain you too much (unless you're planning something like a 2-1/2 month trip!). Having just two bases will rather severely limit how much ground you can cover without subjecting yourselves to a lot of 3- or 4-hour road trips or long train rides. But a villa or space in an agriturismo for 5-7 days in a place like Tuscany sounds grand. Keep in mind, though, that any rural accommodation almost requires a car, and if you decide to use the train to reach somewhere farther away, you'll first have to drive to a train station and figure out where you can park the car.

Time of year, as already mentioned, is pretty critical. Much of Italy can be unpleasantly hot in mid-summer. Do you have limitations on the time of year you must travel?

For judging driving times, use ViaMichelin.com. Understand that it does not allow for any stopping, getting lost, looking for parking, etc. (not to mention no meal breaks), so reality will not match its projections.

For travel times by train, use trenitalia.com or the Deutsche Bahn website. Trenitalia will show you fares as well as schedules, but it requires you to use the Italian forms of city names (Roma, Napoli, Firenze, Venezia, Milano, etc.). I find the Deutsche Bahn site easier to use in the early planning stages when I'm not yet concerned about fares.

If you're thinking of traveling without a car to small towns, you may sometimes need to use buses. If you can't find a town on Trenitalia or the Deutsche Bahn, it's probably because it doesn't have a train station. You can try Googling something like "Bus Florence to San Gimignano" to see what turns up, or ask on this forum.

sharon,

To begin with, it would really help to have more specific information on this trip. For example.....

• Have any of you been to Europe previously?
• Could you confirm that the trip is one month in duration?
• Where are you flying from?
• What sights are you most interested in seeing (ie: what prompted you to take this trip)?
• WHEN is this trip taking place?

If you haven't been to Europe before, I'd suggest starting by reading Europe Through The Back Door. After that use country or city-specific guidebooks (preferable Rick's books) to plan more details sightseeing, hotels, transportation, etc.).

Your answer to the above questions will really help in providing you with good information.

If you have never traveled to Europe, I would consider relying entirely on public transportation. There will be places you can’t get to as easily but the train system in Italy is superb. I have been to Italy five times and have never rented a car. We were in Greece last year and did because Greece has a nonexistent train system. It is harder to drive because you have to pay attention the whole time. Someone has to navigate. It is far easier to get on a train and not have to worry about so much. On the amalfi coast we took buses and ferries. I would not have wanted to drive. The train goes to sorrento in the north and Salerno in the south but not in between the towns.

And I agree get some guidebooks and watch some u-tube segments to start. Also, look at where the rick Steve’s tours go but realize it is hard to duplicate the pace as an independent traveler.

Someone has to like to plan or else you should go on a tour. We have good friends who have been to Europe maybe a dozen times now and except for once have gone on a tour. They love to travel but neither of them has an interest in figuring out the nitty gritty details of travel.

Now me-I love it almost as much as the traveling.

Beth

I think your idea of two weeks in the north and two weeks in the south sounds great. We spent over a month in Italy, figured out which areas we wanted to base, and picked the day trips from there. Realize a month seems like a long time but you will not see everything. Taking time to enjoy is better than trying to visit too many “must sees.”

We found mixing an extended rural stay after a city stay was ideal for unwinding and absorbing the beauty of the countryside.

After our 35 day stay we returned for another month of exploring. Wherever you go in Italy it will be worthwhile.

I agree with BethFL - we've been to Europe 18 times and have rented a car only once: for four days to visit some of the smaller towns in Tuscany. Plan to rely on public transportation. And pack light so you won't have to be dragging heavy suitcases aboard trains/buses.

First things first...you need the basics, an overview, before you dig into specifics. Here's some simple things to look into FIRST, so you ask the right questions next.

Get the Rick Steves book Europe Through the Back Door. It the first part is a how-to-travel to Europe guide. Talks all about trains, changing currency, choosing hotels, all the nitty-gritty. There are also free TV shows that cover a lot of this. This book is so great for the logistical, practical skills you need. It might not all be relevant to you (with a group you might prefer renting apartments or villas, not hotels, for example), but most of it will be very useful.

Then get books on Italy. Rick Steves Italy is good - and each covered area has a "connections" section saying how long it is from that city to others. So the fast train Rome to Venice is maybe 3 and a half hours.

Draw out a rough daily itinerary. Looks like this:
Day 1 - arrive in X at 8AM, train to Y at 12, check into hotel. Sleep in Y
Day 2-7 - visit Y. Nights 2 - 7 in Y,
day trip to Z one day (1 hour bus each way)
Sleep nights 2-7 in Y
Day 8 - train to city Q,
Day 9-14 visit city Q,
possible day trip to city R (2 hour train)
Sleep nights 8-14 city Q
and so forth until
Day 30 - fly home at 3PM from city V
Just by drawing it out you will better be able to visualize your time - and in writing it you will have to look up transit times so you will learn that by doing it!

Remember day trips take time - I don't think you can't see all the places on your list from only 2 bases. Remember it's great to be in these places in the evenings (nice dinners, fewer people, pretty lighting) and if you are day tripping all the time you miss those evenings.

Forgot to give you the link for watching Rick's TV shows in my earlier post. Here it is:

https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/tv-show

Click on Italy.

Have you decided time of year? I am not seeing that above.

My cohorts have given you GREAT advice on how to start to plan and educate yourselves. And it should be a group effort: everyone needs to be educated so no one is stuck making all the decisions and being resented.

On our second trip, we spent a month and divided the trip into 4 segments of one week each: Venice, Umbria (small town of Spello), Sorrento, and Rome. We did not even get a car! But you cannot see Italy from two bases, north and south.

With a week in Venice, you can visit not only that great city, but Verona, Padova, and more.

Instead of a week in Umbria, a week in Tuscany with your dream of a villa is feasible and here a car is useful. You could stay near to Florence so you can take a bus or taxi into Florence for at least one day as you do not want to drive there.

A week on Sorrento allows you to see Pompeii, Herculaneum, the many towns of the Amalfi Coast, and day trip to Naples. A car is not needed for any of this.

Finally, Rome for a week. You can easily fill a week in Rome, but there are day trip possibilities too: Castel Gandolfo, Orvieto, Frascati, Tivoli.

But only you can decide -- along with your companions -- what appeals to you. I think you are off to a good start not wanting to move around too much. By establishing bases you actually experience more.

BTW, a post above says "Another good resource for early planning is to take a look at RS tour itineraries- "
Rick's itineraries move VERY fast because they are groups on buses with pre-arranged plans and guides who know where to go, what do, and no one gets lost. In my experience, independent travelers benefit from moving at a slower pace, especially those of us in our "golden years."

Have fun planning and come back to run your ideas by us!

BTW, a post above says "Another good resource for early planning is to take a look at RS tour itineraries<<

That was me. And to clarify it was meant as a suggestion for ideas of what might be important or interesting places to see and more specifically how to logically travel north to south or vice versa. The RS tours with all those 1 and 2 night stays would be brutal to me!

Perhaps a better suggestion is to look at RS recommend itineraries for 3 week road or train trips here:
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy/itinerary

Although even those itineraries are bit too fast paced than I'd like.

Do your research as people indicate. For me, to plan and execute an international trip with current friends...we’ll, there’s not enough wine produced in Italy.

ChristineH absolutely too fast, even in his suggested itineraries. Maybe I could have done that pace at 35 or 40. At 65, no way!

How big is the group? Are you the one taking the lead here?
Planning a big trip like this has lots of moving parts and I find that most people on this forum excel at the research, planning and execution because we have a passion for it. For me the planning is just as important and fulfilling as the actual trip.
So be honest with yourself if this or someone in your group can really commit to all the work that goes into independent travel.
Then start...start reading, you tube RS travel videos, read trip reports to see how others did it.
Get a notepad or a computer program to start documenting your findings ( I like excel). In time a plan will start to form.

Use Google- the Library- Travel books- research- use this forum- Trip Advisor- I also use Loco2.com and Rome2Rio.com for transportation research and booking- don’t get overwhelmed- Ive used all of the above and planned out great itinerarys by myself and the trips were fantastic- book air and transportation in advance for best prices- read reviews on lodging- and have fun- planning it all is part of a great travel experience!!

Happy Travels💫✨

Other questions :-)

Have you traveled together before? Do you have the same approach to travel? or do your friends expect to visit 5 museums a day while you want to sit on a cafe and people-watch - or vice-versa?

I think that most answers above have the implicit understanding that you will use trains for the larger part of your movements from one place to the other. If you have not traveled in Europe before, you might think differently, but they are 100% correct. If you go from a city to a city use the train. If you want to explore country side and visit small towns rent a car.

When you start looking at train travel you will benefit from using the Italian names for cities, so you might get into that habit early on.

When do you plan to go? 2019 or 2020? what time of year? If you are retired and can go any time you want it would make sense to go in the shoulder season to avoid the (other) tourists and the heat. I prefer late spring/early summer. In the late summer/early fall the country side can be very dried out due to the heat in summer.

And I support the suggestion to get Europe through the back door. I would buy an old copy I can keep until leaving, rather than a new one from the library I have to return after a month.

Where do you live? There are lots of RS Forum people who meet regularly in towns across the country. Even if it means a couple hours' drive, I recommend joining one. You'd be surprised how much more information and insight you can get from a half hour meet-up with well-traveled friendly folks than hours reading books or surfing the net, though those are both legitimate sources.

Great advice from everyone about getting everyone's expectations about the trip and doing lots of homework...and especially Chani's suggestion to look for a travel group (we go to TWO meetings a month, one of them 90 miles away.) Chances are you will get hooked on travel -- or Italy -- or both so your "once in a lifetime" trip will turn into "where are we going next."

Sharon, the others have given you great advice.

If you have never travelled by train before, I suggest you read this webpage: https://www.seat61.com/Italy-trains.htm
There are things you need to know about how it works, that to those of us who have travelled by train since childhood would think are "bleading obvious". Similarly if you have never flown, you need to be told things like "you need to go to check-in first when you arrive at the airport", trains don't have check-in. Many more examples.

RS has lots of videos on YouTube, including many complete episodes of the TV show. Even better are the Travel Talks, many of which are presented by RS tour guides, not by Rick. They have loads of great tips and suggestions on locations and on topics like Packing (Sarah Murdoch is my hero), technology, what have you.
If you prefer DVDs, take a look at your local PBS station's website. There is often a RS package of books and videos offered as a "thank you gift" for contributing. I got the box set of all the shows plus some other videos, Europe Through the Back Door and, I think, two more books, but there are often country-specific packages, and they are available even when RS isn't all over the TV doing promos. .
I don't love the Lonely Planet guides, but two things I like about them are 1) many of them are available in Kindle format for free for Amazon Prime users, and 2) At the beginning of the book, they have some standard sections that can help you decide where to go, where to stay, what to see. For example, there will be a few pages with "If you like hiking (or golf or beaches or gourmet food), check out (this place or that place)." They also recommend times of year to visit and list what's on for each month. It's not clear from your post if you've already picked your dates.
I got hooked on The Man in Seat 61, not only for the rock solid information he has on his site, but for the inspiration I got from his romantic descriptions of certain train journeys. Highly recommended.
My final recommendation is to involve everyone in the planning process, in whatever way makes sense for them. Not everyone is an organized planner type, but everyone has an interest in having a great time. Put your bookish friend on the task of recommending some fiction and non-fiction books for all to read and discuss (whether before the trip or during the trip or both). Pick an era of history to focus on, and have your history buff work out the sights that are important to it. The wine snob finds the wineries. Or whatever you're into--art, architecture, religion, food. The planner spends the hours on AirBnB and VRBO looking at places to stay. Meet regularly with a large map, some color-coded tape flags and, of course, wine from a different region each time.
Have a great time!

Great guidance so far. Let me put some additional perspective on it as well.

Time Of Year: I would avoid traveling June through September, the height of the tourist season. Italy can be overrun during those times, and the last thing you want is a 'once-in-a-lifetime trip in your golden years' constantly bolloxed up by lines and tourists. We travel in February/March, but we understand that inclement weather is part & parcel of being there when nobody else is. With the assumption that y'all are retired and have the luxury of picking when you want to go, my advice would be travel in April or May (south to north), or October (north to south), direction to take advantage of longer warmer weather.

Bases: I would logistically find 3-4 bases that easily allow daytrips via public transportation. For me, that would be Venice/Verona (daytrips to Lake Garda district, Padua, Trento, Bologna); Florence (daytrips to Lucca, Siena, Fiesole, Chianti, Tuscany); Rome (daytrips to Orvieto, Ostia Antica); Sorrento (daytrips to Naples, Pompei, Ercolano, Capri, Positano, Amalfi). Doing it this way you will never get bored, and can be flexible enough to change plans at a moment's notice.

Temperament: This was alluded to upthread. With your traveling partners, as you plan get an idea of what they want to do and more importantly, how much they want to do. I can't imagine they are exactly like you and your husband, and even the two of you may have different wants out of this trip. If you can, say that the whole group, whether it's 4 or 6 or 8 of you, does not have to all be together all the time. That's a recipe for potential grumbling and bad feelings. My plan of 'daytrips if we feel like it' seems to work well.

Enjoy your planning!

Sharon,

You've gotten some great advice. I don't disagree with anything that anyone has said. But, if it all seems overwhelming, I suggest a couple of things.

Talk to the travel companions and see if they agree that you don't all have to spend every minute together.
One might want to do more museums and other may want more moseying around to take pictures. My hubby gets tired of churches after a while, so he wanders around and people watches and we have a meet up point and time. Works for us.

It might not be a bad idea to look at the Village Italy tour. With this much time you could fly into Venice and spend 3 nights there getting over jet lag and seeing Venice. It's an easy train (about 45 minutes) ride to Padua to meet up with the tour. Yes the tour does have some short stays, but it's not as hard as if you were doing it on your own. You don't worry about transportation, (you can rest on the bus, and the guides give you information about the area you are going to and help with the language while on the bus) parking, hotels and you have all breakfasts, some lunches, and about half of your dinners. We have always had great food at the RS chosen dinner restaurants. The other and greatest advantage is the guide. They are there to give you information, help with recommendations about what and how to spend your free time, and basically, teach you how to travel on your own.

With as much travel time as you and hubby and your friends have, you would probably feel much more comfortable striking out on your own to finish your trip. You would still have to prebook hotels and such,
but the people here on the Forum could help with recommendations.

Not to be bossy, but the last recommendation I have, whether you decide to start with a tour or do it on your own is to ask specific questions here on the Forum. The more information you give us the better we can help.
And don't hesitate to come back and ask more questions.

Happy planning no matter what you decide
Mimi

We recently did a trip with our best friends married couple, and our goal was to still be best friends at the end of the trip. We were all very honest with each other as to travel style, budget and what the goal of the trip was (have fun, explore, some laughs-not educational, not religious, not hobby driven) and no crybabies! We also explained to not be getting involved in each others marital issues that may come up, because travel can be stressful and tired, hungry people are not always the most patient or loving as they should be. No one was joined at the hip, some thing we all purchased tickets for and other days we said good morning to each other at the apartment and then went our separate ways. This really allowed for some special moments that belonged to just me and hubby, and same for them. One day we actually ran into them on the train coming back from Pompeii, had a good laugh and all walked back to the Hotel together window shopping along the way.

Something I have not seen mentioned yet and regards your traveling companions.
Other members have mentioned making sure your travel / sightseeing goals jibe to a certain extent with the knowledge that you don't all have to spend every minute as a group.

Something you need to address early on in the planning is lodging.

What kind of places you will sleep in.

Some travelers want 5 star hotels. Some want to stay in places that look like where they would sleep on a vacation in the USA. Some people like to stay in small, family-run inns. Some are OK spending loads on the hotel while others decide to spend their vacation money on doing things, experiencing Italy, and finding a reasonably priced room for the night. Also, you might be OK with a bathroom "down the hall" from your room while others in your party want private and en suite. (P.S. Keep in mind that A LOT of accommodations in Italy are very old buildings, so the size of rooms/bathrooms might be a surprise and an annoyance to you and/or some of your companions

THIS could lead to BIG problems if you're the planning person for this and you assume everybody will be fine with how YOU want to stay and somebody else in the group has a different style.

A month is a dream vacation for a lot of people. It could also be a nightmare if differences start appearing early on and simmer (or worse) from then on.

Once the style of travel is settled upon, you can even farm out some of the planning to other couples so everybody feels like they have a hand in making this trip happy, fun and successful. Just be sure to all check in with one another from time to time to make sure everybody is at least content with what's going down.

The bottom line on this is learn as much as you can and TALK with your fellow travelers early and often about any little thing that could reappear later with a vengeance.

Have fun planning and while you're at it, consult google maps and put the little yellow figure on the streets of where you're going. This way, it will feel like deja vu when you get there and are actually walking those same paths!)