April Trip to Italy

Hi—-I see this is your first post. Welcome to the forum!

Sounds like a fun trip—-but have you been reading here about the pitfalls of driving a rental car in Italy? Things like IDP’s and ZTL’s? If you do not know what those are, I can explain (or someone else will). If you do know, we can skip that and move on to your itinerary.

You don’t want to fly from Naples to Rome—-the Frecce train only takes 1 hour 15 minutes.

It’s very fast paced

Why in the world would you want to drive to Florence or drive on Amalfi coast?

Train from Naples to Rome, quicker and cheaper

Have you been to Italy or traveled abroad at all?
Have you checked auto rental rates yet? The cost is astronomical in Italy right now

Courtney,
You and your daughter will love Italy. You will probably hear this from others on this forum, but I think you are trying to fit in too many places in your time frame: Venice, Bologna, Florence, Pisa, Tuscany, Naples, Amalfi, and Rome. You will be rushing from place to place. Prioritize what you really want to see and see if there is something that can be eliminated. Your teenage daughter is young and with this first taste of Italy can look forward to exploring more on future trips. You really give yourself just one full day in Venice and very little time in Florence. I would certainly eliminate the daytrip to Pisa and give more time to Florence. Florence needs more than one day. Are you really sure you want to rent a car from Venice to Bologna to Florence? There are all kinds of potential car rental problems, just search the forum, especially unexpected tickets that arrive one to three years after the zona limitada, parking or other infractions that people were unaware they committed. Same is true for your rental to see the Amalfi Coast. Parking will be an issue. Since for that part of the trip you are four people you may want to look into hiring a driver to take you to Amalfi. May be comparable in price to car rental without the driving worries. Both Bologna and Florence are easily accessible by train from Venice and the trains are cheap and reliable and frequent. Also I wound travel by train from Naples to Rome, rather than the flight you have planned. I would think that it would be even faster and cheaper than flying given that you need to be at the airport early and then you may need to comply with some kind of covid protocol. A flight just seems unnecessary to me. Entering thru Venice and departing thru Rome is a good idea. I have never been to Naples or the Amalfi coast so I will leave those comments to others.

How many NIGHTS do you actually have in Italy?
Will you FLY on the 7th and arrive on the 8th?
Then the 8th is a jet lag day-Venice will be a blur

Count your trip in NIGHTS on the ground in Italy
It looks like you have 11 NIGHTS? Is that correct?

A 3 night stay is really just 2.5 days. Any time you move location at least half of your day is spent getting to/from, checking in/out, getting oriented

You might consider dropping Venice and Bologna- you are not giving those locations the time they deserve anyway

You may find that your best flight option is RT Rome
Go to Florence on arrival BY TRAIN
Day trip from there to Pisa, Tuscany etc BY TRAIN
OR GUIDED TOUR (there are many to chose from)
Florence needs a minimum of 2 nights, add a night for each day trip and since your first day with this plan is a jet lag day give it 3 minimum JUST for sights in Florence
Then direct train to Naples to meet others and on to Amalfi ( probably easier to all meet at train station or ferry dock)
Return to Rome for last 4 nights and flight home

Florence 4
Amalfi 3 (I’d stay in Sorrento)
Rome 4

Welcome to the Travel Forum! You'll get lots of advice here and plenty of ideas. You may not like all of them but remember all of us are contributing based on our own experiences. Where are you flying from? That will help finding a direct flight into Venice. Why such a short time in Venice? I've been there 12 times at least and never stay less than 5 nights. Venice is an experience that goes far beyond a tourist attraction. Why have a car when the Italian train system can be comfortable, convenient, friendly and inexpensive? If you want to, say on your way to Florence, stop off at Bologna, you can store your luggage at the train station. Sorry, way too short a time in Florence. And I'm not sure where you would park the car. A wonderful way to see the Amalfi Coast area is, like you say, train to Naples. I'd consider basing in Sorrento. It's very easy to get to all the sites from there. Sorrento is a great place for shopping (hey, you mentioned the young ones). From Sorrento it is easy to get, by train, to Pompeii. Boat is the only way to get to Capri. Boat to Positano and Amalfi Town is a spectacular ride. From Amalfi Town, take the bus back to Sorrento (sit on the driver's side for the best views). Check your guidebooks and see if you've allowed enough time there to do/see/experience all that you want to. I think you may be coming up short by a couple of days. Flying from Naples to Rome doesn't really save you any time or money. Take the train (the Freccia trains are very fast and frequent). Rome looks good to me. You don't have enough time to see everything but I bet you'll be planning your next trip as soon as you get back on the plane. It's easy to get to the airport from downtown by train or taxi.

Deep breath. Make the planning part of the fun. Italy has been there for thousands of years. I bet you'll be counting the days until you can get back there! Remember: you deserve this!

I know I sound negative. Sorry about that. I'm afraid that the amount of time you'll be spending in a car, or dealing with car rental agencies, will cut into your vacation time. Ground transportation in Italy really is much easier. The website is trenitalia.it. Also, there is so much more to experience in the places you have listed. A day won't give you a chance to even start in Venice, Florence, or Tuscany. Maybe make a priority list for each place/area, check train schedules and see if there are enough hours in the day. Also remember that checking and out of hotels takes a lot more time than you might expect. And you still have to deal with getting to train stations or car agencies. All that cuts into your vacation time.

I'm one who likes to pack in a lot and visit three or more locales on a trip, and even I think you are packing in more than is manageable. You will literally be spending all your time getting from place to place, finding your accommodation, checking in, etc. and will have very little time for sightseeing for the first part of your trip.

If it were me, I would skip Bologna and Pisa, unless you have been to Florence before and really don't need an entire day there. If you really want to go to Pisa, then you need to add a day in this area, probably to Florence.

While it's not ideal, you can certainly get a taste of Venice in a day, especially if you are spending the night. You will be jet lagged, but that probably will mean you will be getting up earlier and going to bed earlier for the first bit. My husband and I always manage to see a lot and enjoy ourselves between the getting up and going to bed.

I agree with everyone who suggests taking trains instead of driving. The trains are easy and frequent.

Is there no way you can add a couple of days to your trip?

Just wow. Really need to cut this down to three, maybe four stops. As is a lot of waving at sites as you go by. Longest stay is Rome, and I am sure you think you have 4 days, but really just a bit more than 2 days. Please get Rick's Italy book and read in detail, especially his suggested tours based upon the number of days available.

Example: Getting to airport in Naples, turning in car, security, flying to FCO and transit into Rome is all day affair. Agree with others, no reason not to take train when possible.

What you are proposing we did in three 8 day trips, and had some very hectic days - and long before covid disruptions.

Way too much -- you'll be moving constantly and won't get to slow down and enjoy Italy. You'll have a much better time if you pick three destinations: e.g., Venice, Florence, and Rome, and give each a few days.

Does this make sense? Short answer: NO.

I concur with and won’t repeat what others have already said. There are a couple of other points to consider. Rome on Easter Sunday will likely be packed, as it will the entire week before, Holy Week. Pilgrims come from the world over. Schools from all over Europe send students on field trips. Covid concerns may impact in ways as yet unpredictable.

“This is kind of a once in a lifetime trip . . .” The mantra here is “assume you will return.” Your daughter is young and has years ahead of her for traveling. You and she will have a much better time if you cut back on the number of destinations. Limiting yourselves to the “big three,”. i.e., Venice, Florence, and Rome, will give you a decent amount of time in each, with possible day trips from one or two.

I have made the mistake of being in Italy over Easter twice (once in Rome). A lot of businesses and attractions are closed on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday. You may not have much flexibility with your dates - but if you do, I would consider avoiding Easter weekend, unless you want to be in Rome for religious reasons.

We are arriving in Rome on April 18th (Easter Monday) and transferring directly to Pompei. We need a day to recuperate from the flight before we start vacationing in earnest.

I agree with the people who suggest that you don't rent a car for this itinerary. I also don't see why you would fly from Naples to Rome as opposed to taking a train, or using a car service.

If you decide to travel by train, Trainline is an easy-to-use website for us Americans. They do charge a nominal booking fee, but it is not outrageous - though some people on the Forum disagree.

https://www.thetrainline.com/trains/europe

Did not notice Easter weekend in Rome. Essentially nothing you want to do will be open, at least that was the info I was given for Verona, and therefore moved our hoped for trip forward 3 days avoiding Easter.

Happy and healthy new year! May we all be able to travel in 2022!
First, congratulations on your high school senior and what an incredible graduation year gift to make her dream come true- together! You have already received lots of suggestions on the overly ambitious itinerary so I will add 2 pieces of advice not yet mentioned:
1) I would hold off on booking the airfare and even then look very carefully at flight options- and definitely purchase from the airline rather than a third party and be careful of connections. You could now, as some here have suggested, keep an eye on FlightAware for flights you are considering. Who knows what will be happening with Covid but the less connections the better, for sure, were it me. When we went, years ago, we flew into Venice and out of Rome and then used trains.
(This, from someone, pre- Covid, who always did everything many months in advance so I could feel like it was all arranged.) I have only been on 2 domestic flights this year and both changed (one by seven hours!) departure times and on another departure home I was delayed by 6 hours- waiting for the plane from the west coast to arrive since the intended plane had some issue. You could have your tickets booked and then find out it's entirely different, with just how uncertain it all is now. I would definitely wait till February (assuming Omicron is starting to have less impact), and spend this month really fine- tuning your itinerary, sketching out each day's plans, figuring out your (refundable!) places to stay, etc. Which leads to my#
2) With my daughters when we did their huge dream trip we based it on something specific. For example, my younger daughter's passion for art determined what we saw in Venice, Florence and Rome. Making sure museums or sites are open, and planning
that day around opening (or closing) times. (I am not sure how Trip Advisor is now 2 years into Covid but I always found it helpful for reviews.)
I am not sure if the Easter experience is for the religious aspect. If so, you definitely don't have enough time in Rome for all the history- a highlight for us was a tour by a nun of the underground tunnels, early Christian symbols, etc.
More healthy wishes and hope your family has a fantastic trip together!

Actually no, not everything will be closed in Rome on Easter Weekend, although you definitely will want advance tickets for the biggies that are. The Colosseum, Palatine and Forum, for instance, will be open as well as Galleria Borghese (yes, advance, timed-entry tickets will be mandatory for all). So check the websites of the attractions you wish to see for hours/closing days, or any staffing issues which could shorten hours or close an attraction with little notice?

That said, Courtney, welcome to the forum! We really do try not to pile on to new posters with overloaded itineraries but, well, we'd rather express concern than not when a new traveler has the potential for trouble. As you can see, there's quite a lot of concern about your plan...and for good reason! There's "see as much as possible" and "experience as much as possible". Two different animals, that, and packing, unpacking and moving around isn't the fun part.

Realistically, this is what you currently have given yourself to work with:
1 full day Venice; April 8th
1 full day "Tuscany"; April 11th
2 full days on the Amalfi Coast; April 13 and 14
3 full days Rome; April 16, 17 18

So of your 11 FULL days on the ground (8th -18th), you'll be spending quite a bit of time in transit on 4 of them.
Shorthand notes: 1 day isn't enough for Florence and Pisa, I'd skip Bologna, and (pretty sure you'll hate this), I would skip the Amalfi coast too. I'd add time to Venice, Florence and Rome, and especially Florence if you want to day-trip from there. Save the Amalfi Coast until you can give it the time it needs and deserves. Oh, and no, I definitely would not drive from Venice>Bologna>Florence, or from Florence>Naples>Amalfi Coast. If you keep the Amalfi in the plan, please don't fly from Naples to Rome; you'll get there MUCH faster by train.

But here's the deal: which locations to trim from the plan, and which to add time to, depends on YOUR interests; what YOU most want to do/see on this trip. LOL, "everything" isn't an answer 'cuz that's when you end up with an Italy-at-a-Dead-Run plan! It's also too early on the coast for beach time, if your daughter had visions of paddling about on the Amalfi.

So before throwing a bunch of itineraries at you that we consider more rich in experiences, what can you tell us about your family? What do all of you want to get out of this trip, minus "as much as possible"? 😉

Looks like you have twelve nights planned and I agree with flying into Venice and out of Rome.
The shorter amount of time you spend in a place the less you appreciate it. It takes time to fall in love with a place and this is why day trips can be a disappointment because you miss the evening ambience. I took a train from Venice to Bologna enroute to Florence and don’t recommend spending a few hours in Bologna unless there is a specific sight you want to see. My few hours in Bologna were a disappointment.
Driving restrictions in IT are severe. You can be fined heavily for driving in a bus lane meaning there is no room for error. Parking is no easy task either so take trains instead.
With that said here’s what I recommend:
Apr 7th – fly into Venice and sleep there two nights. At dusk take a vaporetto (water bus) ride between the train station and San Marco square or beyond. This way you’ll see the Venetian Gothic Byzantine Islamic architecture of the palaces that line its Grand Canal and not the decay. The illuminated foyers allow you to voyeur inside and is an experience that may take you back in time, it did me.
Apr 8th – follow the people to St. Mark’s Square and tour the Basilica. You also want to check out Rialto Bridge, afterwards get lost and when you’re ready to get back on the beaten path, find the crowd.
Apr 9th – direct train from Venice (Venezia S. Lucia) to Florence (Firenze S. M. Novella) takes 2h 15m and costs approximately 42.90 euros (https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html). Sleep in Florence for four nights.
Apr 10th – start your day at the Uffizi Gallery (buy your tickets on their website two months prior to guarantee a reservation). Afterwards visit the Accademia to see David and finish your afternoon at the Duomo Museum.
Apr 11th – take a direct 1h 15m bus to Siena for the day and visit the duomo and Il Campo square afterwards. Siena is magical at night but you don’t have time.
Apr 12th – take a direct train to Pisa (1h) for the day.
Apr 13th – there’s a direct train from Florence SM Novella station to Naples Centrale station (3h) but buy tickets before leaving home to guarantee a reservation. You can take a taxi to Naples Molo Beverello port and meet your hubby and daughter there before boarding a ferry to Sorrento.
Apr 14th – take a bus from Sorrento to Amalfi. To get back to Sorrento take a ferry but not sure if you have to transfer in Positano which is also worth checking out.
One problem with taking a bus to see the coast is that it fills up quickly so an early start is best. I believe the first bus departs Sorrento at 6:30a. Hopefully you won’t have an issue with fog. You also want to sit on the right facing the driver since you’re driving east on this one-way road.
The second problem is that it’s a long stretch between Sorrento to Amalfi and because you are going up and down on the curvy Amalfi Road you will get motion illness. Do wear sea band bracelets on each wrist. You may also want to talk to your physician about the best way to prevent it.
Apr 15th – take a ferry to Positano for the day if you haven’t been.
To get to Rome take the ferry back to Molo Beverello instead of riding the Circumvesuviana (commuter train) since you’re hauling luggage. The reason is because you encounter more pickpockets on local trains than fast trains with fewer stops. From Naples Central station take a 1h 15m non-stop train to Rome.

Welcome to the forum!

MaryPat has given you an excellent itinerary that also helps to see how time is quickly used up. The only change I would recommend is to remove this day: “ Apr 12th – take a direct train to Pisa (1h) for the day.”. Either give that extra day to Venice which currently is sadly so short, or give it to an experience at one of your locations - something that isn’t just looking. Interested in a cooking class? Something else that helps you remember your trip vs. seeing another site? There’s a gondola class in Venice that people have commented very positively on the forum & reviews. I haven’t done it so can’t give a first-hand recommendation.

The reason I would drop the Pisa day is that it’s such a tourist gimmick spot - my opinion. I remember so many tacky tourist vendor carts there, and there are so many wonderful options, instead. I would recommend also stopping at nearby Lucca for lunch & renting bikes to ride on top of the circular medieval wall nearby if Pisa is a must-see for you.

Have a wonderful time!

There are direct fast trains from Florence to Napoli Centrale that take about 3 hours
The Afrogola station is on outskirts of Naples, a much further cab ride to ferry dock

We visited the Amalfi Coast area between Christmas and New Year’s a few years ago, but stayed in Sorrento. The owner of our B&B said that April is the tube of year he’d choose to go there.

We spent a week in Bologna 3 months ago, at the end of September 2021, and rented a car when we were ready to move on to Tuscany. It’s a great destination, with lots to see and experience (including incredible food!), but as you’ve likely already considered, you won’t “see” Bologna in a quickie stop enroute from Venice to Florence. You can see a bit of it if you stop, although getting in and out of town with a car was an ordeal for us. With a navigation system that came with the car, we were able to get out of town when we started the rental, and to get back to the rental office when we returned it 3 weeks later, but it was still a huge challenge driving in town for those brief moments. Just a couple minutes after picking up the car and starting to head out of town, a suicidal scooter rider almost became a hood ornament when he cut across 3 lanes of traffic in front of us, and kamikaze jaywalking pedestrians presented another problem. Without the navigation system though, it would’ve been possible - a hard city for driving! I’d take a train from Venice to Bologna, then continue by train from Bologna to Florence. Get your rental car in Florence, if you’re going to tour Tuscany by car.

IF you did drive to Bologna for a very short visit, park in the Piazza Franklin Delano Roosevelt lot, close to the main Piazza Maggiore square downtown. You could park outside the ring road, but then you’d need to get yourself downtown.

There are direct fast trains from Florence to Napoli Centrale that take about 3 hours.

Thank you Christine I edited my post. When I first pulled this up it showed the Afrogola station on https://www.lefrecce.it/. This has happened before with a different market.

No problem Mary Pat
I wasn’t sure if you a particular reason for recommending that station

I use www.Trenitalia.com

What a great graduation trip for your daughter-she will always remember seeing Italy with you! No one knows what will be happening in April, but I assume you know to check the Covid rules at the time of your trip. Currently, you must have a booster within 6 months of your visit. I don't know at what age this starts.

I have seen the breathtaking Amalfi coast on a tour bus. I do not think that road should be driven by anyone except an experienced local driver. I'm the outlier on this forum-I would choose Amalfi over Venice. For what it's worth, I have been to Italy 4 times and have never been to Pisa. Siena is lovely, but I would spend that day enjoying Florence. Florence is such a great city for walking.

If you don't already have passports, you should apply for them now.

My issue with the last detailed itinerary kindly offered up is that it only allows 2.5 days for Rome; 16th -18th, and the 16th is a partial day. Rome usually needs 4 nights/3.5 days to even scratch its surface. I also wouldn't short Florence for Pisa, and I don't personally feel that Pisa or Positano need an entire day... or a visit at all if time is short and other locations may have more appeal. Not right or wrong, just different strokes, maybe.

Museums, sure, I love 'em but I don't know what you family wants to spend time on. So again, knowing what YOU want to do will help us to help you plan YOUR trip versus the one we might plan for ourselves. Hope you can help us out?

I also wouldn't short Florence for Pisa

Kathy, I agree about Pisa but Courtney included it in her itinerary so I'm not sure if it is a must-see for she and her daughter.

Sure, I gotcha, MaryPat! It just goes along with the questions about which destinations are top-of-list if some need to be cut? It's the whole "What are you MOST interested in doing/seeing?" and "What do you want to get out of the trip?" info that is really helpful when crafting itineraries.

The thing about Pisa is that there's much more to it than the belltower but its other attributes probably appeal more to tourists with a healthy interest in history, art and architecture. So, It CAN consume a day - and did for a dear friend who eats and drinks history! - but I'm guessing only if one is more into those things than not. Soooo, let's see what our new friend has to tell us about her tribe? :O)

For me, the most challenging part of moving so many times is the repacking, slogging it all onto trains, finding your next hotel, unpacking etc. It takes a toll on your energy, and it zaps more time than you might realize.

I love Florence, and I'm not as big a Rome fan as others. I would skip Bologna and Pisa, and spend that allotted time in Florence. Maybe take a day trip to another Tuscan town from Florence. That way you can visit without all the packing.

Good luck with the planning!