I’m planning a trip to Italy with a friend later this year November 27 to December 7 and could use some advice on the best way to set up our itinerary as another friend is joining for part of the trip (December 2 to December 6).
Me and my first friend will arrive in Rome on Thursday. We will explore Rome the first few days.
On Tuesday, another friend is joining us but she’s flying into Venice and she leaves from Venice on Saturday. On Sunday, me and the first friend fly out of Venice.
We’d love to fit in Florence and Venice. I’m just not sure what the best “home bases” are or how to structure the trip so we’re not wasting too much time on trains.
I’ve been playing with a few options:
Option 1 • Thurs–Sun: Base in Rome • Tuesday: Travel up to Venice to meet our friend • Tues–Sat: Stay in Venice (maybe do a day trip to Florence if realistic)
Option 2 • Thurs–Sat: Rome • Sun: Travel to Florence, overnight • Tues: Morning in Florence, train to Venice to meet our friend • Tues–Sat: Venice
Option 3 (Bologna as a base) • Thurs–Sat: Rome • Sun: Bologna (with day trip to Florence, since it’s only 40 min by train) • Tues: Travel to Venice to meet our friend • Tues–Sat: Venice
We’re curious if Bologna makes sense as a base since it looks really central by train. Has anyone done that instead of staying overnight in Florence?
is there another combo that would work better?
It’s our first time in Italy so we’re generally interested in exploring anything we can