Hi. I am going to Italy in March with a friend (we're both college students) and would love some suggestions for a 9 day trip. We plan to spend two days in Rome to visit a friend in college there, but otherwise open to ideas for fun places to visit and budget friendly hotels. TIA!
Posted by
Land of La
8728 posts
Like you do for your college exams, research.
Buy or visit a library to see if there’s a copy of the RS Guide to Italy. Loads of pertinent and helpful intel.
Hostels will be cheaper than hotels. Now a days you should also consider airbnbs, vrbo and couch surfing.
As far as suggestions as to what to see; The Sistine Chapel in Rome, The Last Super in Milan, and Venice.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thank you! We just purchased the Rick Steves Best of Italy book and were considering the Amalfi Coast, Florence and Venice as it looks like we can get the train to those locations.
Posted by
7688 posts
You could spend the whole 9 days in Rome, but i would suggest doing Rome for 4 or 5 days and Florence for 4 days. There is a great high speed train you can take.
Posted by
Atlanta, GA, USA
743 posts
The Amalfi Coast can be reached ALMOST by trains, but you can use buses (I'm not sure when ferries are running) to get there.....
getting to the Amalfi Coast is VERY time consuming and for such a short trip you might want to see if you MUST go.....
Another tip might be to fly in/out of Rome and go the farthest away from there to start and work your way back....would your friend be offended if you waited until the end of the trip to see them? Having visited friends in Rome, I know its a possibility that much of your "visiting with them" time might be NOT doing touristy things, so you might want to limit yourself to two places with built in "hang out time" in Rome. Just depends on how close of friends you are. If you will be building in that extra time, an easy option could be:
arrive in Rome
take train/transport DIRECTLY to the farthest location, the Amalfi Coast OR Florence (Sorrento might be a good place to base in early spring)
Train/transport back to Rome, do touristy things
Hang out with friend
fly out of Rome
Posted by
Fort Myers, FL
1702 posts
You could spend the whole 9 days in Rome, but i would suggest doing Rome for 4 or 5 days and Florence for 4 days. There is a great high speed train you can take.
Great advice. The Amalfi Coast is certainly picturesque, but I agree splitting your time in Rome and Florence will give you a taste of about everything, history, art, food, culture and atmosphere, plus you mentioned you have a friend in Rome.
Posted by
Atlanta
4898 posts
Consider three days each in Rome, Florence, and Venice. Steves does a tour visiting those three places. If you check the tour section of his site, that will give you a good template to use for planning if you choose that option.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, US
432 posts
Depends on your interests--hiking would be awesome up in the Dolomites in northern Italy. Or you could do the hill towns and cuisine in Tuscany, or as others have said the Cinque Terre seaside region on the west coast. Or get off the beaten path into the not as visited far south. Or Sicily, which is like another country compared to central Italy. My first trip to Italy was southwest coast--Naples, Capri, Sorrento, Pompeii. My second trip was a brief stop in Rome, then Tuscany--Arezzo, Cortona, Florence. My third experience has been a series of trips into the northwest corner over a number of years, with my best friend from high school, who lives on the French Riviera. Each trip I have made to visit him he takes me over the border into Italy--Sanremo, Ventimiglia, Dolceacqua, Apricale.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thank you everyone much appreciated. We wanted to pack in as much as possible. I appreciate your input.