Hi everyone
Plan to fly into Milan on March 31th (Have not purchased tickets yet)
Verona 3/31, 4/1 and 4/2 One day tour to Lake Garda or maybe Venice instead?
CT 4/3 and 4/4
Florence 4/5,4/6, 4/7 One day tour to Hill Country
Rome 4/8, 4/9, 4/10
Fly out of Rome 4/11 or I could add on up to 2 more days?
If I add one or two more days what are some suggestions?
Thanks in advance
Sharon
Venice is a short distance from Verona and Lake Garda. You'd probably have to fly through a large gateway airport, but it would be more efficient.
Add all the days you can to your itinerary.
It is not a good idea to see Venice on a day-trip. The city cries out for at least two full days (3 nights) and longer would be better.
If you have a short trip, extra days are always a good idea. Three days in Rome is short. 1-1/2 days in Florence is short. One day for Tuscany-outside-Florence is short.
Thank you both for your replies. After researching a bit I decided Verona was a better choice for us than Venice. Originally I had Varenna in the mix also and then decided Verona and Lake Garda would be better. Should I stay 4 nights in both Florence and Rome?
There was a very good and detailed 3 day itinerary for Rome so is there a day trip from Rome that you might suggest for the 4th day?
Thanks
Sharon
Orvieto, preferably on a nice day.
Flying into Venice does make more sense, thanks for the suggestion. Is there a bus we can get directly from Venice Airport to Verona or do we have to go to the central bus/train station? In that case I assume it's better to take the train? I will add the two extra days on so we have more flexibility so our trip will start on March 30th (from DC) and we will leave on April 13th.
You can absolutely get a "feel" for Venice in a day. You can take a ride down the Grand Canal on a Vaporetto (take the #1 slow one...more stops but a lovely view all along the canal), explore the streets from St. Marks back toward the train station. All the shops have the same tourist trinkets (glass, masks etc.). So many wonderful day trips from Florence so I would spend more time with that...Grieve, Lucca, Pistoia, Assisi, Cortona..so much in reasonable reach by train or bus. You can see Orvieto on your way to Rome, perhaps an overnight stay. Enjoy!
Thanks June. This forum is really incredible.
What strikes me in your itinerary is that you are counting on full days in places where you actually have to allow time for changing locations. For example, arriving in Milan on the 31st, you will be lucky to be settled in Verona by mid-afternoon after allowing for passport control and transit. You will be jet lagged, co about all you can do is take an orientation walk and have dinner.
With the CT, you have one full day as it will take most of the 3rd to get there from Verona. If you reorder and go to Florence first then the CT, you will pick up some efficiency. You will barely have time for day trips, so make those flexible, based on what you discover, what your energy level is, and the weather. By all means add the extra days! This is the order I would travel in.
Verona - 4 nights with day trip to Venice. Venice is far more interesting than Lago di Garda and it is hard to “do” the lake without a car.
Florence - 3 nights and probably no time for a day trip as that only gives you two full days in a rich city, but maybe if you leave Verona early and get to Florence before noon you can fit in a day trip.
Cinque Terre - 2 nights, barely enough but you will see it and maybe not too crowded in April
Rome - 4 nights, maybe a day trip but don’t rush it. Rome is complex and rich. Take some time to enjoy it before you leave. This is really only 3 days in the city by the time you arrive from the CT.
Thanks again for the helpful advice to do Florence before CT. !! We are now going to fly into Venice and stay there for 2 nights then Verona and skip the day trip to the lake. So many people love Verona ! It looks like we will have 13 days to explore not including flight days
