Critique My Itinerary! Thank you :)

Hello-
That’s a nice itinerary. I have not been to Verona or Milan so can only comment on up til Venice.

Rome 4 nights- really good. You will want to return.

10/3 Pick up car in Rome drive to Florence and stop to see Orvieto and Siena on same day? That’s way too much. Just time-wise.
1.5-2 hr drive to Orvieto- after you’ve picked up car and found your way out of Rome. I haven’t been to Orvieto but know it deserves a good half day or more.
Drive from Orvieto to Siena- 1.5-2 hrs- no dallying. Siena deserves a day and/or night. Add time to find parking and get in/up into the towns. I just can’t see fitting visits to both in 1 day on drive from Rome to Florence. Plus the parking and ZTLs around Siena are the worst!
You won’t get to Florence til well past dark and well past car rental agency closing time. You do no want to drive in Florence or figure out where to park.

Driving In Tuscany is fun and rather easy.
Could you train from Rome to Florence- (you only have 3 nights there which is really 2.5 days).
Spend first evening in Florence. Rent a car next am and drive around Tuscany? Visit Siena, Pienza, Montepulciano, Montalcino. Easily done in a day and your husband will love driving those roads.
Next day stay in Florence and see all you can. You will want to return there as well.

10/6 Train to Venice- we love Venice. That’s all.

Verona is on the list for our next trip to Italy.

Do read up on driving in Italy. Know your ZTLs. All drivers will need an IDP- International Driving Permit- get it at your local AAA.

Thank you! I certainly like the idea of renting a car in Florence and visiting a few areas that way. Sometimes I think my vision of driving is a bit off being from LA. 3 or so hours seems like nothing here, but I certainly want to at least see parts of each city (and really eat all the food if I am being honest!).

10/6 train to Venice 2 nights in Venice

Check out advice on https://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/arriving_in_venice_by_train.htm and https://europeforvisitors.com/venice/venice-warning.htm

I think October is a nice time to visit Venice, but don't wait too long finding a place to stay.

Thank you for the link! I have everything ready to book, just wanted to make sure I wasn’t crazy before making things final :) The public transportation in Venice definitely makes me a bit nervous, but I tend to over analyze things. Obviously it’s a bit different from cities I have been to before (Paris, London, cities in US) so the unknown is always a bit nerve racking. The link you provided is very helpful! We are staying near St Mark’s Plaza (hotel Le Isole) so seeing options that go to that area is calming.

I just got the guide books in from Amazon so I am sure I will be bugging you all with more questions soon!

Driving in Italy-especially Tuscany- is much easier than LA- I'm a transplanted Calif girl so I get what you are saying.

Do your homework.
Getting to/from in/out is a bit more complicated than just hopping on to a freeway then pulling off into a parking lot..
You will have to park outside the walls, walk/climb/ride funicular up into Orvieto and/or Siena and almost all hill towns. That's part of the charm. But it takes time and energy and preparation.
Italy is piano, piano...slowly, slowly.

Italian trains are awesome and inexpensive-use the trains when you can and a rental car strategically.
If you don't already have RS Italy or Tuscany guidebooks- get a copy, read, plan, google then come back here and ask questions.

The vaporetto system in Venice is quite simple compared to Paris metro or London tube. Don't fret.

http://actv.avmspa.it/en/content/vaporetto

http://actv.avmspa.it/sites/default/files/attachments/MAP%20OF%20THE%20SERVICES%20ACTV.pdf

It's definitely a better idea to spend 3N with a car outside a city. Look for an agriturismo to avoid having to drive in/out of a city each day. It's also a change from all the urban stays, or stay in a small town/village.

Instead of a 1N in Verona, I'd stay 3N in Venice, leave early, store luggage at the Verona train station, sightsee for the day, then arrive in Milan in the evening. That also gives you the option (unless you buy train tickets in advance) to decide at the last minute if you'd rather spend the day in Venice and leave Verona for your next trip.

PS If we didn't want to answer similar questions from people like you, we wouldn't spend our time here. And from the responses so far, you have come up with quite a good starting plan.

I think you are moving around too much for the time you have. I'd cut it down to Rome-Florence-Venice and reshuffle your time accordingly.

Also, you might want to look up October Festivals in Tuscany. Saturday, October 5 would be a great time to be out in the Tuscan countryside.

One possible change would be to keep the Rome part intact and drive up as planned on 10/3. Stop at Orvieto on the way. Stay in an agriturismo near Siena. Explore Siena on Friday. Look for a festival on Saturday. Visit Volterra and San Gimignano on Sunday. Drive to Florence on Monday and turn in the car. Take the train the evening of the 8th to Venice. Spend the 9th and 10th in Venice and fly out of Venice.

One comment on driving in Italy. Yes, it is (relatively) easy as long as you are outside of cities and pay attention to everything carefully as it is different .

Our friend had to drive in Italy. After trying to talk him down, he was insistent so we indulged him. He had a speeding ticket within 5 minutes of leaving the Hertz location in Florence. Of course he did not get the ticket for months. In retrospect, he acknowledged it was not so much fun he could overlook the ticket on top of the expense and wished he’d gone with my advice for a day tour with Tours by Roberto,

Laurel makes a good point. What is your husband's motivation to drive in Italy? What kind of driver is he? Is he cautious and a good defensive driver? Does he have a lead foot?

I STRICTLY observed all speed limits. There is zero tolerance, not like the US where you can get away with going a little over the speed limit. You won't see any police, there are automated systems that will check your speed. Don't assume that if the locals are speeding, they know where it is safe to do so. Besides, Tuscany is so gorgeous you don't want to go fast and miss the scenery!

Outside of large cities, ZTLs are well marked and easy to avoid. Siena was the largest city I drove in and the walled area is easy to spot. Plan ahead for parking. I normally don't drive in big cities, be it London, Edinburgh, Paris, Rome or Florence. It's more than ZTLs, it's just I don't like the congestion.

Anyway, we returned from spending 10 days driving in Tuscany (and from and back to Rome FCO) with no unexpected surprises in the months that followed.

Four nights in Rome will be a good start and three nights in Florence also sounds about right. Verona is a lovely place and can be done as a day trip from Venice. Personally I'd drop it and spent that day and night in Venice. Two nights there really means only one full day and Venice really deserves more. Milan also sounds about right although making a day trip to Lake Como might rush you a bit. With regard to driving in Italy I simply don't for a many reasons. But if hubby is set on doing so....well, you know how husbands can be.

On the driving front - my husband does love to drive. And honestly driving through parts of Tuscany sounds pretty amazing to me too, so I guess I shouldn’t put all the blame on him ;)

He is a good driver and we have been reading up on driving in Italy generally (much more research to do of course!) and I do think he will be fine.

We aren’t really group tour people, we really like to be on our own timeline. So that also adds to the appeal of renting a car to see a few places (for us).

pittielover23

As one who also loves to drive, I understand completely. If you've been following this site for a while you're familiar with the perils of the speed limits and no driving areas. If not you'll probably want to do some reading about those items and also the IDP. Enjoy your trip!

I so appreciate everyone’s comments and help, thank you!

Hi

I am here in Rome for the next 2 days. Then fly back to NY on Sat (Italy time). I took the train to Verona a couple days ago and absolutely loved it there. It is so beautiful and lots of things to do. I would seriously have your husband reconsider the driving piece unless you want to get a divorce. The drivers here are crazy. I am surprised they haven't gotten into more accidents. They ignore speed limits, signs, pavement markings, turn signals. I was grabbing on to my seat belt while I sat in the front during a tour. It was scary. The train system is well planned out.

We've driven in Italy many times - in Tuscany, the Dolomites, Puglia, etc. - all places where getting to small towns without your own car is time consuming. We were always glad we did a rental car. However, in over 13 trips to Italy, MOST of the time we do not rent a car, we takes trains. For all of the places you mention train is the way to go. You don't want a car in any of those places.

Downsides include expense and difficulty of parking, risk of speeding tickets (they are by camera, not a cop by the side of the road who hands you the tickets, these tickets come in the mail months later and include the fee the rental company tacks on for forwarding the ticket to you), and tickets for driving into 'no traffic zones' - which virtually EVERY little town or village or city is going to have, and sometimes they sneak up on you and even when you think you are being careful you drive into them.

If your husband really wants to drive, at least make the most of it and go to some towns/ regions where it will be useful. So that would mean changing up your itinerary. Maybe base in a small town in Tuscany for three days instead of going to Florence - or maybe take a train or bus there from your Tuscan hill town base for one day.