Please sign in to post.

Early Trip Itenerary-Can I get a quick sanity check/opinion?

Hi again,
Based on a post a few months back, we decided to cut Naples/Almafi out of our upcoming 9 day/8-night trip to eliminate some stress. I have a revised plan in mind, and was going to get a quick check before I start booking tours/hotels. We'll be from Nashville to Venice, open jaw flight leaving out of Rome for home this mid-October. First trip to Italy..

Day 1, Wed-overnight flight from the States leaving late afternoon/evening

Day 2, Thursday-Arrive in Venice by 11am (check in, explore, maybe a late evening chiccetti tour)

Day 3, Friday-Venice

Day 4, Saturday-Venice

Day 5, Sunday-This is the day up for debate. Thinking of taking an early train from Venice to Florence, then splurging for a private wine tour transfer to Rome so we can get to see some of Tuscany. Thoughts? Recommendations? Wineries on Sunday open?

Day 6, Monday-Rome

Day 7, Tuesday-Rome

Day 8, Wednesday-Rome

Day 9, Thursday-Flight leaving around 11 am for home.

I have not bought the fights yet, if this absolutely won't work. Thanks in advance!

Posted by
5412 posts

It appears that most of day five will be consumed by checking out of the hotel in Venice, getting to the train station, going to Florence, getting to the new hotel, and checking in. And it almost always takes longer to that than anticipated. As a result you'll have very little time in Florence before heading to Rome. That being the case, I think I'd skip Florence entirely and concentrate on Venice and Rome. Don't mean to be Debbie Downer, just offering food for thought.

Posted by
1108 posts

I think this sounds like a very nice itenaray for 7 nights. Good job! Have fun.

Posted by
5 posts

To clarify, we don't plan on going into Florence at all. We were just going to catch a tour or driver there to head through Tuscany towards, instead of hiring one all the way from Venice where it would likely cost much more.

Posted by
22178 posts

Looks great, but I think you might have difficulty with finding a wine tour on a Sunday. If you could rejiggle your departure dates or Itinerary so that it was on a weekday you will have lots of choices. I was just looking at private wine tours and they are not cheap, like 800 EUR and up for 2 people.

Posted by
927 posts

You can do this with a slight modification since wineries are likely to be closed on Sunday. On Day 5, just take the train straight to Rome, check into your hotel and spend the afternoon in Rome. On one of your remaining days, you can take an all day wine tour to Tuscany from Rome. Here is one such tour for your consideration. I'm sure there are others available.

https://darkrome.com/rome-tours/tuscany-tours-from-rome?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=DR%20-%20US%20%7C%20CA%20-%20Rome%20-%20Food%20%26%20Drink%20-%20%5BE%5D&utm_term=tuscany%20wine%20tours%20from%20rome&utm_content=Rome%20-%20Tuscany%20-%20Wine%20-%20Tours%20-%20%5BE%5D

Posted by
28971 posts

I wouldn't book a cicchetti touron your first night (or indeed anything for your first night) until you arrive in Venice and see whether you can stay vertical that late. If you've been to Europe before and know you'll sleep pretty well on the plane, feel free to ignore this advice.

Posted by
12448 posts

If your departure date is set, then Stephen's suggestion looks to be the answer to the puzzle.

If you can shift your departure date, then your "do it on the way through" could work and save you the backtracking time of a tour from Rome

Posted by
490 posts

With so little time in Rome I would do my own enoteca tour in Rome...seriously...that wine comes from Tuscany too! LOL
Generally speaking, jet lag, lots of walking on hard stones, and the train ride from Venice to Rome is a lot....you may not want to sit on a bus or whatever for a full day Tuscany tour

I am not a fan of Rome, but have family there, so I do go there every other year or so, but 3 nights would be the absolute minium that I would recommend to a first time visitor.

Posted by
120 posts

Tours by Roberto http://www.toursbyroberto.com/ You may have luck with them on a Sunday, I booked a Sunday tour (Chanti). Click on the calendar link. Good luck, I think it would be a nice way to see Tuscany, even if it is brief.