Finalizing Itinerary for July trip

Florence - great choice doing a bike tour and at the beginning of your stay in Florence. I loved our bike tour and it will give you some ideas for areas you may want to explore later by foot. Not sure if you were planning to hike up to piazzale Michelangelo but I would recommend this for sunset on one of your evenings.

Rome - I would suggest a bike tour here as well on your first day to get a feel for the city but be advised it is a bit more crazy than Florence when biking. And/or an evening walking tour might be a good idea too to get comfortable with the city.

ATMs - Make sure you notify your bank in advance that you are traveling! easy to find and I've never had any issues although I always carry two cards just in case. If you prefer to avoid using one in the airport when you arrive, you could consider purchasing a trip pack from AAA in advance so you have cash on hand when you arrive, but these do come with a fee.
For trains I've always booked mine in advance to take the stress away from having to book while on vacation so I can't comment here..you can get an idea of the train schedule looking online in advance..

Rome - the vatican is at the opposite side of the city as termini but walking is doable. It will probably take 30 minutes to walk, maybe more if you go straight from your hotel. To break it up you could plan some sights seeing along the way..or you can take the metro..

Happy travels!

About how long does it take to go through customs once we have arrived at the airport?

Customs is just a matter of walking through the "Green Channel - Nothing to Declare" lane, so it takes no time at all unless you're "randomly selected for additional screening." What can take time are passport control (depending on how many other flights arrive at the same time, and how many agents are on duty) and baggage claim. These can be fast or slow and cannot be easily predicted; they can be 15 minutes each, or an hour each. Venice gets fewer non-Schengen flights than Rome or Milan Malpensa, so passport control should be easier - but you never know. Of course, if you're arriving on a connection from a Schengen airport, there's passport control at that airport, and none in Venice, so you'll just pick up your checked bags and walk out.

What are the names for the Italians banks, so if needed i can easily find one and access a atm? We dont want to use random ones like in airports, etc.

You won't have any trouble recognizing the banks; there are many of them, and they have the word "Banca" in their name (Banca d'Italia, Banca di Roma, Banca Monte Dei Paschi Di Siena , etc, etc.) If you want a full list, look here: http://www.tradecommissioner.gc.ca/eng/document.jsp?did=6842. Note that the Italian Post Office (Poste Italiano) also has banking services and ATM's. The Italian word for an ATM is Bankomat. I don't recall "random" ones in the airports, but again, it will be clear if it has a bank logo or not.

Anything specific i need to know about using them?

They work the same as everywhere else. Be sure to read all of Rick's excellent money tips, here: http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money

We have debit cards that we are taking. They have the magnetic strips and require pin numbers. Will those work everywhere?

Yes. The issue of "chip and pin" is for credit cards for purchases, not for debit cards at ATM's.

We will be booking all of our trains to our other destinations once we get to Venice . Is it relatively simple to do so? I can imagine us being the most confused here. What is the earliest time you can depart from termini, St, Lucia Station , Santa Maria Novella?

If you don't want to book trains in advance from home, you can certainly book them in Italy. It's not hard, as long as you know your departure and arrival stations and what times you want to leave. To find the earliest trains to your destinations, use Trenitalia, and put in 4:00 as your departure time; the website often defaults to the current time in Italy, so be sure to change it. http://www.trenitalia.com/

We will be staying near the Termini train station, is it possible to walk to the Vatican museum from there?

Possible, sure. But it's a long walk, and I'd then be much too tired for the INTENSIVE experience that is the Vatican Museums (the size and the crowds, plus their tension/anger at not being able to just see the Sistine Chapel quickly and leave, make for a very tiring experience). Take a bus (being careful of pickpockets), the Metro, or a taxi, and save your energy for the museums, as you'll need it.

Harold's advice is on the money, but I'll add my 2 cents.

Don't take the bus from Termini to the Vatican. Years ago, a guide told us, "If you ride this bus, I guarantee you will get off with less on your person than you got on with." Read this thread and it seems to have gotten worse over time. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/thieves-on-rome-buses

There are ATM's in the Venice airport and I wouldn't be worried about them. There is one by the luggage carousels you can use waiting for your bags to come off.

Since your itinerary is so well planned, why not buy your train tickets now on-line at www.trenitalia.com and save yourself some money? You can pick your departure times exactly when you want to go and know exactly how much it will cost. Buying at the spur of the moment means you will pay full price and have to wait in line at the ticket counter until your number gets called.

ATMs are called bancomats. Be sure to retrieve your card within 30 seconds (instructions will say this) or the machine may keep your card. I try to use ATMs during banking hours, just in case.

Look for happy hours (some with buffets) in late afternoon, lots of younger people frequent these. You order a drink, and a plate of little sandwiches, olives, chips and peanuts will appear, or at the places with buffets you can fill your own plate from a wider selection.

You can start checking train times now at Trenitalia.com. If you plan to buy all your tickets at once, you can do that at the station or go to any travel agency with a Trenitalia logo, the markup is very minimal and you will have more time to put your plans in order (especially on that first day). The Venezia Santa Lucia station ticket lines can be really long.

My wife and I (age 27) went to Italy this past March for our honeymoon, and it was awesome!

Some comments and answers to your questions:

1) Don't miss Dorsoduro and Sant Elena districts in Venice. You may wish to consider skipping Burano to have time to explore these areas. They will give you great non-touristy perspectives on Venice. While sitting on a park bench in Sant Elena, I was approached by a local who attempted to speak to me in Italian :) . I also highly recommend the Torre dell'Orologio tour.

2) I think your time in the actual city of Florence is a bit rushed. Day 5 is jam packed. I'd consider either splitting the Accademia and Uffizi into two different days and skipping Lucca OR picking one museum and going to Lucca. Here is my general take on the art museums in Italy or anywhere else. I think Rick Steves (I love the man and his guidebooks are the Bible are far as I'm concerned) places too much emphasis on art museums as "must see" (or I guess triple star) sites in his Italy guidebook. I think there are 3 types of people when it comes to art and art museums: those that have no interest, those who enjoy perusing museums but are not art enthusiasts per se, and those that are enthusiasts (studied art in college, are collectors, have a lot of knowledge regarding art, etc.) I am from the NYC area and would describe myself in the second category. I love going to the Met, the MoMA, the Guggenheim, but if you ask me anything about art I would have no idea. While in Italy this past March we went to the Accademia in Venice, the Accademia in Florence, Uffizi, the Borghese Gallery in Rome and the Vatican Museum. In Florence, the David (in the Accademia) is striking and I would recommend it highly. If you are NOT an art enthusiast (I am probably going to be killed for saying this), I think the Uffizi is skippable. I loved the external architecture of the Ufizzi and the statues outside it. I definitely enjoyed my time inside but if pressured for time in Florence, which you seem to be, it is reasonable to skip it. Seeing and appreciating two art museums in one day is a stretch and I think will lead to extreme fatigue.

3) Importance of reservations: unless you enjoy waiting on lines, make sure you make online reservations to the following: Florence Accademia, Uffizi, Borghese Gallery (in my opinion, the best art museum/gallery in Italy - if I were to visit only one museum in Italy this would be the one), Vatican Museum. Pick up a Roma Pass to skip the line at the Colosseum. Make dinner reservations for all nights of your stay as soon as you arrive in a new city. Even in March this was important!

Answers:

About how long does it take to go through customs once we have arrived at the airport?
-Going through customs in Venice was a breeze. Coming back to the USA took longer.

We will be booking all of our trains to our other destinations once we get to Venice
-I HIGHLY recommend booking in advance online as you will pay less. However, since you are only 3 weeks out the discount will likely less than the close to 50% discount I got by booking 3 months out.

We will be staying near the Termini train station, is it possible to walk to the Vatican museum from there?
-We stayed near Termini and walked EVERYWHERE, including the Vatican. The only time we took public transportation was when we went to Ostia (which I recommend if you like ruins; it's a 30 minute trip on the metro).

Have a great and safe trip. You're going to have a blast!

All of the advice is sound but here are few ideas

• Walk don't take the bus in Rome and move quickly away from the Termini area
• Try to go to more of the less 'famous ' in Rome - Ara Pacis, the Augustan arch peace in its museum, Piazza St Ignazio with a Baroque Jesuit mother church, 18th century apartments and one lovely restaurant; four level St Clemente near the Colosseum; Museo Romano in a beautiful small palace just off Piazza Navona; inside Castello St Angelo and have coffee at the cafe at the top.
• In Florence skip the Uffizi and go to the wonderful Palazzo Vecchio
• Or skip Florence spend more time in Lucca and take a day trip to Montecatini Terme and visit amazing spas including some you could easily sample. Terme Tertuccio is unmissable and offers a pleasant cafe for lunch in luxuious surrounds. You can go up to Montecatini Alto by funicular and have a delightful evening meal, come down walk through quite enchanting streets by night and catch a train back to Lucca or Florence for that matter until quite late. Breaking experiences up like you are already doing with cycling is the way to really appreciate Italy. Don't overload on museums and ruins as you will not appreciate them properly.
• Think about Orvieto, too. You can travel directly to Orvieto and then onto Florence or Lucca for that matter. The cathedral, the site, the Etruscan remains, the views, the gelati, the lovely ceramics and the possibility of a day trip to Civita di Bagnoregio ( by bus) make it a wonderful destination.
• Pisa and Lucca in one day is really far to much.There is so much to see in Lucca. Just walking the walls takes time as well as exploring the sites and the lovely byways

Trenitalia is the site to explore for the train time table

Sam said *Harold's advice is on the money, but I'll add my 2 cents. Don't take the bus from Termini to the Vatican. Years ago, a guide told us, "If you ride this bus, I guarantee you will get off with less on your person than you got on with." *

The 40 and 64 buses from Termini to the Vatican area are safe if you keep your wits about you. We take them ALL THE TIME and just watch out for each other. You can also take the Metro from Termini to Ottaviano which is near the Vatican Museums. Take a cab if you are tired or worried. They are not expensive. Walking is fine, but you will do plenty of that inside the museums so you might want to save your energy.

The only thing I would add to what everyone else has said is that make certain that your debit cards have a 4 number pin. Bancomats only accept pins of 4 numbers, so I am told.

You really need to know what you want to see, vs receiving input. We all have different interests. That being said, The thought that it would be suggested that you skip Florence all together boggles my mind, as I make Florence first of the big 3 (Florence, Rome, Venice). The Uffizzi is one of the most famous museums in the world. It has masterpieces you've heard about your entire life. Botticelli's Venus comes to mind off the top of my head. I am an avid art historian type, but only spend 2 hours at most in one museum at a time…after awhile there is a saturation point. I would move from place to place rather than exclude a museum I want to see. That being said some of the most fun activities in these places are walking the streets and looking at the architecture, and having a glass of wine while watching the people. No matter what you chose to see, you will enjoy your trip. That being said, my two cents are with Harald, and see, at least, the Uffizzi, Accademia Gallery and the Palazzo Vecchio. If you are not too crazy about art, pick and choose what art work to see at each place, so you get the feel, but buzz through fairly quickly.

We bought our train tickets for leaving when we arrived in town and it worked out fine and was extremely inexpensive.

Have fun!

Yes, you absolutely can walk to the Vatican from Termini: we've stayed not far from the station and walked everywhere in Rome with only exceptions being the metro down to the Protestant Cemetery and back, and a commuter train to the further reaches of the Appia Antica.

Skip Florence? No, no, no. But keeping that one on the agenda doesn't mean that you MUST do the Uffizi or Accademia if time is short and art is not really your thing. The Uffizi was a must for me but scenery, architecture, history or any number of other interests may be higher on your list. If you do have an appreciation for art, a nice alternative to hours of gallery crawling is to visit a few churches where some Renaissance or other treasures are still in situ: in the original locations for which they were created, such as frescos. These provide a quadruple whammy as many are also free or have affordable entry fees, provide some glorious architecture, and are less overrun with people - duomo aside.

Gosh, it's over 2.5 miles from Termini to St Peters - I wouldn't walk it in mid summer heat.