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Keep "no brainer" itinerary or tweak it?

Posted by on

Hello, All.

I've booked locations/lodging for my husband, sister, and I to have a great trip to Italy this May. I've been thinking about our schedule lately and am wondering if I should make a slight tweak to it. My sister's dates are firm -- depart Atlanta on Wed., May 9th and return home Sunday, May 20th -- allowing only 10 nights in Italy. Here's what I currently have:

Venice - 3 nights (Thurs., Fri., Sat.) in an Air BnB apartment near St. Mark's Square
Siena - 4 nights (Sun., Mon., Tues., Wed.) in Agriturismo Marciano 2km outside Siena
Rome - 3 nights (Thurs., Fri., Sat.) in an Air BnB apartment in Piazza Novano area

Here are our priorities for those locations:
Venice -
Take the vaporetto up and down the Grand Canal; Stroll Dorsoduro and eat on the Zattere; Visit Rialto/Accademia bridge area; Hear the dueling orchestras and see the dancing on St. Mark’s Square one evening; Visit Burano and, Murano

Siena -
Visit Siena, San Gimignano, Chianti region (drive the SR 222), Florence, Val d'orcia

Rome -
Stroll our active and scenic neighborhood. Visit the Pantheon, the Vatican, St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Colosseum; Stroll to Trastevere in the late afternoon or early evening and have dinner there; Visit the Borghese gardens and museum.

What you should probably know:
This particular trip is simply to soak in the fun, food, daily life and have a lovely time together. (My husband and I have been to Venice, Florence, Rome twice before so this trip is less about museums and more about strolling around together in fabulous places.) We are excited about taking my sister.

I think the above schedule is a no brainer. I have a nagging 'struggle', however, and would love your input. Perhaps this could best be shown by an itinerary I can't seem to fully dismiss:

Venice (2 nights)
Florence (1 night)
Siena agriturismo (2 nights)
Pienza agriturismo (2 nights)
Rome (3 nights)

What changed?
- Added Florence to show my sister and have dinner on the square: Also breaks up the travel day from Venice to Siena.
- Split the time between two agriturismos simply to enjoy two different families and their farms. They've each won me over!

What could change?
-Push out Rome arrival by a day; instead of Thurs-Sun stay it could be a Friday to Mon. (and only Fri and Sat night for my sister). Can Vatican City really be that much worse on Sat. than Friday?

I'll stop with that because I believe you get the idea. By the way, what I most wanted was to pull up my Siena stay by one day (instead of staying overnight in Florence) and taking a day trip to Florence from there. The agriturismo was booked.

Do I stick with the no brainer itinerary or go higher maintenance? Hmmm.....

Many thanks for your input!!

Posted by
11839 posts

In the spirit of enjoying fabulous places, I would go with your "no-brainer" itinerary. Take 2 is simply too much moving about, changing lodging and losing time to enjoy. Seeing Florence from Siena is more efficient overall than a night in Florence.

the Vatican is always horrible. Friday vs. Saturday makes no difference.

Posted by
4331 posts

Another vote for the "no brainier". Rushing around from city to city makes us more tired then walking around all day. Your itinerary sounds like a lovely vacation.

Posted by
4085 posts

I will join Laurel in recommending the "No brainer" itinerary, but my travel style is to stay in places 3-5 nights because I don't like to do a lot of packing and unpacking.

The agriturismo was booked.

Does that mean that you have already booked Agriturismo Marciano OR AM was already booked and therefore you cannot stay there?

If you already have it booked, you will not regret 4 nights there. That's how long I stayed in 2015. The farmhouse and the surrounding area are gorgeous, despite being a short distance from Siena. You will also want to take advantage of eating dinner at the agriturismo at least one night while you are there. My 2 best meals during a 3-week trek through Italy were there.

Posted by
5656 posts

I agree with the no brainer itinerary. Especially because I don't think you should shorten Venice. If this includes your first day, it's a wash because of jet lag. And if it's your sister's first visit, then let her get a good exposure to it.

I'd rather see Florence as a day trip than pull up stakes and spend so much time changing locations.

Posted by
12052 posts

Another vote for less moves.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

Posted by
87 posts

Thank you, everyone! I feel an "I told you so" coming on from my husband. :-)

Dave, to answer your question, I do have 4 nights already booked at Agriturismo Marciano. The reservation is for Sun.-Thursday. I was trying to move it up -- Sat. to Wed. That way, we could stay in Val d'orcia for a couple of nights at Podere Spedalone which I hear is terrific (and the correspondence with the owner has been superb! I feel like family and I haven't even gotten there yet!) Staying at two different agriturismos, with two different families, seemed like an enjoyable thing to do. But the hassle may offset that.

Dave, when you stayed 4 nights at Agriturismo Marciano, what did your day trips look like? Did you go to Rome afterwards? If so, did you go from Siena to Rome or drive to Orvieto, drop off car, and drive to Rome?

Thanks, again, for the feedback!!

Sincerely,

Marla

Posted by
10719 posts

I concur with the "no brainer" plan. For what it's worth, my husband and I stayed at Marciano in 2010 and it's my favorite place I have ever stayed. You HAVE to eat dinner there. The food is delicious. I've spent 6 weeks in Italy and it's the best I've had there. Not to mention the camaraderie between the guests at the communal table. I was heartbroken that they didn't have room for us in 2016 and I stayed in a different agriturismo. It was nothing like Marciano and I was disappointed to not have the same kind of experience.

Posted by
4085 posts

mcalico--

My trip was in the opposite direction of yours. We landed in Rome --> to Orvieto immediately (1 night) --> Siena (4 nights) --> Florence (3 nights) --> rest of trip with 3-4 nights at each stop (Sirmione at Lake Garda, Venice, Nocelle on Amalfi Coast, and Rome). We moved from base to base by train, except for an Easy Jet flight from Venice to Naples. We did not have a car in Siena. To be honest, I'm a pretty anxious guy, and the thought of driving in Italy was not a pleasant one for me. So, we chose to spend two days with local guides from Tours around Tuscany, and they were awesome days. The first day was spent with owner Gianni in the Chianti region; the second day was spent with Manuella in southern Tuscany. Our third day was spent on our own in Siena, seeing the sights there, from the Wednesday morning market to the Duomo. Since we were spending some time in Florence, we obviously did not do a day trip there.

My trip was also in May. It was a gorgeous time to be in Tuscany. I'll also say that Andrea is right about the dinners at Agriturismo Marciano... It's not just the food and wine that are amazing, the conversation with the other guests at the large communal table is very special, too.

Happy travels! You will love your time in Italy!

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