First italy trip

Hey Jake! How fantastic! September is a great time of year to be in Italy. (All times of year are great to be in Italy, but September is super great!) How wonderful that you and your wife are taking the plunge. You will certainly get LOADS of helpful advice from this forum. I certainly have! However, to start, it will help those who want to help you to have just a bit more information, so that we can make clear suggestions re. your itinerary, hotels, sights to see, etc. Here's what would be helpful to share: Where are you flying into and out of? How many actual nights do you have on the ground? Do you plan to use public transportation (like trains, which are so easy to use between those cities) or to rent a car to take day trips? What is your actual BUDGET per night for hotels, B&Bs? Do either of you all have physical needs, like need hotel elevator, use cane, etc.? Does your budget include hiring private guides, or taking group guided tours, or do you pretty much want to do this independently? Finally: what do you LIKE to do when you are traveling, like art museums, food tours, wine, cooking schools? You mention "hiking/scenery" yet have named four large urban areas, so do you anticipate day tours for hiking? Let the good folks on this forum know, and you'll be awash in suggestions!

These really are very general questions, and without knowing your interests, very difficult to answer. You really need to look at a few guide books just to get an idea of what you wish to do.

One obvious question in return, do your 2 weeks include flying time? So how many nights in Italy?

Are you flying in and out of the same airport - or open jaw into Venice and out of Naples? It all makes a difference how much time you actually have in each city.

Venice: Anywhere on the main Island will be fine - Venice is at it's most magical late at night, or very early in the morning before the tourist hordes arrive (if you can be up for 6am, you can have St Mark's square almost to yourself - just you, a few pigeons and the occasional street cleaner. It is very difficult not to get lost in Venice - and that is part of the charm. Equally there is nowhere there that I would not be happy to walk through at any time of the day, and you will almost inevitably find yourself next to a Vaporetto stop eventually.

My favourite place in Florence is probably the steps of the San Miniato Church (head up to the Piazza Michaelangelo - and it's a little way further up the hill). There used to be a sung mass regularly - very atmospheric even for those, like me, who are non believers. Obviously the art galleries and Boboli gardens are major attractions as well.

I don't even know where to start in Rome - see the thread from a couple of days ago - "is Rome for everybody?" - there are more than enough ideas there to whet your appetite for the place.

In Naples I would want to see Pompeii, the National archaeology museum, Spaccanapoli - possibly a day trip to the Palace at Caserta, or to the Greek Temples at Paestum. Find a pizza place - it doesn't need to be one of the famous ones - they often display a "Verace Pizza Napoletana" badge outside.

All four cities are wonderful, although as a first time visitor you may find Naples a little "gritty".

Great thoughts! Here is what I have come up with to clarify on your points...

Where are you flying into and out of? Into Venice and out of Rome**

How many actual nights do you have on the ground? We are there for 14 days and 13 nights.

Do you plan to use public transportation (like trains, which are so easy to use between those cities) or to rent a car to take day trips? Trains absolutely

What is your actual BUDGET per night for hotels, B&Bs? Budget would be like $125 per night so that’s ~$1600 in accommodation costs

Do either of you all have physical needs, like need hotel elevator, use cane, etc.? Nope

Does your budget include hiring private guides, or taking group guided tours, or do you pretty much want to do this independently? Don’t mind a few tours (i.e., the Vatican or Rome bus tour), but we generally like to go independent. Lets say…open to suggestions

What do you LIKE to do when you are traveling, like art museums, food tours, wine, cooking schools? You mention "hiking/scenery" yet have named four large urban areas, so do you anticipate day tours for hiking? Art museums, hiking, food (maybe food tour?). Essentially, we want to see Venice and the island w/ all the fun colored homes. We want to see Florence but are more enthralled by the idea of doing day trip to see “Tuscany”. Naples is really about maximizing time on/seeing the Amalfi coast and Rome is about the history and the art.

Not to brush you off, but these are questions you can start to answer with a good guidebook. There is no substitute for having a reference for your trip. Do you have Rick Steves' Italy Guidebook? He lays out where to stay quite nicely, not only with specific establishments but a description of neighborhoods as well. And of course, he excels at logistics and what to see-and-do. You can even find itinerary planning here on the website on this page. Just click on Italy and scroll down to see articles pertinent to your interests.

When you have done a bit more research, come back with specific questions and we can better help you. As others pointed out, knowing the budget, likes/dislikes, and a specific number of nights in each location is helpful.

i bought the guidebook you mentioned yes!

It’s hard to understand how 13 nights can yield 14 days when you are traveling from North America to Europe; and 3 nights in each city means, at most, 2.5 days. Your last day doesn’t count, unless you have a night flight. My point is that you do not have enough time for 4 destinations, certainly not including Naples and the Amalfi Coast. Also, Tuscany is a really big region. If you scratch Naples and add one of those days to Florence, conceivably, you could do a day trip to one of the towns connected to the latter by train.
Now, regarding Rome. It is one of the oldest, most historically important cities on the planet. It is also geographically pretty spread out, so you can’t just walk everywhere. It has top tier art in museums and churches. Many of its buildings are architectural icons; e.g., the Colosseum, St. Peter ‘s, and the Pantheon. There are many restaurants offering fantastic food, and open air markets, which offer a glimpse of modern-day life. Adding most of the time you’ve allotted to Naples onto Rome will let you dig a little deeper

To be realistic here, you have 12 really usable days in Italy. You are likely to be sleep-deprived and jetlagged on your arrival day. You may be the rare person who is functioning at a high level on that day, but most of us struggle. I, myself, am a zombie who has great difficulty simply staying awake. The most I can do is remain vertical and keep putting one foot in front of the other, preferably outdoors. I don't count the first day as a sightseeing day, rather as a day I must somehow survive. And the last day is consumed with packing up, checking out, eating breakfast and getting myself to the airport (usually needs to be three hours before scheduled flight departure), so there's little opportunity to play tourist that day.

Dividing your 12 usable days by 4 means an average of only 3 days per city, and it will be less because of the time lost traveling from place to place, which you can figure will be roughly half a day once you include the checking out/checking in business and traveling to and from train stations. So 2 days in Venice (not counting jetlagged day), 2.5 days in Florence, 2.5 days in Rome, and 2.5 days in Naples. Then you have the final full day when you have to travel back to Rome from Naples to be in position for your flight home; that will allow you a few last hours in either Naples or Rome, depending on how you schedule the train trip.

You'll need to be extremely selective about how you spend your time or you'll feel rushed. I'd recommend only three destinations rather than four.

Some of the major art museums in Florence and Rome are really packed and, frankly, not the easiest places to enjoy under current conditions. Check out the Borghese Gallery in Rome. You have to get your tickets early (slots sell out), but the flow of visitors is controlled via specific entry times, so you are sure of an environment conducive to appreciating the art.

Based on reports of recent visitors, by far the best way to see the Vatican Museums is on an early-morning tour that gets you inside before they open to the general public.

You can save money on your train tickets by buying those tickets early, once your itinerary is absolutely solid. The cheap promo fares are non-refundable/non-exchangeable, so you need to plan first and buy afterward. You can read all about the Italian trains here: Seat61.com. For the trip to Amalfi you'll also need buses or boats.

Jake, your budget may be too light, especially for Venice. You need to start thinking in Euros.
This morning the exchange rate was 1.14 which basically for each dollar you spend it costs .14 cents additionally. So your $125 would be roughly €143

Look at https://www.booking.com/index.html?aid=304142&label=gen173nr-1DCAEoggI46AdIM1gEaI4CiAECmAExuAEHyAEN2AED6AEB-AECiAIBqAIDuAKY4OXjBQ&sid=b35026a6968602ae02c0f417fa13f010&sb_price_type=total&lang_changed=1&lang=en-us&selected_currency=EUR#

Use filters for price, A/C, hotels
To get an idea of what's available in your price range.

In Venice look for something close to a vaporetto stop.
In Rome, the monti, republic or prati areas

Florence in the oltarno neighborhood or around Santa Marie Novella.

Naples the Centro Storico

I too am going on my first trip to Italy. We have days in Rome on our own before joining RS South of Italy tour. Afterwards we have a short trip to Calabria before going to Venice.
We have booked tours with the following:
Food tour: https://www.eatingeurope.com/italy-food-tours/
Sightseeing tours: https://www.walksofitaly.com/

Enjoy your trip!

Edit: I think your Hotel budget is a bit low especially for Venice. Book ASAP. We booked in October for May and prices have doubled since then for the same Rome and Venice hotels.

Sadly, I must agree that with the number of days you have, you probably should scratch Naples and the AC. If you minimize your traveling and maximize your sightseeing, you will enjoy the trip more. It's a pity, because Southern Italy is a gem.

I suggest you sit down with a calendar (print a blank form from online and fill in the dates) and write a tentative schedule. Be aware that jetlag is going to eat into your first day in Italy. Having done this a number of times, it still amazes me how zombified I am on the first (and part of the second) day in Europe. The last day is likewise worthless, because unless you have an evening flight, you will spend an inordinate time checking out of your hotel and getting to the airport on time. Focus on how many nights you will be at a location, rather than the number of days. Three nights is only two days of sightseeing.

Do not minimize Florence. It is the scene of most of the Italian Renaissance. Seeing Michelangelo's David, Botticelli's Birth of Venus, and Donatello's Mary Magdalene and David will all take your breath away. Florence is part of Tuscany, and the food and ambience alone are worth the trip. Rome is antiquity, Siena is a medieval center, and Florence is the Renaissance. Drink deep.

Venice is a must do, imo. It is a romantic adventure.

For a very targeted look at traveling in Italy, you can go to the section on Italy in the Explore Europe part of this website.

For accomodations research, use Booking.com. You can slice and dice your preferences lots of ways and find many options for your trip. Use the review scores from people who've actually stayed there as a guide to quality.

3 nights=2 full days and seems very short for any of those cities. My last trip to Italy, I rented an apartment in Rome for 6 nights and one in Venice for 5. On a previous trip, my husband and I rented an apartment in Florence for 7 nights. I'd been in all those cities before, and there's still more for me to see and do in them.

With such a short trip, if you stick to your limited time in each place, you will have to do some tough prioritization and limit yourselves to only the most "obligatory" sights and activities for you.

By cutting out one of your cities, you can gain a bit of extra time for those left and perhaps be able to make one of your obligatory sights and activities the view from the cafe chair where you are taking time to eat, rest and breathe, enjoying Dolce Far Niente – the sweetness of doing nothing.

Jake, there may be some confusion as to how you're counting your time on the ground in Italy. Could you clarify, please, what date/time of day you're scheduled arrive in Venice and the date you're scheduled to fly home from Rome?

I understand the general concern here that Naples could be tipping the apple cart, as it involves backtracking, but it would help to know more exactly what you're working with. :O)

HI,
We're leaving for Italy in a week, and I still have many of the same questions. Since its our first time, we're wanting to see the big sites and keep track of the places that we'll catch next time.
I have booked accommodations, and using the Italy 2019 guide book, we were able to narrow down where we wanted to stay and checked out websites like tripadvisor for reviews. However, when we booked, we used the websites for the hotels themselves, rather than using a site like Booking.com. we wanted to stay in smaller hotels in the center of the action, and booking sites often skim a fairly large percentage of the booking off the top--the small hotels make less. But good news! The Rick Steves rates are real! We got good rates--lower than the advertised and lower than the booking sites--and we've already made contact with our hotels. They've been wonderful offering directions and guidance to and from destinations, reassuring us about getting back to the airport.
I'll check back in in about three weeks if there are any lessons learned re: planning vs. carrying out the plan. We've had a blast researching! Ciao!

Gerri, you have done the conversion backwards. $125 US is only 110 euros, which will be a very hard budget to stick to in Venice. Not necessarily so easy in the other places, either, but Venice will be a very big challenge.

Are there monasteries with double rooms?

Edited to add:

If the $125 US average nightly cost is something you absolutely must stick to, it may be necessary to spend some time in less expensive cities rather than focusing on Venice-Florence-Rome-Naples (though Naples may be cheaper). There would be no harm in that. Italy is full of wonderful places that aren't so full of tourists.

However, if your lodging budget is that tight, you probably shouldn't be looking at any tours. With the exception of some mass-market walking tours, just about any tour is going to cost over $30 per person (and many will be close to $100 per person). That's money that would be very, very helpful if added to your lodging budget.

Hey again, Jake, Since you say this is your "first" Italy trip, let's say that you plan to return again someday in the not-distant future, and so you are trying to get a taste of each of these areas, rather than a more substantial immersion. So here is one more suggestion about how to do that. (For the record: I concur that three cities is much more doable than four, with only 13 nights, is the way that I went, my first time, and am glad I did so...) If you are determined to do all four, how about this possibility: 3 nights in Venice; 4 nights in Florence; 2 nights in Naples; 4 nights in Rome. While in Florence, do a day trip, either on your own (like bus to Siena) or a day trip (like with ToursbyRoberto; he's a pal of Rick's and does great small group day tours to smaller towns and villages in Tuscany). Then, bite the bullet and take the train all the way to Naples (or Sorrento?). This will eat up a serious chunk of time; you'll really only have one day for "the Amalfi Coast." Then do all of your nights in Rome in one piece, so that you have fewer hotel and city changes. this schedule would give you three full days in Rome. However, if you want a "taste of Tuscany" you could forego Amalfi this trip and stay two nights in Orvieto (which is actually not in Tuscany, but is a beautiful hill town nonetheless) which is on the train line between Florence and Rome. Check it out. If you use booking.com, and sort for price and location, you'll likely be able to come up with very simple yet clean and mostly well-rated places to stay in each place that will meet your budget. You may need to settle for shared bathroom, or very basic lodgings, a few blocks walk out of the center of things, but it is (likely) doable if you take some serious time to do the research. Venice will be the hardest, but still possible. Since your trip isn't until Sept., you are ahead of the game somewhat for finding acceptable lodging in your budget range. I spend awhile reading the reviews on booking.com; no one can review unless they have used that website, and stayed in the specific hotel/b&b, etc. Also look at monastery stays (they have private rooms). Once you've settled on your itinerary and rooms, use trenitalia.com to purchase your train tickets and save a bunch of $ by booking early; you can't purchase tickets more than (approx) 3 months ahead, though. Keep checking.

acraven,
Yep, I multiplied rather than divided. Thanks for catching that.

First, congratulations on your first trip to Italy! It won't be your last.

second, here are two suggestions for hotels that we've stayed in. Hotel Casci in Florence is a family-run hotel in a great location. Flimsy towels, nice breakfast. Many years ago now we stayed at Ca'Angeli in Venice. Again, great location, great breakfasts.

I personally like to take a tour in each city, mostly because I just can't remember everything I've read in a guide book, and it's more fun to be with someone who knows what they are talking about. So, in Rome I always (at least 3 times now) take a tour of the Coliseum, Forum and Palantine Hill -- have used Walks of Italy. Last time in Rome we took a foodie tour of Testaccio with Katie Parla. Both were fun and informative.

We'll be in Venice for the second time this next Fall and I'd like to take a tour of Jewish Venice, as well as try my hand at being a gondolier, but I haven't set those up yet.

My sister often recommends the Scavi tour in Rome.

Enjoy your trip!

DD

Here are a few thoughts based on our experiences
- I would skip or minimize time in Naples and spend it in Tuscany. You may want a car in Tuscany, trains to other cities are fine. It is also fairly easy to do day trips via train from Florence to some towns like Siena or Lucca/Pisa.
- These 2 hotel suggestions may be more than you are wanting to pay
- Hotel Antico Doge in Venice is off the Grand Canal on a smaller canal. Nice accomodations, friendly staff, and good location to walk arould Venice (few minutes from Rialto Bridge, 25 minute walk to train station)
- Hotel L'Orlogio in Florence is very close to the main train staion and 5 minuts from the Doumo
- there are so many great restaurants you will find. In rome we eespecially like to eat in Trestavere area, la Gensola is our favorite.
- We also did much of the trips on our own but tours of the Vatican and of the Coloseum/Roman Forum/Palatine Hill were worthwhile. We used Context tours, they are more pricy but only have 6 people per group and are led by knowledgable staff. Check out RSteves audio tours, some were excellent and allowed you to sightsee on your own terms