First time in Italy - itinerary help!

It might help you block out your time if you list what things are most important in each location on your see/do list. That way you can start to plot out how long you wish to stay in each place.

With the time you have I would suggest dropping Naples/Amalfi coast given you have to do Rome and Florence first. You can then go to CT and end your Italian portion of the trip in Venice.

It would be simple to fly to Paris from Venice.

Whether you have time for Switzerland depends on how many days you allocate to your other stops. If you do work in Switzerland then how you get to Paris depends on where in Switzerland you end up.

Having to go to Florence early on makes going back south a real time killer and for that reason suggest not going south.

Your travel within Italy is easily done by train

With the time frame you're working with, I agree with the previous reply that you skip the Amalfi Coast this time. Keep in mind that each change of location requires at least half a day and in some cases more. Transportation in some places in the south is not as well developed as in the north, so it takes longer to get around.

It would help to have some idea on when this trip is taking place?

Assuming you skip the area south of Rome, you could consider something along these lines.....

• D1 - Flight to Europe
• D2 / N1 - Arrive Rome / FCO (take Leonardo Express or Taxi to your hotel - don't plan too much touring on arrival day, as you may be jet lagged).
• D3 / N2 - Rome
• D4 / N3 - Rome (you could take a day trip to Naples)
• D5 / N4 - Rome
• D6 / N1 - Train to Florence
• D7 / N2 - Florence & day trips (Siena, Lucca?)
• D8 / N3 - Florence
• D9 / N4 - Florence
• D10 / N1 - Train to Venice
• D11 / N2 - Venice
• D12 / N3 - Venice
• D13 / N1 - Train to Cinque Terre (this is not an ideal solution as it will be a longer trip, about 6 hours with several train changes - this basically crosses the country from one coast to the other - it would have been easier to travel Rome > Venice > Florence > Cinque Terre, but since you're meeting friends this won't be possible - Which of the five C.T. towns do you plan to stay in?)
• D14 / N2 - Cinque Terre
• D15 / N3 - Cinque Terre
• D16 / N1 - Train to Switzerland / Berner Oberland and/or Lucerne recommended
• D17 / N2 - Switzerland
• D18 / N3 - Switzerland
• D19 / N1 - Train to Paris via Basel
• D20 / N2 - Paris
• D21 / N3 - Paris (if you want one more night in Paris, you could decrease Florence by one night - your choice).
• D22 - Return flight from CDG

Of course there are many ways this could be structured and this is only one suggestion. The helpful group here can help you sort through the details and come up with a great Itinerary. It will be easier for us to provide more detailed transportation and other information after you've finalized your route.

I'd suggest packing along RS guidebooks for each of the countries you'll be visiting, as there's an enormous amount of information that will help you plan efficient touring.

Hope this helps.

hi gene
When are you planning this trip, how many is we, are you flying overseas, is your arrival and departure part of the 22 days? Have you booked flights? Check arrival time if early, can you do checkin, leave bags or push around till room ready and early (dark thirty hour) departure time. Get a map and guidebook and mark what’s important and days spent where. Lots to think about.
aloha

22 days is a lot, you should be able to spend a few days each where you want to be. The tricky part is your requirements at the beginning. That dictates the order of your trip and puts you between your geographic outliers of Venice in one end and Naples/Amalfi Coast on the other. It’s problematic. It’s logical to lop one of these ends off, and that’s why most folks recommend leaving Naples/AC off the itinerary. It would take the better part of a day to get there, and there’s so much to see that it deserves significant time. Save it for another trip and spend a solid week there. Once you cut that, it simplifies your plans. Train travel between Rome/Florence/Venice couldn’t be easier.

Thanks so much everyone for the quick replies and great advice. Amalfi coast is one of those bucket list places for me but I do see the value in spending a week there and doing the bottom of Italy another time.

This was my original plan so I would love to hear your thoughts on this itinerary

27th – arrive in Rome. Stay the 27th.
28th – travel to Florence stay the 28th, 29th, 30th Dec
31st Dec – back to Rome stay for 31st, 1st and 2nd, 3rd Jan (fit in day trip to Pompeii)
4th Jan – travel to Cinque Terra stay for the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th Jan.
7th Jan – travel to Milan stay for the 7th Jan
8th – travel to Venice stay for the 8th, 9th and 10th Jan
11th – travel to Geneva stay for the 11th, 12th, 13th

14th – travel to France stay 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th
Go to airport on the 19th Jan

Am I staying too long in each of these places? I just don't want to rush everywhere and be constantly travelling.

OH NO, you're planning on travelling in late December. In that case, I'd suggest scratching the Cinque Terre off your list. The five towns typically close for the season in about November and then reopen about April 1st. There may be a few places open, but many of the hotels, restaurants, etc. will be closed for the season.

I'll give this some thought and perhaps post further comments later.

Alternatively - if I didn't do Florence first and skip meeting up with friends it would look like this:

27th – arrive in Rome. Stay the 27th.
28th – travel to Sorrento/Amalfi Coast stay the 28th, 29th, 30th Dec
31st Dec – back to Rome stay for 31st, 1st and 2nd, 3rd Jan
4th Jan – travel to Florence stay for the 4th, 5th, 6th Jan
7th Jan – travel to Cinque Terra stay for the 7th, 8th, 9th Jan
10th – travel to Venice stay for the 10th, 11th Jan
12th – travel to Geneva stay for the 12th, 13th, 14th Jan

15th – travel to France stay 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th
Go to airport on the 19th Jan

Which option is better?

Given your two alternatives, I like #2 better ( "the alternative') but would add a day to Venice and reduce CT by one.

As noted earlier, I am not sure I would go to CT at that time of year.

I think you will either be bored to death in the Cinque Terre or charmed by seeing these little villages without any tourists. Probably somewhere in between. Are you planning to hike?

As it is low season and after Christmas, maybe you can play that by ear and only go if the weather is looking good the day prior to travel. Florence is great in January: few tourists, empty museums, and lower hotel rates.

Why Geneva? I'd pick the Berner Oberland (Lauterbrunnen or Muerren) for a bit of snow-seeing (winterwandern is a big thing as they groom the trails) or perhaps Luzern or maybe Lausanne, but not Geneva for 3 nights.

I agree about Geneva. There are many places I consider more interesting, not to mention far less expensive.

"7th Jan – travel to Cinque Terra stay for the 7th, 8th, 9th Jan"

If the weather is inclement, it will probably be a miserable and boring experience. You may not be able to find accommodations in the five towns, so may have to look in Levanto or La Spezia.

I agree with Laurel about Geneva. I would also suggest Lucerne.

I too would skip the Cinque Terre. Weather there at that time of year, can be dismal and cold. The highs will be between 42-55 wind and rain a possibility. Lows can be 32-43. If you must go, just do it as a day trip from Florence. If you decide on a day trip, add one of the CT days to Florence.

If you have not yet purchased airfare, it would make sense to fly into Naples and take the Curreri Viaggi bus to Sorrento. If tickets are already purchased for Rome, and as most first days are generally wasted, I'd head directly to Naples by fast train then Circumvesuvian to Sorrento.
This would mean one less hotel room and you'll wake up almost on the Amalfi Coast.

Your itinerary would then look like this.

Rome>Naples (arrival day)> Florence >Venice >Switzerland >Paris.

Add the 2 extra days where needed once you figure which sites you wish to visit.

Sounds like a great trip.

In February 2015, we did almost the same thing, only in the opposite direction. All by train.

The ride from Paris to Lucerne, Switzerland was wonderful, under 5 hours and full of great scenery. However, it was surpassed by our trip from Lucerne to Milan, over the Alps. Even though it wasn't the famed Bernina Express, it was plenty scenic, just phenomenal. We were insulated in the train when we went up into a snow squall, then down out of it to a sunny valley in southern Switzerland. Magnificent. Then across the border to Milan, then Florence, where we stayed. After that we took the train to Salerno, south of Naples.

Keep in mind that time of year places like Cinque Terre and the Amalfi Coast will be buttoned up for the winter. Cities like Paris, Lucerne, Milan, Florence, Rome, Venice and even Salerno are fine and not boring in the least any time of year. It's not Minneapolis or Chicago--people actually go out and do things all winter long!