First Time & Italy

Why not both?
A shorter guided tour followed by some time on your own - after you get a little more comfortable under the care of a guide.

You are correct. A tour locks you into a certain schedule but most the logistical planning goes away. For a first time trip to get your feet wet and develop some confidence on how things work a tour is not a bad idea. Some posters here will absolutely revolt at the idea of any tour but we done both (even including cruises) and we are still alive and have had great experiences. You might consider adding a few days on your own at the end.

Yes why not both. Is it reasonable to think Rome, Venice and I’m not sure where else would be doable in 2 weeks? Any suggestions would be helpful.

OP, there are many great options in Italy. I think Rome and Venice make a great contrast and also are easy to fly in and out of. You might start by looking for a package tour that meets your timing, interests, and budget...and then look to tack on something to the end that makes sense logistically. Given Rome and Venice attractions might be very crowded, I’d suggest finding something a bit calmer to pair with those two if you ended up going that route.

Wife and I are in our 50s. First time to Italy last year. We looked at all kinds of tours and packages, but none offered everything we wanted to do. So we planned it on our own. It worked out great. 3 nights each in Rome, Florence, CT, Tuscany and 2 final nights back in Rome. Started with the cities in a logical order, then flights, hotels, trains/car and finally sights and restaurants. Part of the fun was doing it all on our own and learning how to do things in Italy for the first time. I guess it just depends on how you like to travel...

This year or next? What is your time line? Assume that it is next year - what months do you want to travel? We prefer late Sept through Oct. Go to public library and check out travel logs, Steves' DVDs for Italy, and guidebooks. Spend several evenings watch and reading to see what appeals to you. Rick Steves' Through the Back Door, can be a good read for someone just getting started. Begins to set some expectations. Traveling in Europe is not the same as the USA.

I generally don't recommend Rome as the first stop for first timers in Europe. Rome can be pretty intense. Not knowing where you are coming from, large, old European cities can be a shock to unprepared travelers. So give us some of your background.

There are also plenty of resources right here on this sight. Go to the watch, read, listen section on the left hand margin.

For instance shows are available here.

https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/tv-show

ETA: What cities are you interested in? What are your interests? Art, food, history, churches and religion?

For me, planning is a big part of the fun, so I’m very partial to independent travel. People on this site are willing and able to give you lots of help. To be most helpful, we need to know how many days you’ll have on the ground. You lose one whole day outbound, and your departure day is likely to be useless for anything but getting to the airport. Also, when will your trip take place? Finally, what sort of budget are you envisioning? 5 star hotels? Middling? Hostel? Though some on this forum will disagree, package tours are much more expensive than independent travel.

Here are a few starting pieces of advice:
Two weeks is a rather short trip to a country so dense with attractions. I would limit bases to 3 or 4, possibly Rome, Venice, Florence, and the Tuscan countryside. You should consider open jaw flights; i.e, flying into one and out of a different airport. That saves a return trip at the end to your starting point. The feasibility depends a lot on where you live.

On tour vs independent travel: there are excellent local guides available in all places of interest to tourists. We can help with recommendations. I believe there is even a relevant category on this forum. By doing some guided day or half-day tours, we’ve enjoyed the expertise of a local, while preserving our choice of time allotments, restaurants, and general flexibility.

If you want a great way to experience local culture, include a few nights at an agriturismo.

Have you traveled in Europe before? If you have, then you probably have the experience to plan your trip yourself. If not, consider the RS My Way tour. It's Venice, Lake Como, Cinque Terre, Florence, Assisi, and Rome. They'll arrange the transportation and lodging in Italy and provide a guide, but you schedule what you want to do in each place. My wife and I did that last year. This year we did Italy on our own. What we learned last year helped us plan this year.

Hubby and i are going to Italy for 3 weeks on a 11 day tour which takes up north then back to Rome then taking a private driver from Rome to Amalfi Coast on our own. The tour company is Globus. My friends are going on a 8 day tour which hits the big cities. I'm using a travel agent. She grew up in the US but her folks only spoke Italian to her at home. She's leaves for Sicillly and another island in a week in a half. If you would like her name and number just ask. When we began working on this trip she sent me suggests on where we should go and do. My friends are going in October. I emailed them much of the stuff the agent sent me. One sheet are a pronunciation break down on some of the common words. I'm happy to forward the email to you.

Note - beginning in October some ferries and schedules are reduced.

My email is cmcmillan@texasraceway.com

Any way, enjoy the journey of the planning.

Land tours are expensive. Before you decide, research for a tour that looks reasonable. Then, consider finding your own hotels and taking the train.

For a first timer in Italy, I recommend Rome, Florence and Venice.

Rome minimum of 5 days
Florence minimum of 4 days
Venice minimum of 3 days/

That would give you two extra days. You could add a day to one or more of the three above or add a trip to Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri.

I know it is a lot of work to price hotels and locations, use Kayak and TripAdvisor (they have a location map with prices) to select hotels or B&B. The Hotel Balesteri in Florence is a great choice.

Also, for your tour in Rome (you can do Florence and Venice on your own), consider Grey Line or local tour companies. Another choice is to use Viator.

You can plan your tour on your own with about 8 hours of internet research and using a guidebook. Rick Steves had good ones.

Thank you everyone, all the posts provided great information and a place to start our planning. Looking forward to our October 2019 adventure! Enjoy...

I just had to cheer you on in planning your trip yourself. In 2013 my husband wanted to take our first trip abroad. I felt overwhelmed as I started to put the trip (London and Paris) together. I shared this with my brother who has traveled extensively in Europe. He told me, "You can do this! Make it your own!" Since I had a year to put it together, I began by checking the Rick Steve's books out of the library and doing searches online. I also bought a notebook specificalIy for compiling all my info. I can not tell you how many websites there are! In addition to the specific area sites are the websites: www. rome2rio.com, www.seat61.com ( for train travel info), wwww.europeforvisitors.com, and www.reidsitaly.com to name a few. Once I got my confidence up, I began to LOVE the whole process! Since that trip I have planned trips to Rome, the Amalfi Coast in 2015 and our trip this year to Venice, the Cinque Terre, Lake Como, Zurich and Lucerne. They have all been successful, and we were not limited by a large tour. We have taken local tours like London Walks and Paris Walks tours and a boat tour of Lake Como and enjoyed those so much. You have an unlimited source of information these days. This forum is one. I use it for every trip.

I spent 2 weeks in Italy a couple years ago, during last week in May/1st week June. I'd been a few times before, spending most of the time in the Big 3 cities ... I traveled solo by public transit, and much more enjoyed the last trip: Flew into Florence, took train next morning to Turin -- SO beautiful! From there took train and bus to small village on northwest coast of Lake Como; then a couple of days in Montecatini Terme (old spa town), where I had a wonderful if a bit odd 1/2 day of spa treatments. Then 3 days in Spello, which included walking to Assisi through olive groves one day. Ended with 1 1/2 days in Florence (which was 1 day too long!). I loved all of the places I stayed, and they were very reasonably priced (I think all were less than 100 euros).
If any of these spots interest you, I'd be glad to share more details.
I vote for planning the whole trip/doing it yourself.

we explored on our own - if going that route i'd suggest a really good carry on suitcase and backpack for getting around. So many cobbled stone streets and stairs - quite challenging for larger luggage...this is how we travelled and it worked out great.. Tours help alleviate the planning but $$$ and you are locked in. Rick Steves books were all we used and really got to see the Italy we wanted to see.

Hey! We're on the Rick Steves Europe Travel Forum. I would feel remiss if I didn't suggest taking a look at his tour offerings. You may find one that would be a great fit.

Now that I've recommended them, I have to offer full disclosure. We have not taken an RS tour and we almost always plan our own tours. We have taken two tours, but they were under extraordinary circumstances. The first tour was when my wife and I were in high school and we spent 22 days on the "grand tour" of Europe back in 1966. It was a wonderful experience for us teenagers and it sparked a lifelong love of Europe.

The other time we went on a tour was with our dear friends. He is the son of my wife's Science teacher and my best friend in high school. We took a Viking River Cruise down the Rhine exactly 50 years after our first trip! Our friends invited us to join them, we would not have chosen a tour and actually went to Italy on our own 6 months before the cruise.

The advantages of a tour, as mentioned, is all the logistics are taken care of for you. You have to do little more than just show up. Good guides will enrich your experience and give you an appreciation of the wonderful places you visit. You get some free time, but tours have to strike a balance. Too little free time and you feel constrained. Too much free time and you wonder what you are paying for.

Choose the course of action best suited to your personality. Some folks are more comfortable, especially the first time traveling to Europe or a specific country, with taking a tour. If you use Rick Steves, who does tours differently, I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time. If you are more adventurous, find planning half the fun and are flexible and easygoing, planning your own trip is the way to go. It can be a lot cheaper. Our trip to Tuscany was a third of the cost of the VRC for the same amount of time.

If you choose to plan your own trip, don't move too often. With two weeks I'd consider flying into Rome, do three days there, then rent a car and stay at an agriturismo near Siena or Florence for at least five days. Then, either stay in Florence and fly out of there, or stay in Padua and fly out of Venice. I recommend staying in Padua instead of Venice because it is much cheaper and Venice is only a 30 minute train ride away. There's lots to explore in and near Padua.

For a launch date in October of next year, it's definitely not too early to do research. Please use the search function on this forum for opinions--in most cases differing but always passionate--on any aspect of this trip you want answers to. They're there, from folks who have done it.

For a first-timer, I do like geovagriffith's tried-and-true 3 days Venice, 4 days Florence, 5 days Rome. No more destinations than that. Fly into Venice, out of Rome, Freccia trains in between are efficient and--bought in advance--a great value besides.

Also don't be hesitant to research out-of-the-box possibilities such as a Tuscan agriturismo or a trip to the heel of 'the boot'. You'd probably have to give up one of the venues above, but to each his/her own.

Enjoy your planning!

do.061513, as our first trip, we did the 10-day Venice-Florence-Rome tour, and added on a few days before, on our own in Varenna and Milan. That worked out great, as all the details and logistics were handled for the big cities while we did some exploring on our own. The cost of tours is misleading, as they intangibles they provide (less stress, knowledgable guides, efficient transport, etc.) are worth something besides money.

The Explore Europe section on this website is a good way to start your planning. This is a link to the part about Italy with specific information on many destinations. Pay particular attention to the Plan part.

Two weeks is not very long and don't be surprised if you find that your planning involves many hard priority choices.

Under the Travel Tips part of this RS website, there is lots of advice for 1st time visitors to Europe. You will find answers there to questions you didn't know you needed to ask. Particularly important are the following: Money, Packing Light and Trip Planning.

Fortunately, you have a long time to plan this trip. Have fun with the planning.

I always plan my trips but was overwhelmed with so many choices in Italy. Someone on this forum recommended starting with a blank calendar page and it has made it so much easier. I marked the cities at the top of the calendar blocks and then filled in where I made reservations so that I wouldn't overbook. I researched and planned one city at a time. It made it very easy to see what days I could fit more in and which days to stop and take a breath. I found from this forum that Italy is not like other countries because if you don't make reservations, you can stand in quite a few lines wishing you had. I am planning the trip on my own but have day tours lined up and reservations and tours at the major sites so I don't waste time waiting in lines. Between the calendar, this forum and the Rick Steves' Italy book, I think I have an exciting trip planned. I hope you have a wonderful trip. And thank you to this forum for all your wonderful ideas and tips!