First Time Traveler to Italy for 2 weeks....need advice!

Christine:
Looks pretty good! you have resisted the urge to change hotels every two nights, and that is excellent! One thing that jumps out at me: the trip from the CT to Siena can be long! We ended up on 4 trains and it took 4 hours, 2 of which were spent standing up. We didn't get to Siena until after 1300 and we were starving and tired! I haven't studied Trenitalia options since, but if you can route through Florence it might be more pleasant. Day 9 you mention Pienza that is closer to Montalcino. If you have a car, driving trips on Day 8 could take you north to Monteriggioni (loved it!) and Volterra and San Gimignanon. Then on Day 9 you could go south from Siena and do the drive from Pienza to Montacino, stopiing in San Quirico d'Orcia. You can do Montepulciano that day, too, on the same road. On Day 10, is that your travel day to Rome from Siena? That will take 1/2 a day. You might be able to stop in Orvieto on the way. That could be more efficient than seeing Orvieto on Day 9. So Day 10 might be "Leave Siena, for Orvieto; Stopover to see Orvieto, late afternoon train to Rome; Check in. There is so much to do in Rome. We stayed 5 nights and still left with a long list of "places to see when we return!" Buon

Hi Laurel, Thank you so much for your recommendations! That is a huge help and I will definitely take the advice. This trip is a dream come true finally and I'm so excited about traveling through Italy. Thanks again! Christine

Christine, Your proposed Itinerary looks well organized, although there are a few spots that I'm wondering about. > Day 4 - this seems a bit "busy" with visits to both Pisa and Lucca. You might find that your travel times are a bit "optimistic". After visiting Pisa, you may not have as much time as expected for Lucca (especially as you have several sights and activities planned there). I'd probably focus on Lucca and leave Pisa for a future visit. > Day 5 - as a previous reply mentioned, it could take four hours or so to travel from Florence to the Cinque Terre. It's unlikely you'll have time for much hiking or boat rides on the first day. > Day 7 - basing in Siena is a good plan, but I'm not sure you'll be able to get to Volterra, San Gimignano, Montelcino, Monteupulciano as well as enjoy Siena in only two days. > Day 9 - in order to get to Bagnoregio and Civita via public transport, you'll probably have to stay in Orvieto at least one night. The trip involves a Bus from Orvieto and then the small Shuttle from Bagnoregio to the base of the bridge at Civita. I've found that the trip often takes the better part of a day. Getting to Pienza the same day is not likely IMHO. Hope you have a wonderful time in Italy!

Hi Ken, Thank you for the recommendations. These are excellent things to consider. Thank you. I really appreciate it. Christine

Day 2 with a 3:00 arrival, I assume you had a long layover somewhere in Europe. You might do better (if you already haven't purchased tickets) flying in through Rome and catching the train to Florence. Tough you'll be in Florence 3 nights. You only have one real day for Florence. IMHO It deserves more Your second day is minimal due to late arrival and jet lag. With 10 full days in Italy You'll stay 4 places and see I can't count. If you've been there before I can see it. But if you haven't you may see more with less. Consider, give yourself time to enjoy that wine, and to do your laundry.

" DAY 4 Stay in Florence, Lucca(Bike the Ramparts,Piazza Anfiteatro, Clock Tower, Via Fillungo) Pisa(Leaning Tower and Field of Miracles) Take the train to Pisa, sightsee, catch the bus to Lucca, eat dinner and then back to Florence DAY 5 From Florence head to Cinque Terre area(Hiking Trail #2 start town #5 , hiking, wine tasting, eating, boat rides along the coast, Stay in Cinque Terre
DAY 6 Stay in Cinque Terre area " I would put #9 before these and stay overnight for 2 nights in or near the CT , combining vists to glance at Pisa ( not worth it IMHO). Stop in Lucca for the afternoon and arrive in the CT early evening. Otherwise, it's a l o n g haul from Florence & will not make these days worthwhile.

I would find a way to spend more time in Rome. There is so much to see there that 2 days is not enough. Maybe eliminate a day in Sienna and Tuscany.

The only advice I have is to not try and see too much in your allotted time. We made that mistake on our first trip to Italy and Scotland as well. You wind up missing the little things and become too exhausted with all the running around.
SMELL THE ROSES! And the limoncello.

From my experience, Lucca was charming - my 3 days there didn't seem like enough, I would recommend not rushing Lucca, it has the feel of a genuine, non touristy Italian city. Personally, as was said before, I'd give Lucca a little more time and save Pisa for later. Also, in Florence, don't forget that the Uffizi Gallery and the Academia (Michealangelo's David) need adavance reservations, otherwise you're sitting in very long lines. All the instructions are in the Rick Steves' Italy book.

Although I despise one-night stays, I would seriously consider not going back to Florence on Day 4. Why not just stay overnight in Lucca? you're already half way to the CT so you can just continue on the next day and save yourself a couple hours of travel time. Also, consider seeing Pisa on your travel day from CT to Siena. You'll likely stop there to switch trains anyways, give yourself a few hours to sight see grab some lunch and continue on your way to Siena. I did this exact thing and arrived at 4:30pm in Siena, plan for a very late arrival if you want to visit another town along the way. Days 8-9 are WAY to aggressive. I think you are underestimating the time it takes to travel between each town even if the bus schedule is favorable. My advice is to pick ONE each day, or two depending on proximity (ie. Pienza & Montepulciano). Others will undoubtedly say you have plenty of time to see everything you want, but this site is all about the slow travel style and not treating Europe as a checklist of sites. While it's possible to hike the CT on the day of your arrival, I would save it for when you have a full day to do it at your leisure and to enjoy every town for what it has to offer. But, others like to power walk it straight through, to each their own.