First Timers to Italy

You'll want more than "a day or two" in Rome, but you could see a lot in four days. Then head out to Tuscany.

If you stay at an agriturismo, you'll have to rent a car to be able to do your day trips into nearby towns. That's pretty much the only time (imho) that it makes sense to rent a car in Italy. Try to rent it from a smaller town that you train to rather than in one of the big cities, to avoid highway driving. From Orvieto, for example, rather than in Rome.

Thank you for the information so quickly. We were thinking that maybe if we stayed at a Villa, we might be able to do some tours. We are not quite sure about the rental car. If we don't do Tuscany and other recommendation for 1st timers?

Don't short change yourself or Rome. It deserves at least four full days. Just spending "...a day or two sightseeing..." in Rome will barely scratch the surface or a great city.

If your 10 days includes one day going over there and one day coming home, you actually only have 8 days in Italy. If you have either 8 days or 10 days, I would highly recommend you split them between Rome and Tuscany. I have visited both several times and I could have spent the whole time either in Rome or Tuscany.

thank you. Yes the plan is to leave May 12 and come back May 23rd. We might be able to extend depending on the cost. WE had a budget of $6500.00 for air and room and then the extras.

thank you. Yes the plan is to leave May 12 and come back May 23rd. We might be able to extend depending on the cost. WE had a budget of $6500.00 for air and room and then the extras.

We debated for months about the car situation & finally have decided NOT to rent a car. Some say it's easy, others say it's not - and we decided we were fine with staying in the larger cities and doing day trips. We will be completing the RS Venice-Florence-Rome tour and we are staying longer for some 'on our own' touring.

We are basing out of Florence and Rome. From Rome, we are doing a day trip via train to Orvieto (a RS forum favorite) and an easy day trip. Although, you could go for a weekend & stay in a hotel/B&B.

From Florence we are doing a day trip via bus to Siena (another favorite on this forum). You can go to the WATCH, READ, LISTEN section of this site & watch video clips of these 2 hill towns.

We have also booked a CHIANTI WINE & FOOD SAFARI TOUR out of Florence with WalkAboutFlorence Tours (they have lots of tours w/great reviews on TripAdvisor).

www.walkaboutflorence.com

Then we are going to Sorrento for 5 nights to see the Coastal area- Amalfi, Ravella, Herculaneum.

You can't go wrong either way - it's just what you want to deal with.

Regarding the length of your trip, consider that airfare is the single largest cost so additional days maximize the use of that big cost -- be efficient and stay as many days as you can!

Here is what we did on our first trip to Italy, we had 6 couples. Spent 2 1/2 days in Rome. Hired Francesa Caruso (guide from Rick Steves book) for 2 1/2 days tours of the Vatican, Roman Forum, Colesium, etc. It was the best money we ever spent, need to have a guide to explain the history. Saw many people wandering and reading guidebooks and looking confused.

Rented cars and drove to Castellina in Chianti where we rented a villa through www.tuscanynow.com. It was awesome, spent one week traveling thru Tuscan hill towns, winery tours, hired a Rick Steves guide for 1/2 day tour of Florence, need to visit American Cemetary outside of Florence, and spent our days in the hill towns. We hired a cook for our first and last day at the villa, the food and wine was better than any restaurant (not expensive) and so much fun!

Thank you so much for your info. Great information.

I would suggest treating yourself to Italy's 'big three', Rome-Florence-Venice, over your 10 days.
Rome - 3 nts
Florence - 4 nts - take day tour(s) to the Tuscan countryside - Chianti / Siena / San Gimignano / Montepulciano
Venice - 3 nts
With limited time you will not want to be burdened by a car - take the high speed trains, city centre to city centre - no parking, no fuel, no tolls.

It sounds like you have at least 10 nights. 3 destinations is not too many - that's 2 hotel/location changes.

If you want to include Venice, fly open-jaw, start your trip there and end in Rome. Venice is the perfect place to start your visit. You can soak up the atmosphere, riding up and down the Grand Canal, wandering the back canals on foot and sitting at a cafe with a drink, and just enjoy the city while getting over jetlag and lack of sleep. Rome is the worst - big city, intense sights.

If you skip Venice and flying round-trip Rome, I'd go to Tuscany first and Rome last for the same reason.

For Tuscany, you want to stay in a city if you don't have a car. For a first-timer, I don't recommend a car. There are too many difficulties, it's too much stress. Split your time between Florence and Siena. If you are very interested in Renaissance painting, sculpture and architecture, you'll want at least 3 full days in Florence. If you want a more "ambiance" stay a little longer in Siena. You can day-trip to other Tuscan towns and/or take tours from either town.

You could also choose either Siena or Florence as your Tuscan base, visiting the other as a day trip and then spend 2 or 3 nights in Orvieto. Maybe start in Orvieto, then Tuscany, then Rome.

Depending on where you live (where you fly from), you may be able to fly open-jaw into Pisa or Florence and home from Rome.

You seem to have eleven nights (count nights, not days). I agree with the Venezia-Firenze-Roma suggestions. Day trips by bus or train can get you to many small towns in Tuscany, saving money on the rental car for a couple of city tours if you like.

As for your idea of touring from an agriturismo, unless the agriturismo sponsors the tour, it may be difficult to arrange since meeting points are usually in cities, unless you arrange private tours, which can be pricey. You can see lots of Tuscany on your own.