First trip outside the country. Free days in Italy, where to go?

Hi Maria, there's a lot to do in Rome, but since you're hitting 3 larger cities, I would recommend going to a smaller town. Check out rome2rio.com and you can see what's close enough by train. If you're concerned about traveling by yourselves, pick a train where you don't need to switch trains (you can see this on that site). For instance, Siena is wonderful, but you would need to switch from a train to a bus in Florence.

You might want to check Orvieto. It's just an hour & 15 minutes by train from Rome.

If you decide to stay at Rome, check out Ostia Antica - similar to Pompeii but on the edge of Rome.

You cojuld head for the Amalfi Coast and rest up for a long trip home.
Or, you could move out into the suburbs of Rome as there are so many places to see outside the center city. A great B&B is http://www.olivetreehill.com/
Ivano will take care of you, deliver you to the local travel sites 20-30 miles out of Rome. He's as good of a tour guide as you'll find, and is also a great cook

You have 3 days and so many options !

The easiest for a first timer is to stay in Rome for the 3 nights and take day trips if you feel like it ! You will feel like a seasoned traveler by taking the train on your own!!
1. Take the train one day to Orvieto - an easy hour train ride and a marvelous town to wander
2. Take the subway one day - follow Rick's plan - and go to Ostia Antica.

3. Walk Rome and just savor this marvelous city. Go see the Scala Santa, Gethsemane Church, walk the tree lined street Via Merulana, eat limoncello chocolate from a chocolate shop, savor coffee and watch people in Trastavere.

So many people go to Rome, see St. Peter's and the Vatican and the Forum and feel they have "done" Rome. They have not even scratched the surface !

I would rent a car, drive to Tuscany explore there. Visit a winery or go to Umbria and visit Assisi :)

I like the the suggestion to just stay put and do some day trips from Rome. It will allow you those looks at some different locales without all that's involved with picking up and moving to new accommodations. You're going to want to be in Rome (or nearer the airport, anyway) on Friday night so you really only have two nights to work with.

As suggested, Orvieto and Ostia Antica are very easy day trips, and a little more time to poke about Rome wouldn't hurt either: there's so much more to see than what's squeezed into the tour. Consider that by Wed. you will have been touring at a fairly aggressive pace for 10 days so a chance to catch the breath a little bit before catching the plane may be welcome!

Staying put also allows you some flexibility for Plan B's should the weather refuse to cooperate. A day of pouring rain? Do churches and museums. Sunny and lovely? Get on the train.

We were ALL inexperienced our first time so while you will pick up some good tips on the tour for getting around, do not hesitate to ask questions on the forum either. You'll have lots and lots of help. I can promise you that the trains will not be difficult, and I'm transport challenged so I can do it, anyone can. As Carla said, you'll feel like a pro after that first solo adventure!

Agree with Kathy 100%! Stay put and do short day trips or poke about Roma a bit more.

You only have 3 nights and you need to be in Rome the last night before you fly out which makes other side trips very brief. One option is to stay in Rome so you are not rushing back to fly out. Some things you might not have done in the quickie tour include: Villa Julia (Etruscan Museum), Ostia Antica (an ancient preserved Roman city ruin from the time of Pompeii) (you could also do a day trip to Pompeii but unless this is a big goals for you, I'd stick closer to the city -- it is a LONG day trip), Tarquinia and Cervetari are two Etruscan tomb cities north of Rome, Tivoli with Villa Adriana ruins and Villa d'Este Gardens is a great day trip. Rome itself takes days. You might identify historic churches for example and just spend a day visiting them. Some of the great art of Rome is in those churches. And as others have noted, Orvieto is an easy train ride away and would be a good day trip from Rome also.

Or if Tuscany calls, you could pick up a car in Rome and spend two nights visiting a handful of Tuscan towns e.g. drive to Montepulciano and get a hotel with parking in the historic center. Visit another town on the way there from Rome and explore Montepulciano that evening. Use your one full day after that to drive to other towns, abbeys or gardens in the Val d'Orcia (prettiest part of Tuscany) We first did this, but for a week over 30 years ago and have been back twice for a week and a two week stay we loved it so much. Here are some snapshots of the area including one of Montepulciano taken the September after I retired. https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2011/09/20/patterns/ Montepulciano is a great base as it has a dozen good restaurants and is just a very picturesque town with great views from the ramparts. You would then return the car at FCO and spend your last night at the airport Hilton before flying out. (when we did this we took the airport train into Trastevere for dinner and then back to the airport to be there for the flight next morning)

Another option if you don't want to get a car would be to go to Siena for two nights. It is a tad inconvenient traveling from Rome but two nights there would be lovely and this is a wonderful small city with a stunning historic center. The Palazzo Ravizza is a wonderful hotel from an old palazzo; Hotel Athene has the same great views but is cheaper. Both are an easy walk to the Campo. Here are some snapshots from my climb of the tower at the town hall. https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2011/09/18/climbing-the-torre-mangia-at-67/ Siena is my favorite city in Italy and your time there would be well spent. Again, you would return to Rome the night before the flight.

Maria, we were pretty overwhelmed by art, food, and architecture, by the end of the VFR tour, so would have appreciated a couple of slower-paced days to relax before heading home. I'd vote for Tuscany too, but a few days exploring Rome would be great. There are so many things there that the VFR tour doesn't get to. Take a look at the RS Rome tour and see whats on the that more comprehensive itinerary that looks interesting.

Hi Maria,
I too agree with Kathy. My wife and I recently returned from a month in Italy and our first leg of the trip included the RS Venice, Florence and Rome tour. Consider taking in the Borghese gallery since it is not part of your tour. If you like food then you might do a food tour. We went on - Taste of Trastevere - through Eating Italy Food Tours. Not only was the food great you also got a history lesson of the food and the neighborhood. Great way to spend an evening.

I would highly recommend going to Orvieto. We spent three nights there after leaving Rome. Easy train trip very doable in a day. The pace really slows down, beautiful views and some good restaurants. One we really liked and still talk about is Trattoria del Moro Aronne. My wife had the RS recommended nidi pasta - it was wonderful.

Have fun, the VFR tour was great.

Jim

If you are interested in history and beautiful landscape, go to Tarquinia Necropoli, you will discover Etruscan Culture.
Don't miss Tarquinia museum, right in the Centre Of the small town.
Tarquinia is reachable by Train within 1 hour from Rome. There is also Tarquinia Mare where you can go to the beach.
Siena is a lovely medieval town but journey is longer. Viterbo is also nice and not far from Rome.

If you want to spend a night away from Roma, you could easily do that in Orvieto. Ask if your hotel will hold your luggage for a day (you'll be coming back for your last night before flying home), and just take a small overnight bag - less to haul around for a short trip.

Or, stay in Roma and take the train to one of the nearby hill towns (I like Tivoli or Frascati) for the day. Small towns, relaxing.

You only have 2 nights to spare, since the last one must be spent in Rome before you fly out in the morning.

Since you have no previous experience abroad, I would be hesitant to rent a car and drive to Tuscany. Driving abroad has its own challenges to the uninitiated and it's even more challenging if you have little experience driving in chaotic city traffic (like NYC or Chicago) or very curvy country hills. I think you'll be better off sticking to trains/buses.

Since you only have two nights at your disposal, prolonging your stay in Rome is probably best. Changing hotels (twice in your case) is time consuming with all the packing /unpacking, checking in/out procedures.

There are numerous places you can visit on a day trip from Rome. In addition to what already suggested above, if you like country/wine region setting, consider visiting the Roman Castles (Castelli Romani) on the hills just south of Rome.
http://www.visitcastelliromani.it/en/

Or check here for more options (including the 'Castelli Romani'.
http://www.turismoroma.it/cosa-fare-categorie/gite-fuori-porta?lang=en

Thank you all very much for the suggestions and advice!!

Janettravels - I'm following your blog !!