First trip to Italy

Skip the Cinque Terre this time. You will return to Italy!

You have 13 nights on the ground so you really do not have time to add the Cinque Terre. It is hardly worth going there for less than 3 nights, so let’s lay out your plan so far.

Four nights in Rome is a good first stay, although you may wish you had more time. (But you will be back!)

How will you divide your time between Florence and rural Tuscany? 3 nights Florence and 3 nights in a smaller hill town? Will you have a car? Rural Tuscany is hard to tour without a car. You can certainly rent one only for that portion.

Please give Venice 3 nights! She should not be rushed! People who rush their time in Venice do not tend to like it as much as those of us who linger and return often.

That is 13 nights.

BTW, fly into Venice, then go to Florence, rent the car when leaving Florence, visit the Tuscan countryside, return the car in Orvieto, timing your arrival for a lunch stop there, then take the train to Rome. Fly out of Rome.

Edited to reflect OP has 13 nights instead of 14 I originally included.

Hi Nicole and welcome to the RS forum!

But then someone mentioned Cinque Terre....So, what would you
recommend?

It all comes down to priorities and interests. To be honest, the CT will be heaving with tourists in June and accommodations are already filling up. We did it some years back because we're hikers so the trails were of interest but it's a tough place for others who have mobility challenges. Style comes into play too: we prefer longer stays in fewer locations but you may feel otherwise.

We had 3 weeks on that trip so didn't have to make any tradeoffs, such as cutting the time we wanted for our other locations; it wasn't a "squeeze in". It's also a very different atmosphere than Venice so if considering trading one for the other, you'd have to weigh which one has the most appeal for you.

ALL of the locations on your list will be VERY busy in June but the CT towns are tiny so they and the transit systems between them tend to be overwhelmed more easily. If you like Renaissance art (I do!) it would be tough for me personally to cut time from Florence, and I'm guessing those day trips (are you planning day trips or overnights?) to other locations in Tuscany would be tough for you to reduce as well.

On a side note: If keeping Venice, many of us recommend starting there and ending in Rome as flights from Venice tend to depart very early in the morning. That can cause some transport complexities depending on where one is staying; not all of the more economical public transit options run in the pre-dawn hours.

Agree with others that you should begin your trip in Venice. Be sure to stay there three nights because the day you land, plus your next day will be jetlag. Your time in Venice will pass so quickly. Also, Venice is an easier beginning town compared to Rome. Enjoy your trip!

Hi Nicole,

You leave on 6/12, you arrive on 6/13 and you return on 6/24. So you actually have 12 nights to spend.

It would make your itinerary a little easier to skip the CT on this trip. Especially if you want to spend 5-6 nites in Tuscany and 4 in Rome. Just to squeeze in Venice, you need to steal a 1-2 nites from those two areas to visit Venice.

Fly into Venice. It's a much softer introduction to Italy. Spend 3 nites.

Train to Florence (2 hrs 5 mi)
Spend 5 nites. Florence has much to offer, and there are many day trip options.

Train to Rome, (90 min). 4 nites here only scratches the surface. Be sure to purchase tickets for the Colosseum, Borghese Galleries, and the Vatican Museum if they are on your list of things to visit.

Keep in mind each time you change locations could consume at least a 1/2 day. Plus most lodgings are not available until 2-3pm.

You will be able to save some on train tickets by purchasing early.

Since you are traveling in June I’d avoid the CT like a plague.

Rome, train to Chiusi, pick up rental car, back track to Orvieto. 3 nights there to explore the Umbria region, places such as Montepulciano and hill towns. Perugia and Todi come to mind.

Return car and train to Florence 3 nights there ( see Pisa ) and off to Venice. Sadly Venice will
Also have massive crowds because it’s June and because of the cruise ships. You can still enjoy it’s uniqueness though. Visit St Marks square early and then get lost. Seriously discovered the best little restaurants, bars, churches etc by just meandering. You can also visit the other isles that tourists know little of.

Ciao.

Thanks everyone. It seems like the consensus is to skip CT. I know everything will be crowded in June but I’m a teacher and summer is the only time we can go. As far as the Tuscany portion of the trip, we are still undecided about exactly what we want to do. We are torn between spending the whole time in one location in the countryside and renting a car and touring around the hill towns and day trips to Sienna and Florence or spending 2-3 nights in Florence itself and then renting a car and staying in the countryside the other 3-4 nights. My husband is really into exploring the local culture and wants to enjoy the food and wine in the countryside.

Don't drive into Florence!

Hi Nicole, Exciting planning first trip to Italy, isn't it?

I am just going to copy/paste from another thread that I recently posted to. It's actually a good thread, read the whole thing for great advice.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/italy-30th-anniversary-trip-assistance-1st-trip-to-europe-italy

Looks like you have 13 nights. Keep it simple, avoid 1 night stays. 2 is fine but 3 or more is always better. Keep your transfers/transportation simple. You will enjoy yourselves so much more at a bit slower pace. You will return.

I'd suggest:
3 Venice
train to
3 Florence
pick up car
3 Tuscany hill town
drop car, train to
4 Rome

Just wanted to share our experience. We took our first trip to Italy in 2014- did 17 nights as well- now we are planning our 2nd trip for May 2019, our 40th- and now that I think about it I guess our 2014 was for our 35th!
Here is what we did
Fly into Venice- 3 nights- this was the right amount of time for us to get over jet lag, see the major sights, vaporetto to Burano etc. Loved Venice and are going back in May. We were anxious to get going and see more of Italy.
We stayed at Hotel Ala - which was the perfect choice. Literally steps from SM Giglio Vaporetto stop and the alilaguna boat from airport dropped us right there. No bridges to cross. As we were checking out a RS tour was checking in so I guess we chose wisely.
Train to Florence- 3 nights. I think 3 nights is needed here- our problem was juggling the museum open/closed days some are closed on Mon. some on Tues- we arrived on a Sunday. Loved Florence and will return on our future 3rd trip to Italy.
3 nights is really just 2.5 days- if art is not your thing I guess you could get away with less but…it’s Florence-- the art!!
Picked up rental car at a Hertz location just outside ZTL. Drove to Siena with some stops on the way. Driving was much easier than we thought. Not a problem at all.
2 nights in Siena- I was very very careful to choose hotels that had parking and easy access, avoiding ZTLs etc. If you’d like recommendations let me know. We liked Siena and the Duomo (with tiled floor uncovered at the time) is a must see. But it was not our favorite hill town.
Drove to Montepulciano- 2 nights- with stops in Montalcino and a few other places on the way. LOVED Montepulciano and would return in a heartbeat. The charm to us was the mornings and evenings in the hill towns, thus the reason we changed hotels for 2 night stays- we wanted to be in diff places for the evenings.
Spent a day driving around- Pienza was a highlight as we were there for a Pecorino Festival we were unaware of. (Plus it is a “flat” hill town- a welcome relief after Siena/Montepulciano).
Drove to Assisi- 2 nights. Another highlight. Took a short drive to Spello on 2nd day
Dropped car in Spoleto- took train to Rome- 5 nights.
We were surprised at how much we loved Rome. There are so many major sights there that take time to visit, we are also returning here next May. I think it needs at least 4 nights for a first visit.
Anyway- since you want Amalfi and will probably be flying home from Rome- put Rome last- you need to be there for your flight.
I’d try this:
Venice 3
Florence 3
Tuscany hill town- 3
(or 2 in Tuscany, 1 in Orvieto- to drop your car before heading south).
Sorrento- 4 just go all the way thru Rome/Naples
Rome 4<<

renting a car.... and staying in the countryside and wants to enjoy the food and wine in the countryside.

Be aware DUI in Italy is 0.05%. Fines start at 500 euro

Most of the US, it is 0.08-0.10%

'enjoy' the wine with care, if you plan to drive

With your 13 nights 3 places is a much better choice than 4. Makes for a good reason to go back

Nicole,

As you're planning to rent a car, a few important points to be aware of.....

It's important to note that for driving in Italy, each driver listed on the rental form must have the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. These are valid for one year, and easily obtained at any CAA/AAA office (two Passport-sized photos required, which may be provided by the issuing office). Failure to produce an IDP if requested can result in fines on the spot! Have a look at https://it.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/transportation-driving/ for more information on I.D.P's and driving in Italy.

You may also want to have a look at some of the other posts here concerning the dreaded Zona Traffico Limitato (limited traffic) areas that are becoming increasingly prevalent in many Italian towns & cities especially Florence, which is almost saturated with automated ZTL cameras. EACH PASS through one of the automated Cameras will result in a €100+ ticket, which you won't know about until several months after you return home! This website provides more information - https://www.italybeyondtheobvious.com/dont-mess-with-ztl-zones .

There are also some potentially expensive caveats to be aware of when using trains and other public transit in Italy, but those are easily dealt with. As someone else mentioned if you're planning on visiting wineries, it is NOT a good idea to have a rental car. I'd suggest booking a wine tour and let someone else do the driving.

You’ve gotten some good advice. The Venice-Florence-Tuscany-Rome itinerary would work. It’s a shame, though, because you will not see Italy at its best - you are picking the usual suspects at their most crowded and touristy. If your Christmas break is about that long, that would be a wonderful and less crowded time to go.

We never drive in big cities in Italy or elsewhere. Driving in Tuscany is a treat. Hill towns have ZTLs (thank goodness!) but they are well marked and easily avoided.

I’m going to suggest seriously considering taking a Rick Steve’s tour. There’s a Venice/Florence/Rome tour right when you are going for the length of your trip.

We are do it yourself folks, but for a first trip to Italy I can see some advantages to leaving it to others to work out the gory details, especially that time of year. If we were ever to take a tour, it would be a Rick Steve’s tour. The whole RS philosophy appeals to me.

Actually, Deb and I have been to Italy as part of a tour, but that was 1966 and we were 14 and 15, so that hardly counts!