First Trip To Italy

Need a little clarity. Training to Venice and Rome from where? Be sure to look at a map and understand distances involved.

Jane - Your first instincts are correct - day trips to Venice and Rome are probably too much in such a short time period. Nine days including flights is really only a week in Italy.

If Umbria and Florence are the highest on your Italy priority list, you can easily fill up a week. Focusing on a few towns in one region or maybe a couple of cities is probably the best use of time. If you take side trips, then you will be spending most of your time riding transportation rather than enjoying Italy.

If you want more specific feedback on your itinerary, you might want to give some details of how long you will be in Umbria as well as how much time you plan to spend in Florence. That way others can give you more specific suggestions or share their own experiences.

Since you're from the Bay area, let me give this analogy. To me what you've suggested what be akin to a friend from the East coast saying they're visiting Napa for a few days in wine country, also plan on visiting SF, but were wondering if they could squeeze in day trips to Sacramento and Santa Barbara. Yes, you could technically do it but you'd spend a lot of time in transit...

Unless you're just spending a day or two in Umbria, I'd suggest dropping Venice & Rome. Less is really more. A few days in Florence, a few days in Umbria and Tuscany will be a wonderful trip at an unhurried pace.

Where are you flying into? If you are entering through Rome or Venice, this could help make a decision. I agree with those who have posted that you do not want to spend your whole time traveling.

Have a great trip!

Thank you all for your quick replies. I was thinking of flying in and out of Florence. take about 2 days or 3 for the Umbria cooking classes, and then go to Florence. I know we are trying to fit too much, in just trying ti make the most of the 2 days. We are really into seeing and being with people of Italy. Just not sure of the best route or course of travel.

Fly into Rome, take the train to Florence, to Venice, fly out of Milan. See as much as you can in the short time you are there.

My suggestion is that in addition to Florence and the 3 days of cooking classes, spend a few days exploring the Umbria/Tuscany region. There are plenty of hilltowns to visit, there is the Chianti wine region, Deruta for ceramics, etc. You might want to get some of the RS videos from a local library and watch the shows on the region to get an idea for what you would want to visit. A car for a few days would be a convenience, but you can visit many of these places by train (and bus, although figuring out bus schedules and routes is a bit more difficult).

If you're into seeing and being with the people of Italy, I suggest following the advice that less is more. I also suggest not flying into Rome, then taking the train to Florence and Venice and returning out of Rome. Doing that you'd be spending a total of almost a full day riding the trains when you could be seeing and being with the people of Italy (unless, of course, doing that in train stations and on the rails appeals to you). Given that you'll have only a week in the ground, concentrate on Florence and Umbria. You'll have way more than enough to see and do in a week. If you want to get to a little village, consider taking the #7 bus from Florence to Fiesole, just outside Florence. Enjoy the village and its wonderful views over Florence; watch the sun set over Florence. Eat lots of gelato; check out Leonard's Cafeteria near the Duomo--cheap and lots of locals eat there. Cross the river and venture into neighborhoods where most tourists never set foot.

I agree with Dwayne above, forget flying into Rome. the airport is very far from town time consuming to get there, and the train station hectic. Save Rome for another trip. My suggestion: Fly into Venice, (there are direct flights from JFK) see the city for at least one day and then train to Florence/Umbria area. Explore as much of the region as you can. Fly home out of Florence.

Venice to Florence is 3 hours by train. Allow at least another 1/2 hour to get from your hotel in Venice to the train station, because transportation is slow in Venice.

On the other hand, it is a 1-1/2 hour train ride between Rome and Florence, with trains at least once an hour. Bothe the Rome and Florence train stations are near city centers and many main tourist sights. So you could take a day trip to Rome from Florence, though the trains are expensive. However, Rome is probably exceptionally crowded around Easter.

Florence is an art lover's paradise. There are also other day trips possible: Siena, Pisa, Lucca, San Gimignano.

Any of the day trips, including Rome, can be spur-of-the-moment decisions.

The best advice I can give you that you can't see everything, so enjoy everything you see. The rest will be there next time.

After 16 trips to Europe, I have developed a two-night rule for pacing trips. If you really want to visit a city, stay two nights. Then you'll have one full day in between to explore. And while you can only scratch the surface of cities as rich and amazing as Rome and Venice in one day, you'll at least feel like you got a real visit.

So now you should ask yourself how much moving around you want to do between cities. Do you want a leisurely visit to Italy or a more vigorous experience?

Florence is a good central point if you decide to do daytrips. You can take trains from there directly to Venice, get a meal, race around a few sites, then go back by an evening train. Same with Rome. Have a plan and choose sites that are in very close proximity.

And drink lots of espresso! It'll keep you moving.