First trip to Italy and a few questions

Thanks DonnyBee,

Yeah, the norm; my husband says he wants to be certain the see the history. We're not tour people, though the idea of taking a bus around Rome (or Florence)to get our bearings and then decide what we want to go explore more is an idea that we are considering. We've been to Asia, Central and South America but this is our first trip to Europe.

A new thought that we are considering is taking the train all the way from Venice to Rome or Naples and the backtracking on our own from there. The thought is that is would give us a bit of time to get over jet lag (affects my husband more) and get a general feel of the countryside. I'm thinking that I might like a night or 2 in the Umbria region too, if possible.

I found a beginning Italian class this summer term (June-July) at the local community college which would be fun and, likely, useful.

Other than that, checking in with every connection I have to Italy; including a cousin & a son's girlfriend, both of lived there for some times.

With just 2 weeks, I'd scratch Naples. I'd also take the train from Venice to Florence. You won't want a car for Florence, and you'll just have to pay for parking it. Get the car when you're finished there. Staying at an agriturismo is one of the delights of traveling in Italy, and Tuscany is full of wonderful ones. That's where a car will come in handy. Whatever you choose for lodging elsewhere, I strongly urge you to try the agriturismo experience in Tuscany. If you look at the Italy Reviews on this site, you can find several that people just rave about.
We've rented cars many times in Italy; and, so far, there hasn't been a fee for dropping off in a different location from pick-up. I say "so far" because Europcar has started levying one in France; however, it was not outlandishly huge. Not like dropping in a different country. You can get a sense of the rental cost by going to the Autoeurope.com site. Put in dates and pick-up and drop-off locations. Dummy ones will do. Or, you can call and talk to one of their agents (they're in the U.S.). Plan to drop the car when you get to Rome. It's not a bad idea to drop it at the airport. Trying to navigate through Rome to find a car rental office can be a hellish experience. I also advise taking the prepaid fuel option.

Hi Roxann,
We took friends on their first trip to Italy two years ago and did something very similar to what you're planning. This is what worked well for us: 3 nights in Venice, fast Italo train to Florence to pick up car, 5 nights in wonderful agriturismo in Siena for day trips to hill towns, then 4 nights in Rome. Our friends had to fly home then, but we added on another 4 nights in Naples/Sorrento. Good idea to start in Venice and end in Rome.

Getting the car in Florence works for me because the scenery between there and Venice is not the postcard variety; it's more flat and industrial. Our car pickup was easily walkable from the main train station, and getting out of town and onto the autostrade was not difficult. (Easier in daylight.) Siena was only about an hour away.

This is a good pace, about as fast as I'm willing to go, and I've been there many times and know my way pretty well. Coming from Tuscany, it's easy to drop a car at Tiburtino rail station and take a taxi into Rome if you're not heading to the airport. I've been renting our cars from Andy at gamut.com, and I don't think there's any penalty ever for a different drop off site.

PM me if you want some recs for agriturismos near Siena. What's wonderful about them is that they often cook amazing dinners for you at night, with wine, and you're already home! Enjoy your trip!

Working on 12 nights in Italy ...

Day 1 - Arrive Venice - 3 nts
Day 2 - Venice sights
Day 3 - Venice sights
Day 4 - Early train to Florence - 3 nts
Day 5 - Florence sights
Day 6 - Day trip to Siena
Day 7 - Morning to Pisa, then afternoon train from Florence to Rome - 3 nts
Day 8 - Rome sights
Day 9 - Rome sights
Day 10 - Train to Naples, then via Pompeii to Sorrento - 3 nts
Day 11 - Day trip to Capri
Day 12 - Day trip to Positano
Day 13 - Depart Naples

my husband says he wants to be certain the see the history. It's everywhere. Take the Doge's Palace Secret Itineraries tour in Venice. For more insight, take a guided tour of the Colosseum and Forum in Rome.

this is our first trip to Europe. . . A new thought that we are considering is taking the train all the way from Venice to Rome or Naples and the backtracking on our own from there. The thought is that is would give us a bit of time to get over jet lag (affects my husband more) and get a general feel of the countryside. Driving and jetlag are a terrible combination. It's like combining driving and alcohol. Venice is the best place to relax for 2-3 days and soak it up while getting over jetlag. And you may not need a car at all. Most towns that you will want to see have turned their historic centers into ZTL areas, where private cars are not allowed. The signs are not always spotted by drivers who are concentrating on the unfamiliar car, narrow, winding streets, traffic signals, and other distractions. The fines are automatic (cameras/radar) and hundreds of euros. Parking can be a nightmare. You can easily visit Tuscan towns by bus/train if you are based in Florence or Siena. The high-speed trains from Venice to Florence to Rome to Naples are much faster than driving and more comfortable than sitting in a car.

I might like a night or 2 in the Umbria region too, if possible. Train from Florence to Assisi for 1 night, train to Orvieto for 1-2 nights, train to Rome. Assisi is beautiful but only regional trains go there, so it takes a long time. There are fast trains from Florence to Orvieto and from there to Rome. You may find that you can rent a car in Florence and return it in Orvieto. That may be better if you want to see both towns. I used the train.

If you can fly home from Naples, then do go there from Rome for a couple of nights to see the Archaeology Museum and Pompeii. Otherwise, a long day trip on your own or with a tour is possible from Rome. A substitute is to visit Ostia Antica while you are in Rome.

Don't try to cram in too much. If you go to Naples, skip Umbria and base in Florence for other Tuscan towns. If you want to spend time at an agriturism in Tuscany with a car, skip Umbria. Count nights, 2 nights = 1 full day. Moving uses up about 1/2 day each time. Florence is very walkable, most of the main sights are no more than 15 minutes walk from the train station and your hotel will surely be the same. But getting around Venice is very slow and Rome is a big city, so between distances and traffic, it takes a lot of time to get from place to place.

Plan what you want to see and do in each place. If you want to 'wallow' in Renaissance art, allow enough time in Florence. If you just want to see the highlights (one day is enough), you may prefer to stay in Siena and day trip to Florence. That will help you decide how long to stay in "the big 3" and thus how long you have for Tuscany, Umbria and/or Naples. Some sights need to be pre-booked, the tour I mentioned in Venice, museums in Florence and Rome. September is still high season, I recommend booking all your hotels in advance. And you can save on train fares by buying tickets early.

Hi Roxann--

Our first trip to Europe (and Italy) was for our 30th anniversary in 2010. You will love it. We visited again last year, finishing in Italy after starting in Paris and Lucerne, Switzerland.

First off--unless you have a thing for driving around in unfamiliar territory, the train is your friend. For the main areas--Venice, Florence, Rome, Naples--by rail it is very efficient and, if booked early, extremely economical. We have not rented a car in two trips, just felt that it's one burden we didn't need, and we've done fine. Only thing is if you had to visit some out-of-the-way area--like we did on a heritage trip to my ancestors' village up in the mountains SE of Salerno--you can hire a driver/guide as we did.

September should be a beautiful time weather-wise to travel to Italy. It's also probably going to be very crowded (not quite as bad as June/July but still high season), and Venice, Florence and Rome are on the top three short list of popular destinations. It is what it is. We usually travel off-season because I abhor crowds & will actually take the possibility of inclement weather in place of waiting in queues all the time. But you may want to take the popularity factor into account, possibly by only visiting two out of the three for five days apiece, and then at some point do three days at a chill agriturismo somewhere in the interior of the country. FYI--my two favorite things in a total of 21 days in Italy over two trips have been just wandering around Florence with no set plans, and spending a day at Pompeii, which is spectacular.

Start planning by reading about Rick's favorite destinations and checking out Rome to Rio http://www.rome2rio.com/ for initial logistics. Work your way in reservations-wise by doing air, then lodging, then trains, then restaurants (if you have to). Open jaw is definitely the way to go. Come back here when you want to fine-tune your plans. Setting the whole thing up is half the fun, enjoy!

With this amount of time I would not rent a car, certainly not for the two weeks. A car is a liability in Venice, Florence and Rome and the train is fast and efficient. With two weeks I would spend maybe 4 nights in Venice, 5 in Florence and 5 in Rome and fly out there. If you find that you need to do a round trip to Rome for cost reasons (sometimes lesser cities/airports are more costly to use in an open jaw then say Paris/Rome) then go to Venice on arrival in Rome and finish in Rome.

This itinerary would give you 3 full days in Venice, and 4 in Florence and Rome which is quite short but gives you time to see the highlights. If you want to vary the scene then there are great day trips from Florence and Rome e.g. Siena and Ostia Antica come to mind.

If you want to base in the Tuscan countryside I would drop one of the cities, probably Venice (or cut it to two nights) and base in a small hill town where you would have easy car travel in and out while visiting places in the region. A car is great for that. We have done this 3 times, once in a small town near Siena, once within a short walk of Lucignano and once in Montpulciano.

It is generally not more expensive to rent one place and drop another but you can't drive in Florence or Rome and of course in small towns in Italy -- but the small tourist towns have parking lots on the outskirts for tourists.

You have to decide if your goal is to see Venice, Florence and Rome and their richness of art, architecture and history -- or you want a rural vacation -- the two don't mix all that well. A day trip to Florence is likely to leave you hating Florence -- it does take some time to really delve into its artistic riches.

Agree with Jane.

If you were going to rent an apartment using AirBnB, HomeAway or VRBO (what we used), I think Florence would be the spot to do it. A year ago March, we rented an apartment near the train station (for ease of daytrips to Siena, Pisa, Lucca) for 5 nights and just loved it. And it cost 25-50% lower than a hotel in the same area. Sure, it's a little bit of an adventure, but that's the kind of thing you talk about when you get back. How you locked yourself out of the apartment in the early morning when you ran out to get an espresso, and the wife wouldn't wake up because you were banging on the wrong door. That didn't happen to me, did it?! :)

I just booked this place in Rome, have a look. < I am going back end of august> http://www.the-beehive.com/rooms.html It was also recommended by some readers here. I was just in Italy and I loved having the car. However you cant drive into the cities , park and walk is the option there. I stayed 30 km away from Siena in a B&B but without a car you wont be able to get there. Remember you need an international license !