First trip to Italy !!

I would first expressing your trip in nights stayed in these locations. You could be in Rome for 2 days but only one night. The number of nights would give us a better idea of how long you are staying in these locations.

Second, I would suggest adding one night to Florence and one night to Venice. For Florence, you could day-trip to Siena.

November is a great time to go. Not too hot, generally not too cold, and less crowded which makes things like airfare and hotels cheaper.

Dividing up your time is a matter of personal preference. Does your group like to be on the move? Or would you rather stay in one central location and do day trips out? For 12 days, just Rome, Florence, and Venice would be plenty, with a day trip out to Siena (from Florence), Orvieto (from Rome), or Ostia Antica (from Rome).

You are flying into Rome, but where are you flying out of? If you have not booked tickets yet, check into an open-jaw flight where you fly into Rome and out of Venice, which could save you time and money by not back-tracking.

Are you flying out of Rome?

November will be cooler, wetter and darker. It's a good time to be in the cities. If you like architecture, art and history, the three cities are a great introduction to Italy. Tuscany's likely to be a little dull that time of year.

Made my first trip to Italy in November of 06. Fabulous time to travel. Fewer crowds, weather was warmer than I anticipated. Did Rome, then met friends in Chiusi where we got a car and then did the hill towns of Orvieto, Radicofini, San Casciano dei Bagni. La Grotta Ristorante in Radicofini is one of my most favorite memories of the entire trip. Hidden at the end of a tunnel it was a gem. Food was fabulous. Then by train to Milan and Lake Como, VERY quiet in Varenna where I stayed in an apartment owned by those same friends. Bellaggio was also quiet but some of the shops were open. Got great xmas gifts. Found it all very relaxing to be far from the maddening crowd. So yes, November is a good time to go.
Beautiful country. Have a wonderful trip!

Here are some basics of itinerary planning for a trip to Italy for first-timers:1. Determine how many "full days" you have by subtracting and not counting the day you will lose flying over and the day you fly back. You say 12 days but your # of full days may be 10 or 11 days and that's an important number for you to know.2. A mistake often made by first-timers is that they don't know what the travel time is to get (for example) from Rome to Venice and think 2 days is enough but end up with less time on the ground.3. The travel time depends on whether you take the train or drive. Another mistake often made by first-timers is to make the assumption that an American would commonly make, which is that renting a car is the obvious way to go. That's an incorrect assumption for much of Italy and the rule of thumb you want to use is: if trains go there then go by train like the locals do.4. Trains go to Rome, Florence, and Venice and you should use them for those destinations.5. The only place you mention where you even want to think of renting a car is to see the hill towns of Tuscany, but November is not the best time to see Tuscany because of weather, shorter hours, etc.6. Despite what you may read hear about the Cinque Terre, don't go there in November for a 1st trip, better to stay in the cities then.7. You asked about going in early November: No one should give you assurances about the weather then. Italy's best travel months are generally May, early to mid-June, September, and October. November & April often have pleasant weather but you should be told that in November there is a significantly greater chance of chilly/damp weather. There's a tendency for you to hear only from those who lucked out with the weather, but more reliable weather info is obtained by getting long-term weather data from www.weather.com or hear from Claire or Ron.8. You need to get a travel guide, such as Rick's Italy 2008.

I'm planning my third November trip to Italy. I love it there then - much cooler, fewer crowds, cheaper hotels. I've walked right in to "reservation only" museums in November. I think you're planning is about right. I would add maybe another day to Florence for a side trip to Siena and would add Assisi which is really easy to do from Rome to Florence. Remember that some of your time will be taken up in travel so you won't have a full day each day so you might want to add days to Florence and Rome for day trips. Also, I like to travel in the late afternoon. That way I get in a full day, spend a couple of hours on the train, have a late dinner and am ready to go in the morning. Have a great trip! Italy is my favorite travel destination.

Based on your available time, I would forego Venice and spend 2 days in the CT area.

Thanks everyone for your replys. We will be flying into Rome and out of Rome ( using free sky miles) staying 4 nights 3 days. Than traveling to either Tuscany or Venice. We want to stay 4 or 5 days in the Tuscany area area and 2 days/nights in Venice. Does this sound like a good plan? Any ideas on places to stay in the Tuscany and Venice areas. Thanks for all the help, Ron.

Ron, It takes time to move around the country so don't take on too much. Venice is 3-4 hour train trip depending, and expensive. Only time you need to consider car rent is if wanting to travel the very rural countryside. Otherwise trains and buses will do you. My wife just returned from her 5th trip and found Volterra in the Tuscan countryside to be charming.

For a place to stay in Venice, check out Ca' Angeli.

We just returned from Italy last month and agreed one of the best times we had was a one-day (9-5) tour into the Tuscan hills not that far outside of Florence. There was a winery tour - wine tasting, olive oil tasting, a beautiful drive through the countryside and ended up at a private home where the hostess cooked and served dinner to our group of 9 people with endless wine and wonderful conversation. Don't get me wrong, the cities were fantastic, but his was a nice respite from the hustle and bustle of tourists.

i would suggest from rome, taking the train to assisi and spend a day and a night there. Assisi is amazing and was my favorite town in italy. you will be amazed at the difference you will feel in this quiet little town after being in the hustle and bustle of rome. then you can catch a train the next morning to go to florence. there are several trains that go to florence from assisi without having to make any changes. cinque terra is very cool. it is easily reachable by connecting by train from la spezia. la spezia is also a easy place to make train connections from the cinque terra to venice.

Our First trip to Italy was in November at Thanksgiving with our 2 children that were 13 and 15 a few years back. Since then we have returned in June, August and Sept. and are going in July this year. Yes November is cooler and you cannot count on the weather, but we had a fantastic trip. We all enjoyed it. You dress in layers, Bring rain gear and a warm scarf is always good. You dont need as many changes of clothes you usually have a coat covering you. There are fewer lines to go into any of the museums which was the best part. Resaurants are not as busy and In the summer months you have the heat and long lines. August many of the Italians go on vacation so some places are not even open . Just be open to relaxing Things move slower and the Italians are wonderful. Have a great trip.