First Trip to Italy Itinerary Help

If you have not made your flight arrangements, I would suggest you start in Venice and end in Rome. Those 6:00 a.m. flights all take you to another European gateway city where you'll sit around until leaving mid day. It's bad enough flying home all the way to LAX, but even worse when you cannot have a decent night's sleep before you leave.

Rome is one of those cities where you could stay a week and not see it all. You might reconsider skipping Naples/Pompeii, as your time would be better spent in Rome. It's about 150 miles via train down there each way. I'd want to have time to see the Amalfi Coast if I was in the area, and you just don't have extra days for that.

Siena is best visited via bus from Florence, and is a good one day trip. You could also book a tour through Tuscany to the very interesting San Gimignano and Volterra--our favorites. Another option would to rent a car in Florence for a day and just ramble throughout the Tuscan countryside. Roads are good and well marked.

The Cinque Terre is not a great place to visit in March, and it takes 3 trains and 4 hours to get there. Go your next trip.

I try to leave cities by train by 9 a.m. or so. We try to not get in too big a hurry, as rush hours are often hectic in the big cities. Hotels can usually store your luggage until check in time mid afternoon.

If you by chance have to fly out of Venice @ 6:00 a.m., you could get a room over by Marco Polo the night before.

Rome - Florence - Venice is perfect for your time. Skip the Naples/Pompeii idea as Rome is worth your minimal time. You really only have 3 full days in Rome (7,8,9) as arrival day is a bit of a wash. You can take a nice orientation walk and that's about it. No museums day one! Check R.S. guide for itinerary ideas in Rome to make the most of three days. Leave early on the 10th as David suggests. We like to arrive in our next city by noon or 13:00, check in and have lunch then do a site or museum.

As to Tuscany, skip the CT -- too long for a day trip. You have 1/2 of the 10th, plus 3 full days, 11, 12, 13. That might allow 1 1/2 days Florence proper, then 1 day Siena. Perhaps for 3rd full day focus on a hill town like Volterra, San Gimignano, Cortona, Montepulciano. Just pick one and go there by bus or train for the day.

you will have the better part of your travel day in Venice if you leave Florence early, plus 2 full days, a nice start on Venice. Again, see R.S. guide on how to organize your time there. We also like the books "24 Great Walks in Rome" and "24 Great Walks in Venice" as a way to organize our time and walk off those calories!

We (couple in our late 20s) did a similar trip (our first to Europe) last summer and enjoyed the Rick Steves walking tours in his books. We planned to pay for some walking tours but never felt we needed it.

As for trains - we took trains mid-day. This allowed us to do some last minute sights in the morning and then eat lunch and relax on the train. When we arrived we quickly checked into our hotels and were ready to see more sights before they closed. This routine really worked for us! This also worked because our hotels were always walking distance (20 min) from the train station in a downtown area where sites were easily accessible by walking.

As for day trips - Leave things open and wait to see how you feel, weather, etc. You may enjoy the cities so much that you don't want to leave them! I did not enjoy our time in Naples (we were there to catch a ferry) but did enjoy Pompeii as a trip.

I think your itinerary sounds great. I would also skip Pompeii and Naples, save it for another trip. You can do Siena as a day trip but consider spending the night there. it is such a wonderful town. I think it is hard to appreciate CT as a day trio and it really isn't a good time of year for it.

With regards to the train travel, you can play that by eat and see how you feel. That is e nice thing about going to big cities in the off season-plenty of trains available. I like leisurely dinners (and since you mentioned you enjoy food, I expect you do too) so I would avoid the night trains out. I like a late morning train. Don't have to get up really early, have breakfast, get on the train. by the time you get to the new city, it will be close to check in time ( or you can at least drop off your bags). new cities also seem more intimidating in the dark.

I agree with previous posts to save Naples/Pompeii and Cinque Terre for the next trip.

I like traveling mid-morning. This keeps you from having to get up too too early (this is vacation)but allows you to skip the busier trains with business travelers. I target 10:00ish which gives you time to do things in the new city on day 1. We tend to plan this as a later day catching museums and other sites that are open later. Like the previous poster, Kristen, I don't like trying to find my hotel in a new city in the dark when I'm tired after touring and then traveling all day.

A day trip to Sienna is a good idea - it's one of my favorites. I'd spend the other days in Florence as there is so much to see. I spent 2 months traveling around Italy a few years ago and Florence was by far my favorite city.

I think 2 days in Venice is enough. Once you've seen the San Marco area, traveled via vaporetto and wandered the back alleys of Venice you've experienced it.

We did many of Rick's walking tours throughout Italy and Europe and never felt the need to take a separate walking tour. I prefer the freedom to spend the time where we are most interested and pass thru the ho hum.

I think 2 days in Venice is enough. Once you've seen the San Marco area, traveled via vaporetto and wandered the back alleys of Venice you've experienced it.

I beg to differ in the most amicable way! Venice has many hidden charms, most of which are no where near San Marco. I can wander those back alleys over and over. See the Frari Church, the Scuola San Rocco, wander out to St. Elena, take a ride to Torcello where it all began. Sip wine with a canal view, find a restaurant where no one speaks English and the locals go for seafood. I agree you can self-tour Venice, but don't sell her short.

Hi Whitney - I think your schedule looks good. I would skip Pompeii. I enjoyed very much but you're better off not spending at that time traveling. Also skip CT. Save it for another time. Have you thought about renting a car to go from Rome to Florence. Stop for 2 nights in Sienna and tour the countryside visiting hill towns. As David suggested San Gimignano and Volterra are nice towns. The driving was no big deal as long as you can drive a stick......you may also have to be over 25 to rent...not sure. Return the car in Florence. It was nice to be able to drive through Tuscany and stop anywhere you want to. 2 nights in Florence is OK. 3 nights in Venice is also good. Venice is a city unlike any other I've been to. Just walking along the streets is magical.

If you are going to drive in Italy you need an International Drivers Permit which is available at AAA.

@jerry I like the idea of renting a car in Rome and driving up through Tuscany but I am worried it will eat up a lot of time for that day in just driving. How long does it take to drive from Rome to Siena? Would it be better to just take a train to Siena and stay a night or two there before heading on to Florence, or is renting a car worth it?

It doesn't always work with my schedule and the train schedules, but I always try to use evening hours for train travel. I can relax after a full day's sightseeing, eat a picnic supper on the train, catch up on my travel journal, upload photos to my computer, or maybe even nod off for a little bit. The main drawback is the luggage problem. If my lodging is near the sights, then I leave my suitcase there for the day and pick it up on the way to the train. If not, I can take it early to the station and check it for the day.

I have to agree with the other posters to drop Naples/Pompeii on this trip. You're going to be tired and jetlagged after the long flight and Rome isn't the easiest city to navigate when you're at your best, not to mention how much there is to see there.

Florence/Siena. If you are lovers of Renaissance art and architecture, 3 days in Florence is the minimum you'll need. If not, one day is probably enough. In the former case, just a day trip to Siena will be all you should plan. If the latter, consider staying in Siena and taking a day trip to Florence. I think Siena has more "atmosphere" than Florence, for enjoyable evenings. Maybe a day trip to San Gimignano too.

One day in Florence?! Oy. Three is better, at a minimum, so you are not running in and out of every sight, but enjoying each day, as there is a lot to see in Florence; then, when you return home, you will actually feel like you visited a place and can remember what you saw, that's if you want to see more than the David and the Uffizi. I'd say the same for Venice, as there is more there than just St. Mark's Square and the Rialto bridge. Don't forget the islands and Lido. And just meandering the streets is fun. First time to Italy, less can be more. It seems sometimes most people try to put everything into one trip like they will never return. Believe me, if you liked it, and you want to, you will return, so relax and enjoy. Happy travels.

Devra