First trip to Italy itinerary thoughts...

Too much moving around for such a brief visit, IMO. Have a great trip.

Sounds pretty rushed. You need to remember travel times will eat almost an entire day.

Slow down and enjoy what you are seeing!

I can't get past only going to Florence to see David. It's worth several days. If it's not a priority for you, I don't see the point of going just to see David. Why not just skip it and use the time elsewhere. Have you considered staying in one place in Tuscany and using it as a base? If you have a car and stay somewhere central (say, in an agriturismo farmhouse near Siena or thereabouts), you can do all your daytrips from there instead of moving around to all the towns for one or two nights each. That gives you the option of spending your partial day in Florence (weeps) and then head straight to the agriturismo and take a day trip to Cortona, Siena, San Gim, Volterra, etc. That way, instead of packing up and moving THREE Times in Tuscany alone, you can have one base to come back to and relax but still see all these towns that interest you.

The biggest problem i have is that, if your priority is to see "lots" in Rome and Venice, one and a half days is not nearly enough, especially remembering that you will be jetlagged when you arrive in Rome. I don't think, with three main stops in 10 days (Rome, Venice, and Tuscany), it is possible to see "lots" - or perhaps it's better to say, you will "see" lots, but you won't really experience it very much. Then again if your only reason for going to florence is to look at one sculpture and leave, perhaps that is what your goal is. Only you guys can decide that, none of us know you or know how you like to travel.

Thank you everyone for your informed thoughts on our possible trip plans.

Ideally we would stay in one place while in Tuscany, like you mentioned, but since we are planning this trip short notice, this is the best we could do and still be sure to stay places we would enjoy staying at. We know the three places in Tuscany isn't ideal, we don't love packing and unpacking either, but we figure we will get to experience three different hotels while there, one being an apartment for two of the nights. Also, we will have time one day in Montepulciano and Siena to just walk around in those towns.

Florence isn't at the top of our list for this trip, so seeing "David", if we get to do so, is alright for us this time in Italy.

We mainly want to see Tuscany villages, the countryside, and get a taste of Rome and Venice.

Any other advice is appreciated. Thanks again.

Day 9: consider driving to Civita and then Orvieto and dropping the car there. It is easy to catch the train from there, and those are 2 great places to spend a few hours. It doesn't take long to get there on the autostrada, so get an early start and it could be a wonderful day. (We left our agriturismo in Greve-north of Siena-at 6:30 and arrived at Orvieto at 10:45-Civita is about 15-20 mintues from Orvieto)

Day 4: That is a day you will need to have a good "day plan". My sister once had a 4 hour train layover in Florence. She saw David, visited the market, and saw the duomo. It was an awesome day for her, and she didn't even make it down the Ponte Vechhio or anything. Just have a gameplan, and you can make it a worthwhile stop. You just don't want to waste a lot of time wandering around trying to decide what you want to do , or where to go, etc. I would try to walk down and see the Ponte Vechhio. Or maybe take the bust to Michaelangelo Piazza for the views and then walk back going over the Ponte Vecchio. Could you do more in Florence? Of course, but if a few hours is all you have, make the most of it.

You are doing a lot of driving, so I would consider making Day 6 a relaxing day. Maybe ask where you can take a nice walk. I know when we were there last September, we planned on driving to a lot more hill towns. Then we got to our agriturismo and decided to spend a day relaxing in the hills of Chianti. (we did walk into town for the Saturday market in Greve but...) Have a great trip!!

Thank you, Connie, for those great ideas. We had read that Orvieto would be a nice place to visit and drop-off the car, but our car rental agency does'nt have an office there. Maybe we will try to visit there anyway before dropping-off the car, like you said.

Yes, the day to relax in Montepulciano will be great. We will likely want to take it easier that day.

We appreciate everyone's thoughts and advice from experience.

Adam- Does your car rental place have a drop off in Orte? This is south of Orvieto and a great place to catch a train to Rome. Just a thought.

Honestly I think that is too rushed.
I have been facing cramming too much in to and just sat down and thought ok do I want to be going to a town or a city and thinking oh my god I am exhausted or I am missing this and that.....

Travel time does eat up some time and that needs to be figured into it.

I think you need to slow down and plan that you will be back.

Thank you again everyone for your honest thoughts on our trip plans.

If anyone has any ideas as to what to cut-out or change specificially please let us know.

We are not wanting to be too rushed, but also want to have time in Tuscany (but did not have time to find one place only to stay at that we wanted to stay at and could afford), while also getting a "taste" of Rome and Venice. The only reason we are going to Florence is because that is where we are getting our rental car, at the Florence airport, after leaving from Venice. We thought that while we are there anyway, why not try to at least see one sight in Florence (maybe go to that overlook spot also and eat dinner) and then go and enjoy Tuscany before returning for our second day and a half in Rome, for the trip.

Thanks again.

Connie-thank you for that idea, but no, we just checked and our rental car company does not have an office there either.

Thank you.

I, actually, would consider cutting Venice out of your trip, especially if you are going in summer. Even when we went in June, not even the height of "peak" season the place was mobbed like nowhere else we visited (except maybe the Sistine Chapel where I felt like a pious sardine). It's the longest travel time you have on your itinerary and it would get you a day and a half - the perfect amount of time to spend in Florence on a quick trip.

I know Venice IS romance, it's true, but it's harder to feel romantic with approximately 1 million tourists dripping gelato on you and your beloved. If you are there for a while you can wander and get lost and lose them, but in a day and a half...?

I would say that if you don't drink, Montepulciano OR Montalcino is fine. I, personally, love Volterra. They have a great Etruscan museum, wonderful alabaster, it's just a real favorite of ours.

Your trip is quick - in my experience moving quickly can be done if you take care of yourself along the way. Accept that you won't see everything, be willing to cut some of those Tuscan towns out of your itinerary on the spot to give yourself time to wander, and make sure that you allow yourself leisurely meals, coffee/gelato breaks etc.

Finally, if you are going in the summer it will be hot and take into account how that might slow you down when you draw up your final itinerary.

That's ambitious and a bit rushed, but it is what we did the first time. We wanted to see a variety of areas so when we went back we would have better idea where we really wanted to go.

Turns out we have made 2 trips back to Venice staying longer each time, 2 trip backs to Florence proper. 10 trips back to Tuscany (basically every trip involves Tuscany plus something else).
3 trips to Amalfi coast which is our second favorite place.

Never been back to Rome except to fly in and out.

Think you have a good first plan. The trips thru the countryside by car or train are our favorite part.
Enjoy

Thank you again for the great thoughts. We are hoping that this trip will give us a little "taste" of Rome and Venice and the time in Tuscany will be more relaxing and allow us to linger and enjoy ourselves.

Adam, keep in mind that driving in Tuscany is very confusing. Of course, you find some good things along the way, but keep that in mind. If you want to zip so much across Tuscany, buy or borrow a GPS before you leave home! We went to Tuscany last spring; I'm used to driving in strange cities for my job and I got totally lost. It took us almost 4 hours to get from Florence to Castelfiorintino which looks pretty close on the map. I saw your blurb "drive to Cortona" and I thought, god that's far.

If you set yourself up to see too much, you will be disappointed, and you aren't traveling all that way to be disappointed. Also a day and a half in Venice is not enough. We had the same amount of time last spring and I was disappointed that we didn't see more. We went the wrong way on the vaporetto and ate up a lot of our afternoon. Also, locating your hotel can be difficult.

Rick is so right and I've learned the hard way: Assume you will return. You talk about wanting to relax in Tuscany. By all means do that and save zipping around the country for another time.

If you must do Rome in such a small amount of time, consider the Hop On/Hop Off bus. I may get crucified on this site for suggesting it, but I've found it to be good transportation, one circuit allows you to hit the highlights of what you can't visit and it gives you a chance to relax when you're transitting between sites. See the Colosseum/Form and St. Peter's Basilica (I would choose it over the Vatican Museum with so little time).

Assume you will return, and have fun!! Isn't it great to have a forum like this to solicit opinions before you go? :-)

Adam, I tend to agree with some of the others in that this Itinerary seems a more than a bit "rushed" (especially for your first trip to Italy!). I'd suggest dropping a few of the places you want to see in Tuscany and "assume you will return".

One point that stands out is the choice of flights. If you haven't already bought your tickets, it would be a really good idea to use open jaw flights (into Rome, depart from Venice). For a trip of only 11 days, there's too much time lost in transportation IMO. You'll also lose one day in flight times travelling TO Italy - is that included in Days 1 & 2?

As this is your first trip to Italy, it would probably be prudent to avoid or at least limit your time in rental cars. There are a few "issues" to be aware of: ZTL zones (and expensive fines) in many cities (esp. Florence), navigation, parking problems if not familiar with the signs and regulations, tolls on motorways and finally the International Driver's Permit which is compulsory in Italy. For a first trip, it wouldn't be my choice.

Regarding "taking a bus to hilltop site for view of Florence", as I recall the hop on/hop off Red Bus tours in Florence (board at Firenze SMN station) have two routes, one of which goes up the hill to Fiesole. The view from there is fantastic! There's also a great view from a location across the river, which I believe is covered on the other Red Bus route?

For such a short trip, I'd recommend choosing 3-4 locations (Rome/Siena/Florence/Venice?) and use well planned public transit between locations. It will provide for a more relaxing and enjoyable holiday. Siena and Florence are both in Tuscany, so you'll still have some time there.

Trying to plan such an ambitious Itinerary doesn't allow for "unexpected delays", which are sometimes a fact of life in Italy.

Good luck!

I appreciate the thoughts on these new replies, and we thank all of you for your ideas. We are thinking things over.

Our time in Venice will really be more like two days, as we have the half-day before we leave for Florence to walk around also.

Our time in Rome will be for four nights and three full days taking into account the first part and last part of our time there, and no we couldn't fly out of a different city, as we are using our long-time saved mileage points, and this was the best we could get. We were lucky to even get what we did so we could take the trip. Great idea, though! We had ideally wanted to fly in one city and out another. Maybe next time.

We realize that maybe we are being overly ambitious in our itinerary, and thank everyone for their thoughts. We know we may have unexpected long drives in Tuscany, but hopefully, they will be beautiful ones that we can enjoy along with some unexpected sites. Ha, ha, ha... We may cut-out a town or two in Tuscany, but would really like to see Cortona, Siena, Montepulciano, Volterra, and San Gimignano. We will see how it goes....We would have also preferred to stay in one location while in Tuscany, but due to lack of trip planning time and our preferences, this is what we have. We think we will enjoy the places we will stay at, and are going to organize our packing well, so we only have to unpack toiletries at each place.

Thanks again!

My advice is DO whatever you want. Too many times on here you'll have people tell you what you can and can't do...(you won't have enough time, too many places, etc). My philosophy is I'd rather see a little of everywhere rather than everything in a few places...I.E. I'd much rather see a little of Rome, Amalfi, Venice, Verona, rather than everything in Rome....Especially considering vacations to Europe don't happen very often...Plan it, and go do it. You'll have a blast..