Im so excited to finally post here after reading this forum since 2020. Trip was planned for September of 2020, but we all know what happened next. Fast forward 3 years and we are finally heading to Italy. Here is our Itenery so far.
Arrive in Venice on Monday the 23rd of Sept. 3 nights there. Then train to Cinque Terra for 3 nights staying in Veranezza. Then off to Florence for 4 nights. Hoping for a couple of day trips from there. Then finish Italy in Rome for 3 nights. So far I have a couple of tours planned for each destination. Does this sound doable? My husband and I are both 59 and in good shape for a lot of walking and hiking (especially in CT). After Rome we will be heading to Greece for a week!
Posted by
The Heartland USA
9029 posts
I think I'd put Florence between Venice and CT. Breaks up the train time.
Posted by
San Diego, California, USA
1165 posts
Hello halsten5,
This certainly sounds do-able as a plan. As stan points out you'll probably pass through Florence on your way to CT so you could do Florence first as an alternative.
For practical tips I would plan out what you want do in each place and make sure you're taking travel time into consideration during your planning. Getting from Venice to Vernazza is going to be a longish day of train travel so make sure you're accounting for that in your planning.
Florence has more sights than you can see in 4 days but you always have to prioritize what you really want to see in places like Florence and Rome that are so sight heavy. Three days with one day trip - like Siena - is decent plan for Florence just pre-book tickets for anything you really want to see and watch which days of the week you are there so museum closures aren't an issue.
If you're worried about the pace of your trip be sure you have downtime and open parts in your schedule so you can decompress. Laundry is always a good excuse to take a down day somewhere with no agenda so somewhere in the 1 week mark is usually a good time to plan for that.
Have a great trip!
=Tod
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
7261 posts
Any chance you can give Rome more time?
With just 3 nights you only have 2.5 days there and if you were to change order as Stan suggested that 1/2 day arrival day is even less time.
If you are planning to visit Vatican that is a good 3/4 day as is Colosseum etc
Posted by
Irving
3293 posts
You definitely want to visit Florence in between the CT and Venice and include a day trip to Siena by direct bus (1h 15m) from Florence. I agree you’re short-changing Rome and think you should do away with the CT. The Cinque Terre is better if visiting Milan since you can take a direct train between Monterosso and Milan not Florence or Rome. Assume you’ll return to IT. I’ve been seven times and still have not seen it all.
Venice deserves a minimum of three nights, Florence four nights and includes a day trip to Siena. Buy tickets for the Uffizi Gallery two-months out. This is the world’s greatest fine arts museum with art that dates back to the eleventh century. There is no other museum in the world that rivals it.
Rome deserves a minimum of four nights that includes Vatican City. If you want to take a day trip to Orvieto from Rome that everyone loves you need to add a night. The same with Naples. Can you take GR off the itinerary and make this an Italy trip so you don’t have to return to IT? GR too requires a lot of time. It’s cheaper to visit one country at a time (especially IT and GR since there is so much to see). This way you can exhaust your bucket list without the need to return.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thank you for the advice. I was able to flip flop my itenery, now we go to Florence after Venice then to Cinque Terra.