First Trip to Rome Suggestions

The airport in venice is across the causeway from what I recall from Venice proper. I am sure there are hotels there,but, I would rather 3 days in Venice vs 3 days in cinque terra. Stay in Venice proper and just wander the streets......cant really get lost rather than waste precious time commuting by taxi. Trains are easy to see surroundings or from town to town. plus, you,avoid parking issues which are a big headache in Italy.

I think for this first time trip you should just do Rome and Venice. Both cities are amazing, overwhelming ( in a good way) and exciting and there is tons to see. I would skip the Cinque Terre this time and see the two cities. Make sure you buy the RS books on Rome and Venice and make your reservations now for places, museums, the Vatican and the Borghese Gallery. Make sure your shoulders and legs are covered when you enter the churches. Wear comfortable shoes, sunscreen, it gets very warm in Italy. I would take the train and not rent a car. You don't need a car in Rome. You can fly into Rome and take the train from the airport into Rome and then take a cab to your hotel. In Venice you can walk around, take boat rides and there are several churches and museums to see. Have a safe and wonderful time.

I agree with prior comment - 2 base cities (rather than 3) would be ideal for the short time you have (8 full days, it seems) and given that it's your first trip. You can take a day trip or two from Venice one day (same with Rome) but keeping those two bases will still give you plenty to do while minimizing travel time, fatigue, etc. I would drop Cinque Terre this time unless you want to have a very energetic trip.

As this is your first trip to Europe, I'd highly recommend reading Europe Through The Back Door prior to your trip, as that provides a lot of good information on "how" to travel well in Europe. After that use the RS Italy 2016 to plan hotels, restaurants, sightseeing, transportation, etc.

If I'm reading correctly, it appears that your entire trip is nine days. You didn't say where you were travelling from, but in most cases you'll arrive in Europe the day after you leave home, and the last day will be used for the flight home. Therefore you only have seven days for actual touring. You may also be jet lagged for the first day or two, so won't be up to full touring speed.

Given the very short time frame, I would also suggest that you skip the Cinque Terre this time and limit your stay to Rome and Venice (with perhaps one or two day trips). The C.T. will likely be very busy at that time of year, and you could have some trouble getting a hotel booking at this late date. An easy day trip from Rome is the Umbrian hill town of Orvieto, and from Venice you could visit Padova.

Getting about Italy by train is absolutely the best idea, especially considering your very limited time. The fast trains travel at up to 300 km/h, so that will minimize your travel times.

There are some potentially expensive "caveats" to be aware of when using trains or other public transit in Italy, and you'll need to be aware of those. If you need further information, post another note.

I agree with the Rome/Venice trip idea. There's so much to see in each city that you might not want to do any day trips, but if you do want to do one or two, there's plenty of options.

How early is your departure flight from Venice? It's not nearly as charming to stay by the airport. Staying right in Venice is pretty magical.

I'm opposite the folks above, i would do all 3 cities. I would say the only change would be 2 nights CT and 3 nights Venice instead of 3/2 you have.

Just be aware it will be long train rides. You can go direct from Rome to Monterosso on a high speed train. Then your trip from CT to Venice will be about 5-6 hours and 2/3 train connections. My train went from Venice to Florence, then changed train to La Spezia then change train to Vernazza. We left early in the morning and arrived by lunch time. I didn't mind the long trip.

I also don't mind only 2 nights in one city but that's me.

The OP only has a small amount of time to spend seeing Rome and Venice. To spend lots of time sitting on trains is not the best use of their sightseeing time. The high speed train from Rome -> Venice is quite nice. There are gobs and gobs of things to see and do without adding another destination like CT which is not all that great anyway and pales in comparison with places like Rome and Venice.

With your limited amount of time consider just Rome and Venice. More than enough in each place to keep you well occupied. You might also want to consider flying from Rome to Venice to save some of the little time you do have.

I really tried to see how the CT would fit into this as I think it's a good choice for your young people but with the limited time that you have, it really doesn't work well. As already mentioned, it's going to be very, very busy, and accommodations would likely be tough to land this late in the game. That said, I'd suggest sticking to just Rome and Venice as well.

Add days to Rome: if you're coming in on the 27th, the first day will be a partial (and a blur of acclimation at that) and you need more than 2 full days to do that one any justice: a lot of ground to cover there. I'd think about spending 5 nights - with a possible day trip to Ostia Antica or Orvieto - and three nights in Venice.

You would be working around free Sunday at the Vatican museums (NOT the day to go) and closed National Museums on Monday but more nights = more flexibility so those won't be a problem.

Yes, train is absolutely the way to get from Rome to Venice: only 90 minutes direct via the speedy ones.

I like your plan and if you really really want to do Cinque Terre, then do it but you really ONLY need two nights. Explore the town your staying in on day 1 and day two do the hikes or trains to the other villages, next morning hop on a train for your next destination.

Because you have such a short time in Rome I am going to suggest you not do any self guided tours of the Colosseum/Palatine Hill/Forum or the Vatican on your own. The best use of your time would be to do a tour so you see the highlights of each place and not waste time trying to figure out the best plan of attack on these massive places. We saw many people wondering around with guidebooks or audio guides trying to lean in to hear the deeper explanation on what we were seeing from our guide because the a lot of ruins arejust remains of what was but once you hear the stories they really come alive. We used the company Walks of Italy and I cant recommend them enough, a little pricey but invaluable as for as using your time wisely and learning soooo much but they do small groups and they sell out fast.

You would need to book your trains well in advance of your travel using the Trenetalia website, which is super user friendly. Have fun, I'm jealous.

mh,

As your flights to and from Italy appear to be "locked in" and you have such a limited time frame, that limits your options in how many places you'll be able to comfortably visit. Is there any possibility of "modifying" the flights?

Kathy, are you thinking of the train to Firenze? Roma Termini to Venezia Santa Lucia is 3h 45m.

Arg. Yep, Zoe, I had Firenze on the brain!!!!
Good catch, thank you!

Thank you all for the advice, we are reconsidering our details thanks to you!

To go back to the questions at the end of the original post. They show you are "green" about travel in Italy (no offence meant).
"Can we travel easily via train rather than car rental?" - Wrong way around. You should be asking "*Can we travel easily by rented car rather than by train?". To which the answer is NO. You would have to pick up the car on the outskirts of Rome. Cars are not allowed in Cinque Terre (no roads) nor in Venice (unless they are amphibious). Plus high speed trains travel 3 times the speed of cars, without the stress of navigating and traffic and are more comfortable.

"Any suggestions for a hotel in Venice near the airport?" - No, because the airport is not in what the tourists consider as Venice. Yes, the airport is technically within the boundaries of the city of Venice, as that includes the mainland area known as 'Mestre'; but the part the tourists think of as Venice is a serious of off-shore islands linked by bridges. It takes ~1 hour to get from the airport to the Venetian islands, plus staying in Venice and spending your evenings there is a lot better than in a concrete airport hotel.

I am with Robert, do all 3 places, and if it were me I would do 4, because I want to see as much as I can. Definitely use the trains, the scenery outside allows you to see Italy as you travel. I agree with other comments that only 2 nights needed at CT, and stay in Venice, not near airport. I would take the "extra" night from CT and add another stop (Milan or Lake Como between CT and Venice?) or add to Rome.

Thanks for this interesting information, and thanks for posting this question. I am planning a first trip with my daughter. We are flying into MIlan. We have 10 days in June. We are thinking of this itinerary - still only in vague shape
Venice 2 nights. Then to Florence 2 nights. Then rent a car and go around Tuscany (La Foce Gardens ? Wine tasting?)
One or two nights in Tuscany. Then to Rome.

Any input appreciated!

Also, what is the best way to get from Milan airport to Venice?

Deborah, it's a good idea to start a new thread with your question instead of tagging it onto this one. Otherwise it can become confusing which poster's question people are responding to. :O)

Deb Instead of hijacking mhawkins's question and distracting from the original question, it is better practice to start you own question so that the all the responses are to your question. Every time someone responses to your question mhawkins will receive a notice that some has responded to her question. It gets very confusing. You could delete your response and start your question new.

On your trip from Rome to Venice via Florence, it is notionally a 5 hour diversion (there and back) to include Cinque Terre. I would suggest perhaps leaving CT for a future trip, and be happy with a short stopover in Florence.