We are planning a two week vacation to Italy in April of 2019. Would like to visit Venice, Florence, Pisa, Cinque Terra, Sienna, Rome and possibly Assisi. Need ideas of where to fly into, Venice or Rome and would a tour vs. non-tour make sense.
Thanks for any ideas and help.
Lisa
Lisa,
Given your destinations, it's generally recommended to fly into Venice and travel South departing from Rome.
The reason being is that most flights out of Venice depart very early in the morning, and it takes much longer to get to the VCE airport from Venice, than to FCO from Rome.
How many nights will you have in Italy (not counting travel days)?
would a tour vs. non-tour make sense.
The answer to your questions is a very personal one.
You may consider looking at the tours offered here on this forum & decide if you like what you read.
13-14 nights. We like the " 13 day my way" tour that Rick offers but my husband is nervous about driving in Italy.
Trying to get some input from travelers that have done this,
Thanks!
If you are actually talking about 12 nights - (2 coming and going) you don't have enough to hit all of those sites unless you only interested in driving by and spending about third or to closer to half you time in train stations and trains. When trying to see this many locations tour makes more sense since a tour is far more efficient with transportation between each site. If you are doing this yourself than three or four locations is about the max you can work in with 12 ngihts.
More convenient to fly into Venice and return from Rome because has far better options for return flights to the US many flights being direct.
If you haven't traveled in Europe before, I would recommend that you get Rick's book Europe Through the Back Door, either from a local bookstore or the library if it has a very recent edition.
Reading through it will give you a sense of whether you want to put in the effort to create your own adventure.
And if not, there is nothing like a RS tour to teach you travel skills on the go so that you are comfortable doing your own planning in the future. (The book is very useful even if you opt for a tour.)
You can also come to one of our SF Bay Area Travel Group meetings and talk to us. We have lots of varied experience and always have a good time. We meet on the second Saturday of the month in Marin at Larkspur Landing. (We always post out meetings here on the Forum.)
You have 2 years to put this together so lots of time to gather ideas, opinions, and do your own research.
Enjoy!
SharYn
OK, first thing is that you probably don't have time to do all of this in a two-week trip. You need to count the amount of nights you'll be in Italy, and figure that every change in location is going to kill 1/2 a day or more. Some of your locations are best done as day trips (e.g. Pisa from Florence) and others demand some dedicated time as they offer so much to see.
Secondly, you do not have to drive to any of them; take trains/buses. If you're basing these destinations on an RS tour itinerary, that's more difficult to do on one's own without private transport waiting for you and guides at hand; much too rushed.
My husband and I do travel Italy independently (so far, and we haven't driven anywhere) and love it that way but it's not for everyone. If you don't like the planning/research process or would feel too insecure without escorts, then a tour may be a good choice for you.
Spend some time with some guidebooks and ask lots of question here on the forums! You have lots of time to put this trip together, and the more you know, the better you'll be able to make the best decision for YOU. :O)
Need ideas of where to fly into, Venice or Rome
Flying into one city and out of another eliminates backtracking so that's always a good idea. Venice is best flown into versus out of as flights to the U.S. tend to leave early enough to cause (expensive) complications with transit to the airport.
Thanks everyone for your input. After reading the replies we have limited the number of cities to visit: Venice, Florence & Rome
(with a side trip from Rome if time permits).
Thinking of flying into Venice and then traveling south by train between cities and departing out of Rome.
How many days/nights in each city would be recommended? We can do 2 weeks plus for the trip.
Thanks again!
Lisa
