Help Finalizing My Itinerary

Hello Jetset,

On the whole your schedule looks well planned and I think the timing is right. I would not spend less than 3 days in Venice so I think the timing of your nights are best the way they are.

The rest comes down to what you want to see and what you want to do. There is more to see in Florence and Rome than you can do in four days so it's about priorities and making choices. You certainly have a lot planned out so I don't think that's a problem I would just urge you to be sure you have some downtime and experience the Italian art of la dolce far niente and experience the slower pace of life there. I say this as a fellow ambitious over-planner be sure to allow time for the unplanned and spontaneous.

You don't mention it but I assume you're flying into Rome and out of Venice.

Overall I think this is a very solid "big three" plan and it sounds like you're going to have a great trip!
=Tod

The only thing I would change if your flight is not purchased is to fly into Venice and out of Rome. Most flights out of Venice leave at the crack of dawn, making transportation to the airport a real headache. Ignore this if your flight leaves Venice after 11:00 am.

My husband and I did the walkaboutflorence farmhouse class. I had a cold so wasn’t too keen on participating, but it was really a fun day in a beautiful setting-especially making pasta. A bit of walking from the Mercato to transport, but the ride to the ‘farmhouse’ is pretty short. Excellent meal and unending Chianti!

Good advice by gerri.

Self-guided walking tours:

https://www.gpsmycity.com/

Thanks everyone! Our return flight departs at 11:35, so I kept it and booked last night! Prices increased about $1k in the last week, so it is a relief to have it done. I am beyond excited! Now on to do more research :)

I think this is a perfect itinerary... both thrilling and well paced without being exhausting. The nighttime Colosseum tour is a wonderful idea for an anniversary trip. I personally would not spend an entire tour on the Sistine chapel. I mean, it is the Sistine... but it's not quite what people often imagine... just a room! I'd rather have walking tour overview of the Vatican Museums (most of which will cover the chapel) or a guided tour at the Borghese even.

I think you could go either way with switching a day from Venice to Florence. The center of Florence is reasonably compact (especially after Rome) and you will get a feel for it quickly. I would base your decision on what you want to see and do in each place. Kind of get a count of hours you might spend on tours and in museums, which ones are your top priorities and go from there?

Congratulations. It'll be 22 years for us in October. I can't even believe that!

I like the pace of your itinerary. Keep the 3rd night in Venice; you won't regret it.

Congrats on your anniversary. Are you booking direct with hotels? We just celebrated our 30th in Spain. I sent an email to each hotel about 30 days out to confirm reservations and casually mentioned our anniversary (I am shameless). I also sent an email day before each arrival to confirm ETA. We received complimentary bottles of cava, chocolates, use of bathrobes etc. and they went through extra steps to give us a room with better view, higher floor, etc. If you booked with an OTA (eg hotel.com), they may not be as generous.

When you get to your Venice hotel, ask the front desk if there is any complimentary Murano glass factory tour. We got a free water taxi ride (those fancy expensive wood speedboats you see in James Bond movies) to a Murano factory, watched a glass blowing demo and a tour of their gallery. It was basically a fancy shopping trip, but you are under no obligation to buy anything. If you do, the glass souvenirs are cheaper here than in San Marco. I bought glass candy souvenir pieces for €1 each. After the visit, we were responsible to pay for the Vaporetto to our next destination. I guess if we had bought a €2,000 piece, we might have gotten a free ride back. LOL. Have a nice trip.