Help improve a 17-day itinerary

Great itinerary Eric. You have done somehomework before asking for assistance on the helpline. My husband and I learned in a 23 day trip that we wished we had not moved around as much. 3 nights is the absolute minimum I would spend in a location because the time cost of changing cities was so high. (Packing even a lightly packed bag takes time.) You allowed a perfect amount of time in Rome I think, because it is complex, fascinating and exhausting. You need a couple of hours of down time every day there. The Vatican can take up a whole day. We used the book "24 Great Walks in Rome" to guide ourselves and ensure we got the outdoor hiking time in, even if it was urban. Venice definitely deserves another day. It is a fascinating city and you will want to walk and walk and soak it in! There is so much beyond the museums and Piazza San Marco! If you have a nice sunny day, head out to the Laguna islands for a day, or to the Lido. (We spent 4 nights and never got farther than Murano because we walked all over the main city, totally in love with it!) Drop a night in Siena in favor of another night in Florence. You can daytrip Siena from there if you like. One less change of location saves time overall. Less hectic. I understand there is a lovely walk from Fiesole to Florence. You can take the bus up to Fiesole, have lunch and walk back a couple (?) of miles. Maybe someone else on the helpline has done that and can advise. That leaves you one more night (if you add one to Venice as I suggested), and I would add that to Orvieto. It is a charming little hilltown. After Rome and before Florence it can be your downtime. You can hike around the base of the town on the Rupe giving you an outdoorsy experience without having to hire a car. PM me if you want some restaurant ideas in Rome, Orvieto or Venice. I have some favorites!

Hi Eric, It looks like you've put a lot of thought into your itinerary! Here are some thoughts: You do not need to rent a car - trains and buses for smaller cities are very easy to use. I'd consider adding a night to Orvieto. Then, I'd add a night to Florence and do Siena as a day trip from therea fairly short bus trip. Three nights in Venice is good - you could leave the daytrip option to Ravenna open and decide while you are in Venice. I'm not sure about the logistics of the day trip to Assisi - others might comment. Best!

I'd side with you on the issue of CT vs. Lake Como. CT is picturesque but there's not much to do there. IMO Lake Como is just as beautiful if not more so and offers much more in the way of places to shop and eat and much more opportunity for daytime excursions.

Thanks to everyone who replied! I know that using Florence as a base and doing a day trip to Siena would be more efficient in terms of time (one less time to move), but the RS book seems to recommend an overnight stay at Siena and that's the only reason I made the itinerary to have a night there. Also, I thought maybe Siena would be a better/different type of city to stay a night than Florence, but I really have no evidence for this. Since both Laurel and Sharon recommend making Siena a day trip, I'll consider that on my next draft of the itinerary. Has anyone been to Ravenna and can comment on whether the mosaics are worth a day trip? I think the train ride from Venice is quite long (maybe 3-4 hours?) so I wasn't sure if it's a good way to spend the day. Both Laurel and Sharon suggested adding one day to Orvieto. Is Orvieto really that good? The alternative is to do a day trip (or overnight stay) to Lake Como from Milan. Thanks again! Eric

Hi Eric, Your first trip to Italy, how exciting! I hope it will be the first of many. With that in mind, I second the advice to stay in a location no less than 3 nights - so much more enjoyable. Travel with the attitude that you will be returning. Spending more time in fewer places will help you get a feel for what you like best, or least, about each region; making it easier to decide where to spend more time on future trips. The pace is much slower in Italy, except for the driving. Like enjoying a good meal, savoring each bite makes for a much more memorable dining experience with less indigestion. Some people have strong opinions about Venice being only worth a short visit. We feel it gets better and better the more familiar you get with the nooks and crannies of the city. I think adding a day or 2 there is a good idea. Keep the visit to Ravenna as an option in case you feel you have had enough of, or need a break from, Venice itself. Regarding CT: a wonderful place, but March may be a little cold and windy for really enjoying the hikes and outdoor dining that make the wonderful memories. One more tip: upon arrival, day 1, the adrenaline wil kick in and you will probably want to explore madly. However, with a flight from the west coast, the jet-lag will likely be a bit rough day 2. Plan to go it slow and rest a bit day 2 so you'll be back to full speed for day 3 and beyond.

Eric: Orvieto is worth a full day, especially between the two intense cities of Roma and Firenze. Since you are day-tripping to Assisi, you won't have much time for Orvieto itself if you only stay two nights. With two full days (3 nights) there, you can take the hike on the Rupe, weather permitting, as well as take an underground tour, see the duomo, etc. And just enjoy the place! It is so different from Roma and Firenze. Be sure to read Ron in Rome's Orvieto posting, http://www.roninrome.com/%20shopping-dining/orvieto-day-trip-from-rome . I cannot speak to Lake Como specifically, but the CT is way out of your way for a short visit. One night, even two, are hardly worth cutting time from your other destinations. It's a lot more travel time than it seems because of the train routes. (It took us four hours from Vernazza to Siena, and 4 separate trains. It was not all that much fun.) And March is not likely to have hiking weather, as Lise mentioned. Lise's advice on arrival and adrenaline is right on. Check in, take a shower and unpack, but resist the urge to nap! You'll be excited and anxious to experience Roma. Hsve lunch, take a long walk, maybe Rick Steves' "Caesar Shuffle," then have dinner and go to bed at 9:00 or 10:00. By 6:00 AM you will be well-rested and on local time.

Hi Eric, I agree with the suggestion from others to see Siena as a day trip from Florence. I would also see add a day to Rome & see Orvieto as a day trip from Rome so that you'll minimize moving around too much. It's an easy day trip (90 min each way by train) & it's just my opinion, but I really can't see spending 2 nights in Orvieto. One night would be okay but not worth the extra schlepping with your luggage, therefore I would make it a day trip from Rome. I loved Orvieto a lot & it's definitely worth seeing but I'm just trying to minimize the movement in your itinerary as it can become very tiring to move around a lot. As for Lake Como vs the Cinque Terre, I like them both but agree that Lake Como would be easier to get to/from. However, my concern for either the CT or Lake Como would be the weather at that time of year. Haven't been to Ravenna so can't comment on it but you might consider staying somewhere in that area and visiting Bologna, Padua, Verona & Ravenna if you like, as day trips. Have a great trip Eric!

I also agree that a day trip to Siena from Florence is sufficient, and easy. I also just want to add that florence is more than museums. I spent a wonderful 5 days there (including a day to Siena) and only went into a couple of museums (briefly). I'm completely biased, but Florence is amazing. And I really really am not an art fan. then I went back a couple years later, and spent several more days before i finally wandered into the Uffizi. I could wander around that city for the rest of my life, quite frankly :) I would probably fill the two nights by adding one each to Venice and Florence. However, if you don't, you could do something else in Emilia-Romagna - Bologna and Parma are both well worth stops if you are foodies.

Hi Eric, If I were traveling on your itinerary, I'd prefer to stay in Siena and make Florence the day trip but I know that many will disagree. I still think that you'd enjoy staying in Oriveto 2 or 3 nights as opposed to making it a day trip from Rome. It's magical at night and the restaurants are very good too! We were in Lake Como in March three years ago and it was still chilly there - also some of the restaurants were closed.
I haven't been to Ravenna so can't comment.

I was in Italy in March and it was windy and rather cold some of the time. Lake Como is beautiful in summer, lots of flowers, etc. but it might not be too pleasant. However, if I went to Italy and did not see the Mediterranean I would feel something was missing. I think CT is beautiful all times of the year because of the sea. I don't consider train time through the beautiful countryside of Italy as time wasted. It is a great way to relax, take pictures out the window, and watch Italian life. As for a reason to rent a car... the freedom to move about the country on your own schedule, the drive through the Tuscan hilltowns, stopping at a vineyard you happen upon, stopping to watch the sunset.... finding a little village you have never heard of..just depends on how you like to travel, but I find it very easy to drive in Tuscany. I would definitely not drive in Rome or Florence, but you can easily pick up a car at the Florence airport, head out of town and explore Tuscany on your own.

I think your itinerary looks pretty good; one or two one-night stays are ok, I think, amongst longer stays. In March, I would skip the Cinque Terre (though I love it) and Lake Como (which I didn't) and allocate your extra days between what you already have. I would definitely add another day to Venice, which is a bit like a smaller city in that it is, indeed, smaller, and feels smaller because there's no vehicular traffic. I have been to Ravenna, twice, because I loved the mosaics so much (as did my husband and daughter). But I knew before I went the first time that I do like mosaics. Also, we had a car each time, and visiting Ravenna was on our route. It is a bit of a pain to get to Ravenna from Venice or Florence because, as I recall, you have to train through Bologna, so you'll have to decide whether the time given to getting there is worth it to you. That being said, the mosaics were marvelous. The date from the early days of Christianity, and while there are mosaics of the same age in Rome and Venice (St. Mark's), there aren't as many, and you aren't as close to them as you are in Ravenna. I put these mosaics in the top-ten man-made sights I have ever seen. If you want to experience smaller cities and outdoorsy places, consider renting a car for your time in the Siena/Umbria area. That way, you could take your time and visit any number of smaller towns. (You could do this by public transport as well, but IMHO it's easier with a rental car.) Enjoy - it sounds like it will be a great trip!