Help with Italy Itinerary!

Your itinerary is what Rick Steves would call a blitz itinerary, fast-paced compared to a more leisurely pace--but some travelers like to trade a greater number of destinations seen for less time in each place. Everyone's preferences are different. Day 10 does look a bit tiring, depending on how you sleep on night trains (a number of first timers on Europe night trains report that they didn't sleep as well as they thought they would, but you're all young, that will help). To determine whether all your night trains are feasible, here's the best Europe train schedule website around:http://bahn.hafas.de/bin/query.exe/en

Sara,

As Kent pointed out, that's a bit of a rushed Itinerary, but if you plan your transportation carefully it should be feasible. I'd probably change a few things though.

The trip from Rome to Venice is only about 4 - 4.5 hours using direct train (longer on trains with several changes). I'd probably choose a direct train during the day and enjoy the fantastic scenery through Tuscany. A departure about noon would still get you to Venice by about supper time.

Also, I'm not sure whether a night train from the Cinque Terre to Napoli is the best idea (hopefully Tim or other rail experts here can confirm that). I had a brief look at the rail schedules from La Spezia to Napoli and there are only a few direct trains (most have at least one change in Rome). Travel time was about 6.5 hours. There were no night trains listed. The one I'd probably choose was the direct train departing La Spezia at 07:59, arriving Napoli at 14:36. As with most fast trains, reservations are compulsory.

Regarding your "day trip" to Capri, that's also going to be very rushed. You'll only have time for a brief look around Marina Grande and Capri. Depending on whether you travel there in the morning or afternoon, be sure to note the return time of the last boat to Sorrento! Be sure to allow lots of time for the Funicular trip from town to the Marina - it can be really busy in the afternoons (if necessary use one of the open-top Taxis).

Happy travels!

Sara, some travelers like to be able to trade stories about where they've been. Amalfi coast? check. Rome? check. Florence? check. and so on. If your interest is to be able to say you've been to a bunch of places, your itinerary is fine.

On the other hand if you'd like to enjoy what Italy has to offer, I'd say cut your 11 day trip down to 3-4 places. In your 20's you have years of traveling ahead of you! Why not spend the time savoring a few places this trip, with more left for the future?

Sara, I agree with the other posters. I think that you have 1 (or maybe 2) places too many in there, and I say that as a confirmed "blitz" traveler who probably moves too fast for most tastes. Given your time (11 days, I think, not counting days spent traveling in or out), I think you need to cut something. My advice would be to cut out one (0r two) of the areas at the fringes (geographically). Unfortunately, that means cutting either Venice, Cinque Terre, or Naples/Sorrento/Amalfi - and I know it will be tough to cut out any of them. But as others have already said, I think you are being overly optimistic abut some of your train connections (Rome - Venice is too short for an overnight train, and you should consider that you may not get much/any sleep on a moving train -- I've tried several times and have given up).

If it were me, I would pick one (or maybe even two) of the fringe areas I list above to cut, and then redistribute those 2 - 4 days throughout the rest of your trip, and give yourself more of a chance to catch your breath between catching the train to the next spot.

The good news is that all of the places on your list should be great, so whichever places you end up keeping will be memorable.

I have been to Sorrento/the Amalfi Coast and it was one of the highlights of out trip to Italy. To be honest, I was not really as impressed with Capri in general or the "Blue Grotto" specifically. Sure, both were nice, and I was glad that I went, but I felt like both were somewhat over-hyped and a bit of a tourist trap. On the other hand, I really loved Sorrento and the (all too brief) bus ride along the Amalfi Coast and the stop in Positano. I would not go that far out of my way just to visit Capri (but the other stuff in the vicinity is worth the detour IMHO).

We did not go to Cinque Terre on that trip (so I can't offer an opinion on the relative merits) - like you, we had to make a painful cut or two, and in the end I decided we would have to come back and do Cinque Terre on another trip (haven't made it back yet, but we plan to). So I can related to your dilemma. We loved Sorrento/Amalfi, so I'm happy with the choice we made. Cinque Terre will wait. I'm sure others have made the opposite choice and were happy too. The good news is all these places are great, so whichever destinations end up on your final itinerary you will enjoy.

Hey Sara,

I agree with the others, this is a very fast-moving itinerary. It takes longer than you think to get to the train station, find your train, etc., and then once you get to your destination, you need to find your hotel/hostel, get checked in and unpacked, etc. It really does take a significant portion of time out of your day. If I were you, I would cut out two of your destinations. They are all amazing places, but you will definitely appreciate them more if you spend longer in each. Much as I love both the Cinque Terre and the Amalfi Coast, I think you could cut out one of them, as while they are different, they both have the villages-on-the-sea vibe. Rome deserves at least three full days, and so does Florence, IMHO.

I was afraid it was a bit too ambitious.. thanks for all the suggestions. Unfortunately none of us forsee being able to come back anytime soon so it's hard to cut a place!

So looks like either Cinque Terre or Amalfi Coast has to go. Right now, we're leaning towards keeping Cinque Terre since we would save on travel time. Also Cinque Terre seems more unique, and more enjoyable to explore. On the other hand, the Amalfi Coast looks beautiful and dramatic. Which would you recommend? Also, has anyone been to the Blue Grotto at Capri? Is this worth it if we go to Amalfi Coast?

sara are you locked into a rome arrival and departure? If not, try flying into Venice and out of Rome. Save you some travel time.

If you are because of miles or something, then maybe arrive Rome and immediately jump on a train to Venice. Then work you way back to Rome.

For what it is worth, I would have to agree with all the other posters. Much too ambitious. I have been to all the places except for CT and all are fabulous so you can't go wrong, but I would stay north of Rome for this trip and save Amalfi coast for next time bec there probably will be a next time.
I have been to Italy 8 times and have not covered even half the country. We pick a relatively small area and concentrate on that and still so much to see.
Leave a little time for people watching in the piazza and savoring the gelato slowly as it melts and drips down down your fingers.

between the 2 CT and Amalfi coast, I'd drop CT. The Amalfi coast bus ride is breathtaking, the towns are easily as charming as the CT towns, there's more to do in Sorrento, and you can see Pompeii.

I'd skip Capri; while I've never been there, friends have; they assure me its a nice place but given the brevity of your trip there's plenty of other things to see/do that are better uses of your time. It's like Cape Cod; I've talked to plenty of hosts at places I've stayed, and they're always surprised so many tourists only on the Cape for a few days want to spend one of them going to Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard when there's so much more to see in that same time on the Cape itself.

Sara,

You've received some good suggestions so far! As Ron suggested, using open-jaw flights would be the most efficient way to travel, and to ensure that you get to as many places as possible. Perhaps consider inbound to Milan or Venice and outbound from Rome?

I wouldn't drop the Cinque Terre, given the fact that it's a beautiful and unique area and a "world heritage site". Also, a number of your other stops are in that region, which makes transportation to the C.T. very easy. I find it a great place to rest after strenuous travel in large cities (and of course the Pesto is fantastic!).

Is there any way you could add at least an extra day to your trip? Keep in mind that especially from the west coast, you'll lose the first day in flight times and time zone changes (arrival in Europe is often the day after you leave, and you'll be jet lagged for the first few days).

A visit to Sorrento and possibly Positano should be possible with careful planning, but I'm not sure if spending a half day in Capri is worth the time and cost. Capri is VERY expensive (as is the Amalfi Coast in general) so keep that in mind - if you're on a budget, that might be a concern. If you decide to keep these in your plans, be sure to consider the travel time from Naples to Sorrento on the Circumvesuviana (commuter) train.

One suggestion would be to make a list of all the places in your OP, and prioritize them according to which is most and least important to your group. If one stop has to be deleted, it will be easy to see which one is on the bottom of the list.

Cheers!

You are running all over the place, you wont be able to relax and enjoy Italy, and most of your trip will be spent on dirty trains! Why dont you go to Rome and south of Rome, I think that would be a fantastic "girl" trip! You will have a great time, you can return and do the art in Florence another time. Im sure Sorrento and Naples will have more then enough entertainment!!!!

Hi Sara ~
I know you said you didn't think you'd be back to Italy soon but don't let that thought force you into trying to do too much. I was only able to see Venice and Florence on my first trip.

I'm currently planning my 3rd trip for this summer. It's been 12 years since my last and I'm excited to say that I'll be visiting the Cinque Terre, Amalfi Coast, Assisi and maybe even Sicily for the first time! And there is still plenty I won't have seen.

That said, and if you HAVE to fly in and out of Rome, what about this: 1: arr Rome, see all Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Plaza Navona type of sites (ones that don't close so you can do at your own pace) 2: Rome all day, everything else but the Vatican 3: Vatican first thing and anything you missed on your way back to the train station, then off to Sorrento. 4: Amalfi Coast day. 5: Capri to Naples and night train to Venice. (Consider either another day to just relax in the Amalfi Coast, because by now you will need it, or Pompeii instead of Capri) 6: Venice, practically a full day. Unless you are set on going to Murano and/or Burano you really only "need" a day in Venice. 7: Venice (if you do want more time take it this morning) to Cinque Terre. 8: CT 9: CT to Florence. 10: Florence. 11: Flo to Siena to Rome. 12: Depart Rome.

I know you will have a wonderful trip no matter how you play it!

I would agree with a previous response....fly into Rome and out of Venice or the other way around. I would alos cut out southern Italy....

Your itinerary. Go For It! As to being at Blue Grotto on Capri! Fantastic. Capri will be longer than a 1/2 day though (ferry ride alone will take hours back and forth from Naples). Yes you are seeing alot in 11 days, my Wife and did it in 12 and we were twice your ages. We were tired when we got back, but being her first visit and my second, well worth it. Funny we seemed to see more too, but being that we had limited time, we wanted to get to as many places as possible. I agree, you might not be back for years (it took me 28 years to go back) so go for it. Also, remember sleeping might have to be put off while your there. Staying up late for dinner in Italy is normal, maybe power napping in afternoon while everything is closed might be a good thing to do. Italians all take 2-4 hours for lunch and naps and end up working later then. So, you might consider that. Get books and read up on stuff, helps to plan your trip.
Train travel is excellent, try to see as much of Italy by train as you can.

Paula from San Francisco gave you a nice itinerary! Hers was more of a circle approach to the country.

Don't let anyone talk you out of the whirlwind tour you plan to try! My husband and I are in our 50's and we still travel like this! I don't understand why some people need 4 days in a city that we cover from top to bottom(literally doing everything in Rick's guidebooks)in only 2.

NOW, put your itinerary on a calendar and make note/copy the train schedules you want to take AND might take. When you are there, and the itinerary is too fastpaced, you can pull out your train schedules without even needing to search again and rearrange! The more prepared you are before you leave, the easier it will be to drop a city/location. One area may just entice you to stay longer!!

And DON'T miss either Capri(hike to the Natural Arch and the Grotto dell Arsenale from Capri,ride the gondola to Monte Solaro from Anacapri, do the Blue Grotto), Amalfi coastline(the most breathtaking scenery!)or Cinque Terre(we hiked all 5 towns in 4 hours and that was stopping in EACH one for coffee).

It CAN be done!! Ciao!

Sara, I don't understand why you want to sleep in Florence but spend the day at a hill town?

It's nice to have your perspective Carla. I too don't understand why you want to rush from town to town and spend all your time catching trains so you provide a good reminder that we have our own pace.

Oh, and to clear up the mystery, it's hard to be a "temporary local" when you're just visiting the checklist of sites in a tourbook. It takes more time to find undiscovered magic...

Well it is definitely nice to hear from Gary and Carla that it can be done! It would be ideal to spend some more time in each place and go about at a more leisurely pace, however we just don't have the time! We are not huge art buffs, so can't seem to justify Florence for more than a day.

Our plane tickets are already booked into and out of Rome so there is no option of open jaw flights or adding days. As for sleeping in Florence, we were thinking it would be easier to catch a train in the morning from Florence since it seemed most of the hill towns are not on major rail lines. However, we have since been thinking about Orvieto, so if we decide on that we will sleep there.

Paula, I like your itinerary a lot, but we have a friend who is leaving us day 8 and would like to see Northern Italy, so we will have to save the south for last. Also, we decided to skip out on CT :( Your suggestion to spend only a day in Venice is interesting... Dropping that day could give us an extra day in Rome or southern Italy.

Here is our tentative revised itinerary:

Day 1: Arrive in Rome (afternoon), sleep in Rome Day 2: Rome, sleep in Rome Day 3: Rome, night train to Venice Day 4: Arrive in Venice early morning, sleep in Venice Day 5: Venice, sleep in Venice (or drop this day and add an extra day to Rome or Southern Italy) Day 6: Early morning train to Florence, sleep in Florence Day 7: Early morning train to Orvieto, sleep in Orvieto Day 8: Early morning train to Sorrento, sleep in Sorrento Day 9: Positano/Amalfi sleep in Sorrento Day 10: Capri, sleep in Sorrento Day 11: Train back to Rome, sleep in Rome Day 12: fly home

Gary - would you mind letting me know what your itinerary was?

Hi Sara,

A minority suggestion to be sure, but I would drop the Venice portion of your trip. Since your trip is with friends, perhaps the romantic lure of Venice is not required on this particular journey. In any event, have a great trip!

Sara, it seems that you are going north from Rome & then back south, etc. Perhaps you might consider going to Florence first from Rome. It would be a shorter train ride. Then to Venice from Florence, also shorter than from Rome to Venice. Then you could fly from Venice to Naples for the Sorrento portion of your trip. Then the train back to Rome. If you go to www.flylc.com, you will see that a budget airline flies from Venice (Marco Polo) to Naples.

We are not here to talk you into or out of anything. It is your trip obviously and you should do what will make you happy. But you have asked for input so that is what we do here.
You will love your trip. Let us know how it worked out and what you would have done differently if anything.

I took a Globus tour through Italy for 10 days and did the Amalfi coast on my own. I went to Rome, Florence, Stresa, Venice, Assisi, and Sorrento. I didn't go to Sorrento with the tour because I decided to go to Praiano on the Amalfi coast instead for a better village feel without tourists. I highly recommend. I also went to Positano, Amalfi, and Capri. It is best to just choose 2 of those towns because they all look the same. Walking through the little village of Praiano was beautiful. Positano is interesting for shopping, Amalfi has a pretty church and a couple long streets filled with eateries. The bus ride on Capri island cliffs was thrilling! Visit the Villa San Michele for great views. You will be lucky to see the grotto because of the tides.

I would choose either Amalfi coast or Cinque Terre because I think they are probably the same. I have never been to Cinque Terre, but I think the only difference is the cool bus rides along the Amalfi coast.

Out of all the cities in Italy, the medieval town of Assisi in Umbria, the lake town of Stresa, and the Amalfi coast were most memorable. Rome was a blur because there was so much to see. In Florence go to the Piazzale Michelangelo for beautiful views which I learned from Rick Steves. Venice is great for a day, any longer would be exhausting. There are no places to sit except for the curbs at St Mark's Square or ordering from a menu at a restaurant.

For a group of friends, I think you will have a great time no matter where you go in Italy.

I've been to both the CT and the Amalfi coast. They are not the same. I would choose one based on which fits better into my schedule. CT works best by train; Amalfi works best by bus from Sorrento, in my experience. IMO, this schedule sounds too busy. I suggest either adding a week to your itinerary or just stay north or south of Rome for 12 days. Plan another trip for the other parts of Italy. It took about six trips to Italy for me to feel that I had covered most of it.

If you and your friends like the plan, and think you guys can make it work than go for it(You can always go back):)

Sincerely,
DS