Help with Itinerary…

Hello- happy travels! I’d suggest you read this website as Rick has many helpful tools such as itinerary ideas and videos to watch.

If you’ve done this and researched in general then it would be helpful to know who is traveling, interests, places you know you wish to visit, priorities, etc.

Me and my husband taking first trip! We love museums, architecture and are also foodies! I have read Ricks book! Excellent! And now have so many things running thru my mind… wish we could see and do it all! Just looking for help with doing the best of the best! Thank you so much! 💕

With that time frame, I would do two destinations, three tops. What places are sticking out to you the most? Have you determined how long you would like to devote to Rome? Sort that out first so we know how many days you have to work with.
We all have very different likes, and its best to help us tailor it to YOUR interests.
February is a time for cities, so it is actually easy to narrow down once you give us something to go on.

I suggest you spend most of that time in Rome, using the RS guide to help you choose your priorities and manage the logistics. You would also have enough time for 2-3 nights in Florence if that city interests you enough. But I wouldn't try to "see Italy" in your timeframe -- I'd stick to Rome and one other place. I haven't been to Orvieto but many on this board like it, and it's apparently easy to reach. Or Naples, Sorrento, Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast could be your non-Rome choice. But don't spread yourselves too thin and spend half your time moving from place to place.

Are you flying home from Rome?

Yes! Flying home from Rome…

How many nights will you sleep in IT? What Rick Steve’s book do you have? Arrival day is a business day that’s more about settling in than sight-seeing so if you were counting that as a full day, don’t.
Rome requires a minimum of three nights and if you spend a day at Vatican City make it four. Do take all of Rick Steves self-guided walks and download his app before leaving home.
From Rome’s Termini station take day trips to Orvieto and Naples Centrale station: https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html. Rick has a self-guided walk for Naples too. You could sleep in the Trastevere neighborhood which is Rome’s coolest neighborhood. It’s very bohemian like. If not, sleep at the nearby Hotel Smeraldo.
Another attraction in Rome is to walk all over the place. You’ll see more water fountains than anywhere else in the world and they are a sight to see. Rome is my favorite city in IT.

What is departure date?
IOW exactly how many NIGHTS will you have in Italy?

Take a food tour in Rome ( or Florence)
Always fun
www.eatingeurope.com

If you plan to travel to locations other than Rome, advice is to head there first on the day you land ( ex:Florence) then put all Rome nights at end so you avoid a split stay and additional hotel change

Spend most (if not all) of your time in Rome. You could head north for a visit to Orvieto and/or Florence, or south to Naples/Pompeii/Herculaneum.

The food tour ChristineH mentions is really worthwhile. We did the Testaccio neighborhood walking tour in 2021. That neighborhood is also a MAJOR foodie suggestion. Eat at La Scopitaro!

From Rome’s Fiumicino Aeroporto (FCO) there are direct trains to Firenze S.M. Novella station (Florence) departing Fiumicino at 1:53p and to Napoli Centrale (Naples) at 11:33a.

If you're arriving in the morning, I'd jump on a train going to Florence--spending 3 nights.

Then return to Rome for the remainder of your days. It's such an important city and there are just so many sights to see there. Most people don't realize that there is almost as much to see in the suburbs as there is in the city center.

We stayed at the #1 B&B in the suburbs at Zagarolo and rode the train into Rome daily. OliveTreeHill.com Our host, Ivano, is a fantastic tour guide, and he took us around the area to places like Palestrina. He also has a midnight tour of Rome that shows the city under the lights--without the crowds.

I think you should consider what kind of Italian experience you want.

I have been to Rome twice, and always happy to get out of there. Note that if you want to get into the actual ancient city, you might need to reserve tickets days in advance - ditto for Vatican museum. there are plenty of famous free sites (Spanish steps, the Mussolini Vittorio Emanuele II monument, the Trevi fountain, etc) but the area of near the train station is one of the worst areas in all of Italy full of criminals, and hookers at night.

Florence is a little better but also crowded, and you need reservations for museums in advance, and even good restaurants need reservations.

You might consider more of a Tuscan/Umbrian adventure. The beautiful town of Orvieto is close to Rome and from there Sienna, Cortona, Montepulciano, Voltera, San Gninmiagno, Pisa, etc. There is foodie area of Bologna, Parma, Modena. Etc. Its only an hour by train to Naples, and from there you can take a boat to Sorrento/Positano, Capri, Prochida/Ischia, or even Sicily.

Italy is full of delights.

Still waiting to hear what places you want to see. The more detail you provide, the better input you will get.

Ok with 9 full days, keep in mind that a travel day between cities is often a lost day with your check-in time at the next place usually around 3PM, BUT you can work it out to drop your bags off earlier as most hotels will hold for free.

With that being said I am all about getting the most bang for your buck and Italy is a long way away and an expensive flight.

I would do/Have done:
3 nights in Rome: I suggest joining a tour group for these as they really give you insight and skip the lines
-Colosseum including the Roman Forum and Palatine hill- same day you can visit the Pantheon (the whole area is a vibe with lots going on) and walk around see the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain.
-Vatican- takes at least a 1/2 day
-Walking food tour at night (we used Eating Europe and did the Twilight Trastevere)
3 nights in Florence:
-Take Walk About Florence Best of Tuscany tour to see three different towns (all day tour) and some include lunch at an organic winery
-Take a walking tour of Florence including entry to the Academia Museum
3 nights in Venice (if it was the summer I would say Sorrento or Cinque Terre)
Never been can't give you any recommendations

This is a "Taste" of each place