It's my first trip to Italy in October 2012. I have three weeks. I want to do Rome, Assisi, Siena, Florence, Hill Towns, Pisa, Cinque Terre, Milan, Verona, Vicenza, Padua and Venice. Possibly Naples, Pompeii and Capri. I'm hoping to have just a few home bases and do the rest as side trips. Which cities is it possible to do this for? How much time should I spend in each place? Of the major cities, Florence is the most important to me followed by Rome, then Milan then Venice. Also, even with a full three weeks this seems a bit ambitious. What would be the best things to leave out?
Posted by
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10607 posts
IMO you are being too ambitious. Your wish list is similar to the one I had when I began planning my upcoming 3 week trip. I then narrowed it down to -
Rome - 3 nights, Siena - 4 nights (day trips to hilltowns), Florence - 2 nights, Lucca -1 night, Cinque Terre - 3 nights, Lake Como - 3 nights, Venice -2 nights & Verona 2 nights.
Do you want to stay overnight in Pisa or just stop by enroute from CT to Florence? Or,you could do Pisa as a day trip from Florence, and you could do hilltowns from both Florence and Siena. Will you have a car in Tuscany? Verona & Venice are close to each other. I considered using Verona as a base for 4 days or so and going to Venice as a day trip. I decided it would be best to spend a couple of nights there. Venice is definitely more expensive for lodging than Verona is.
Because of the amount of time you have and the logistics, I would drop the Naples, Pompeii & Capri part of your trip.
Posted by
OP
Salt Lake City, UT, United States
304 posts
I was just planning on stopping in Pisa between Florence and CT. I don't plan on renting a car, but it is a possibility.