How to do 2 weeks in Italy after RS Greece tour?

Two nights in a location means one full day.

We want to avoid too many short stays

I would cut out the two nights stays and stay in one other location longer/. Sienna certainly deserves more than 1 full day and you can visit Orvieto on the way there.

Donna

Les,

SInce you,

"want to avoid too many short stays"

You have too many short stays with your present itinerary.

If you haven't been to Italy before, I'd suggest visiting
Venice > Florence > Rome.

If you haven't booked your flights, consider flying into Milan or Venice then travel south to Florence & Rome.

If you fly into Milan, you can visit Lake Como then go to Venice> Florence> Rome.

You may be tired by the time your 13 day 'RS Greece tour' is over. Tours can be very rushed and tiring.

A few years ago, my mom & I spent 2 weeks in Greece touring on our own, (our own pace) then flew into Milan for another week.

I remember feeling so tired once we landed in Italy... so we decided to take it easy & spent that week in 2 locations before flying home.

Donna that is an interesting thought, thanks. Perhaps we should remove Assisi and add at least a day to Siena. The train from Rome to Orvieto is only about 45 min. Of course, there is the time to get to the station, and get to the Orvieto lodging. So only maybe 1/2 day in Orvieto and then Civita could be done the next day (by bus + walking).

Having more time in Siena allows us to do some watercolor sketching as a way to slow down and sit in one location.

Now my wife thought maybe Venice should be included. A friend stayed in Padua and took the short 1/2 hr train ride into Venice for the day. We were in Venice back in 1972 and remember it (and the crowds) with some fondness. We could maybe do 3 nights in Padua that way, see a bit of Padua the first arrival day, and 2 day trips into Venice.

Les,

We were in Padua (Padova) in October & took day trip to Venice.

If you decide to visit Padua, you must visit the Scrovegni Chapel (advance reservations required)
and St. Anthony's Basilica (free).

Happy Travels!

Thanks Priscilla, looking up the flights it seems there are no nonstop flights from Athens to Venice. Maybe it's better to go Athens to Rome. Then make our way north before the Zurich final home flight. At least that is my present research.

I like the Lake Como idea but maybe the Rome -> Orvieto -> Siena -> Florence -> Venice (via Padua) would be enough for us. We were in Florence (in 1972 after college and on a small budget) but would like to return there. We could do a side trip to Siena from Florence but Rick Steves (and Donna above) seems to think it worth more then just a day trip.

It's hard to cut things out with so many enticing choices :) .

Les,

It's hard to cut things out with so many enticing choices :)

This fact is completely understandable!

I'd suggest flying from Athens to Milan especially if you & your wife want to visit Venice again.

When you arrive in Milan, take the train to Venice & travel south to Florence > Siena > Rome.

The bottom line: it's your trip and you will make the final decisions & you will have a wonderful trip!

Safe & happy travels!

Edit: Regarding this itinerary;

I like the Lake Como idea but maybe the Rome -> Orvieto -> Siena -> Florence -> Venice (via Padua) would be enough for us.

You are better off flying Athens ->Milan-> Venice (Padua) then travel south so you don't have to backtrack.

Les,

I forgot to mention something.
If you decide to fly into Milan (from Athens), you can visit Verona (about half way between Milan & Venice)

Another thought... Can you fly home from Rome?

Happy planning!

Priscilla, if we do add Venice then flying from Athens to Milan makes sense to me. Rome -> SFO is greater then 15 hrs (1 stop in Zurich). It is a thought and we will ponder it. Thanks.

Les,
You're welcome!
I'm sure it will all work out :-)

5) 5 nights in Rome – Vatican Pristine-Sistine tour, then on our own sight seeing after that
6) 2 nights in Assisi – take train
7) 2 nights in Orvieto – also visit Civita on 2nd day
8) 2 nights in Sienna
9) 4 nights in Florence

I like your plan and flow overall but agree with others that the 2 night stays will be tiring and limiting. With 4 or 5 nights in Firenze, you can day trip to Siena as well as other lovely smaller places. Add a night to Assisi and see some more of Umbria too. Maybe like this:

Roma - 5 or 6 -- day trip to Orvieto if you like. Prisitne Sistine is a fabulous tour!

Assisi - 4 (see Spello, Spoleto, and Perugia; take a wine tour in this less-discovered region)

Firenze -5 -- day trip to Siena, Chianti, etc.

Les, did you use skyscanner.net to find flights from Athens to Venice? We are doing almost the same trip as you are but in May/June. We'll be visiting a friend in Maienfeld, near Zürich first, then taking an Aegean Air flight from ZRH non-stop to Athens. After our RS tour we'll be flying non-stop on a Sunday on Aegean Air to VCE.

Thanks Laurel, you mentioned this:
> Assisi - 4 (see Spello, Spoleto, and Perugia; take a wine tour in this less-discovered region)

It seems the RS Italy book just covers Assisi. I see Perugia and Spoleto here: TripAdvisor, Umbria . Also I found some good info in Fodors 2015. It looks like we can get to Perugia from Assisi by bus and Spoleto maybe by train? We're planning on not having a car. Should they each get a full day?

We live in the wine country area of Sonoma County (Napa close by too) so probably will not visit wineries. They are almost always beautiful and we've done lots of plein air oil painting at wineries, sometimes sitting in the vineyards.

The RS Italy book suggests Fiesole as a short trip from Florence. We will think carefully about doing Siena as a Florence day trip. Other day trips we could do via bus (or train) that you recommend?

Darcy, so far I've just used Google flights to get rough information. Since our trip is in September, we have plenty of time to book. I'm always looking for nonstop flights to keep things simple and quick.

It seems the RS Italy book just covers Assisi. I see Perugia and Spoleto here: TripAdvisor, Umbria . Also I found some good info in Fodors 2015. It looks like we can get to Perugia from Assisi by bus and Spoleto maybe by train? We're planning on not having a car. Should they each get a full day?

We "did" Umbria by train and bus and liked it. We spent about 6 hours in and around Spoleto, taking a hike (see the amazing aqueduct bridge!) We took the train to both Spoleto and Perugia. Take the bus over to Spello, too. Delightful tiny town. And yes, you need a guide other than R.S. for this part. Also see Brigolante Blog for some great Umbria info. The blog Revealed Rome has a feature on Spoleto too.

Laurel, we like your ideas and will study the details. Probably will go with all of them. Thanks again!

Hi again Les. Please feel free to reach out if you need more specifics. PM or here.

Here is what we've got to date:
1) Fly from Athens to Rome, then train from airport to Florence
2) Florence 6 nights, daytrip to Sienna
3) Assisi 4 nights, daytrips to Spello, Perugia, Spoleto
4) Rome 5 nights, daytrip to Ostia Antica
5) fly out of Rome to SFO (via Heathrow)

I'm a bit confused about the train travel but Google seems to say all this is possible. Trenitalia seems a mine field.

Does this look like the way to do this, i.e. Rome airport -> Florence -> Assisi -> Rome? Or is another route better?

Your revised itinerary looks great. You can go to Orvieto from Rome. Take the walk to the Church of San Giovenale, the oldest church in the city; it has been restored after being closed for several years.

If you click on the British flag icon at the Trenitalia site, everything will come up in English, and all trains (not just "Le Freccie") will show in the schedules. Some tickets (regionale) cannot be priced more than 7 days in advance; for budgeting purposes, pick a day of the week you plan to travel within the 7-day timeframe. Regionale tickets can be bought when you get to Italy, remember to validate them in the machines near the tracks. Super-economy fares can be purchased up to 120 days in advance for significant savings, but I don't think your itinerary will require those.

Feel free to PM me if you have questions about navigating the site, or post again.

Zoe, thanks. I tried the Trenitalia site again and made more progress at getting some time schedules and an idea of cost. I must have done something wrong on my previous tries. It might be that I'm now using the "Advanced search" and this seems to work better for me.

I had read (misread?) that the connections I've mentioned would be easy and just as cheap to purchase at the station. Does this sound right?

Also my main concern is with the itinerary ordering. Does it make a difference whether we go to Florence first from the Rome airport versus Assisi first? Or is the order just as easy either way?