I'm working on an itinerary for 15 days in Italy

"Too many days in Florence?"

It depends on your interests. 5 days in Florence is more than most travelers reporting in (here) spend in that fascinating city. Whether 5 days is too much, or just right, for you depends on your own interests.

IMO Florence is a wonderful place: the art, architecture and history speaks to me. Someone who has a special interest in art, history, and architecture could enjoyably spend 5 days in Florence. But others would think 5 days is too much time, there's no correct or incorrect answer to how many days.

We don't keep stats here, but probably the average stay in Florence is 3 days (by people who visit Florence and report in here).

Laura,
If you are traveling by train Siena is not on the way from Rome to Florence. It will take about 1.5 hours to Florence and 3 hours to Siena (you can take the SENA bus from Rome to Siena in 3 hours also).

The Alma Domus is very reasonable and in a good location in Siena.

Thank you thank you for your reply! I think I would love to be in Florence for 5 days so thanks for that answer.

Does it take 1.5 hours to get from Rome to Florence? If I go to Florence first I will be there Sunday and Monday and I hear many things are closed on those days but I will have three days to schedule museums and two days to perhaps stroll and people watch and eat. Then do you take a train from Florence to Siena? I just need to know so I know when to get the reservations for the Alma Domus. Can you clarify this for me? My next stop would be Venice for three days. We have already booked a flight from Venice back to Rome where we depart back to SF. I am so excited to have found this sight. I have never been to Europe. I haven't even traveled much at all.

laura,
You can check train schedules at http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/homepage_en.html

From Florence to Siena a bus is better http://www.sitabus.it/sita-toscana/Firenze%20-%20Siena.pdf

You can take a bus from Rome to Siena http://www.sena.it/

"Thank you thank you for your reply! I think I would love to be in Florence for 5 days so thanks for that answer."

Laura, you're welcome! My first visit to Florence was probably about 5 days, and for me that kind of longer visit (than many would give it) was perfect.

laura,

Given the times you want to spend in the various cities, your proposed Itinerary sounds reasonable. A few comment to add to the others....

I'd probably travel via train from Roma Termini to Siena. Travel time is ~3H:08M (depending on which train you select - usually one change in Chiusi). When you arrive in Siena, take a Taxi up to the town (station is at the bottom of the hill).

I stayed at Albergo Bernini last time and would certainly recommend it, however Alma Domus is also a good choice.

For travel from Siena to Florence, you might consider Bus. It's a very pleasant trip, and not much longer than the train. The Bus departs from the centre of town and arrives in Florence right next to Firenze SMN rail station (very convenient location).

For the trip from Florence to Venice, travel via EuroStar Italia / Alta Velocita is the best option. The trip takes 2H:03M to Venezia Santa Lucia, and the cost is 42€ (second class). There are frequent trains on that route every day, so you'll be able to plan for a convenient time. You probably won't be able to check into your Hotel in Venice before about 12:00, so time your trip accordingly.

Check the Italy Guidebook for details on travel by Vaporetto in Venice (as I recall, the No. 1 is a good option to Piazza San Marco). One caveat though - if you're using a Backpack as your primary luggage, be sure to place it on the deck when you're on the Vaporetto (or you'll be TOLD to).

Happy travels!

Thanks again for taking the time to post to me. I love the tips on travel by bus and train ect. That is a part I knew I would want to know about. I'll look into that other hotel in Siena. Thanks for that tip. I'm glad you think the itinerary sounds good. The next thing I have to do is make hotel reservations. I have a few Ideas. Any thoughts on hotels or apartments in Florence and Venice is appreciated. Cheap but nice is fine for us. Once I get the reservation for accomodation I will start thinking about what I want to see. Ha! One more question. Would a backpack be better than luggage? I'm definitely getting a money belt.

laura,
If you are looking to save:
The bus from Rome to Siena is cheaper than the train and drops you off in town, they both take about the same amount of time.

From Florence to Venice look at the IC it takes about an hour longer than the AV but is almost half the cost.

laura,

If you decide you'd rather stay at Albergo Bernini, a few comments.

The Hotel is located in a wonderfully restored building, and the rooms are very comfortable. The family is wonderful, and breakfast on the patio in the sunshine with a huge mug of coffee is one of my most enduring memories of my last trip. The location is very convenient, both to the Bus station as well as Il Campo and other sites. They used to require a deposit in the form of a personal cheque or whatever, which wasn't a problem for me at all. I believe they only accept cash (again, not a problem).

The question of Backpack vs. wheeled luggage is a hot topic of debate here. My preference is definitely a Backpack, but there are certainly differing opinions on that. If you want to get the discussion going again, post a separate Thread or use the "search" function to find past discussions.

Cheers!

Thanks Henry and Ken. I am looking to save where I can so thanks for the tip on the bus and the train. Ken I will look into the search for information on backpacks vs. luggage.

For our upcoming trip, we are staying in Florence 5 of our 12 nights; however, using Florence as a "base camp" and doing multiple day trips to other towns. our schedule is to arrive Milan (1 night) Florence (5 nights) Monterosso (3 nights) Rome (overnight train to Sicily) then 3 nights in various towns in Sicily.

Laura, not everything in Florence is closed on Sunday and/or Monday. With some careful planning you can work around that issue. However, let me chime in here and state that a day trip to San Gimignano from Florence could solve that problem. It was one of the best places we went to just walk around and soak up the atmosphere. It seems like most people on here prefer Siena to San Gimignano, but for us it was just the opposite. I could spend several days in San Gim just "chilling".

Hi Laura, indeed, you can make a day trip to San Gimignano from Florence, you can get there by bus (check the SITA website for schedules). And even if sights are closed in Florence, it's nice to spend time just chilling out at a cafe or with a gelato, or walking. The SENA bus between Siena and Rome is quite comfortable, so you could consider that rather than the train. Enjoy your trip!

I have made reservations for Siena over that weekend so I don't have to worry about that. A day trip to San Gimignano sounds like just the ticket. I think we will be taking the bus from Rome to Siena. I'm booking a triple room at the hotel alma Domus. They emailed me back and said this room had the best view and is on the top floor and is the last room available. I find some of that hard to believe. It's only 85 euro a night though. I've been a little worried about three nights in Siena being too many but I figured we could do day trips to hill towns. Anybody know of any from Siena.

Hi Laura,
I have put together about 8 pages of detailed notes for planning a trip to Italy covering what to pack, accommodations, museum reservations, transportation, etc. that I can send you if you'd like.

Florence is a great home base for day trips to a lot of places - for example, Pisa or Cinque Terre. I also enjoyed stopping in Orvieto for a few hours on the way from Rome to Florence. San Gimignano is also close to Siena.
Just email me and I can send you my details notes that may be helpful.