We will be attending a family wedding in Rome late May 2027. We have 12 days to travel Italy before arriving in Rome. Originally I was planning on the usual destinations - Como, CT, Florence/Tuscany then on to Rome. But based on what I’ve been reading I think my family would prefer less touristy and more local vibe but with access to these places or similar. We’re traveling with our adult daughters and we enjoy slower paced, less moving from place to place and experiencing local culture. Yet We’d still love to see the must sees in Florence and elsewhere. Given that we need 3 rooms I’m thinking apartment or self catering better than hotels but welcome your thoughts. If you have 12 days how would you break it up and where would your bases be? If I’m being too vague let me know! Thank you!
Posted by
Bellingham, WA
2088 posts
What airport do you intend to fly into? Will you be traveling by train/bus or renting a car? How many adult daughters do you have? If it's 2, you don't need 3 rooms because they can share. If it's more than 3, renting a car becomes complicated. What are your "must-sees"? Make a list of those and determine how much time you will need in those places. This will help you determine whether you can visit, for example Florence, as a day trip or if you need more time there. You say you "less moving from place to place." Less than what? You've listed 3 areas for 12 days. Most folks count their trip in nights, organized by where they are staying. What aspects of "local culture" are you interested in? Food, art, history, architecture, fashion?
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Great questions thanks! Don’t have flights yet but thinking of flying into Milan and out of Rome. 12 nights before Rome. 2 daughters around 30. We enjoy food, wine, history, coastal/beaches, art, and local cultural experiences. I was thinking a combo of car and train ditching the car in Florence and take train to Rome. I have a tentative itinerary as follows but wonder giving it’s high season should we avoid these areas CT and Como and what might the alternatives be?
Fly into milan
3 nights varenna
3 nights camogli
5 nights between camogli and Rome for Tuscany and Florence regions right now I have Lucca as the base
4 nights Rome
Fly out of Rome
Thanks
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
793 posts
We staryed at both Camogili and Lucca on our last trip, and very much enjoyed both. Santa Marguerita Ligure might be another option for you, as it is a little bigger.
I'm not sure if your thoughts are that you will daytrip into Cinque Terre or Florence. My personal feelings are that you see busy places at their worst that way, as you are missing those quiet early mornings and evenings when others have left, or at least are resting. As well, you have nowhere to go back and rest if you wish to mid day. For Cinque Terre in particular I feel this is true. I haven't been to Florence for a long time, so others can comment more on it.
Posted by
10326 posts
Italy, my favorite foreign country, been there many times.
There are so many great places to visit, it is hard to choose.
Have you been to Venice, if not, do not skip it.
If you fly into Milan, then your plans look good, but Tuscany and Umbria are special. I love going back to Florence. Siena, Lucca, Pisa, Cortona, San Gimignano, Pienza, Volterra, and more.
For nearby Umbria, Assisi, Perugia, Gubbio, Spoleto and Orvieto are great.
CT is good, but personally, I liked the Amalfi Coast better.
Posted by
San Diego, California, USA
2163 posts
Welcome to the forum teregreaney,
Your plan is solid but I don't think you really need a car for most of this depending on what you want to do in Tuscany.
A car in the lake region for a short stay is not really needed and like many resort areas can be an expensive burden. The lake region generally has one road along the lake and you deal with the traffic there is. One of the appeals of Varenna is that it is reachable by train and has ferry connections to the nearby towns. Three nights is two full days which can certainly but swallowed up by exploring Varenna and then nearby Bellagio and/or lakeside villas and gardens with no need to drive around. If you were staying in a small lakeside town not served by rail then a car could be a necessity but not Varenna.
The trip from Varenna to the Ligurian seaside will be a longish day and would probably be a bit faster by car but I think the train would be more relaxing. Camogli is well connected by train to nearby towns - the fancy SM Ligure and Rapallo and the more characteristic Chiavari are all close by train.
Lucca is a decent base for the Tuscany valley north of Florence - 20 minutes to the coats, 30 minutes to Pisa and 1:20 to Florence by train. A car in Lucca might allow you to reach smaller hill towns that are otherwise not well served, but if you are exploring the area for the first time the train serves more than enough places to fill out your days. The train seems slow to Florence but is realistically the same speed as driving but the train stops you in the middle of town with no parking fees or hassles. Pisa is close and so are Prato, Pistoia, Pietrasanta, Florence so unless you have someplace really specific you want to visit I would stick to trains.
But also know this area of Tuscany is not the rolling hills and tree lined drives of film and photos. That area lies between Florence and Siena or even further south in Val d'Orcia area which is one place I would actually recommend a car since it rural and not well served by mass transit in a way that is tourist friendly. Many people choose to rent cars in Chiusi because it is on the train line and close to Pienza and Montepulciano and the other destination towns.
Either way I would definitely ditch the car before heading to Rome. There is no sane reason to drive in big city Italy and many reasons not to.
Hope that helps,
=Tod
Posted by
Chicagoland
2530 posts
Staying in Varenna you really don't want to bother with a car.
Many years ago, before it became popular, I based in Lucca for a week. I was able to do several day trips by bus or car including the Cinque Terra and a couple trips into Florence for sightseeing and shopping.
However, while Lucca and surroundings are lovely, it's not the "under the Tuscan sun" Tuscany that most people dream of. As hiredman said, you'll need to go south of Florence for that. If staying in southern Tuscany, a car will be useful. I have stayed in Siena with day trips by bus to smaller towns. But, you'll have to plan your outings carefully, especially on Sundays.
Be sure your accommodations have AC. It will not be easy to find a 3 bedroom apartment with AC. You may be better off in some locations with hotels. The extra bathrooms will be handy.
Enjoy your planning.
Posted by
Atlanta, GA area (USA)
298 posts
We were in Italy in January a couple years ago and drove from Pisa back to Fiumencino on our last day via the coastal route. There were beautiful beaches and towns that were definitely off the foreign-tourist track! If you pick up the car at FCO and are headed to Tuscany you could go that way and see something local. Good luck!