Ideas on my new itinerary

Chani, not sure what your interests are but I would shave two days off from Florence and add extra days in CT or Venice. We were able to do both the Ufizi and Accademia in one day and spent our second day just cruising Florence. But we even found two days was a day too long in Florence. We wish we had used that extra day in Tuscany.

Linda - To me, it sounds like too much moving around. If I'm counting correctly, you're talking about 11 or 12 nights? I prefer to stay each place for at least 3 nights, sometimes 2, depending upon the travel time between locations. But, if you're moving around, 3 nights usually means just 2 full days wherever you are.

That said, since you have already been to Venice and Orvieto, you probably have a good sense of how you want to spend your time there. So, maybe, if you don't mind spending a lot of time checking out of hotels, travelling, and checking into hotels, just 2 nights at these 2 locations is fine.

If this were my trip, I would probably drop either Lake Como or Dolomites/Castelrotto and then consider stealing a night from Sorrento and using it elsewhere.

Sounds like a great trip!

Linda - I'm going that way in 2 weeks, including 4 nights in Venice, 5 in Florence and 1 in CT. If you feel like sharing: [1] what were your favorite sites/activities/experiences [2] what, if anything, would you have done differently [3] what other advice for my first trip? I fly in and out of Milan and plan to use the train from city to city. Lastly, where is Somonauk? Thanks.

Linda, somehow I suspected you were going to say that, and I don't blame you one bit!

One other suggestion--are you locked into Rome and Milan for your flights?

Consider flying into Rome or Naples from the U.S., do Sorrento and south Italy first, train up to Orvieto, and then to Milan (if you are planning to hit the Last Supper) and fly home from Venice. Or train from Orvieto to Venice and then do the trip in reverse to fly out of Milan.

Liz

P.S. We will be going to Orvieto this November. I'd love if you could send me a PM of your favorite things/experiences in the town! (and especially if you know anything about the Saturday morning street market...)

I agree with Bobby.
I would take two days from Florence and add 2 days to Cinque Terre. If you weren't going to be in Venice for 4 days or is it nights? - I'd add a day there but I think you would enjoy the hiking in CT. Take your waterproof jacket and waterproof shoes. I hope you have a WONDERFUL trip.

Hey Bobby & Miss B...if you want to say something to Chani, write him a private message. This is my post and I'm looking for responses to my itinerary!

I agree with Leslie. It sounds like a lot of zig-zagging and moving but since you've already done a fast-paced but absolutely wonderful trip, perhaps that's OK. Geographically the place it looks a little strange to me is the Venice - Orvieto - Sorrento - back to Rome section, but since you want to do Venice and Orvieto and you didn't do south Italy last time, I'm not sure there's a more logical route. Perhaps look into seeing if there is a cheap flight from Venice to Naples and then work your way back up to Orvieto as an alternative?

I'd drop Sorrento for this time and focus on northern Italy--add a little more time to Lake Como and the Dolomites, maybe visit Ravenna or Bologna or other cities in the north, finish in Orvieto and fly out of Rome. But that's just my personal preference :-)

Thanks Liz for your suggestions but unfortunately, southern Italy was first on our desired destinations. With so much more days to fill in, and really not interested in spending any more days in Rome, we decided on seeing something that we wanted to see so badly on our last trip but couldn't squeeze in....the Dolomites. Then we figured while there, we can go back to much loved Venice. I know it's a lot of train time but I will look into taking a plane from Venice to Naples. That sounds like a great idea. I just have never flown inside Italy before and don't really know how to go about it. I guess there's a first time for everything and maybe I'll learn a better way of travel. Thanks!

It seems like alot of travel time. You have 6 of your 13 days traveling. To go all the way to Sorrento and only spend 4 days when there is so much to see in that area - Pompeii, the entire Amalfi coast, the islands in the gulf of Naples (Procida, Capri, Ischia) is not an efficient way of spending your time. You are shortchanging yourself by not spending enough time in each location. Proven by the fact that you just returned from Orvieto and Venice and have to return again on your next trip.

Hi Mike, First, I want to return to Orvieto & Venice because I fell in love with it so much not because I didn't have enought time to see it all. Was I rushing in the previous trip...yes. But was able to see everything I wanted to...yes. You know, everyone writes to everyone how they're putting in too much into their itinerary and to spend more time in one place. That is great for the people with a lot of money and a lot of travel time. But when you are limited to one 2 week trip to Europe every 3 to 10 year period, then not everyone has that luxury. If you look at RS tours, he covers an aweful lot in a 14 day span, spending a normal of 2 nights per place, along with many hours of bus time in between. I look at it, if he can do it and show his customers a great trip, so can I. I appreciate you trying to tell me to slow down but as soon as I come up winning the lottery, I will follow your advise. Now can I change things around in order to save some time, probably yes, which is why I posted the question. Thanks anyway!

Linda - Not an attack but I wanted to comment on something you said in your last post. Not every one who suggests taking it a bit slower and staying in fewer places does so because they have a ton of cash or because they have the "luxury" of traveling overseas a few times each year. Many of us are convinced that it's not how many destinations you can cross of your to see list or someone's else's must see list, but rather to savor and experience the places we do choose to see.

Many of the itineraries posted here are quite frankly way to much to cover in the allotted time. Can they be done, sometimes no, but most probably if you are on a death march or want to see only the outside of things. As people post proposed trips and ask for comments, I think that the folks that suggest a slower pace with fewer destinations are not trying to rob you of an experience because they can travel more frequently or for longer. Many of us just enjoy staying in locale long enough to go into the cafe in the morning and the barrista has your order already done because he is used to seeing you.

Point well taken, Ron. I agree alot of itineraries are way too packed. I always try to spend at least 2 nights in each place. I agree that you really need to stay overnight in places and savour the cities and villages after all the tourists leave....when they do become "magical". But I also value the time traveling on the train....time to rest your feet, or time to catch on some sleep because we did stay up late and "joined the locals", or just enjoy the scenery as we get to our next wonderful destination. Anyways, am I covering a lot of area going from north to south...yes. But unless I spend my whole 2 weeks south of Rome, I really have no other choice. I do appreciate your advise though, thanks!

Hi Linda, I think I am of the same mindset as Ron. It is not that I have so much money that I travel to Europe twice a year. I wish I did. But I like to get a feel for the place I am visiting. Talking to the same barista at the local cafe every morning and him or her pointing us toward something we would never have known about and then having the time to do it. A local shopkeeper in Venice told us about the island she was from - Pellestrina, which was a short ferry ride from the Lido. We went there the next day and had a great time. We were the only tourists on the island. I seem to have forgotten that when I was younger I had the same type of schedule you do now, once hitting 8 countries and countless cities in 30 days (we had a car and this was 1970). Your schedule is fine and you will have another exciting trip.

Thank you Mike. I know you all mean well. I still have time before any reservations will be made, so I'll look a little harder at what I have and see if I can somehow cut my time somewhere in order to lengthen it somewhere else. I have my husband and another couple whom all have their desired locations to see, but they are leaving up to me to do the arranging to make it the best. Thanks everyone for your help!

Before you make any final decisions, you should check the trenitalia.it website on train schedules and departure times. And I'm not sure there is a train station in Castelrotto; you may have to take the train to Bolzano and take a bus or something from there. From Como to Bolzano, it's 4-6 hours travel time, depending on which train you take.

You didn't mention whether you had to fly into Milan, and whether that and Lake Como is on your group's "must-see" list. If it's not, that section of your trip is the easiest to drop, to give you more time in the places that you have mentioned wanting to go to or return to. Remember, two nights somewhere, when you take travel time into account, means only 1 1/2 day (or less) in that location.

You may save some time and energy by renting a car. If you did so, you could fly into Venice, where you don't need a car. Leaving Venice, you could drive to Castelrotto and do some hiking (much easier that taking the train to Bolzano, then a bus from there). Having a car in the Dolomites, I would think, would be much easier than relying on local public transportation (especially for hiking). Then on to Lake Como and Milan, if those locations are still on the list. Of course, you don't need a car in Milan, but it makes sense to keep it, to head on to Orvieto. It would be nice to have a car in Orvieto, so you could drive to some interesting places in the area. On leaving Orvieto, you could drop off the rental car, train to Sorrento, then train to Rome.

Whatever your final itinerary, enjoy!

Hey Lexma, I really like your idea of flying into Venice and then renting a car to go to the Dolomites. Yes, I knew the train only goes to Bolzano and then having to take a bus to Castelrotto. I just never took into acct. the time involved in that. Taking that car to Orvieto is also a great idea. But Milan was only in my plans as a place to fly into and then head straight to Varenna. Isn't a car a handicap to have in Varenna though? At least, that's what I thought I read. Yes, I would really like to go to Lake Como but could drop it if I really had to(much to my dislike).

I've never been to Varenna, as I'm one of the 3 people in the world who wasn't captivated by Lake Como (my husband, luckily is another; we visited Bellagio several years ago, and haven't been back). But it doesn't seem like a huge city, so I would think you could find a hotel that has parking, and just leave the car there while you enjoy Lake Como and Varenna.

For the Dolomite portion of your trip, a car would be invaluable. The only part of the Dolomites I've been to is the Val di Gardena area and Cortina, both of which were great. Though I couldn't imagine visiting them, and hiking in the area, without a car to get around.

Another factor about a car, however, is that it sounds like there will be 4 of you. If that's the case, make sure you get a big enough car for 4 of you and your luggage.