I am planning a trip to Italy in April/May of 2020. Just working on an itinerary with the places and approximate train and bus times. Please let me know if this is a doable trip.
Day 1. Fly into Venice *** (sleep Venice )
Day 2. Venice (sleep Venice )
Day 3. Venice to Florence TRAIN 2hr 10 min (sleep Florence)
Day 4. Florence (sleep Florence)
Day 5. Florence to Pisa TRAIN 1 hr Pisa to Lucca TRAIN 27 min. Lucca to CT TRAIN 2 hrs (arrive late sleep in CT)
Day 6. Cinque Terre *** (sleep CT )
Day 7. Cinque Terre (sleep CT )
Day 8. CT to Siena TRAIN 3 hrs. 21 minutes (sleep Siena)
Day 9. Siena *** (sleep Siena)
Day 10. Heart of Tuscany Drive RENT CAR Montepulciano, Pienza, Montalcino (sleep Siena)
Day 11. Siena to Rome BUS 2 hr 55 min. (Sleep Rome) Walking tour
Day 12. Rome (sleep Rome) Caesar shuffle colosseum to the forum then over Capioline hill to the Pantheon Go Piazza del Pololo to the Spanish steps
Day 13. Rome *** to Pompeii TRAIN 2 HR 24 MIN *** Pompeii to Rome TRAIN 2 hr 24 min (sleep Rome)
Day 14. Rome Vatican City (sleep Rome)
Day 15. Rome Borghese Gallery National Museum of Rome Trevi Fountain (sleep Rome)
Day 16. Rome to airport – Home
Thanks in advance.
Posted by
613 posts
Too much time at CT. Add a stop at Verona. Except for the museum, the Vatican is greatly overrated. See the Trevi fountain after dark & very early in the morning to reduce immense crowds..
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15773 posts
Right now, I'm only going to comment on logistics. Remember that the train time is just the time on the train. Add the time it takes to pack, get to the train station, find your platform and board the train, then get to your new hotel, check in and drop your luggage. Allow about 2 hours for that. Which brings me to Day 5 - according to your plan, you'll have your luggage with you all day. Allow enough time to store and collect your bags at the Leaning Tower and in Lucca. These are manned facilities and if there are people ahead of you, depositing or collecting their stuff, there will be a wait. It sounds like you are going to rent a car for one day, Day 10. It will take you at least a few minutes to pick up the car - could be a lot longer if someone has to go get the car and bring it to the rental office (this has happened to me). Can you drive with a manual transmission? In small rental offices, it is possible that an automatic will not be available even if you've reserved it. Note the hours of the rental offices, you may find that you need to rent the car for 2 days in order to have it for a full day on Day 10. The rental offices may be closed by the time you get back to Siena and if they don't have after-hours drop-offs, then that may delay your departure on Day 11. Day 13 - Pompeii - Allow enough time in Naples to find the Circumvesuviana train and by a ticket. Note that the train is not always on time. That's important on your return to Rome - if the CV train is late, you could miss your fast (expensive) train back to Rome - so be sure to leave enough transfer time.
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11680 posts
This is a lot like our first trip in 2010 although we had 21 nights and did not do a Pompeii day trip. We skipped Florence in favor of more Tuscan countryside time. Based on that, a few thoughts.
I like 3 nights in the Cinque Terre. I think you will appreciate it more as the best times are early mornings and after 6 pm. Plus as April is earlyish in the season if you stay 3 nights and there is rain one day, you will at least have a good chance at a sunny day as well.
The train from (in our case) Vernazza to Siena is really 4 trains. That was a slog I would never do again. Consider renting a car in La Spezia, do some scenic stops on the way to Siena such as Lucca and Pisa. (Personally, I would skip Pisa in favor of atmospheric Lucca. Pisa is a one trick pony.) It is about 4 hours of driving time to do this. You would need to find a place in Siena with parking. Maybe a good time to stay in an agriturismo.
You could skip Florence and add a night each to Siena and Venice. 2 nights in Venice is, IMO, not enough. It grows on you. Day trip to Florence from Siena and save yourself a move.
Bus to Rome? Ugh! We never take a bus when a train is possible.
Don’t commit to the Pompeii day trip until you are at least half way through the trip, preferably until you are in Rome and you know what your energy level is and whether you would really enjoy such a long day. We find that at some points in a trip we just have to say “Let’s not do that.” Even at our ages we are saving some experiences for “next time.”
Posted by
8102 posts
TOOO much travel.
Too much time in CT.
So little time in Venice and Florence