Hi There My wife and I are going to Italy. Arrive Milan 24 May. Depart Milan 11 June. We want to see, inter alia, Lake Como, Milan, Bologna, Florence, Sienna, Sorrento & Amalfi Coast. Last destination Milan (2 days). Were thinking of a split, say, 10/11 days for North (inc Tuscany) and 8/7 days for the South. We would really appreciate some ideas ito a suggested route, mode of transport. And if anyone has ideas re accomodation these toowould be welcome. We are in our early 50s! Coming from South Africa due to our weak currency we have to be conservative as regards accomodation. Many thanks in advance.
Peter
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
Have you plotted this out on a map? You'll see that those are all north-central to northern sites except Amalfi/Sorrento. That's a very long way to travel, IMHO. (I believe the FAQs contain a link to help you calculate travel times.) Any thoughts to substituting the Ligurian coast instead and/or Venice, and save southern Italy (including Amalfi) for a future trip? Or perhaps drop Bologna and add Rome? Happy travels.
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11834 posts
Peter: Our first trip was 21 nights and we hit 7 locations: Venice (4), Cinque Terre (3), Siena (3), Montalcino (3), Orvieto (2), Rome (5) and Milan (1). I am glad we saw all these places, and we got a great taste, but I got tired of packing, moving, unpacking. We are going back this year for 24 nights, 4 locations. Most on this Helpline would recommend no less than 2 nights, preferrably 3, in any one place. Given your apparent interests, perhaps this would work as a route * Land in Milan, transfer immediately to Lake Como - 2 nights * Transfer to Bologna, 2 nights * Transfer to Florence, 3 nights * Transfer to Siena, 3 nights * Transfer to Bologna, 2 nights * Transfer to Sorrento, 4 nights * Back to Milan, 2 nights Now, plot out the travel times on trains, using the Trenitalia website (there's an English button at the top). Can you live with those? Look at prices: is it in your budget? More changes of location & further distances = expense. Rough estimate is that you will spend 6 half-days of your 18 days traveling between locations and getting resettled in a new lodging. One way to economize is to stay somewhere longer. You could drop Sorrento, for example, and add the time to the other locations you wish to see, save some money, and focus on the north. Just a thought. Might be nice to have a car for a couple of days in Siena if you'd like to get out to some hilltowns. Given all that, consult the master. Rick Steves has an excellent itinerary planning guide here . Less is more; Assume you will return. May 24 is looming. You should really be making your lodging reservations ASAP.
Good luck with the trip! Praying the exchange rate doesn't get any worse!