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Italy 25 September (Milan)-20 October (Rome)

Posted by (SW WA) on

Hello!

My wife and I are planning a trip to Italy this year. I haven’t been to Europe since 1992 and my wife has never been, so it is time to right this terrible wrong! We figured our 20th anniversary was a splendid time to do just that!

Here’s the nuts and bolts. We are flying from Portland, Oregon on September 23rd to NYC and will spend the night there. One country traversed! Then we fly from NYC in the afternoon to Milan on the 24th, arriving on the 25th @ 0630. We end our stay in Italy on October 20th, flying out of Rome. So….our time in Italy is the 25th-19th. 24 days. We are going to be ambitious and count the 25th, arrival day, as one of the days we plan to do stuff, hoping that going to NYC a day early will help with jet lag and some sleep on the plane.

About us~ we love the outdoors. This planet that God created is amazing and naturally beautiful. We want to see what He did in Italy. We also recognize that man is talented and creative as well and want to see what he has done…just not every basilica and fresco ☺. I am guessing at some point in our trip we will have seen enough and not feel the need to visit every one in the country! Although we both appreciate art, neither of us are art majors. We do, however, love history. So if we can combine the two, maybe more history than art, we are going to enjoy ourselves even more.

We are excited to try all the different cuisines in each region, as well as sample the wines and coffee. And gelato! We won’t be eating out all the time. We are actually on a budget! We tend to eat very healthy and prefer to visit a local market and make our own meals and take food with us on our excursions.

We don’t need all the extra amenities when we are lodging. A bed, toilet and shower will suffice. We are only bringing what we can fit in a backpack and will wash our clothes either in a Scrubba or in the sink and let the clothes dry while we are out for the day.

We plan to use public transportation as often as possible. We expect we will rent a car while exploring Tuscany and Umbria.

Milan holds no attraction to us outside of seeing the Duomo and the Last Supper painting. We will probably see more than that while we are there, but really don’t need to. We plan to spend the first night in Milan only because it’s our first day. We will leave the next morning….to where? That’s where I am hoping to elicit help from all you fine veteran Italian travelers!

We would love to visit the Lakes…maybe Como as it appears closer to Milan? I am guessing two days/nights? Then to Venice. Anything on the way to Venice? How many days/nights?

So here is our want list~Venice, Florence, Cinque Terre, Bologna (for food!), Assisi, Alfami Coast, Rome/Vatican, Tuscany, Naples (for pizza)/Pompeii.

We are not interested in the night life scence. We are now both in our 40’s and while we are still very active the allure of that life left over a decade ago. ☺

I think while in Rome we would expect to use a day in Vatican City. The other days in Rome….2 days? It will be at the end of our trip since we fly out from there. I am sure that I will have seen all the artwork and churches that I care to see by then!

We had originally hoped to swing down to Sicily as well, but it seems that most have advised against it with our timeline. Do you concur?

We would love to see the Dolomites, but not sure if it will take too much time. We can always plan for that another time.

Any tips, tricks, advice you can lend would be greatly appreciated! The only thing we have confirmed as of now is our flight. I know that we need to get our reservations booked soon. That is why I am asking for help! Should have done this sooner ☹

Ideally we would love to find places to stay under $100/night…preferably much lower!

Thank you in advance for all your advice! Cannot wait to get there!

~Joseph

Posted by
12108 posts

We had originally hoped to swing down to Sicily as well, but it seems that most have advised against it with our timeline. Do you concur?

Trying to add Sicily to all the other things you have planned is not a good idea.

Ideally we would love to find places to stay under $100/night…preferably much lower!

Finding something for less than 90 euro per night will be a challenge.... for 'much lower', I suspect it is a hostel you will be looking for

If you have not already done so, you may want to check out the "Itinerary" tab for this tour to give you a basic blueprint for organizing you travels---https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/italy/best-italy

Posted by
11697 posts

You could stay in the north this trip and use those Amalfi Coast days for the Dolomites which fit into your itinerary much easier. The Dolomites are spectacular and we preferred them to the AC.

Posted by
7339 posts

Congratulations on your 20th! And a trip to Italy is the perfect way to celebrate. Looks like you have picked a really nice time to go weather and crowd-wise.
We went for our 35th- our first trip to Italy but not to Europe- we had 17 nights as my husband was not yet retired.
Here is how we spent our time:
Venice 3 nights
Florence 3 nights
Siena, Montepulciano, Assisi- with a car-6 nights total
Rome 5 nights

We loved everywhere we went but felt like we only scratched the surface.
We are going back next month for our 40th- short trip 14 nights- just to Amalfi and Rome.

You have 24 nights but your list of places is just too many. Try to stay at least 2 or 3 nights in each location- 3 nights is really just 2 days, maybe 2.5 if travel between is not too long.

You have a very low budget-assuming that $100/night is for 2 of you? Better start looking now- check airBnB, vrbo, maybe an agriturismo in Tuscany.
You mentioned cooking your own meals- you will obviously need a place with kitchen for that. Apartment rentals are fine for longer stays but honestly to me too much trouble for anything less than 4 nights. Foraging for meal ingredients not my idea of best way to spend vacation time. You do not need to spend a lot eating out, we never do.

Definitely drop Sicily- from what I understand that needs up to 2 weeks!
Choose between CT or Amalfi- figure out your transportation costs/time to determine which makes more sense. I can see spending 5-6 days in Amalfi but CT only needs 2, 3 at most.

That will give you enough time to enjoy a number of places. Remember travel costs money as well, so the fewer trains/buses you take the less you spend- maybe some of that money will have to be shifted to accomodations.

Venice needs 3 full days, Florence needs at least 2 full days, 3 is better, Tuscany- hilltown- spend 5-6 days, Rome needs a minimum of 4 nights. 1 day for Vatican, 1 day for Colosseum, 1 for whatever and that is still not enough time. Don’t pooh pooh the churches- they are living history, they are free- we rarely walk past any church without going in- you never know what wonders are hiding inside. The Borghese Gallery is a must do- jaw dropping. I enjoyed it much more than the vatican museums!

We have not been to Milan or Lake Como but I think something like this:

Milan- 1 night
Lake Como- 2-3 nights
Venice 3 nights
Bologna 2 nights- (2 hour train from Venice)
Florence 2-3 nights (1/2 hour train Bologna)-there is more than just art here
Tuscany/Umbria(Assisi) 6 nights- with a rental car

Already up to 16-18 nights. So you’ve got 6 or 8 more nights. At this point I’d say either add more to locations I already listed and spend last 5 nights in Rome or skip Bologna , which would give you enough nights left to head to Amalfi- 4 nights, then Rome 4 nights.

I like to use rome2rio to figure our transpo options.
And booking.com is your friend- a good starting point for your accomodation hunt. Filter by price.

Happy planning!

Posted by
4 posts

Many thanks for the replies. Choosing not to add Sicily at this time seems wise. Unbelievable in some ways to think that with almost a month in a country that you still need much more time! Guess we will have to put some money away when we return for visits 2,3,4....

The extra time not heading south will be nice to be able to add a few extra days to some other places and allow us to visit one of the Lakes and maybe even head up north of Venice to check out one of the castles! Sometimes I forgot how much history this country has. Living on the west coast of America we are comparatively very young! I thought when we took an east coast trip a few years ago that there was a lot of history compared to when I am. Perspective.

I think when my wife and I sit down in the next few days to hammer this out that the advice given will be of immense help. I think we would ideally love to find a basecamp in Tuscany/Umbria to settle in for a week and just make day trips. Can we make a "food circuit" of Bologna, Parma, Modena and see a few sights in each in one day? I know that the cuisine is excellent in the entire country, but I've also heard from many not to skip these.

Has anyone heard about/tried the pesto in Torino? My wife read that they have a unique basil that they use and it is unlike any other. We would love to find a way to squeeze in a day (or two?) there as well.

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