I want to take my 16 yr. old daughter on her first trip to Italy during Easter break, anytime between 3/31-4/11. Would love to do a bit of Rome, Florence, & Cinque Terre. We would have approx. 8 days, give or take depending on flight $$ from JFK do we fly in & out of Rome? Is this too ambitious of an itinerary? And if I can get a better flight price for a longer stay will I have to pay too much in hotel fees? I'm ok with less than 5 star but really don't want to do the hostel thing. And is the weather in Cinque Terre nice enough at that time? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
P.S. Rick if you read this THANK YOU!!
Posted by
Florence, OR, US
267 posts
It depends on what you want to see: I spent 5 days in Rome and didn't get to see all there was to see. I spent 3 days in Florence and, again, saw the highlights. We spent just a few hours in the Cinque Terre and wasn't nearly enough time.
It is about a 2 hour train ride from Rome to Florence if you take the Eurostar, and about 2 hours from Florence to the CT (you have to change trains at some point; they are all regional trains, I think, so they are slower).
I flew into Rome, and immediately left by train to go to our Northernmost destination. We worked our way south, ending in Rome, and flying out of Rome; but my flight situation was different due to the fact I was flying standby on a "buddy pass" (my brother is a pilot for Delta). But that worked well for us.
I would definitely stay longer if you could. 8 days in Italy is a very quick trip! Also, are your 8 days including flight times to and from the U.S. or is that 8 days JUST for Italy?
We stayed mostly in Rick Steve's recommended accomodations; we went for the inexpensive, one to two dollar sign, rated places (going by his rating system). All were pretty basic; nothing fancy, no room service, no pool/spa/exercise room, etc. The nicest places we stayed were La Bella Giuliana in Rome and Pensione Guerrato in Venice. The others were my idea of a one star, maybe two star, room; but we weren't there for the room; we were there to be out and about and seeing the sights! We preferred to save the money on the quality of room and spend it elsewhere.
good luck, and have fun!