Hello everyone! I am new to this forum. My husband and I are hoping to travel to Italy in October 2026. I am hoping to fly into Rome for a couple of nights, take a train to Florence for a couple of nights, rent a car to Tuscany and then a train back to Venice for a couple of nights. Does anyone have any suggestions other than what I have listed as destinations to visit in Italy for a one week Vacation. Also, any wonderful Airbnb‘s to stay in at each location would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
8913 posts
Welcome
It is easier to fly IN to Venice than out of and it is the perfect place to get over jet lag
I would reverse the order of your itinerary
How many nights will you have in Italy?
What are your intetests?
Venice shoud get 3 nights
Florence 2-3
Tuscany hilltowns 3-4
Rome at least 4 or as many nights as you can give it
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
8913 posts
Oh gosh now I see you only have 1 week-need to know how many nights that is actually in Italy
For such a short trip I would pick just 2 locations, you really don’t have time for all you have listed
If you have 9 nights you could do 3
Each location change eats up at least half a day
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
17466 posts
How many nights on the ground?
In general I suggest a minimum of 3 nights for Venice and Murano only, 3 nights for Florence only, 3 to 4 nights for Tuscan towns.
If you only have a week (6 nights? 7 nights?) and flying out of Venice, you can do Venice and Florence only, or Venice and some locations in the north (like Dolomites mountains) if you want to drive. Also if you fly out of Venice, your last night must be spent in Venice, so maybe you could do Florence first upon arrival (if you can change flights, fly to Florence).
Posted by
Idaho, USA
9370 posts
Hi Frances & welcome to the forum!
I agree with the others that a week is very short for time in Italy. If you possibly could extend it, even a few more days, your itinerary would be much better. I’m going to assume it is 7 days in Italy, plus flight days for the following:
- Fly into Venice - 2 nights
- 9:26am train to arrive in Florence at 11:39am - 3 nights. (Use one of these days for a half-day wine tour of Tuscany with a company that uses minivans)
- 8:48am train to arrive at Rome at 10:25am - 2 nights
That maximizes seven days, but it will feel rushed. If you have any extra days, please give Venice another day. Next could be another day trip from Florence.
Posted by
NorthCarolina
1239 posts
as someone already mentioned - always best to fly into Venice and out of Rome due to flight times in Venice. Book MulitCity tickets. Do at least 3-4 nights in Venice knowing that 3 nights is only 2 full days. Train to Florence for 3-4 nights. We like day trips from Florence with WalkAboutFlorence - their BEST OF TUSCANY TOUR is great. Then train to Rome for 4 nights, fly home from Rome. I just saw you only have one week. That is really not much time for all of this. Europe needs at least 2 weeks each trip over. With only one week, I'd just do 1-2 places.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Goodness! Thank you all so very very much for replying so quick. This is my first time on Rick Stevens form and will be my first time in Europe. All of your advice is definitely needed. I will strongly consider extending my time in Italy for another few days to another week. I will also take the advice of flying into Venice instead of Rome. Of course I’ll have more questions so again thank you all!
Posted by
Twin Cities, Minnesota
2431 posts
On one of Venice visits I took the vaporetto to both Murano and Burano for the day and had such a wonderful time. I particularly like the different colored houses and lace shops on Burano. I always stay at hotels in Venice. One of my favorites as it is off the tourist path, but close to things is Al Ponte Mocenigo. As others have said try to limit your itinerary. The best part of Italy is just wandering around and enjoying life.