We are planning a trip May/June to Italy. We will be traveling from East Coast and plan to start in Rome. We have round trip tickets from Washington DC to London (because we are using long saved up miles), so we will be arriving later in day our first day in Rome. The plan is to stay 3 nights in Rome, then take train to Florence for 3 nights and then train to Venice where we will spend 3 nights. We would like to either continue on to Lake Como for 2 or 3 nights and then Milan for 1 or two nights. We have also toyed with the idea of taking train to Milan for 2 nights (cut out Lake Como), and then flying back to London for 2 night before heading home. We have been to London before so we would not be doing a lot of sightseeing, just catching 1 or two things missed last trip. Does this sound too ambitious for a 2 week trip? Appreciate any suggestions!
Posted by
Green Bay
20163 posts
Sounds fine, since Rick already sells a "Best of Rome, Florence, and Venice" tour with 3 nights in each city. Transport between them is easy and fast. Tagging 2 or 3 nights on Lake Como is a cinch, and 1 or 2 nights in Milan before the flight back to London would work out fine also.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
6788 posts
Check you math there, Erin. "Two weeks"....depending on how you're counting, you may have more than 14 in there. Start by being honest with yourself: how many FULL days do you really have in Europe, not including the day you arrive in Europe, or the day you depart for home? Hint: I think it's less than you think. You are not helping by flying in and out of London - especially if you plan to do anything besides just connecting to a flight to Rome (seriously? you plan to arrive - probably on a redeye from DC - you're going to do a little sightseeing, then catch a flight onward to Rome...and this is all on your arrival day in Europe, which you are counting as one of your usable days?). Hope you don't need much sleep...
I'd suggest starting with being realistic about how many usable days you really have, and work from there. Remember every time you change locations you will lose from half a day to most of the day.
Posted by
OP
San Francisco, CA, United States
11 posts
Thanks for your replies. We have decided to cut out Lake Como and Milan this trip as we now realize that we simply won't have enough time. Now if we could find hotels in Rome and Florence that don't break the budget but are still nice. :) Using hotel points in Venice so lucky there.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
You can find a wide price range of hotels in Roma and Firenze, I like Hotel Paris or Hotel Bigallo in Firenze. In Roma, I liked Hotel Teatro della Pace. You can filter by price on booking.com, Make sure to choose the location you want, read reviews by guests, look at photos.
Posted by
San Mateo, CA, USA
257 posts
Hi Erin, just live down the Peninsula from you. I have stayed the last 2 times (and once before that) at the Hotel Enza. It comes Rick recommended and is totally family run. Very quiet and the family is very friendly. You will find very reasonable prices. Easy walking to Rick's recommended Antica Trattoria da Tito (in his Florence episode).
Posted by
Chicago
8069 posts
If I were you I would just do the big 3 and skip the others. One night is nothing but hassle and two nights is one day. Three nights is two full days -- really not enough for either Rome or Florence and barely enough to alight on Venice. The ratio of getting there to being there is a major factor in pleasure in a trip. You are already upping the misery quotient on this trip by having to fly in and out of London -- I have done that sort of thing in the past to save a few bucks and learned to regret it -- but having done it, you are better off not adding a bunch more moving about - although the least fun part of a trip.
Do 5 nights in Rome and Florence and 4 in Venice -- you can add a little variety with an afternoon in Ostia Antica from Rome (or Tivoli or Orvieto or Tarquinia and Cerveteri); you can add a little variety with a day trip from Florence to Siena. And Venice repays just wandering until you run out of islands.
Obviously your trip and you can move as fast as you want -- but this is what I would do to have a happier time -- and then fly Easyjet or Vueling from Florence or Rome back to London.