Italy in late September/ Itinerary

Hi Dan. My personal opinion is that you're moving around too much. It will eat up a lot of time to check in/out of hotels, get to/from the train station, etc. Don't underestimate the time that all this movement requires. You will end up spending a lot of time in transit and it will not be enjoyable. We visited Italy in 2009 for 15 days and we changed locations 4 times and I was exhausted enough from all those changes...I can't imagine moving around any more than that. I suggest cutting your 3 days in Siena and adding a day to Florence & visit Siena as a day trip from Florence. Then, I'd add 1 day to Rome and the other day to either Venice or the CT. This will reduce the movement a little but if it were me, I'd visit less places for more time. The reason I'd cut Siena is because I personally think 1 day is enough in Siena and without a car, it will be a little more challenging to visit other hill towns. As for suggestions on where to stay in each city, I can suggest a few hotels: Albergo Milano in Varenna, Hotel Margherita in Monterosso and the Palazzo Olivia apartments in Rome. I would stay at all of these places again. Have a great trip.

Dan: Good advice from Sheron! I'd go so far as to say go to either Lake Como or the CT/Vernazza. I think a lot of people plan 2 nights here and 2 nights there because that is what the tours do. When you are the planner/tour guide yourself, things take longer. You aren't just hopping on a bus someone else arranged, and going to a hotel someone else arranged, and seeing what someone else decided you should see. My follow on to Sheron's suggestions is:
Venice - 3 nights (that's two full days of touring, a minimum IMHO) Vernazza OR Lake Como - 3 nights Florence - 4 nights, day trip to Siena and other hill towns Rome - 4 nights That is 14 nights, the way I like to think about my travel time as a reference to how many "sleeps" I have in a location. A railpass not practical nor economical. Go point-to-point but buy your tickets a day or two before you travel. So if you land in Venice, visit the train station the next day and get your tickets for the next leg, and so on. You might even qualify for a little "mini" discount. Take high-speed trains where you can. They cost a little more, but you save time which is a precious commodity! Keep reading your R.S book, and pick up Europe Through the Back Door if you don't already have it.

I just want to add/amend what Laurel said about getting your train tickets while in Italy. I honestly prefer to have my tix in hand before I leave the USA. Why? Precisely to save myself trekking back and forth to rail stations DURING my vacation for the sole purpose of buying a ticket for a train 2 days hence. Each time you have to take time out of your vacation for "housekeeping" activities, you can plan on it taking 1-2 hours out of your sightseeing day. For tiny rail stations like in Vernazza, it's no big deal, fairly quick and painless. But in Venice or Rome, I wouldn't sacrifice my time to to take public transit across town to make it happen. So, if you buy train tickets on the spot in Italy and if your dates and destinations are fixed, at least try to do it all at once or at a small, un-busy rail station. That said, I definitely agree that point to point tickets are a better option than railpasses. Railpasses are not appropriate in as many situations as we might wish to believe--you STILL have to take time to secure a reservation on trains like VCE-FLR, FLR-ROM, and many others that don't offer "open" seating--just because you have the pass does not entitle you to the SEAT if you don't have a prior reservation!

Dan, I agree you have too many places for the period of time you will be there. I'm not sure what you mean by "travel days not included." Do you just mean the day you lose when you fly to Italy and the day you return home? Although I enjoyed Lake Como/Varenna very much, I think it is out of the way for your itinerary and the period of time you have. Remember 2 nights somewhere = one full day. I too prefer to think of how many nights I will be somewhere, rather than how many days. Also, consider the effort of getting somewhere vs. how much time you will actually have there. Look at the train schedules to see how long it takes by train, then add the time it takes to get to train station, find your train, etc. and then the time it takes to get from your destination to your next lodging, check-in, etc. It will take longer than you think it will. You can buy your train tickets from a travel agent when you arrive, at no extra cost.

We agree that you don't realize how much time travel will take. Our suggestion would be to spend 4 nights in Venice, 5nights in Florence and 5 nights in Rome. But we are people who stay in a place at a minimum of 3 nights and take side trips. We just like to get a feel for a place while we are there, and you can't do that in two days. Go with Rick Steves philosophy and assume you will be back. We did that in 2007 and we are going back for a third time this March. Happy Traveling

I would def do 3 nights in Cinque Terre. 2 nights would be sufficient in Sienna, and in my opinion I would stay in Siena. I prefered our stay in Siena over Florence, but Florence does have some must sees. We did 3 nights in Rome and we could have easily spent another night there, there is just sooo much to see. We did not go to Lake Como, so unfortunately I can't say if it's a must see or not.

Also, we stayed 2 nights in Venice, we would have stayed a third but what got us in Venice was the cost.

Hi Dan. I would suggest 3 nights in Venice. I spent 3 nights in Venice before a RS Village Italy tour. It was one of my favourite places. I would suggest taking a look at the Village Italy schedule to give you some ideas about the length of time in each place. I do agree with another poster that you are doing a lot of travelling and unpacking. I would suggest spending 3 nights in fewer cities. Have a great trip. I love Italy and plan to visit again soon.

Dan, I have to agree with the others in that this Itinerary involves too much "moving around" for such a short time frame. Even if the actual travel between each location is short, this will take at least a half-day each time so each of your two-day stops will in reality be quite short. Could you advise if you're using open-jaw flights (into Venice, return from Rome)? I probably wouldn't use a Railpass, however you'd have to do some "number crunching" to determine which option will be most cost effective. Keep in mind that Railpasses do NOT include the reservation fees that are compulsory on some trains. You'll need to pay separately for those. Good luck with your planning!

Great suggestions from everyone! We are flying into Venice and leaving from Rome, Revised itinerary: Venice 2 days Lake Como 2 days CT 2days Florence 4 days Rome 4 days I realize there is a lot of "moving around" at the beginning but the ladies say Lake Come & CT are a must. They don't want to give up either one.
In checking train costs vs. railpass it looks like individual tickets will be best. Any suggestions of hotels appreciated. Thanks Dan

Regarding rail passes - we were in Italy with a group of friends/family (lots of women and children) and for the month of October women were free on the trains - I don't know if this is every October, but something to consider...if you could adjust your itinerary to travel at the time if the deal is an annual thing - saved us A LOT of money. Also, three nights in Venice if you can! Have a wonderful time! Marisa

Hi Dan, We have a cousin in Richardson. I would agree with the other posters about three nights in Venice and would take that night from Florence. It's hard enough to fit in the major sights in 1.5 days that you will have but with jet lag you'll will probably move a little more slowly and be in a bit of a fog. Our time was just 2 nights /1.5 days and we weren't able to get to any of the islands or just wander the back streets enough to feel that we had seen Venice. Just my 2 cents worth.
Ciao, Sherry