Italy Itinerary

ann,

It would be possible to fit in both Italy and Spain in a 16 day time frame, but only if you skip some of the places that you mentioned in Italy. To begin with, I'd suggest skipping Milan and Pisa. Especially with the short time frame, using open-jaw flights would be a really good idea (for example, inbound Venice, outbound Madrid).

"Rough ideas of activities we can do" is somewhat of a subjective matter, so it would help to have some idea what type of interests you have and what type of sights you're hoping to see. I would highly recommend having a look at the RS Italy 2016 guidebook, as there's an enormous amount of information there on things like sightseeing, transportation, hotels, restaurants, etc. August is going to be HOT and BUSY so pre-booking accommodations will be essential. For your stay in the Cinque Terre, you'll also have to decide which of the five towns you want to stay in.

I'd have to give some thought to your plans, but my initial impression is that you should focus on Italy on this trip, and leave Spain for another time. One of the "popular" routes is Venice > Florence > Cinque Terre > Rome, so that's one to consider. While in Florence, it's easy to take day trips to Siena, Pisa or Lucca. While in Rome, a day trip to Orvieto is very easy.

You will use the better part of a day to fly from Italy to Barcelona. It's well worth a visit if you choose to do that. Plan on at least 3-4 nights there. Otherwise it isn't worth it. I would eliminate Madrid because it's liable to be miserably hot in August and doesn't compare with your other destinations.

How many places you visit in Italy depends on whether you want a whirlwind trip as an "introduction to Italy" or a more relaxed pace with time to relax and soak it up and how many night you have. Which places you choose depends on [1] what your gateway airports are, [2] what your interests are (history, art, nature, sports, etc.), [3] how close they are to each other by train (some places may be close on the map but are only served by slow trains), and [4] what activities you want (cooking class, bike tour, hiking, church/museum visitsj, etc.).

On a fast-paced trip, you'll be moving every couple of days. That's packing, getting to/from trains, finding your hotel (to drop your luggage), orientation to new surroundings, not just the 2 hour train ride. Generally moving uses up about 1/2 day. So the best rule for planning is (X + 1) nights = X days (2 nights = 1 day; 3 nights = 2 days). You see more places, but have less sightseeing/activity time.

Thanks everyone. I just got the Rick Steves Italy 2016 guide and will be reading through that. I guess we would like a balance of both fast paced but also relaxed so in between?

We would love to explore cultural activities (art, history), cooking/food and wine, hiking, seeing the country. This is my first time in Europe and so that's probably why I'm torn between seeing one place or seeing multiple countries.

I would say since it is your first time, stick to one country. Italy has so much to offer, and is vastly different from north to south, and in between. If you do Venice, Florence, Cinque Terre, and Rome, for 3-4 nights each you will get different cultures and the food is equally as different in the different regions. As Ken suggested, day trip to Pisa, Lucca, and/or Siena from Florence. Or go to Orvieto from Rome.

Definitely fly open jaw, preferably into Venice and out of Rome.

Fly in to Venice - 3 nights
Train to Rome - 4 nights
Train to Florence - 3 nights
Train via Pisa to Cinque Terre - 3 nights
Train to Milan - 2 nights
Fly out of Milan

Thank you to everyone for your advice! I think we will stick to Italy so that we can accomplish more.

One thing I did want some advice on was carryon luggage and cash. I've read I should use ATMs to withdraw cash as I go? I just have to check of course bank fees and what not. I was also wanting to bring a large backpack, I'm thinking that would be my easiest option to carry as we are traveling around?

Congrats on your trip to Italy! Regarding your question on cash/credit cards, I would definitely use an ATM as your preferred manner of obtaining Euros on your trip. Check with your local bank to see what their "sister" bank is in Italy. BNL D'Italia was mine and I found them all over Italy. Lower or no fees per withdrawal. Also find out which of your credit cards has the lowest (or no) transaction fee for purchases. Capital One is probably the best for minimal fees but others might also have opinions on which cards are the best. Another good reason to have an ATM card is that many of the local train stations, when using the kiosk machines to purchase tickets, require you to enter a four-digit PIN number as opposed to just swiping your card. If you can make sure your credit card also has a PIN number attached to it, that would be beneficial but probably better to use an ATM/debit card for those kind of transactions. Regarding a "large" backpack, if you mean in terms of using it while doing day trips, I would tend to go with a "small" backpack. You are going to be in Italy during the hottest month of the year and would think you might want to keep the weight to a minimum while visiting the sites. Generally, we all tend to pack too much during trips like these. You can always spend an hour or two in one of the towns half way thru your trip to do a quick wash and not worry about packing too many clothes. Gives you more room in your suitcase to bring back new clothes you'll find in all the cool shops in Italy! Have a great time !!!! Been their twice on two-week trips and can't wait to go back again.

Hi Ann :) I'm new here too and will be visiting Europe for my first time this year so I don't have any advice but wanted to say hello. My goal is to spend half of my vacation "soaking up the ambiance" by sipping coffee/wine and people watching, walking the piazzas etc. Oh and eating lol.
My first stop in Italy will be Florence and then Monterosso. I agree 4ish days in each town is a nice long stay especially factoring in travel time.

Any great ideas you get for day trips while in Florence please share and I will do the same.

Debbie

Regarding credit and debit cards, an unbeatable combination is a Capital One CC and a Charles Schwab Bank debit card. With Chas. Schwab you NEVER pay an ATM fee and with Cap One there are no international transaction fees.You have time to set up both and it will save your a lot of $$. Do not forget to tell them that you will be in Italy. Call a few days before you leave.

For all the money tips you need, read all the links in Rick's money page: http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money

If you are going in August, book for the wonderful Pallio in Siena, so book at least one night there, this is memorable!
Add a day in Rome or maybe visit Pompei or Ercolano one day - Arrive in Venice and depart from Rome

Do not go to Milan this time. I will tell you about a northern trip with Milan, Lakes, Como and the others Turin, the Langhe with a wonderful wine discovery ( barrolo) another time

Back to the beginning . . . how many nights will you have in Italy? Are you going to Barcelona or not? I would start by looking at flight options. Venice is the best place to start a trip to Italy. A logical progression through Italy would be Venice > Florence > Pisa (either as a 1/2 day trip from Florence or as a stop on the way > Cinque Terre > Rome. If you want to include Milan, start there, then > Venice. From Rome, fly to Barcelona or not, and home.

Once you know your flight options and how many nights you have in Europe, it will be easier to determine whether or not to go to Spain, and how many stops you can make in Italy.

Lastly, read the recent threads about the Cinque Terre. They are likely to be swamped with day trippers from cruise ships and not at all enjoyable. There are lots of other places to visit in Italy.

Thank you everyone, I very much appreciate all your advice! I've been reading up on Rick Steves Italy book and love how detailed he is. We have decided just Italy this time and will be going for 15 days. In Ricks book he recommends that we see: Florence, Venice, Rome, Cinque Terre, Civita, Siena, Sorrento, Naples, Pompeii, Almalfi Coast and Paestum.

Could anyone recommend a good progression for traveling to all these locations? I'm slowly going through all of Ricks recommendations but just wondering if anyone could provide me with a general idea of which place to go from where. We will be taking public transportation.

Also as a side note, I know Rick recommends all these places but is it doable within 14-15 days? Just seems like a lot of places to hit and I don't want to cram so much that I'm not able to hit up all those places!

ann,

There's no way you're going to be able to visit all those locations in 15 days. That would be an average of about 1.36 days in each place, with no allowances for travel times. I'd suggest skipping Civita, Sorrento, Naples, Pompeii, Almalfi Coast and Paestum and focus on the remaining locations. One Itinerary you could consider is....

• Fly inbound Venice (3 nights?)
• Train to Florence (4 nights, with day trip to Siena)
• Train to Cinque Terre (3 nights - you'll need to get accommodations booked there SOON!)
• Train to Rome (5 nights, with day trip to Orvieto - you could also do a day trip to Naples or Pompeii, although that would be a long day - outbound flight from Rome / FCO)

Take a rolling bag rather than a back pack. There is a good reason why you see few back packs, and many rolling bags, coming off the baggage carousel. Spinner type bags work well in airports, not so well on cobbles.

Go for a bag with two wheels.

There's a simple way to decide between a wheelie and a backpack. Pack your backpack the way you would for your trip and go for a nice long walk, with a flight or two of stairs. Do this every day for a week. How do you feel? How easy is it to pack/unpack it? For 1-2 night stays, you can live out of a wheelie. Can you do that with your backpack?

What are the sights or places that you and your friend must see? This will help to narrow down your choices and determine how long you want for each stop. I promise you the more research you do, the more places you'll want to visit. You just have to accept that you'll skip more than you'll see, but you'll be back . . . again and again.

" as a side note, I know Rick recommends all these places but is it doable within 14-15 days? Just seems like a lot of places to hit and I don't want to cram so much that I'm not able to hit up all those places!"

That is about a dozen places in fourteen days, which would make for an impossibly hectic visit. As a minimum, Venice needs two or three days, for example.

Ken's itinerary seems the most feasible, to me. You can also day trip to Pisa from Florence, since that was on your original list. Or even Lucca.

I also like Ken (Vernon)'s suggested itinerary.

Pretty well everything you need to know about travel tips can be found in this website: https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips

Thanks again everyone, this being my first time trying to plan a trip to Europe on my own (and not resorting to just booking a tour company) you've all really lowered my anxiety levels!

Last question from me (hopefully!), after reading up on locations I think we are looking at:
Venice, Florence (Siena, Pisa), Cinque Terre, Rome (Pompeii) and Sorrento (Amalfi Coast, Naples- maybe). I would love to do Sorrento hence adding it to the itinerary, we will just cut a couple of days from other places. If we were to do it in the above order, would I have to head back to either Rome or Naples to reach an airport?. Should I perhaps consider doing the trip in reverse order or is there a better order anyone can think of with the last city having an airport?

If you prefer to go 'light' on museums and churches then I think you can scale back time in Florence and Rome, allowing time for the Amalfi Coast.
Day 1 - Arrive Venice - 3 nts
Day 2+3 - Venice sights
Day 4 - Train via Florence to Cinque Terre - 3 nts
Day 5+6 - Hiking and relaxing
Day 7 - Train via Pisa to Florence - 3 nts
Day 8 - Florence sights
Day 9 - Excursion to Siena
Day 10 - Train via Naples to Sorrento (Amalfi Coast) - 3 nts
Day 11 - Excursion to Capri
Day 12 - Excursion to Pompeii and Naples
Day 13 - Morning excursion to Positano. Late afternoon train to Rome - 3 nts
Day 14 - Rome sights
Day 15 - St Peters and Vatican Museums
Day 16 - Depart from Rome