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Italy Itinerary advice: starting in Venice ending in Rome

Posted by (Minneapolis, MN, US) on

Hello,
We will spend 2 weeks in Italy May 18-30 ( out first trip to Italy). The tickets are already purchased: ariving in Venice on May 18th and departing from Rome on May 30th.
I would greatly appreciate an advice on how to structure these two weeks: what cities and in what hotels to stay. I was thinking to stay ~3 days in Venice, than rent a car (only if it is benefitial)to travel in Toscany, and conclude the trip in Rome ( 3-4 days in Rome).
Besides arriving in Venice and departing from Rome everything else is on the table. We want this trip to be in a relatively moderate leisurely pace.
We are in our 40th, will travel without kids. As far as hotels all we need is quiet nights, basic amenities, and proximity to the sightseeing places( 3 star hotels are fine). Our main interests are architechture, people, food, and culture in general. We like art but do not want to spend too much time in the Italian art musiums during this trip. I have read about agroturizmo but do not really know if it is a good idea for Toscany base.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Dan

Posted by
711 posts

Hi Dan.. We do something similar. Fly into Venice, rent a car in the Piazza Roma( do it from home), drive around Tuscany and Umbria, then we dropped it off in La Spezia, trained to the Cinque Terre, trained out to Pisa, and flew to Rome. Send me a PM if you want ideas for places to stay.

Posted by
1449 posts

Ricks Italy guide book recommends hotels, as do those by other authors. A guide book will also describe the various towns you could visit, and after reading thru the descriptions you can decide what appeals to you. Another avenue people have found useful for planning is to watch travel shows on TV.

Posted by
109 posts

I think you are planning a wonderful, not too hectic trip. For a first trip to Italy I would consider something like this;
Venice 3 nights
Florence 2 nights
Tuscany or Umbria 4 nights at an agriturismo
Rome 4 nights

I think staying at an agriturismo is the perfect change of pace from the city visits. They come in all budget ranges and with a variety of amenities. Cretaiole" gets fab reviews everywhere although I have never been.But there are literally hundreds to choose from. Since you enjoy people and food this seems like a good match for you. Or have you considered staying in a castle or other historical or unique place for a portion of your trip? Again there are many to choose from.
I think a car is a necessity for visiting the beautiful towns of Tuscany /Umbria. You can visit at your pace,linger where you like and return to your base in the evening.

Posted by
37 posts

Hi Dan,
The itinerary that you have in mind sounds great and very doable.
I would definitely recommend renting a car for traveling into Tuscany/Umbria - just be sure to get a GPS system in the car or take a hand held one with you from home.
Another option you might consider is after your time in central Tuscany is heading south to Orvieto, before making your way onward to Rome. Orvieto is about an hours train ride from Rome so you could easily drop off your rental car there prior to going to Rome. We really enjoyed the medieval character and sights in Orvieto. Others have used Orvieto as a home base and taken the train into Rome to see the sights.
Have you thought about staying in any B&B's throughout Italy?? Casa Selita in Orvieto is wonderful and we would highly recommend it! We spent 5 weeks last fall wandering around Italy with a rental car and we stayed in B&B's everywhere. Check out BBPlanet for these. This was our first trip to Italy also and we thoroughly enjoyed it and we booked most of our accommodations via BBPlanet.it
Have fun planning your trip and have a wonderful time!

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