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Italy Itinerary First Trip - 10 yr anniversary

My husband and I are flying into FCO round trip in May and are trying to find the best itinerary to maximize our first time. 12 days so really 10 days of vacation. Original plan was to rent a car and go to Florence, Cinque Terre, Venice and train to Rome. Other option, we thought to go to Venice first when we arrive in Rome in the AM. Thought we could fly since we're already at the airport but read tons of bad reviews unfortunately of Alitalia and didn't see any other airlines that flew FCO to VCE. None, however were specific to the short flights within Italy. Any suggestions on better schedule and places that are a must see are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Posted by
19656 posts

Use the train for all of these spots, they go at least every hour and sometimes twice an hour.
Editing out the sarcasm, the places you mentioned are ideal for rail travel and using a car would be a huge burden.
The train will take you from Rome to Venice in 3 hours, half the time of driving. The train will take you INTO Venice where a car does no good except to collect parking fees in the garage.
A car is a no good in the Cinque Terre either. It will again need to be expensively parked outside of town, while the frequent trains right through the center of the towns (mostly).
The center of Florence is a no go for cars. Google ZTL's. Traffic cameras pick up your license plate every time you cross into the zone. After you have been home a month or two, credit card charges start showing up on the credit card you used to rent the car. These aren't the fines. They are the rental agency's fees for giving the city authorities your home address to send the tickets to.
Rome traffic is crazy. Nuff said.
The Italian autostrada has very high tolls, and speed trap cams to send you tickets (see ZTL above). Gas is about $6/gallon.

Or you can travel comfortably on fast trains that deliver you right to the city centers where the action is. And they are surprisingly inexpensive. You might have to change trains occasionally, mostly to and from the Cinque Terre.

Rent a car to get to places you can't get to on the train, ie Tuscan hill towns and countryside.

Posted by
11247 posts

Sam is right on all counts. Here is exactly how I would lay out your itinerary. I am interpreting this as 11 nights.

Arrive FCO, proceed by train to Venice - Venice 3 nights

Train to Florence - 4 nights

Train to Rome - 4 nights

IMO, you do not have time for a 4th location, i.e., the Cinque Terre. If your heart is set on the CT, then you must drop something else.

You need 3 nights in Venice to properly recover from jet lag, and to just to experience it. You may well wish you had 4 nights there. I recommend 4 in Florence as not only is there much to see and do in this pretty city, you can take a day trip to Sienna or another Tuscan hill town. Consider a tour with Tours By Roberto into the Chianti countryside.

4 nights in Rome gives you just 3 full days there, a bare minimum for this great city.

Posted by
15560 posts

Sam and Laurel have given you good advice. I can't think of anything to add, so I'm just confirming it.

Posted by
32523 posts

Have you got your tickets yet? Can you arrange to fly from home to Venice (probably one change on the way in Zurich, Frankfurt, Paris or London, easier) and from Rome to home, called multi-city or open-jaw?

Probably the same money and close to the same time, and then just take trains southbound.

I think it is possible that Laurel has underpriced the cost of car fuel.

Posted by
15680 posts

Excellent advice by all, IMHO.

Flying open-jaw (into Venice, out of Rome or vice versa) would have cut some travel time but I'm guessing the tickets have already been purchased?

As Sam said, a car will be nothing but a headache for the locations on your list, and it would sit unused the entire time you were in the cities. The trains will get you there quicker, easier and less expensively, all things considered. There are also more frequent trains to Venice than flights so it's less about Alitalia (or another provider) than rail getting you there most probably sooner than waiting around for the next plane...and with no potential extra luggage fees to worry about.

And as Laurel stated, you simply don't have enough time for 4 locations in 10 days/11 nights and will waste some of what little time you have checking in/out, in transit, etc. It's also sort of late in the game for finding accommodations in the CT so I'd advise removing it from the list as well. Venice, Florence and Rome are plenty for 10 days, and you'll barely scratch the surface of Rome in 3.5.

You could, as suggested, rent a car for a day trip from Florence but there are any number of those you can do by train or bus.

Posted by
11 posts

Thank you all for the great and quick replies! We will be there for 10 nights and 10 days. We arrive in the morning our first day. I like the itinerary suggested: Venice, Florence (and day trips which I can look at other posts for suggestions) and Rome. Sounds like trains are the way to go. My only concern is lugging our luggage on and off and getting to/from train stations. Thought cars for Tuscany would make that easier and to explore the countryside. Lastly, it's our first time to Italy and we enjoy seeing how the locals live and eating the great food. We are not so much interested in the "touristy" city sites but know they're a "must" especially for our first time. For this reason, we thought Cinque Terre or something like driving through Tuscany and staying a day in small towns like Livorno, Siena, Montalcino would give us the natural countryside feel to balance the city/touristy treasures. We aren't opposed to leaving out Venice either. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!!!

Posted by
1829 posts

You have come to the dilemma most every American family faces when planning trips to Italy or most of Europe.
Best answer is to Pack extremely lightly, utilizing layering and re-wear some clothes while traveling.

Rick Steves says pack for your trip and then head to your local mall and walk around the mall inside, up the escalaters and everything ; when you return to your car this will give you a good idea if you need to pack even lighter for your trip or are good.

Yes a car is more convenient for luggage but be terrible for you otherwise.
First you say you want to go to Florence and list the major cities but then later you want the Tuscany countryside and not see such city sites for Florence/Rome/Venice, given your time you kind of have to decide which you want to see more.
Rome/Venice is all about the city and having a car in either is a non-option.
Florence the car is bad in the city and good in the country. Problem is it is really bad in the city.
Cinque Terre car is bad no matter what so you end up renting a car so you can pay for it to sit parked for 3 days outside of where you are staying anyway. Yes some select places may have parking but even those the car is parked not used daily while you walk and take local trains and boats.
Cinque Terre is not the place to go to see local life and feel like a local, it is a tourist attraction more than 5 small fishing villages now.

if you want to see the Tuscan countryside best to plan where you want to stay for that area and then figure out how to get there. You can always rent a car for just a few days for this stretch. Rent the car from the Rome outside the city ZTL zones and drive to a place south of Florence in the countryside stay 3 nights, return car to Florence rental drop off outside the city and then go back to relying on public transit spending your 4th night in Florence without the car. Or do 2 and 2 for your 4 nights.
Even the towns in the countryside have car free centers and ZTL zones to be mindful of.

Posted by
120 posts

If you start your trip in Venice you can fly non-stop via Delta. Then take high speed train
to your next destination. Work your way south to Rome and fly out of FCO for home.

Posted by
11 posts

Thanks. We've bought our tickets so can't change them. Fly in/out of Rome. Packing light is hard but thanks for the suggestion. As for trains and the cities I've listed. I appreciate your advice and will further research where we want to go and then decide on transportation. Didn't realize CT was so touristy plus another poster said that hotel rooms are probably all booked. We know we want to visit Florence and Rome since we fly in there and just assume Venice is a "must-see" on first trip but am open to suggestions of other city. I would love to goto Amalfi Coast but think it's not realistic given the time frame.

Posted by
922 posts

For train tickets, you can save some money if you buy in advance. Take a look at trenitalia.com and italotreno.it/en. Italo is relatively new but their trains are nice. I would look at trains from Venice to Florence and then Florence to Rome on both web sites. They have high speed trains that take 2-1/2 hours Venice-Florence and 1-1/2 hours Florence to Rome. The down side to buying in advance is that you usually cannot change the ticket if you decide you want to go at a different time. I would skip buying the Rome to Venice ticket because you could run into flight or other delays that make you miss the train. The train station names are Venezia S. Lucia, Firenze SMN (Florence) and Roma Termini. Be sure to register for an account on the web sites. That way, you can always go back and get your tickets. There are sometimes issues with emails getting lost so that you don't have your ticket anymore!

Posted by
15680 posts

Didn't realize CT was so touristy plus another poster said that hotel
rooms are probably all booked.

That was me, and I said it was sort of late in game to be trying to book now. There may still be openings but the prime properties (and that doesn't necessarily mean 'expensive') are probably gone. I remember posters having trouble in January last year being able to snag what they wanted for May, and we barely got our first choice booking 6-7 months in advance.

I wouldn't define the CT as 'touristy' unless that means having to share the space with a mob of other tourists. You'll be putting up with those in any hot spot in Italy. The word means something different to all of us, and it certainly isn't a manufactured, plastic thing created specifically FOR tourists. There also are ways to escape the hordes if one is willing to put in a bit of effort, and it's great in the early morning and at night when the day-trippers have gone. But with your time so short, it's still the one place I'd leave off the itinerary.

Luggage: you may very well end up in some accommodations with no lift so as well as being able to manage on the trains - the least of your concerns - you'll need to be able to carry them up and down one or more flights of stairs. This may also apply at smaller train stations so there's a reason why you hear the "Pack light!" mantra so often on RS forums! :O)

Posted by
11 posts

Stephen, thanks for the train tips. Will look into those websites. Kathy, thanks for the info on CT you're absolutely right, everyone has a different definition on "touristy." When planning, my husband asked me what was most memorable of our honeymoon trip to Greece (Athens, Santorini, Samos) and it was hands down Samos island. A small quaint island that we rented a car and drove around the entire island and hopped in and out of little towns during the day and enjoyed it. Athens was too big city feel for us but a "must see." And Santorini was really nice but he didn't like the crowds smashed like sardines to see the sunset. haha. So we are just trying to find a good combination of touristy attraction and relaxing feel which I hope and believe we can achieve through Florence and day trips to Siena, etc. Just started reading about Bologna and he loves cheese and I love pasta and meat...so to be continued. Thank you for all the insight.

Posted by
15560 posts

Think these thoughts while deciding what to pack:

  • No one cares if you wear the same clothes over and over. Choose neutral colors that won't look dirty on multiple wears.
  • Pack for 5-6 days and send out laundry in the middle. It may be a little pricey, but easier than carrying more around.
  • Pay attention to how much things weigh. Take lightweight clothes, it's going to be warm in May. No jeans.
  • You don't have to dress up. Leave extra shoes behind. Leave accessories (belts, jewelry) behind. You'll see lots of pretty scarves in Italy. Buy there - good souvenirs.
  • Look at every item and ask yourself - can I really not live without this for 10 days?
  • Take travel-size toiletries and cosmetics and only what you really need.

Luggage can go astray, especially if you have a connecting flight. It usually catches up with you in a couple of days. So pack what you need for the first 24-48 hours in your carry-on. Also, don't pack his and hers suitcases. Pack half and half in each one for the flight over. You can sort it out when you get to Italy, but it is added "insurance" in case one bag takes a detour.

Posted by
23178 posts

My only concern is lugging our luggage on and off and getting to/from
train stations.

Just how much luggage do you anticipate having? You either taxi or walk (sometimes bus) to the train stations, platforms are smooth and flat. In smaller stations you may have to go up and down stairs to go under train tracks so lots of heavy luggage is a problem but two carry on size rolling bags work very well.

Thought cars for Tuscany would make that easier and to explore the
countryside.

Absolutely, the place where a car can be very useful. In that case, rent a car for two days and stay away from major cities and the TLZs of Florence. However with only ten days on the ground you do need to make some compromises.

Posted by
11247 posts

@Nigel "I think it is possible that Laurel has underpriced the cost of car fuel." -- Wasn't me. I never drive. No nothing about gas prices. :-)

Posted by
11247 posts

tpip2005,
One key to packing light is to limit shoes to two pair per person: one to wear and one to pack. Must be extremely practical. I take three bottoms (one to wear, two to pack) no matter summer or winter. Could be a skirt and 2 jeans, or whatever. And we do take jeans. Always. 4-5 tops, a cardigan and a jacket and I'm done. I rinse out a few things every couple of nights unless we have a place with a washer. A trip to the laundromat is a cultural experience and well worth 90-minutes it takes.

Posted by
11 posts

@Chani, Laurel and Frank-Thanks for the packing tips and breakdown. Because I don't travel a lot, I do tend to over pack. Will do a few trial runs. As for tentative itinerary, the lineup goes

Venice 2.5 days

travel to Florence 0.5 day

Florence as home base 3 days

Florence city 1 day

Siena 1 day trip

vineyards 1 day trip

travel to Rome 0.5 day

Rome 3.5 days

Thanks!!

Posted by
1929 posts

I think that's quite a good basic structure to work from--good job!

RE: packing, take the good advice above, watch Rick's 'pack light, pack right' online videos, and this one about the 'military roll' for clothing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiDDQxvD4Y4. Amazing how much you can get in one bag using this method. I would each get a max 21" spinner (4-wheel) bag, make that your limit, buy one 'don't tell Rick' tote bags to pack flat for gifts to take home, and I liked having a couple of Rick's mesh packing cubes for organization. You'll thank me later!

Agreed about not buying the initial Rome/Venice train ride in advance--bite the bullet cost-wise in case the plane's late, but do fire in to buy advance tickets now for Venice/Florence & Florence/Rome. You should save $100-$200 that way. And if you're planning to visit the Uffizi Gallery (Florence) and the Vatican (Rome), buy those tix online in advance too--bypass the lines!

Best departure time in my opinion for train travel (as long as the trip is 4 hours or less) is around noon--you're not rushed in the morning, plenty of time to get to the station, and you're not arriving at night. With a 2+ hour ride Venice/Florence, you'll arrive perfectly mid-afternoon. I would not rent a car--pain in the derriere! Florence/Siena is better by bus because it lets you off inside the main town area, and Siena's train station is on the outskirts of town. For the winery tour, research and book something private with a solid, reputable guide if you want. Yeah, it might end up being a splurge, but you want that one day to be special, right? And let someone else drive if you're visiting wineries. We did this in 2010 to Greve-in-Chianti, and it was a cooking class at the Montagliari winery--magical & memorable!

Only 1 day seeing Florence proper, which is kind of short shrift, but you can still walk the town in the mornings and dine in the evenings--dinner starts at 8:00 PM at most restaurants. Then the Freccia train Florence/Rome, quick. Research your neighborhoods and stay within walking distance to attractions--I am partial to the Campo de' Fiori and Trastevere areas. To get around, we liked the Hop-On-Hop-Off double decker bus that was I think 20 Euro for 2 days back in 2010, and drove in a loop, stopping at most every attraction. We were in Rome for only three days and really utilized its flexibility.

Enjoy your planning!

Posted by
15560 posts

Maybe it's because I travel solo, but dinners are a much lower priority than sightseeing. When it fits my schedule, I like to take evening trains. It's nice to relax on the the train after a full day of sightseeing. I can either have a picnic dinner on the train or a late dinner after I check in to my next hotel.

Posted by
15680 posts

To get around, we liked the Hop-On-Hop-Off double decker bus that was
I think 20 Euro for 2 days back in 2010, and drove in a loop, stopping
at most every attraction. We were in Rome for only three days and
really utilized its flexibility.

I'm going to respectfully disagree with using the Hohos in Rome. They've generally been seeing pretty negative reviews for some years now (dirty; long wait times; broken equipment; surly staff; etc) and while they can get you somewhat close to some of the attractions, they can't get to those in pedestrianized or tight places. I'd only consider these if you have mobility limitations.

Posted by
1929 posts

Kathy--good info. Like I said, our experience was from 5+ years ago and at that time it was fine & convenient. But I wanted to offer an alternative to the Rome bus system, which from many creature comfort and safety standpoints is nothing to write home about either. Certain bus lines are prone to pickpockets, reported in the last couple years.

Posted by
11 posts

Thanks Jay and all for the packing tips. Jay I like the idea of having someone else drive for the vineyards. We thought about renting a car for a day or two to go to smaller towns so we would be on our own (a little more romantic) and not have to worry about train schedules etc. but keep reading horror stories on forum of ZTL, getting lost when returning car to an airport/big city. thanks for everyone's input!

Posted by
1929 posts

To each his or her own. Some revel in driving in unfamiliar territory--it does raise the unexpected quotient somewhat, which often provides the best memories of the trip. But personally I've never had the jones for doing that with a rental vehicle.

But aside from hiring a guide to drive you around Tuscany, I have become very comfortable with European train travel from almost every standpoint--comfort, price, efficiency (most train stations are smack dab in the middle of the city centers), and just the joy of seeing a little town out the window and wondering 'what those people do there'. I find it intoxicating & relaxing, and you'll find that train schedules in Europe for the most part are easy to read and on time.

Trenitalia isn't the most well-run in Europe--I'll hand that crown to the Swiss--but they're still miles ahead of most train lines in the States.

Posted by
32 posts

We have driven in Italy and we have caught trains. We prefer the trains, they are very comfortable and fast. We both love Florence and use it as a base to go to other towns. We took the train to Venice for the day.. It gave us a view of it so we plan to go back. We also hired Anna from Cooltours to take us to San gimignano and then to a winery for lunch and then onto Siena. It was a fantastic day and well worth the 300 euros as we were the only ones on the tour. She charges 90 euros per person if she can get up to 8 people for the tour. You will have such a wonderful trip no matter where you go and great memories

Posted by
1929 posts

Yep, Marg, those 1-day private deals are expensive but when back home they're a memory to last a lifetime, no cliché.

In 2010 we did a private tour to Chianti that cost 300 Euro, which included pickup/dropoff in Florence, a tour of the Montagliari winery in Greve-in-Chianti and a cooking class in their kitchen/eating area. It was with the late, great Eugene Martinez, a transplanted New Yorker to Rome 30 years before, and it was wonderful on all counts. Sitting, sipping & eating on a warm October afternoon with the light breeze blowing in from the vineyards was all I hoped Italy would be.

Then last March, from a B&B in Salerno, the owner drove us to the tiny village of Sant' Arsenio, a hour southeast up into the foothills, where my great-great grandparents were born. Saw some family graves and walked the narrow streets of the town, also having lunch at a total cost of 225 Euro. It was a cold, windy, reflective day--and just as memorable as Chianti.