Italy itinerary help needed please

During the summer I would suggest you start in the south and travel north for weather purposes. Your itinerary involves a lot of traveling. If your son is really interested in Rome you might consider spending more time there. It looks like you will only have essentially 2 days there. For planning purposes I find it helps to count how many nights I will be in a location, as opposed to how many days. Two nights is only one full day. I have rented apartments many times and I prefer to do so. I like having extra space and a kitchen. During the summer you might find apartments rentals difficult if you aren't spending more than a couple of nights in a location.

I like the basic contours of your itinerary. I would keep the start in Venice and end in Naples rather than the reverse, as flights from either one back to the US will involve changing, and thus they tend to leave very early. Getting to NAP early in the morning is easier and cheaper than getting to VCE early in the morning; however, you will want to stay in Naples the night before your flight, not Sorrento, unless you're feeling very lucky, want to spend a LOT of money on a private driver between Sorrento and NAP, or can get a later departure. Four days is not too much time for Florence, and you really only have three full days when you count transit. If you get there and don't like it, there are a huge number of daytrip possibilities. On the other hand, I agree with Andrea that you should have more time in Rome, and taking a day from Florence (and/or Vernazza and Sorrento, too) to put it in Rome is one easy way to get it. If you can say what draws your son to Italy, and what makes you want to see Switzerland and Norway instead, we can give more specific advice about how to allot your time, and what to see (or miss) in each place.

Thanks for the input! I really have no clue. haha Mike wants to see the Colosseum and Vatican. The more I look into Italy the places I'm interested in are Venice, Pompeii, and the catacombs. I would love to hike the Alps and cruise the Norway fjords. Two things my son has no interest in. How about going from Vernazza to Rome? Skipping Assisi and Siena. Rome June 23rd -27th Sorrento 27th –July 1st
Naples July 1st-2nd Would it be better to go to Sorrento 1st then Rome? Fly out of Rome? Good to hear about renting apts, Thanks!

Carrie, Your Itinerary looks reasonably well sorted but I have some comments.... Since this is your first trip to Europe, I'd highly recommend reading Europe Through The Back Door prior to the trip. It provides a LOT of good information on "how" to travel in Europe. I'd also suggest packing along a copy of the Italy Guidebook (2014 edition will be released in October). That provides lots of detail on hotels, transportation, sightseeing (ie: how to beat the queues), etc. A few thoughts..... > Three nights in Venice is good. > I'd add at least one night to Florence. You can easily take a day trip to Siena by Bus, which would simplify your Itinerary. > You can stop in Pisa for a few hours on your way to Vernazza, although there are two schools of thought on whether it's worth the effort. > Are you set on staying in Vernazza or would one of the other towns be acceptable? > You can easily travel from the Cinque Terre to Rome using the direct (no changes) trains from La Spezia, which have a travel time of about 3H:45M. > I'd also suggest adding time in Rome as there are an enormous number of sights to see! > Travel from Rome to Sorrento is easy. Use Trenitalia Freccia (fast) trains to Naples and then transfer to the Circumvesuviana commuter train. > I'd suggest spending 1 - 2 nights in Naples, so that you can see the incredible Archeoological Museum, which ties in with what you'll see at Pompeii. Hiring a local Guide would enhance the experience if your budget will allow. I'd also recommend seeing the Veiled Christ in the Museo Cappella Sansevero (if that might interest you). Staying in Naples will also facilitate access to your departure flight. > Book hotels WELL in advance! Good luck with your planning!

Thanks Ken! I have Europe Through The Back Door however I need to get a more current one. I will definitely get the new Italy book in October! I'm open to changing Vernazza. I could even skip it and do a hill town if that would be better. I don't know a lot about the hill towns. I'm sure I'll learn more in October with Rick's book.

Carrie, My reference to staying in one of the other towns was just to emphasize that some of the others are just as nice as Vernazza. My personal favourite is Monterosso, and I can't imagine staying anywhere else. It's the largest of the five towns, has the greatest number of hotels, restaurants, etc. and also the nicest sandy beach. Each of the towns have their own "charm", so they're all good. Europe Through The Back Door likely hasn't changed much, unless your copy is REALLY old. You might check your local Library to see if they have a copy and that way you wouldn't have to buy one. Cheers!

All I'll add for consideration is that my son and I have spent a whole week, three different trips, in Sorrento. He was 15, 16 & 18 yo and it's our favorite place in Italy. My son loves Sorrento and all there is to do there.. daytrips (to Positano and other AC towns by boat, Herculaneum, Pompeii, hiking up Mt. Vesuvius), renting a private small boat (not expensive) on Capri and spending the day going around the island and stopping to swim.. Next time we'll rent vespas for the day after reading another poster's recommendation in another thread. That sounds so fun. So many options of things to do while you're there, not to mention Sorrento itself... a charming town. We also stayed in a hotel there that has it's own private beach.. buying large tubes and floating around in the Med on a hot day.. priceless.

If you love Renaissance art and architecture, you need at a bare minimum 2 full days in Florence. If that doesn't interest you, just visit it as a day trip and stay in Siena instead. I think Assisi is too far to work well in your itinerary. Look carefully at train and bus schedules to and from the CT. It might turn out better to go from there to Rome, or through Rome to Sorrento, leaving Rome for your last stop, especially if you are flying home from there.

I mainly picked Vernazza because of Rick. I'll check out Monterosso. Thanks Ken! Thanks Chani. I'll check the trains again. Do you suggest buying tickets before you go or buy when you get there?
A week in Sorrento does sound awesome! I might need to add some time. Do you fly out of Naples? 0r Rome?

Hi Carrie, It sounds like you and your boy will have a great time. You are so wise to plan so far ahead, and to leave enough time in places to enjoy them. You can save an absolute fortune on the high speed trains if you can commit to airline style no change tickets - after you have the plan worked out, they're not available for ages yet for your trip. Go to the .Italo website or the Trenitalia website and compare the price for a trip from Florence to Naples tomorrow to that of the prices available in 90 days or 120 days. That will tell you how much you can save. Of course, traveling a year from now it wouldn't surprise me to see the Italians change it around again. They've only messed with it frequently. The Regionales it matters not. The price is the price is the price. Get the next Regionale ticket when you arrive at the station at which you will need it. Do you think your son will change his mind about various places as the year goes by? Have you shown him videos of Switzerland?

Carrie, As Nigel mentioned, it's possible to save a considerable amount by pre-purchasing tickets for the "premium" trains in Italy, such as the Freccia trains which travel at up to 300 kmH. These are available about 120 days in advance if I remember correctly, and the Super Economy tickets usually sell out quickly. However, as he also noted the tickets are often non-changeable so you MUST use the departure that you booked. Note also that tickets for premium trains have compulsory reservations, and will be specific to a particular train, date and departure time. You CAN NOT buy a ticket for these trains and then just board any train that travels that route, as you'll get nicked with a hefty fine which will be collected on the spot! For Regionale trains it's just as easy to buy tickets from one of the Kiosks when you arrive in Italy. However another important note - you MUST validate the tickets prior to boarding the train on the day of travel, or again a hefty fine. The same is true for Buses and other public transit. You might find it helpful to have a look at the excellent www.roninrome.com website, as there's a good tutorial on how to buy tickets on the Trenitalia website (which is apparently not always "user friendly"). On some routes you could also consider travelling on the new Italo high speed trains. In some cases they use different stations than the Trenitalia trains (ie: in Rome Italo uses Tiburtina and Ostiense rather than Termini, while in Florence both services use Firenze SMN). Happy planning!

Thanks Nigel and Ken! I think once I figure out where we are going I'll buy the cheap tickets ahead of time. We are on a budget. I have been reading "report trips" and have read a lot about making sure to valid tickets. Haha I'll have to check out those website thanks. I'm sure my son has watched some Rick Steve's Switzerland shows. I know he would love it, but he doesn't believe me. He's not into hiking or the great doors though. Italy is looking better with each day I research it. I added a day to the trip. Hopefully we don't have finals on that Friday! (we are both college students) June 12th fly out June 13th-16th Venice June 16th-19th Florence June 19th-22nd Vernazza June 22nd – 26th Rome June 26th – July 1st Sorrento
July 1st -2nd – Naples

Carrie, The revised Itinerary is looking good. I'm assuming on June 19 to 22nd, your destination could be "Vernazza or one of the other towns". I'm also assuming that there's also a more detailed version of your Itinerary, that shows transportation, hotels, etc.

Carrie - Great advice from Ken and Nigel. I'll add two-cents on the CT. We stayed once in Vernazza: It's adorable. But we now like Manarola better. You may want to decide based on the B&B or hotel or apartment you find. Watch for the number of steps required to get to your room. They can be killers! You can use the trains to eat in a different town each night, no matter where you stay.

This is it for an Itinerary so far. I have looked into train prices and schedules plus I have some favorite apts saved on airbnb.com but wanted/needed to ask you guys about the basic Itinerary before I went too far! I still need to look into the CT towns. I found a great apt in Vernazza however I'm sure each town has them. Thanks Laurel, I'll make sure to find out about steps!

Carrie, I'm so glad you added a day back to Sorrento. You will not regret it. We always hate leaving.. that's why we keep going back.

You've had enough suggestions on changing your route, so I'll just comment on individual places. I've been 5 times with different combinations. Venice is a two day city, beautiful, but can be seen in 2 days. Unless you really love art, so is Florence. Pisa is a 2 or 3 hour stop off, going or coming. They've kept my luggage for me at the train station twice. Cinque Terre is great. I like to stay in Santa Margherita because it is not only lively and attractive, it is near Portofino and it's post card pretty. To me Monterosso is the least attractive of the 5 cities. If you are hurried, leave it off. Vernazza and Manorola are the best, Rio M is next, with Corniglia 4th. I'd definitely see Siena and try to see a few Hill Towns, like Cortona, Montalcino, and Montepulciano, which are all fairly near. On your way to Rome, Orvieto is also great. Rome is a 3 day city, there is just so much to see. Frankly, after 5 trips (and going back on Sep 11), I have found that the opinions of Rick Steves are pretty much right on target for me. We are going to see Cortona, Gubbio, Assisi, Spoleto, and Todi this time, in addition to Venice, Florence and Cinque Terre. This will be my 4th trip to Cinque Terre, so that tells you how I feel about that area. Good luck and don't try to make Italy, the USA. The rooms are smaller, the pace is slower, but the people have such a passion for life. It's their country and they don't want to be like us.