June itinerary help please with 2 teens who like places with lots (!) of action/activities. The plan so far: 3 nights in Rome, 4 nights in Sorrento (as a base), 2 nights in Florence. Later, we can fly back to San Francisco out of Milan or Venice.
Question 1: traveling by train from Florence, in which order should we go to Milan and Venice?
Question 2: I know Milan has mixed ratings. If we skipped Milan altogether, where could I add 1-2 nights?
Travel time: early June
Must: non stop Rome-San Francisco either at the beginning or end
Kids' interests: boat rides, food, shopping, hanging out in busy plazas, outdoor dining with people watching, one kid likes museums. Both loved walking the wall around Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Total trip: 13-14 nights plus plane ride
Posted by
San Diego, California, USA
1688 posts
Hello jencogen, and welcome to the forum,
Why the emphasis on Sorrento over other cities? It is a resort town that does not exactly strike me as a place laden with activities and action. What do you have planned there?
Keeping in mind that 2 nights is just 1 full day I would switch from 4 places in what looks like 13 or so nights and add that night somewhere else to travel less and explore places more.
Milan is a big city with over a million people in the greater area so it has a lot going on in terms of nightlife, shopping, and big city activities. Venice is a true wonder of the world and great to explore but is also heavily touristed. Venice can also be difficult to fly out of since many connecting flights are early and travel logistics in Venice are water based and less convenient that land based options. I haven't done it but many people love Row Venice as an activity.
Also what time of year are you thinking of going? The time of year can greatly affect what activities are available as well as crowds.
Sounds like you're in the planning stages of a great trip,
=Tod
Posted by
6176 posts
How many nights do you have available?
Regardless, if you fly out of Milan, I would go there last, and Venice last if you fly home from there.
The most consistent advice I see on any Italy forum is to not rush Venice.
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
6636 posts
Unless you have a compelling reason to visit Milan, I'd skip it entirely, and give those nights to Venice and Florence, which seem to be shortchanged. I'd also start with Venice and work your way south. Why? Because Venice is an easier first stop to work off your jet lag, and it's much easier to fly into Venice than out, because of flight times and early morning transportation headaches. So, Venice to Florence to Sorrento, then finish in Rome.
Posted by
70 posts
Agreed that Milan might not be worth it - it’s nice and big, but not particularly remarkable tbh.
Although also quite touristy, I would like to mention Verona, which is on the way from Venice to Florence.
What precisely are your teens into? What activities do they like?
And quite important as well: when are you going? The season can have quite an impact on what to …
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
8560 posts
Need to know how many nights
Can you fly in to Venice, out of Naples?
If not Naples then put Rome last and fly home from there
Skip Milan unless you are interested in seeing Last Supper
Posted by
Michigan
114 posts
Kayaking in Sorrento was enjoyed by a teenager and her aunts.
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
6636 posts
Must: non stop Rome-San Francisco either at the beginning or end
I'm confused by this. Do you mean that you must do a return ticket flight into and out of Rome? Or do you mean that you must fly either into Rome OR out of Rome? Given the quite large distances between some of the places you want to visit, you would ideally fly on a multicity ticket into Venice and out of Rome.
Posted by
Ohio
113 posts
We went over the summer with 2 teens. Their favorite was Venice, but they also loved Florence and Rome. Have you thought about adding Cinque Terre rather than Milan?