Italy starting Venice finishing Rome

Venice, Florence and Rome are the big three in Italy.

Suggest 3 nights in Venice, 5 in Florence, with day trip to Siena, 6 in Rome.
Also, Pisa, Lucca and CT.

The Naples area is great. Recommend staying in Sorrento and visiting Pompeii, Amalfi Coast and Capri. Also, visit the Archaeological Museum in Naples.

If you have time, visit Perugia, Assisi, Spello and Orvieto in Umbria.

Farther north, if you have time, Verona, Bologna and Ravenna.

basically want to see the best and the little less travelled.

Just accept that most of the places you want to go will be pretty well trod; there is nothing wrong with that.

Is this your first time in Italy? In Europe?

Do you have any passionate interests (Art, Food, History) or are you just wanting to see the things to be seen?

My initial thoughts?

Add at least one more night to Venice, you will need time to get on your feet, two nights only gives you one full day, two full days would be better with even just a casual interest in Venice.

For a stop, I try to do three nights to start for each stop, figuring a travel day is mostly lost. In a bigger stop (Rome for example) I list the big things I want to see, then figure each will take a half day. So if your list in a place is 6 big sights, that is three full days (4 nights), then you might want to add one for just looking around, or not.

Florence would be an obvious addition to your list.

I would add a smaller town in Tuscany or Umbria as a change of pace.

That starts to stack up, Venice 3 nights, Florence 3 nights, Cinque Terre 3 nights, small town 3 nights, Rome 4 nights, Amalfi coast, 4 nights...adding up to 3 weeks roughly, leaving you another week or so to fill. Maybe some stops need a day more, maybe you can find another smaller town to relax in.

I would do something like this:

Venice 4,
CT 2,
Lucca 2 (visit Pisa),
Florence 4,
San Gimignano 1,
Siena 2,
Assisi 2,
Orvieto 1,
Naples 3 (visit Pompeii),
Sorrento 3 (visit Amalfi Coast),
Capri 2,
Rome 6

thanks so much everyone. You have given me some ideas and also have made me realise maybe im not so lost lol. I will keep working on it

We're making the same trip, flying into Venice and out of Rome - but only for 16 days and in October. We're like you - wanting to spend more time in fewer places so we don't feel rushed. The plan right now is to spend three nights in Venice; four nights in Florence (with a day trip through Tuscany); three nights in Cinque Terre; and five in Rome. I know Rick Steves says that too much time in one place is almost as bad as not enough time, and some would rightly argue that we're planning at least one night too many in each place, but I think there's enough to see in these cities that we'll be fine filling the time at a nice, relaxed pace.

Anyway, with two extra weeks, you'll have lots of time to do whatever the heck you want! Since you're relying on public transportation, stop by Milan on your way to the Amalfi Coast. After Cinque Terre, stay in Pisa or Lucca for a bit. Then you can take a bus or train to Siena. My understanding is that there isn't a whole lot of public transportation in Tuscany once you get to Siena, but you can do bus tours to the surrounding areas. Then take a train from there to Rome.

So many options... The important thing is to have fun!

Hi Dean,
Thats amazing pretty much what wanted to do, but we were hoping to fit in lake Como for a bit as well and head past Rome to Salerno and do A C from there as well as capri and historic sites and maybe try and get over to Bari for a bit to have a look around that region and then back to Rome spend 5 days there maybe before we fly home .we leave on the 17th May and come back on the 20th June. im thinking we might be pushing it, especially as we will be using public transport.

Take a look at the itinerary for the My Way Italy tour for some ideas. https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/italy/my-way-italy We did this tour last fall and really enjoyed it, knowing that it was going to be fast paced, with two nights per city. You have more time…maybe seeing the plans for that tour will be helpful as you decide how to spend your time? We would have happily stayed in each spot for 3 nights if we could have…and we extended our time to 4 nights in Rome, followed by 2 nights in Orvieto then final night in Fiumicino for ease to get to the airport for our early flight. This worked well for us, and we loved Orvieto.

You mentioned Lake Como…we loved Villa Cipressi and its gardens for our stay in Varenna on the lake. Our guide called that part our “vacation from our vacation!”

If you’re taking public transportation from Venice, you could stop in Milan for a night and go to the top of the Duomo, which is really amazing and beautiful. Rick does a video from there on one of his travel videos. Then from there, take the train to Varenna on Lake Como.

Another activity that we really enjoyed was a pizza and gelato making experience outside of Florence. It was highly rated on Trip Advisor, and we loved it! We did the evening option, and saw beautiful twilight skies and the moon rising in the Tuscan hills…lovely! We met at a place in Florence and had a short bus ride out of the city to a private farm and garden. The chefs were a lot of fun, and the food was delicious. https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g187895-d12228075-Pizza_and_Gelato_Cooking_Class_at_a_Tuscan_Farmhouse_from_Florence-Florence_Tuscan.html

It’s great that you have such a long stay…sounds wonderful!!

Laurie

A trip to Italy that gets you to all the places you (generic "you", not specifically Bridge) want to see is pretty much impossible. You may think you've planned that trip, but unless you wear blinkers until your departure day, you will keep learning about additional interesting places you don't have time for. It's just the way it is. Later this year I'll be in Italy for the fourth time since 2015 (none of the visits being short), and I'm still not going to get to Florence (not seen since the mid-1990s) or Turin (where I've never been). And the problem isn't limited to Italy. I spent about 4-1/2 months in France between 2017 and 2019, and I didn't make it to Paris except to change trains. It is maddening, but I've learned to focus on what I can accomplish during each trip rather than what I'm missing.

mmm yes I think I am going to have to pull back. ALOT. even though we do have a bit of time it's not enough for unblinkered bridge. Noted. also appreciated. thanks you all

Remember that with each change in location (other than day trips) you loose the better part of the day. Get up, pack, get to airport or train station, wait to leave, travel, get to hotel/B&B, check in, unpack, and then check to see how much energy you have left. Travel days are demanding and can be fun and exciting but can also result in increased stress and fatigue. Long ago on my first trip to Europe looked back after we got home and realized we spent a full third of the vacation getting from point A to point B. Think day trips. Less is more. Enjoy your time.

Hi Bridge, I'm planning a very similar solo trip this September/October – my first to Italy – and would love to hear how your planning and trip ended up!?

I would be landing in Venice from Australia, I want to hire a car and do 6 nights in the Dolomites, and then I think drop the car back at Venice and train it down to Florence.

Like you, I also would love to then head to Puglia, Amalfi (maybe) and Rome, where I'd fly home from. I can take four or five weeks, if I can stretch the budget.

But like you, I am weighing up all the travel time. Puglia might need to be saved for another trip, and I could instead see the beautiful towns in the northern lakes, Verona, and Umbria.

The thing about travelling from Australia is you spend 24 hours (and a lot of money) just flying to Italy, I figure that once you get there, you might as well spend a decent amount of time.

Would love to hear how you went :)