Italy Trip:Itinerary critique please

I think you're biting off too much. You've got a lot of your week spent on trains. I'd definitely cut out Pompeii and give yourself another day in Venice. I also think trying to make the complicated transfers to spend a night in the lakes. The classic Rome-Florence-Venice tour is about all I'd try in a single week. Also, you're optimistic about hotels being open and waiting for you in the morning.

I agree, this is a bit rushed. Cut out Pompeii, and spend another day in any of your three cities. Pompeii is great, but I saw it while I was staying in Naples, so it was only a 45 minute bus ride away. I can't imagine taking the train from Rome in the morning, changing in Naples, doing Pompeii, and then traveling first back to Naples, and then to Rome, all in one day. Are your flights finalized already? I'm just wondering why you are flying out of Zurich? Also, you could look into flying from Venice to Zurich, and that way you could have an extra day in Italy.

In Florence, definitely see Piazza Michaelangelo, but see it in the evening, around sunset, instead of during the day. Watching Florence light up after dark was a great experience. Also, in Rome see Trevi Fountain at night, and go to St. Mark's in Venice to listen to the dueling orchestras. All of these night activities are much better accompanied by a bottle of wine! Have fun!

It is a bit rushed....but if you really want to see Pompeii, then do it. It's easily doable in a day from Rome, but it will be a busy day. As an alternative, you can see Herculaneum (Ercolani) which is a bit closer to Naples than Pompeii. More in the way of mosaics than Pompeii, because it was buried by ash, not lava, in the same eruption.

My flight reservations have already been finalized, have to fly out of Zurich for personal reasons, but I really love to catch the Swiss scenery as well..

So is Pompeii really hard to do on a day trio from Rome?

No, it is not.

Pompeii is doable but a good portion of your day will be spent traveling. Rome and Venice each deserve a week. Too much of your week is being spent on a train.

Pompeii is possible but as others have said it will be a loong day--lots of travel involved. Your days in Rome are pretty rushed. I take groups over the the Vatican Museums/St. Peter's takes us almost a whole day--and I feel like we move through them pretty fast. Think about putting in the St. Peter's dome climb as well--great views.

It is definitely possible to do Pompeii yourself by train but you may want to look into the guided tour option just to give yourself a mental break that day.

You may have done this already, but check the baptistry hours--last time I was there they didn't open until noon and that may mess up your itinerary for that day in florence.

You will be very, very busy but it's doable. Good luck!

Mike said, "Rome and Venice each deserve a week."

Let me just give another point of view. Not saying I'm right, just a different opinion from a different person.

Rome deserves a week but you can do quite well with 4 days, and pretty well with 2.

Venice...I run out of things I want to see and do there after 3 days. I also run out of money there after 3 days.

Honestly, on my first visit to Venice about age 25, we got there one morning, left the next afternoon, and felt like we'd seen and done everything we wanted to do.

My first trip to Rome was a business obligation and we had one day left free and we wanted to see Pompeii. We took the bus (Grayline?) and everything but Pompeii and the great view of the Amalfi Coast was unpleasant. However, at Pompeii they had a wonderful guide who multiplied our satisfaction many times. The rest of the trip was being dragged into factory stores, picking up other customers and eating an OK meal. If you can hook up with a guided group who only go to Pompeii the trip would be well worth it...George, Pittsburgh

Pompeii is easily doable. We took an early morning train out of Rome (about 0800) and did our own walkabout in Pompeii.....about 3 or so hours. Had a late lunch outside the ruins, back on the train to Rome and back into Rome around 7pm.

I wonder if you will have the energy to take in the Vatican Museum, St Peter's and Piazza Navona all on your day of arrival. As another poster stated - you are anticipating being able to get into your hotel room at 8:00 AM to rest. Unless you have made specific arrangments - don't count on your room being available that early!
Good luck - enjoy Italy!

Hi Nupur,
We spent 10 days in Italy in June. Here is all I'm going to say. We totally underestimated Rome. It was the last stop for us and after seeing Cinque Terre, Florence, Siena, and Orvieto - we really were just expecting another big city with too many people and cars. We LOVED Rome. It is amazing! We only spent 2 1/2 days there and it was not even close to enough time. Please set at least 3 days aside for Rome. You won't regret it! Bella Roma :)

Having just returned from two weeks in Italy, I'll second Sally's comments above: don't try to visit the Vatican on your first day. You probably won't be able to check into your hotel room until the afternoon, laaving no time to rest. So by mid-afternoon you'll likely have a hard time staying awake. Keep your scheduled activities to a minimum on that first day.

Also, the Colosseum, Forum and Pantheon are a lot for one morning -- it might take you until late afternoon to visit all three, and you'll want some time to rest/shower before heading back out for the evening.

By the way, I would highly recommend downloading Rick's free audio tours for those sites, as well as his audio tours for the sites you'll be visiting in Florence and Venice. My wife and I brought iPods with those tours on them, and we both really enjoyed them.