Italy trip suggestions.

You're going to have to decide if you just want to be able to say that you saw a bunch of things or if you want to actually experience some of these places. I suggest you pick up a copy of the RS Italy 2011 book and see what he has to say about these various places, esp. Pisa and Milan. He lays out a suggested itinerary based on how many nights you have (and it's fairly aggressive). My rule of thumb is to never stay only one night in a town unless you have a truly compelling reason (usually involving a flight). At least two nights per place, otherwise you're spending all your time either packing, unpacking or traveling to your next destination. See "How much time to get there" in this section of the bulletin board, second posting down. Oh, and don't assume that a train pass will be the best bargain. In Italy it's usually cheaper to buy point-to-point. Happy travels.

If you want to see some of the smaller towns in Tuscany I think you can explore a lot better with a car. This will allow roadside picnics, stopping at whatever vineyard you happen upon. You could rent a car at the Florence airport after seeing the city and head right out to Pisa.... pretty easy drive, see Pisa for the afternoon and head out to whatever village in Tuscany you choose. After you can drop the car back at the airport and continue on the train to you next destination. I know this is only a small piece of you trip, but there are lots of others here who can figure out your whole itinerary and suggest (more than likely) that you are trying to see too many places. But, I have seen Tuscany many times with a car and cannot imagine the same experience on a bus or train.

Pisa is an easy day trip by train from Florence, about an hour ride. Seeing the sites (Tower etc) in Pisa will take a couple hours, assuming no long wait for the Tower climb. There is little to see in Pisa otherwise. You might consider the train from Pisa to Lucca (1/2 hr) which is a charming town surrounded by a huge earthen wall. It would be good for lunch, and maybe a walk (short and easy) up the wide stairs to the top of the tower that has trees growing on it, the Guinigi Tower. http://www.flickr.com/photos/curreyuk/3145436418/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/santi_rf/1285760259/ Lucca is a 1/2hr by train to Florence. Lucca's train station is a Frisbee toss to town. Pisa's train station is about a mile walk through town to the Tower. I walked it, but my guess is that there is a direct bus.

You have listed 8 destinations and you have 14 days. On average, each change of destination will use up close to 1/2 day (packing, checking out, getting to train station - then the reverse when you arrive). That leaves you with about one day in each place. My advice - spend 3-4 days in Rome (your first day, you are likely to be tired and jetlagged after the long flight and not get much out of it). Then spend 2 full days in Florence, 2 days
in Lake Como - or perhaps Lake Gardo (closer to the other stops) with a day in Verona, then to Aviano and 3 days in Venice.

I agree with Chani. I would cut back a little. Personal opinion is that lake Como and Verona should stay. Probably not Pisa, Milan. Maybe make them on the next trip. Have fun. Thank your son for his service. If you are tired of museums and art by the last day in Florence, rent a car and visit some of the hill towns near Florence.

We are staying on Como on our trip. Milan is an hour from Varenna by train. I plan to make that trip rather than move hotels. Seems I can see all I want in a day. Good luck and have fun. Add me to those thanking your son for serving.

Maureen, I agree with Michael that it would be a really good idea to pick up a copy of the Italy 2011 Guidebook. There's a WEALTH of information there on travelling in Italy, and good listings for Hotels, Restaurants, Sightseeing, etc. As some of the others have said, your proposed Itinerary is a bit "ambitious" for a very short two-week time frame. Some of the locations really do require more time (ie: Rome), while others you can cover in a day or two. Unless there's a specific reason for keeping them on the list, I'd skip Milan and Pisa on this trip. If you're spending a few days in Florence, a day trip to Siena would be really worthwhile (or perhaps spend a night or two there). When visiting Lake Como, I assume you plan on staying in Varenna (the RS favourite)? Travel by train is really the fastest and most efficient method. With such a short time frame, I'd suggest trying to maximize your touring time and minimizing your travel time between locations. If you spend a few days in Siena, one option would be to rent a car for a day or two to "see some smaller towns in Tuscany". One point to note is that for driving in Italy, EACH driver must have the compulsory I.D.P., and you'll also have to be careful to avoid ZTL (limited traffic) areas, as large fines can result! Could you clarify whether you have exactly 14-days for the trip? Keep in mind you'll lose a day in travel at both the beginning and end, so you may only have 12-days. Also, when will this trip be taking place? If you're "on a budget", pre-booking accommodations would be a really good idea, as that will give you more choice in the price range. Cheers!

I agree you should cut it down a bit. Too many destinations, too little time. Just something to think about.....I'm assuming your son has a car and would be able to get you around Italy. I know every time I've checked on train tics for us (we're a family of four also) it ended up being cheaper to go by car even with parking and tolls. Would also save the cost of a rental.
You may also want to have your son check on billeting or the Sea Pines lodge in Camp Darby (Pisa) for rooms. Will be cheaper. Also, assuming your son lives in billeting on Aviano, check about the possibility of a room on base there for you also. Nice rooms and very cheap.

Unless you're a Romeo and Juliet fan, I would ditch Verona and spend some time in Padova (about 1/2 hour by train from Venice). This would also save you one packing-unpacking trip, since you can take the train out from Venice and back in one day. Verona could be a daytrip from Venice as well, but it's a bit further away. Depending on when you go, you could spend a lot of time in Tuscan towns looking for a parking space if you rent a car. Most places are easy enough to get to by train, or bus when the train station is actually outside of town. Since you'll be in Florence, you can take a brief trip to Fiesole (a short and simple bus ride away). Como is quite near Milano, so you might consider staying in Milano and day-tripping to Como, but I think you'd enjoy staying in or near Como itself and going into Milano for a day. Bellagio is not far from Como, and you can also visit some of the other lake towns by ferry. Rome also has some lovely hill towns nearby, although there's more than enough to do in Rome. I would suggest you consider using Rome, Florence, Como and Venice as your base cities and visiting the other places on your list as daytrips. For me, it's really about the packing/unpacking and transit time. I agree that you should try to spend at least two nights in any city unless it's your last stop before a flight.

I second to the car reccomendation. Tickets for 4 (you, husband, son, daughter) will certainly cost more than the costs of travelling by car.