Itinerary: 2 weeks in Italy

I tend to prefer to fly into Venice in the North and fly out of Rome. Simply because flying out of Rome is easier. More flights and the airport is only 30 min from the city center. Flying out of Venice is a pain because the airport isn't easy to get to from the city center (in the middle of the lagoon), especially early in the AM. Malpensa is also far from the city of Milan. There is no significant difference in temperatures between Central Italy and Northern Italy in April. Two days in Venice are fine. You could even spend one of the two visiting Murano and Burano islands. Your itinerary is fine. However Lake Garda would be a better alternative from Venice. Much closer than Lake Como. Innsbruck is out of the way. Do you really need to be there? If you stay in Greve or nearby I recommend renting a car for your Tuscany days.

I agree with Roberto about starting in Venice and flying out of Rome. Try to avoid one of those 6:00 a.m. flights out of Rome that requires getting up at 3:00 a.m. You'll just fly to another European gateway city and sit around until noon. It's a long enough day flying out at 11:00 from Rome FCO back to the U.S. Unless you've been in Venice before, I would suggest 3 days there. Then try to schedule staying in Florence center city a long weekend. You can rent a car on the way out of Florence, and move 20-30 miles south of the city to the countryside of Chianti (Greve); staying at an Agriturismo. You can see so much more of the hill cities from there (Siena, Volterra, Certaldo and others) for a few days. When we made this itinerary last year, we turned our car in at Orvieto Hertz across the street from the train station. The train ride is about 75 minutes into Rome Termini. Rome's a 1 week city, but you can see many sights in 4 days. If I had my druthers, I'd druther have a tour guide in Rome. Florence is geographically smaller, and can be seen on your own if you do some research before going there. I prefer to stay in the city center over staying outside the city and coming in to see the sights.
If you do rent a car, try to pick it up in the city, not the airport. Airport concession fees and extra taxes add up in a hurry. I prefer AutoEurope.com.

James, With only a very short two weeks, you'll need to prioritize carefully as you're not going to have time to see everything on your list. Flying inbound Venice and outbound Rome would also be my suggestion. "I anyone has any train tips i.e. Venice to Florence to Rome, such as things to watch out for that aren't in RS guide book, please let me know" There are definitely "caveats" to be aware of, both with train travel as well as driving in Italy. Here's a brief summary..... > Regionale trains - you MUST validate tickets prior to boarding the train on the day of travel, or you'll risk hefty fines of €40-50 PER PERSON which will be collected on the spot! > "Premium trains (Freccia, Intercity, etc.) - you MUST have valid reservations for these, which are specific to a particular train, date and departure time. If you board any train other than the one listed on your ticket, again hefty fines collected on the spot. In this case you'll also need to pay the reservation charge, which adds about €6-10 PER PERSON to the amount of the fine. > Car rentals - note that EACH driver will require the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. Failure to produce an IDP if requested can (you guessed it) result in fines on the spot! You'll also need to be vigilant for the dreaded ZTL (limited traffic) areas, which are prevalent in many towns in Italy. Florence is saturated with automated Cameras to record violations, and you won't know about the expensive fines until several months after you return home (when it will be too late to contest them). The first hint you'll see is a bill on your credit card from the rental firm, for giving your information to the traffic authorities. Cheers!

So much good advice guys. Thanks so much for taking the time! Ok so I will fly into Venice and out of Rome. That makes sense. The weather tip, and the logistics heads up on the Milan airport both make sense to me. Also, I love the info on the rental car fees at the airport(this never crossed my mind). I'll look harder at where I'll make my base for exploring Tuscany. The Innsbruck thing is me wanting to see a slice of Austria since its only a couple hour drive from where I'll be any. Probably a perfect example of me trying to do too much again. Please, if you can think of any other tips for me, i.e., things to be aware of etc, I'll will gladly take your advice. A couple of things. We like to visit museums and see some art but not the whole trip. I really want to delve into the Italian cuisine as much as possible. would CT or Positano be a better choice for a couple of days in stead of Lake Garda/Como? Thanks again,
James

James, if you are flying into Venice (a great idea), I suggest a third day there - your first day you may feel a little tired from the trip. Best times of day in Venice for me are early morning and late afternoon into the night (sunrise and sunset can be beautiful, Venice in the evenings or at night has many fewer visitors). I would also suggest staying a few days in Florence (without a car); even a daytrip to Siena by bus is easy to do. Then pick up your car and spend some time in Tuscany. No reason to leave from Milan unless you have your heart set on Lake Como.

If Austria appeals to you, you could visit the Alto Adige (Sud Tyrol) region in Italy and see the majestic Dolomites from there. That area was part of Austria until 1919 (Italy got it with the Treaty of Versailles) and it is largely culturally Austrian, in architecture, language and everything else. It really looks like Austria and is much closer than Innsbruck. I like the Val Gardena (Gardena Valley) best, in particular the town of Ortisei and the neighboring villages. Consider however than in April there might still be snow at those altitudes. The Dolomites are an easy 2 hour drive from Lake Garda or from Verona. Food is good everywhere. Positano and the Amalfi coast is nice too. But it's your call. For sure there will be no snow there.

I would only add avoid Rome Easter Week and the week after. This year the week after will also make Rome extremely crowed because of making John Paul II a saint the Sunday after Easter.

If you are at all an early riser (even if you aren't ) - one of the best things I forced my husband to do (not a morning person) was get up at 6:30am and see Venice before the day trippers arrived...just...WOW. (Our 3rd visit and I finally clue in to this!). If you are staying in the city, so much the better. You see sights like Rialto or St Marks Sq almost devoid of people (like, maybe 20 people at St Marks, about that many on Rialto for us)...compared with, a few hours later - hundreds and hundreds. Do it, you won't be disappointed. And def wander in the evening - nothing like it...

With just two weeks, I would skip the lakes; not such a good time of year for that area, anyway. Ditto any consideration of CT or Positano. While the Dolomites are beautiful and easily accessible from Venice, I think that April is probably one of the least desirable times to visit. The weather is iffy at that time of year; at least in the cities you have things to do should it rain. Even in the Tuscan countryside you could go wine tasting, but resort areas are dismal in bad weather. You should consider Orvieto as one of your hill towns. It's not in Tuscany, but close. Beautiful duomo and several other interesting sights. I would stay in Florence and give it two days (three nights). If you add one more, you could do Siena as a day trip from there.. You will want a car for the Tuscan countryside. Check on Autoeurope to compare city vs airport car rentals. The airport option may not be so much more, considering that the rental is just for a few days; and it's much less hassle. Has someone already mentioned getting reservations ASAP? Rome is packed at Easter time, the week before as well as the week after. In addition to the obvious reasons, many countries have a two week school break at that time; and secondary schools send groups on trips. Also, many families from northern countries take the opportunity to go somewhere warmer. I am planning our May trip, and I'm already running into "no availability" for some places in Tuscany.
Buon viaggio!

Zoe, good point. I will consider it. Roberto, excellent idea. I think I will skip the lakes this time and visit some of those villages in the Gardena Valley area you mentioned because it will probably be a little too cool for me to thoroughly enjoy the lakes but, by the same token, that weather will enhance the experience in the Dolomites. Bob, excellent point about Easter. I had looked that up earlier and forgot about it. Easter is April 20th this year, so I guess that means we are definitely traveling the first half of April. Nicole, I'm the only early riser on the trip, but I'm definitely gonna do that. Thanks for the tip. If anyone has any train tips i.e. Venice to Florence to Rome, such as things to watch out for that aren't in RS guide book, please let me know. Thank, James

Just an important reminder about the train system in Italy, learned the expensive way. If you are using a Eurail Pass be SURE to fill in the date BEFORE you board the train. The penalty is E50 ($75 US) on the spot if not written down. Also, if using a regular ticket, be sure to validate it before boarding. Buon viaggio!

Rosalyn - Whoa! really? I never dreamed I would have to make reservations for Rome 6 months out! Thanks for the warning. Also, it seems there is a consensus on here about not day tripping Florence but spending a couple of days there in stead? I'm also planning on taking the train from Venice to wherever we stay in Tuscany/Florence, and again to Rome. I assume i should I book online in advance for these tickets no? P.S. I can't tell you all how much I appreciate all of your experienced advice.
Thanks much.

James, If you want to see Lake Como another option is instead of flying in Venice, to fly into Milan and train to Varenna. Stay in Varenna and relax your jet lag away. You can take a train back to Milan and a high speed train over to Venice. I did just that last month and it was nice to relax for 2 days before doing all the sightseeing in Venice. Or to be closer to Venice, fly into Venice and spend your first night on Lake Garda. Closer to Venice. Roberto who replied at the top of this post has some good information on Lake Garda. I crammed as much as I could into 18 days and I would do it again that way but that is me.

Thanks Robert, since we're flying out of Tampa, could we spend the night before at your house and have you drive us to the airport in the morning? ...just kidding. Thanks for the info, I'll definitely consider it. Also, I'm trying to keep my expenses down (Who doesn't?) and I'll reference RS guide book for hotels in the major cities, but do any of you know of really good and affordable agriturismos in the "Chianti" area that you have stayed at and would recommend? Thanks

Ciao James, I have been planning a trip to Italy for 25 years! No Lie. My husband and I have wanted to go since we got married and now in May we will be celebrating our 25th anniversary there. I will tell you what we have planned and maybe it will be of some help. We are flying into Rome on May 28th, 9:39 am. We have planned 4 full days there and then taking the train to Siena. We are planning 2 days there. One to lazily explore and eat our way through the town ;) and then another for either a wine tour or day trip to Volterre and Montepulciano (spelling?) then we are off to Florence for 2 days. We will then take the train to Vernazza and spend 3 days in the Cinque Terre. We plan on going from there by train to Venice and staying for 2 days. We will then take the train to Milan and spend 2 days there before we fly home in the am. I found the flight connections to be really good going with this route. We have made all our hotel reservations except Milan which I hope to finalize this week. I suggest doing so as soon as you can and recommend contacting the hotels directly if possible. I have found the rates to be the best this way and the people an absolute joy to deal with. We haven't made to many set in stone sight seeing arrangements yet, because a large part of why we have always wanted to go to Italy is to experience the people and authentic way of Italian life. My favorite motto is a quote by J.R. Tolkien " those who wander are not necessarily lost" and I want to wander. I hope this helps in some small way, and if anyone has any suggestions for me on this, ideas are always welcome. All the best to you and I hope your Italy trip is everything you dream it will be...

Ciao Tammy! 25 years? You're long overdue! What a great trip you have planned, I hope you and your husband have the time of your lives. I suspect you will. This will be our first trip to the boot as well. It looks lime you've planned well. Your itinerary is very close to what I would do if I were visiting in that time of year. I have a question about booking directly through the hotels to find better rates; I did this when I stayed in Paris and it worked pretty well. I booked my rooms via email and got a decent rate. But, in your experience, is contacting them via email better than booking on the actual hotel website? Thanks for the info,
James

When we visited Rome in 2008, we did a visit to Appia Antica ( not Ostia Antica, tho I'd like to see that someday)...the Appian Way. The ancient Roman road. We took a bus from around Coliseum area (and it being a Sat, got held up by some weddings along the way!). Memory is a little fuzzy, but we really enjoyed it...saw the tomb of Cecelia Metella which was interesting... http://www.abcroma.com/Monumento_i.asp?N=28 Also visited the catacombs (the original!) http://www.reidsitaly.com/destinations/lazio/rome/sights/appian_way.html
...if you like that kind of thing. We were there about the 3rd week of Sept - hardly a soul around. And just to walk up past the fancy houses to where the original Roman road still is...was pretty cool...hubby still talks about it. I think overall we were there about 3-4 hrs. I had read about it I think in a Frommer's Rome book., otherwise I wouldn't have known about it. In Venice, we also visited the Museo Civico Correr (Correr Museum) which was actually quite interesting (we did it on our 2nd visit to Venice). Also, if you want to go to the Doge's Palace and don't want to stand in the loooong line (like we did the 1st visit - for an hour) go to the Correr Museum first, that ticket included admission to Doges, and you can skip the line! Or, we got the museum pass as on trip 2 we were there for 3 days, so we got our use out of it (we visited the glass museum in Murano with the pass - quite interesting)

Nicole,
Grat ideas. I may go to one of those on my 4th day in Rome. Thanks. Another question: Rick mentions in his book that some train stations are crowded and it's best to reserve your seat at place like Florence. I wonder if this applies to early April when I'll be there, or mostly in the high season? I'm taking the train from Venice to Florence, then Florence to Rome. Do I need to buy these online and/or in advance to avoid paying a higher fee like at Gare du Norde when I paid 300% more buying our tickets at the station in stead of online? P.S. If there are any great restaurants, wine tours, hotels/BNB's etc that you can vouch for, please let me know. I'm using all of your feedback to help put together a detailed itinerary. I appreciate it very much!

James, in my experience yes. I felt like conversing with the hotel staff via email was the perfect way to reserve our rooms. Sometimes the automated reservation systems felt a little vague on the details and I had read a few scary tales of people making reservations only to find on arrival that their reservation hadn't gone through or the hotel couldn't find it. I felt better this way that there was no confusion, and as I mentioned before, the people that I connected with were fantastic! That is such a large part of our Italian adventure for me. I feel like I have a small personal connection everywhere we will be staying in Italy. You could always try emailing one or two and see how it goes? I would be happy to give you a list of the hotels I have booked if you are interested..

James....I should have mentioned that in every case, except one, I got a better rate than the online reservation system gave me. In the one exception it was the same, but again the personal contact was huge for me ;)

Tammy, That's great news re getting the best rate by email as I have experience with that for my Paris trip last year and I to enjoyed the back and forth with the local hotel staff! I would absolutely love the list of hotels that you used and enjoyed. You can post them or even P.M. me if you'd rathe do it that way. Either way, grazie mille!

ITALY TRIP 2014 Hotels Hotel Grifo Rome Hotel Italia Siena Residenza Dei Pucci Florence Trattoria Gianni Franco Vernazza (CT) Locanda La Corte Venice Still working on Milan, but I think it is going to be Hotel Romana Residence Let me know if you are interested in the costs. I didn't include them here but I can get them for you if you wish.

Thanks Tammy. If you could list prices just for the ones in Venice, Florence, and Rome, that would be great. Thanks in advance,
James

James,
You definitely want to book your trains online in advance as it will save you lots of money. They have lots of specials that you can take advantage of and I was able to book some tickets for as low as 9 euros on our trip last summer. I believe you can start booking 90 days out but I am not positive on that.

Thanks Angela. I'll start searching for my tickets in about three months. Maybe by then I'll know all of my wheres and whens :-)

James, Venice....$175/night. Rome......$158/night. Florence......$180/night

Thank you Tammy,
This is very helpful.

Not sure your budget for hotels or BnB's (or if you have really high standards/budget- anything over about $100 US and I get hives, but I've been known to splurge a few times). We've been to Venice 3 times, all 3 we stayed at (even in the same room) Al Campaniel B&B.
http://alcampaniel.tripod.com/ We stayed in the standard double with private bathroom located across the hall. We've always visited mid-late Sept and I think paid about 70-75 euro (high season will be more of course). Free wifi and a lovely breakfast of various breads/croissant (peach jam filled -so good)/cheese/juice/hot beverage/cereal. No canal views, no elevator, no fridge in the room, but quiet and located mere seconds from the San Toma stop, so you don't have to drag your luggage all over...the kicker (if it's still there) an artisan chocolate shop 6 feet away across the alley....yum. Marco is very accommodating as well, letting us store our bags in a locked closet after checking out but before leaving the city, saving us locker fees at the train station.

Nicole, What a hidden gem you've found! I checked it out and it's definitely an option for us. No, no high standards here, but possibly for my in-laws whom I'm booking for them as well ;-) Budget is one of my main concerns at this point. Thanks so much. James

Actually, the prices in April prob be about the same as late Sept. When we knew in 2010 that we were going back to Venice, I actually booked him almost 10 months ahead...lol...didn't want to take a chance...

Oh, when we stayed in Florence, we used airbnb and stayed...
https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/677883 Now, when we stayed in late Sept, we only paid $45 (yes, $45! Not Euro) a night, but I see the rates are up. We enjoyed having our own little apartment for a few nights - I didn't realize it had a fridge/stove or I would have picked up some food. The only thing (if no car) - about a 10 min walk to the bus stop (she came and picked us up when we arrived), and about 15-20 min into city center. Not many restaurants in the area at all. But amazing views, lovely property, we walked the opposite direction to find the bus to go up to Fiesole...she also has other rooms avail - and laundry facilities.

Nicole.....you had me at Chocolate Shop......I have sent in a room request! The location sounds great as far as the vaperetto stop but how did you feel about its location otherwise? We will only be in Venice 2 days and are concerned about staying somewhere central,.

James, one midground between booking a guide and doing it on your own is to book some quality walking tours. I tend to do that, even in cities I know quite well. I really like Context Travel. The groups are small, no more than 6, and the guides are interesting and well educated, with relevant expertise. They also typically ask about group interests/travel experiences, so can tailor to the group. You might check out their webpage.

Thanks Sherry, I'll check them out.