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Itinerary Advice

Posted by (Grand Rapids, MI, USA) on

Looking for input on this itinerary:

Day 1 arrive in Milan, sleep in Milan
Day 2 sleep in Milan
Day 3 train to Lake Como--sleep in Lake Como area
Day 4--sleep in Lake Como area
Day 5--train to Bologna--sleep in Bologna
Day 6--sleep in Bologna
Day 7--train to Florence--sleep in Florence
Day 8, 9, 10, 11--sleep in Florence--(one day trip to Lucca by train)
Day 12--train to Cinque Terre--sleep in Cinque Terre
Day 13---Cinque Terre then train to Siena--sleep in Siena
Day 14--sleep in Siena
Day 15, 16, 17--sleep in Tuscany and/or Umbria--Assisi?? Orvieto?? can this be done by public transportation? We have concerns about renting a car in Italy due to all the warnings about fines, tickets, etc. but wondering if this would be our best option
Day 18--train or rental car to Sorrento
Day 19, 20, 21, 22--sleep in Sorrento
Day 23--train to Rome, sleep in Rome
Day 24--sleep in Rome
Day 25--fly from Rome to US

Notes: On previous trips, we have been to Venice, Amalfi Coast, Cinque Terre (but want to go back), and Rome (but want to spend a couple more nights there before flying home), Mostly concerned about a) where to stay between Siena and Sorrento b) the best way to manage transportation for this part of the trip--renting a car vs. public transportation.

Posted by
11827 posts

You do not have even one full day in the Cinque Terre with a one night stay. If you are going to go that far, add a night. You can easily see Siena from Florence as a day trip, so maybe move one of those nights to the Cinque Terre and the other to Florence or whatever you end up doing before Sorrento.

For those 3 nights before Sorrento, Assisi is a lovely choice, IMO. Took us too many years before we spent significant time there and it was great. We spent 5 nights but in 3 nights/2 full days, you’ll see the major sites.

Definitely train to Sorrento, Much faster.and you certainly do not need a car while in Sorrento.

Posted by
8359 posts

I would go over to the C/T after Lake Como and stop at Lucca for one night before going to Bologna.
Then take the short train ride down to Florence.
Have you considered taking a day or two out of your Florence stay? You could take the bus down to Siena and spend the 2 nights there.
Then rent a car in Siena and move to an agriturismo outside of Siena or San Gimignano (or other Tuscan hilltown) where you could add one or two nights you bypassed in Florence. That would give you plenty of time to explore Tuscany by car--the very best way.
Orvieto is about 90 minutes south of Siena and the roads are great going there. Many travelers (me included) have turned Hertz rental cars in across the street from the Orvieto train station and taken the just over 1 hour local train into Rome Termini.
If you've never spent time in Rome, I would end my journey there for the remaining days of your trip. If you've been to Rome, the train ride down to Naples and on to Sorrento would be fine.
Me personally? I like to travel slower--spending 3-4 nights in apartments in central locations--doing day trips. You're taking a pretty fast trip to about everywhere.

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