Itinerary for 2 weeks in Italy

Do you have the RS Italy book? It's esp. helpful to first-timers, and will help you craft an itinerary that fits your specific interests. (Although I find his basic suggested itinerary for fourteen days too hectic.) I suggest you do at least three nights in each of those locations, and more in Rome would be even better. As for other locations, it depends on what you enjoy doing. When are you planning to go?

We do have his book. We are planning to go in June.

I would start in Venice as it's a great place to get over jet lag. Even if you land in Milano or Rome, take a train immediately to Venice. Spend 4 nights. At the other end of your trip, I'd fly out of Rome, and spend at least 5 nights there. That leaves you what, 5 nights? You'll have to read up on Tuscany and see if you want to split that time between two locations, use one location as a hub for daytrips into the countryside, or maybe stay at an agriturismo. Resist the urge to stay too many places. 3, to a maximum of 4, will give you a high quality Italian experience without rushing too much.

My family of 5 is also planning a similar trip - flying into Milan and out of Rome. We plan on spending the first afternoon in Milan visiting the Duomo and seeing the Last Supper painting, spend night in Milan, then train to Venice first thing on day 2. Spend 2 nights in Venice then train to Florence - 3 nights, day trip to Siena, train to Naples/Amalfi coast - 2 nights, train to Rome 5 nights. 13 nights total. I'm just not sure that the trip to Amalfi to see Pompeii, Capri & Sorrento are worth the travel time. Thanks so much!

Fly into Venice, and fly open jawed out of Rome FCO. Venice (3 nights), Florence (3 nights), Tuscan Hill Country (4 nights), rest of time in Rome. Take train from Venice to Florence and from Florence to Rome. Rent a car for the time you're in the Hill Country doing day trips to Voltera, San Gimgnano and Volterra and Chianti wine country. The Hill Country is just 15-25 miles south of Florence, but there's so much to see around Chianti. Another option would be to drop the rental car off in Orvieto and take the train into Rome from there. It's another fantastic hill town. Italy is best when taken slowly. There's just so much art, history and culture that a brain can take in.

My family of 5 is also planning a similar trip - flying into Milan and out of Rome. We plan on spending the first afternoon in Milan visiting the Duomo and seeing the Last Supper painting, spend night in Milan, then train to Venice first thing on day 2. Spend 2 nights in Venice then train to Florence - 3 nights, day trip to Siena, train to Naples/Amalfi coast - 2 nights, train to Rome 5 nights. 13 nights total. I'm just not sure that the trip to Amalfi to see Pompeii, Capri & Sorrento are worth the travel time. Thanks so much!

Yvonda, Your sense is correct: not worth it to go all the way to Naples/Amalfi coast for 2 nights. It gives one one day in the area. Add those nights to one of your other locations. Your next trip you can go south for at least 4 nights.

Bob, Does your 2 week time frame include your flight days? My suggestion would be to use open-jaw flights, inbound Venice and outbound Rome. As it's your first holiday in Italy, that order will provide a more "gentle" introduction to the culture. With that time frame, I might consider something like this: > Venice - 3 days > Florence - 3 Days > Siena - 2 days > Rome - 4 days All of your stops can easily be done by train or Bus, however if you wanted to explore some of the area around Siena, rent a car for the day and return it before heading to Rome. A few points to note regarding driving in Italy - each driver must have the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. Also, Zona Traffico Limitato (limited traffic) areas are becoming very common in many towns in Italy, and hefty fines can result for driving through these. Do NOT drive in Florence! You might find it helpful to have a look at This Website for good information on travelling by train in Italy. Given your location, you may want to take the short drive to ETBD in Edmonds and use the free Guidebook Library there. You could also speak with Rick's travel experts and fine-tune all the details of your trip. Happy travels!

if you can arrange open jaw tickets as others have mentioned that would be best. Fly into Venice and out of Rome (or vice versa could work too) give each of the big three a minimum of 3 nights the rest of your time really depends on your interests there is no shortage of options in Italy
you could add Siena for a couple of nights or another tuscan town.

Bob: I agree with Laurel's comment - resist the urge to stay in too many places. This was a mistake we made and in hindsight spent too much time traveling and not enough time enjoying. I can't speak to Venice since we did not visit, but Rome and Florence were amazing. Plan for plenty of time in Rome. We also loved Siena and Assisi. Yvonda:
I also agree with Laurel's commet regarding Naples / Amalfi coast - spend the extra time in Rome instead.

If you haven't already booked all your stays I would offer our experience on our first trip to Italy. We spent 3 nights in Florence at Hotel Cestelli www.cimatori.it and loved the location. By chance, there was a Ferrari street show right around the corner with 6'+ tall beautiful models (men and women). It was an easy walk to all the sights. In Siena we spent 3 nights at www.hotelalmadomus.it which is run by a convent. It was clean and neat and easy walk to everywhere. We rented a car and spent a day in Tuscany countryside stopping at a roadside cafe (lots of motorcycles out for a Sunday drive), and the next day drove to Assisi. Have a wonderful time...
Rachel