Itinerary for first trip to Italy

Most people on these boards will say to do Siena as a day trip, and avoid 1 nighters. I stayed one night, and wished I had stayed longer. But ultimately, it's your vacay. And it sounds as if you might be seeing it as a day trip earlier with your other group anyway. Why not research someplace else for a day trip or 1 nighter? Pisa, Lucca, Ravenna, Volterra, Verona? Verona would make a lovely stop in between Florence and Venice.

I would like to add that flying home from Venice can be a real pain if you are flying to No. America because the flights usually leave very early in the morning and it is difficult to arrange transportation to the airport. Some recommend as a solution to stay close to the airport rather than Venice but then you miss that last night in Venice. There will be others that will weigh in on this I am sure.

Logistically, this is not too bad. Sounds like you will the tour guide, at least part of the time. I'd say, plan on 4 nights in Florence and do Siena as a day trip by bus. Then head to Venice for the last 3 nights. 5 destinations in 15 days is good.

gerri,

Just to clarify the details, a few questions.....

• After the group leaves, you plan on first spending 4 days in Rome for the "pilgrimage" and then travel to Assisi for another 4 days?
• At the end of the Assisi trip, return to Rome to meet your friends for the trip to Gaeta?
• What month "next spring" will this trip be taking place?

A few thoughts and comments......

• A day trip from Assisi to Florence will take about 2.5 hours in each direction, in some cases involving a change of trains. After five hours on the train, your time for sightseeing in Florence will be a bit limited. As it looks like you'll be visiting Florence later in your trip, I wouldn't bother seeing it while you're in Assisi.
• A day trip from Assisi to Siena will take even longer, about 3H:45M each way, depending on which trains you use. Again, as you'll be visiting Siena later in the trip, I wouldn't bother with the day trip from Assisi.
• I'm not sure how easy a day trip will be from Gaeta to Pompeii. Hopefully one of the others will have information on that.
• Two nights in the Cinque Terre will really only allow one day to see the area. I'd suggest adding one night, as when you arrive and see the place, you may wish you had booked more time. Have you decided which of the five towns you'd like to stay in?
• I'd suggest arranging the order Rome > Cinque Terre > Florence (with day trip to Siena) > Venice.
• Spending two nights in Siena (one full day) would be good, but I wouldn't recommend just one night as you won't see much. You'll probably see more on a day trip as the travel time by Bus from Florence is only about an hour each way.
• As the others have mentioned, many flights leave Venice quite early, so the return flight could be a bit of an "ordeal".

There are some potentially expensive "caveats" to be aware of when using public transit in Italy, so be sure to do some research on that point. As this is a first trip for all of you, I'd recommend reading Europe Through The Back Door before your trip, as that provides a lot of good information on "how" to travel well in Europe. After that use the Italy Guidebook to plan lodgings, sightseeing, transportation, etc.

Good luck with your planning!

Florence vs. Siena. Florence is all about Renaissance art and architecture. If you and your friends are into it, then 3 full days in Florence is barely enough to savor the genius of sculptors like Michelangelo and Donatello, painters like Botticelli and Raphael, and on and on. Florence is a lively, bustling city, with lots of high-end shops, while Siena has the feel of a small town where the locals go out for a walk in the evening. If you want atmosphere, stay in Siena and take a day trip to Florence to see the highlights. Or spend 3 nights in Siena, then an overnight in Florence. Everything you want to see and a big range of hotels are all within easy walking distance of the train station and the bus to Siena stops across the street, making a one-night stay in Florence pretty easy - no long treks with luggage.

Thanks for the tips folks. Ken, to clarify, I will be 8 nights with the church group, 4 in Rome and 4 in Assisi. I agree that day trips to Siena and Florence from Assisi are not good planing, but I am not in charge of this portion. A day trip to Pompeii from Gaeta seems reasonable depending on connection in Naples. It is less than a hour to Naples and then the local train to the site at Pompeii. Thanks for the tip on Europe Through The Back Door. I have traveled independently in Europe before, just not Italy, but I am all about good research prior to a trip. I will take all of your comments and any others that come in as part of that research.

Just a quick thought. Why not do your recovery by the sea at Riomaggiore? That way you can do your CT portion as well (just add another day or so), and also have an extra day to spend in Florence to explore Siena and maybe surroundings.

I think Gaeta is a great idea. It is not on the RS standard itinerary. Maybe a "back door"?
http://www.examiner.com/article/gaeta-italy-a-secret-destination-worth-uncovering

gerri,

Thanks for the additional information, as that clears up some confusion. I had the impression that you'd be travelling with the church group and then spending another eight days on your own in Rome and Assisi, prior to the arrival of your friends.

Regarding the day trips to Florence and Siena with the church group, do you know if they've chartered a Bus for those? If travelling by public transit, the group won't have enough time for anything more than a brief look in either city. Perhaps they just want to "tick the box" that they've been there?

It should easily be possible to take a day trip from Gaeta to Pompeii. As you might have discovered, there's no rail station in Gaeta, so this is the route you'll take....

• Bus from your hotel in Gaeta to the Formia-Gaeta rail station (I gather it's not far, so probably not more than a 15 minute trip).
• Train from Formia-Gaeta to Napoli Centrale (about an hour depending on which train you choose). When you arrive at Napoli Centrale, you'll have to go downstairs to the Garibaldi station to connect with the Circumvesuviana. You might find it helpful to watch THIS short video (fast forward to about the 2M:35S mark as that covers the segment you'll be taking).
• Circumvesuviana from Napoli Centrale to Pompeii Scavi (about 35 minutes, frequent departures).
• Retrace the route for the trip back to Formia. I believe the Buses from Formia to Gaeta may stop running about 21:00, so if you're going to be any later than that you may have to use a Taxi.

With the guidebooks, you should be able to find a copy of Europe Through The Back Door at your local Library. I'd recommend packing along a copy of the Italy 2015 book, as I've found that to be a valuable resource when touring cities (the 2015 version should be available this fall - you could buy the 2014 version as there probably won't be many changes). There's a wealth of information there on Museum opening & closing times, how to get reservations, etc.

Which of the five Cinque Terre towns are you planning to stay in? I'd definitely recommend getting reservations early, as they can book up early. What time of year will you be there?

These are wonderful tips. The entire trip will be last of April first two weeks of May. In Cinque Terra early May. Still trying to decide which town. One friend has requested sea view the other will probably not hike so near enough to do other things while we two do a bit of hiking. We are young at heart seniors and I am starting to work out so I will be in shape for all the sight seeing as well as hiking. Hopefully in 10 months I'll be able to walk 4-5 miles, including hills and rough terrain. There is an apartment in Riomaggiore that we are interested in renting, just concerned about the steps. But still looking at other options in all the towns. Open for tips.

I would normally like to spend two nights each in Florence and Siena. But if you've just seen the highlights of each on daytrips from Assisi, I would not repeat, but try something else, for instance from Angela's list above.