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Itinerary Help Appreciated

Posted by (San Francisco) on

My husband, 20 year-old son, 15 year-old daughter, and I are planning a trip to Italy 5/22 - 6/10. We have mapped out a rough itinerary, but could use help with a few of the details.

5/22 - Leave SFO on Norwegian to FCO.

5/23-28 Rome. Stay in apartment near the Spanish Steps
5/28-5/31. Pick up car on 5/28 and head to Umbria. Looking for a home base somewhere between Assisi and Spoleto. Is that a good place? Thinking it might make sense to day trip to Oriveto on way to the home base. Only planned activity is to visit a winery north of Spoleto where the owner has offered us a tour and tasting. Would like to visit Spoleto. Up in the air about Assisi. We're from San Francisco. It seems like we should go, but we would also enjoy an all-day bike ride with wine tasting and a nice lunch.
5/31-6/3. Head to Tuscany. Looking for a home base somewhere near Siena. Would like to see Siena, San Gimagnano, and walk or cycle in the Chianti area. Starting to wonder if splitting time between Umbria and Tuscany over 7 days is biting of more than I should chew.
6/3-6/9. Turn in car and move to Florence. Stay in apartment (not booked yet). We want to see the usual sights, but 1-2 days of museums is probably enough for us. We might make Chianti a day-trip from Florence. Other potential day trips: Lucca or Bologna. Thoughts?
6/9. Return to Rome as we leave the next morning for SFO. On the fence about staying near the airport of staying at a hotel in town. The flight departs at 10 a.m.

Any comments appreciated.

Elizabeth

Posted by
1448 posts

Don't miss Ravenna: Unesco World Heritage site famous for Mosiacs that rival Istanbul's. Can be a day trip from Florence or Venice or a stop on the way between them.

Posted by
3595 posts

Since you mentioned bike riding, I recommend Lucca for one of your day trips. It is a city with a broad enough wall that you can rent bikes and ride the perimeter. Great fun. There are also lots of other attractions to fill a day there.

Posted by
15582 posts

If you reverse, you could save that last night hotel change. Slog on from the airport to Florence - adds about 2 hours travel time (the day's lost anyway). Then all your Rome nights are together at the end.

Ravenna is a lovely city and the mosaics are stunning but it's off the beaten track. It's a very long day trip from Florence by train (2-2.5 hrs each way). The stations in both cities are a short walk from the center. It may be even longer to drive there and it's in the opposite direction to your other places.

Priscilla spent a lot of time in Tuscany/Umbria visiting small towns and villages, I believe it was spring 2018. She didn't have a car, so you'd be more efficient. She wrote detailed trip reports. Try using the search function. I found this one. She wrote separate threads for each bit of her trip.

Posted by
30 posts

Rosalyn, thank you for the tip on Lucca.

Chani, I’ve thought of reversing the trip. I’m concerned about missing the train if there is a flight delay. If my plane leaves at noon, what train departure should I target? Should I just buy tickets at the station so I don’t need to worry about missing the connection?

Posted by
15582 posts

Yeah, wait till you are there to buy train tickets. That's the down side - you'll pay more. But you save a hotel change. Or you could book your first night in Rome near the train station and take an early pre-booked train to Florence in the morning. I like leaving Rome till the end because it's a bustling, big city with major sights - not the best place to get over jetlag. By comparison, Florence is low key.

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