Itinerary Suggestions - 10 day trip

Posted by ghrjr on 01/02/19 04:31 AM

Greetings. New to this site as I just booked our flights last night & in the very early stages of planning. Traveled extensively to Central & South America, but this is our 1st trip to Europe.

Family of 4 - 18 & 20 year-old daughters, wife, & I. Flying in/out of Rome. Arrive the morning of August 4th & depart the morning of the 14th.

My initial thoughts are Florence, Cinque Terre, Venice, and finishing in Rome. Would spend a nite in CT & Venice, and not make them day trips. Or, is my time too short to do both while taking away from Florence & Rome? If only CT or Venice, which? My first impression is to go with CT. Suggested days in each local?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Posted by Laurel

Forest Grove, OR

01/02/19 04:40 AM

11834 posts

You have 10 nights, enough for three places. Rome/Florence/Venice or Rome/Florence/Cinque Terre. It will all be hot and crowded. The time in the CT might be your salvation as those towns are mich nicer at night and in early AM in summer.

Assuming you arrive early-ish on Aug 4, go immediately to Florence for 3 nights. Then transfer to the Cinque Terre for 3 nights, and wrap up in Rome for 4 nights. One night in the CT is a shame because it takes a bit of time and effort to get there. One night in Venice is a sacrilege,

Posted by Chani

Tel Aviv

01/02/19 07:41 AM

15798 posts

Also take into account that one or more of you could be jetlagged. Your first day may be mostly a struggle to stay awake until it's late enough to go to bed. Hopefully everyone will get a good night's sleep and not be zonked on Day 2.

It sounds like you've already booked your flights. That means backtracking if you go to Venice. If you eliminate it, then Laurel's itinerary would be my suggestion as well. However you haven't given us much information. What are your interests? Also, the Cinque Terre can be very crowded during the day. Even though the villages are likely to be at full occupancy, there aren't all that many beds for hire. Most of the visitors are day-trippers, often hordes of them from the cruise ships that dock nearby, plus all the tourists staying in nearby places. If you want to do a lot of more serious hiking, the difficult trails are probably not going to be crowded, but if you want to stick to the easy trails near the coast and explore the villages, I suggest you reconsider. Florence has an incredibly rich collection of Renaissance painting, sculpture and architecture. If that interests you, 3 full days is barely enough to satisfy, but if it's not a priority, you can see the highlights in a single day. Venice is my second favorite city in the world. While the day-trippers also clog the biggest tourist areas, it's pretty easy to walk 10 minutes in the opposite direction and find the picturesque quiet canals and enjoy the city's charms. Rome has enough to see and do to fill your entire trip twice over.

Posted by ghrjr OP

01/02/19 03:51 PM

2 posts

Thank you for the quick replies.

We are an active bunch and our vacations generally consist of lots of walking and exploring. And, we are big hikers, thus the appeal of Cinque Terre. Not knowing when we'll get back, Venice is calling as well. With that being said, Florence/Rome are the priorities of the trip with all there is to see/do. Bottom line, we want to see as much as we can, but not at the risk of seeing too little in too many places.

Thanks again.

Posted by epltd

01/02/19 08:00 PM

3124 posts

I agree with the others about skipping Venice. Yes, Venice has its magic, but given that you enjoy hiking and the outdoors, I'd allocate the time to Cinque Terre. Florence is therefore easily within your orbit, and you can then return to Rome for the last few days before you leave.

(This may sound facetious, but I feel that I can more or less experience Venice on You Tube. I've been there and I had a good time, but I wouldn't put it ahead of your other priorities.)