Itinery

We are planning on going Oct. 13 through the 28th. We have not booked flights yet. Nothing is set other than the dates. It was much cheaper for us to fly into Milan than into Venice- about $200.00 cheaper. Any suggestions are welcome. It's our first trip abroad. Thanks again for all the posts!

Is this your first trip to Italy? Do you have the RS Guide Books yet for the cities you are interested in visiting? Does your two weeks include a day of travel from/to the US each way? If you have 14 days on the ground in Italy and want to visit the 5 places you have listed, you will be traveling the better part of 4 days going between the different locations.
That leaves 10 days for the 5 places. Two days in each location is enough time for an overview of each but not enough to really settle in and do lots of exploring. If you plan on returning some day, this might be a good itinerary to figure out which places you want to return to.

Thinking of it in terms of overnights, I would do the following: Day 0 - leave home flying to Italy Day 1 - arrive in Milan, travel straight to Venice, overnight Venice Day 2 - Venice, overnight in Venice Day 3 - Venice, overnight in Venice Day 4 - train to Florence, overnight in Florence Day 5 - overnight in Florence Day 6 - overnight in Florence Day 7 - train to CT, overnight in CT Day 8 - overnight in CT Day 9 - train to Siena, overnight in Siena Day 10 - overnight in Siena Day 11 - train to Rome, overnight in Rome Day 12 - overnight in Rome Day 13 - overnight in Rome Day 14 - overnight in Rome
Day 15 - fly home

NIcole, Have you booked your flights yet? It would be a bit more efficient to fly inbound to Venice (unless of course you want to see a bit of Milan first?). That would prevent some "backtracking". The previous replies had some good suggestions for Itineraries. I can offer some suggestions also, but will wait for an answer on whether you've booked flights. Have you booked any accommodations yet? I started booking for the Cinque Terre in about March, and it took the better part of four days to get something arranged (I stayed in Riomaggiore last time, but will try Monterosso this time). One point to note - if you were planning to hike the trails in the Cinque Terre, I believe the section from Manarola to Corniglia is still closed. Which part of October will you be travelling? Cheers!

NIcole, As this is your first trip abroad, I'd highly recommend reading Europe Through The Back Door prior to the trip. I'd also pack along a copy of the Italy book, as that has LOTS of incredibly good information on Hotels, restaurants, transportation, etc. Although the flights to Milan are $200 cheaper, keep in mind that you'll need to include the cost of travel from Milan to Venice. The current second class fare from Milano Centrale to Venezia Santa Lucia is €32.25 PP (about US$47 PP). Add to that the cost of one night in a Hotel in Milan. You may find that it's actually more cost effective to fly into Venice. If you do decide to fly into Venice, the Guidebook has good information on the various options on travel from the airport to the city. I'll make some Itinerary suggestions in another post, so that I have more "room".

NIcole, With the circumstances you mentioned, I'd consider something along these lines: > D1 - Depart U.S. for Venice > D2 - Arrive Venice (you'll be jet lagged so don't plan much touring - try to keep active until bed time) > D3 - Venice > D4 - Train Venezia SL to Firenze SMN (trains every hour - time 2H:03M) > D5 - Florence (be sure to get reservations if you're planning to visit the Uffizi or Accademia) > D6 - Florence > D7 - Train Firenze to La Spezia (since you haven't chosen which one of the five villages you'll be staying in yet, this will get you close to the CT) - Depending on which train you choose, time will be ~2H:26M, often with one change - there's a DIRECT train with no changes departing 09:53, so that's the one I'd use). The trip from La Spezia to Riomaggiore (the first village from the south) is only 8-9 minutes, so it's very easy! > D8 - Cinque Terre > D9 - Train to Siena (time ~3H:18M, usually at least one change) > D10 - Siena > D11 - Train to Rome (time ~3H:08M, usually one change in Grosset - there are two departures at 07:53 and next train is not until 12:16 - I'd suggest getting an early start as there's so much to see in Rome) > D12 - Rome > D13 - Rome > D14 - Flight home I'd skip Pisa on this trip. If you had lots of time, it could certainly be included, but this Itinerary is already fairly "busy". This is only one suggested way the trip could be structured. Given the number of places you want to visit and the short time frame, the options are somewhat "limited". Buon Viaggio!

Here's my suggestion: 1) Milan 2) Milan -> Venice 3) Venice 4) Venice 5) Venice -> Florence 6) Florence 7) Florence day trip to Siena via bus 8) Florence 9) Florence ->Pisa for half day -> Cinque Terre 10) Cinque Terre 11) Cinque Terre -> Rome 12) Rome 13) Rome 14) Rome
15) Fly home Or something like that. :)