Itinery Help – 3 nights between Venice & Rome

IMHO you don't have time to enjoy CT in a 9 day trip between Venice and Rome. The train logistics don't work well either. I think you leave Venice after two days then either spend 3 days in Florence or split the time between Florence and Siena or, look deep into your soul and figure out if you're gonna want a little taste of countryside and relaxation ( and no touristas) and visit a little town in Tuscany between Venice and Rome. I'm not a real museum fan either, but there are these two guys named Da Vinci and Michelangelo, and they are really popular in these parts...

I would still consider Florence. It's a nice city, and a good base to take the train and go do a day trip in Cortona or Arezzo or Siena or Lucca, etc. Or if you want some time in the beautiful Tuscan countryside, just choose a small city or town and stay there between. If you're desiring a day on the beach, I would do a day trip to Livorno from Florence instead of Cinque Terre. Either that, or dedicate all three days to it. (Cinque Terre doesn't necessarily have the -most- to do for three days, but you also don't want to be traveling nonstop.)

For your first trip I suggest skipping Florence or doing it as a day trip from a small town in Tuscany. Staying in the big 3 on a 9 night trip will leave you with little time to relax and get a feeling for the countryside. I agree with others that getting to the CT is too far out of your way for this trip. I would look at a town around Florence and day trip in one day for the art. On my first trip I did Rome and Venice and skipped Florence and I did not regret it. You could also skip Florence, go from Venice to the CT, stay 2 nights there, then spend one night in Tuscany before heading to Rome. Whatever you decide, you will love it. Have a great trip!

I don't know that you can go wrong with any decision. I am not a museum person, either; but I cannot tell you how awesome it is to view works done by famous people I've read about, and see in real life their extraordinary works! Pictures don't do justice to the masterpieces that have survived the test of time. I have a new-found appreciation for the artists, sculptors, etc and seeing these works of art in person is truly indescribable! The CT is also very beautiful. I was only there for a few hours and wish I'd been there longer. Three days would be fabulous! You could daytrip to Pisa as well from there. Staying in an agriturismo in the Tuscan countryside for a few days would be spectacular! Verona is beautiful, as is the nearby Lake Garda and lakeside towns. The Arena of Verona is a 2,000 year old "stadium" that may be smaller than the coloseum, but is much more beautiful.... and still in use today! Nothing beats sitting on the marble seats and wondering who, in the past TWO THOUSANDS YEARS, has sat here before me.
There is so much to see and do; no decision will be wrong! You will love it all, I'm sure! Have a GREAT trip!

Robyn is right on with her comments. One of the amazing things about Italy is how many incredible places there are to visit. I think that per square foot, it's the most appealing country to visit on the planet. Once you resign yourself to not being able to see everything on one trip, you then face the challenge of deciding what you should see/do. Personally, I put a priority on trying to avoid long train trips or at least breaking them up with a layover on the way. I also try to lay out my itinerary on a somewhat straight line, or a loop. The problem with choosing Venice, the CT and Rome for me would be that they form a pretty big triangle, and so aren't very efficient to travel between. (Unlike Venice-Florence-Rome, which are pretty close to a straight line.)

Thank you everyone for your comments. It's just so hard to decide what to eliminate, but I agree this will be the first of several trips. If I did keep going to CT rather than stop in Florence, how easy is that to do as it looks like to me it would be around 4 hours and would be several trains to get there. What I had originally looked at was some of the tours that I've seen offered to CT that leave Florence and are gone for about 11 hours to give you a taste of CT. Michael's comment about it being easy to travel between Venice to Florence to Rome was why I had this plan in the first place. If I stayed in Siena instead of Florence and daytripped to Florence for the day, how much more involved is travelling from Venice to Siena and then from Siena to Rome? So many options and it's just so overwhelming!

Hi Kathy. To answer your question, it wouldn't be that difficult to get from Venice to Siena (it will take approximately 4.5 hours with 1 change) and then Siena to Rome will take approximately 3 to 3.5 hours again with 1 change. I personally would not waste the additional travel time getting to/from the CT. It is out of the way & I would save it for another trip. I'm assuming that the 3 nights you refer to translates into 2 full days. You could easily spend 3 nights in Siena and spend 1 day in Siena itself and 1 day in Florence. I'm not a big museum person either but I enjoyed Florence. Alternatively, I would add a day to Venice and visit Murano and Burano and then add a day to Rome and take a day trip to Orvieto (it's an absolutely wonderful town and not to be missed in my opinion) or a day trip to Ostia Antica or Tivoli (Villa d'Este or Hadrian's Villa). There's really a lot to do in and around Rome and we were there 5 days on our last trip and I feel as though we barely skimmed the surface.