More Itinerary questions

With 3 day trips out of Florence I would take 2 days away from Venice and add one to Florence and one to Rome. This way you'll still have plenty of time to explore and do your day trips. Is there any way you can change your tickets to fly into Venice and out of Rome? This would cut down on some of the train travel you'll end up doing. Donna

How great for you! And good for you for not trying to stay in 8 places in that time frame. you'll enjoy "planting" yourselves in only 3 places ever-so-much. We spent 4 nights/3 full days in Venice our first trip, and it left us wanting more. But we were there in October, when the weather was more dependably pleasant. February can be dicey, from what I see in the historical forecasts. But I would only cut one night/day from Venice. It's a great place to recover from jet lag and there's certainly 3 days worth of enjoyment there. Add that night to Rome. The weather will be slightly better than Florence and most of Tuscany. You can "do" Assisi more easily from Rome than from Florence: more trains, better times, at least in my opinion. You might want to consider apartments in Florence and Rome. That will give you a little freedom from constant restaurants, room to relax.

Sounds pretty good to me, always nice to see someone who isnt trying to see the whole country in 2 weeks :). I would be flexible on daytrips and be willing to cut them out if you find you're enjoying the cities a lot (especially since in Feb the days will be short and lots of sights close early). That's what happened to me. on my first trip to Italy I did 5 nights in Florence and I was going to do Siena as well as Pisa/Lucca. I did do Siena and would encourage you to, but was enjoying Florence too much to leave again. if you're finding not enough to do in Venice (can't imagine that!), daytrips are easy. I would personally leave things the way they are or maaaaaybe take one day off venice and add it to Florence or Rome. Regardless I definitely wouldn't say it's too much. Sounds like a great trip!

I wouldn't take any time away from Venice! If you do want to day trip from Venice, I'd recommend Ravenna (RS just put up a piece on Ravenna), stopping in Ferrara on the way there or back.

Weather will be factor. If you see measurable snow in Venice you have hit a home. One of my visits to Venice was two weeks starting last week in Feb and most of the time there was low damp really cold fog and drizzle. But that was a good thing because it really magnified the atmospherics and I loved it. And there were few toursist and no lines to anything. I went back in bad weather months because that is when I like Venice most.

home = home run

Thanks for the good ideas. Need to look for lodging next. I enjoy reading the other postings and many of my questions get answered there.

I would consider spliting the 6 nights in Florence and spending 3 nights in Florence and 3 nights elewhere in Tuscany, maybe Siena. Siena is only about an hour by train from Florence, so it wouldn't take a half day to get there or anything. I'd only do 4 nights in Venice and 4-5 in Rome and then maybe tack on some time in Sorrento or elsewhere in the south so that you could take advantage of more favorable weather. But i get bored in one place for too long and I always assume I can go back someday and see anything I might have missed, so I like to be on the move! I think with 17 nights, I'd do: 4 in Venice, 3 in Florence, 2 in Siena, 5 in Rome, and 3 in Sorrento. But it all completely depends on how you like to travel. :)

O MY GOSH - You are going to be in Italy during CARNEVALE. So fortuitous. Most important. Read up on Carnevale in Venice and make your hotel reservations NOW. It is HIGH HIGH season and so much fun. The opening ceremony in Piazza San Marco will be on Feb. 12. For that reason, I would definitely spend 5 days in Venice, including the 12th for sure. Celebrations start on the 11th, and each neighborhood has things going on. There will probably be a parade through Rome on the 2nd Sunday of Carnevale (Feb 19th) - there was in 2010 when I was there, though I actually missed the parade (duh) in the morning. Even in the early afternoon streets were still closed off and people were strolling and enjoying. In Rome it is more of a kids' thing. In Venice it is amazing.