Multicity Travel

Hi tcab2014-
First order of business is adjusting your expectations; you can't do all that in a week. How many nights will you have before moving on? That's helpful for knowing exactly what sort of time you actually have to work with as 7 days could include your arrival day, which means you really only have 6: barely enough for two locations, and three would be a mad rush. Keep in mind that moving between locations eats time!

Where are you moving on from Italy?

What sorts of things are you interested in seeing/doing? That will help as far advising what to drop but Gaeta should be the first thing taken off the plate; too far south in relationship to everything else on your list.

Recommended mode of transport will be dependent on what the final itinerary looks like. I would scrap the Vespa idea as they're not meant for distance travel (what would you do with your luggage?) and you don't want to drive one IN the cities unless you really know what you're doing. It's an entirely different kettle of fish than driving in the States (not sure where you're from). February is also winter and it could be very chilly and wet in places.

We will only have 6 nights. We fly into Rome (arrival day wasted). We plan on spending two days in Rome, then part of a day in Pisa leaving to Venice for a day and a half. We were thinking a day trip to the Dolomites to go paragliding maybe some light hiking. And I was really hoping to stop somewhere like Gaeta or Tuscany for a dip in the hot springs. We kind of just kept adding thing to our list.... now that I am typing it out it is very rushed. :( We are use to lots of time on the road. 4 hour car rides are fairly regular for us so I think in my mind I am picturing easy travel and day trip style visits

Count nights on the ground. A night is always a night (even with a late arrival/early departure), a day can be 2-16 hours of usable time.

Are you sure paragliding is possible in February?

We will only have 6 nights. We fly into Rome (arrival day wasted). We
plan on spending two days in Rome, then part of a day in Pisa leaving
to Venice for a day and a half.

This only gives you 5 - 5.5 sightseeing days, and you'll lose a chunk of one of those en route to Venice. I personally wouldn't even try to shoehorn Pisa into this schedule: about 3 hours from Rome (train), and then another 3.5 - 4 hours from Pisa to Venice (train).

It would be about 4 hours by train if traveling direct from Rome to Venice by train. You do want to use the trains for this trip as you do not want or need a car in the cities, and the trains are going to get you where you want to go much faster than a car. With as little time as you have, you're going to want to spend as little of that as possible in transit, IMHO?

Actual dates are going to make a difference as well. Some attractions are closed on certain days of the week so you may need some flexibility to work around those if they're on your list.

(Edited)

Are you sure paragliding is possible in February?

I wonder the same, Zoe. Brrrrrrrr!!!!!

We will be there late February and beginning of March. It is possible to do a glide flight in the winter because it doesnt require using warm air currents. But I would think it will be very cold. I dont think I can cut Pisa out because my husband really wants to see the tower. Although I see the logic I don't want to disappoint him. Would this be possible: Day 1 land in Rome travel to Pisa. Day 2 Pisa then Siena for a hot spring. Day 3 and 4 Vience. Day 5 Dolomites and travel to Rome (yikes it'd be a long day 3hr to Dolomites and 5 hr train to Rome.) Day 6 and 7 Rome. Head out late day 7. Our limited time just doesnt seem to be able to do this section of Italy justice. We hope to make another trip during summer months and do the southern part of Italy. So much we want to do and so little time. :(

6 nights gives you 5.5 days. Within that time you want to visit Rome, Pisa and Venice. You'll lose an entire day with your two train trips between Rome/Pisa and Pisa/Venice leaving you with 4.5 days to cover these three cities. I really don't know how to add in any day trips as you don't have enough time as it is in any of these cities. You could easily spend the entire 5.5 days in Rome or Venice and still not have enough time to see the "most visited" sites.

You won't need a car for this trip, just take the train between cities. Cars are expensive, you can't drive them into any cities or towns and parking is hard to find. The train is fast, cheap and easy.

donna

I added a day we dont have into that mix. So the answer is a firm no. Hmmm... do we cut out Pisa and the hot springs?

Look at it this way:

Time = money. You want to figure what you want to spend that money on; packing/unpacking, getting to/ from train stations, sitting in stations and on trains, checking in/out of hotels or sightseeing?

A very tight itinerary is also often a recipe for trouble as one snag can throw it out the window.

Daylight is short in the winter, and again, you may be working around days when attractions are closed. As far as hot springs in Siena, to my knowledge there aren't any IN the city itself.

Flying both in and out of Rome is going to involve backtracking = more time/money on trains. It would work much better to fly into Venice and out of Rome. I'm putting Venice first as an early flight out of that one can cause some complications with transport depending on what part of the city you're staying in (so I hear).

Thank you :)

Way way too much. You will be seeing more through a window than experiencing Italy. I agree with starting in Venice and ending in Rome. Use trains to get from place to place. You can do your itinerary but you will not experience much just checking things off your list, which is how some people travel, not me.

Your have five and a half days. If I understand correctly you will have two full days without travel, one in Venice and one in Rome, to see something, all the other days will involve travel or quickies like Pisa. It would be best to cut Pisa and Sienna.