My husband and I will be arriving in Munich on a Friday at the end of September, attending Oktoberfest on that Sunday and leaving for Italy on that Monday. We leave out of Rome the following week on Thursday. It’s my first time going to Italy, my husband’s second. I’m researching ideas for those 10 days. I have always wanted to go to the Dolomites but am thinking we may have to skip it. We are debating renting a car. Venice, Bologna, Florence, Rome as well as Parma, Cinque Terre, Pisa are all on my list. I just don’t know distance to know which would be good home base for a few days vs. day trips from each home base. I know I can’t do it all but am not sure what I can fit in.
Posted by
Bend, Oregon
2580 posts
Of those 10 days, I would plan at least 4 full days in Rome. So you would need to sleep in Rome Saturday - Wednesday nights in week 2. Work backwards from there.
That gives you 6 nights elsewhere. Two places max. CT will eat up a lot of time just to get to, so I would eliminate that. Of the others, I would choose either Dolomites OR Venice, and Florence.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
7272 posts
Welcome!
Have you determined how you will travel to Italy?
A car not needed or wanted for majority of your Italy locations. Maybe in Dolomites, but can do without.
You have 9 nights- day 1 is a travel day so maybe a half day, no jet lag so that’s nice.
Departure day doesn’t count. Count your trip in nights.
Minimum stay suggestions:
Every change in location takes at least a half day- pack up, check out, get to train, train, get to lodgings, check in, get oriented…
Venice 3— consider flying from MUN to VCE
Bologna- 2- plus 1 for day trip to Parma
Florence 2-3 plus 1 for day trip to Pisa or wherever
(Florence & Bologna are close enough to day trip as well)
CT- 2-3? takes some effort to get here, too far for day trip
Rome 4
Prioritize 3 locations at most.
Where did your husband visit on his first trip?
This is a fun resource - use it to see what your transpo /travel time options are. Confirm and book on the actual carrier site.
www.rome2rio.com
train sites:
Trenitalia- fast trains and regional
https://www.trenitalia.com/content/tcom/en.html
ItaloTreno- fast trains
https://www.italotreno.it/en
Get the RS Italy guide book- loads of info.
Posted by
Irving
3313 posts
Consider taking a direct overnight train from Munich’s main train station departing at 23:30 and arriving at Venice’s Santa Lucia station at 8:34. Rent a sleeper car for maximum comfort.
From Venice take a direct train to Bologna (1h 45m) and sleep there and make Parma a day trip from Bologna (1h). Florence is also a direct 45-minute train ride from Bologna and could also be a day trip. If you plan on spending multiple days in Florence then also make Florence a base.
Pisa can be a day trip from Florence by direct train (1h) and the Cinque Terre is a day trip from Pisa but not Florence. The Cinque Terre is the true outlier here. There are no direct trains from Cinque Terre to Rome either but there is from Pisa (3h 30m).
If Florence is a day trip from Bologna consider dropping both Pisa and the Cinque Terre since a transfer is required from Bologna to Pisa (1h 45m). If you go to Pisa sleep there and take a day trip to Monterosso by direct train (1h 15m) and take a ferry to the other Cinque Terre towns. The town furthest south is Riomaggiore and you can take a train back to Pisa (1h 15m) but requires a connection.
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
5567 posts
While you could do one nighters and just check off places on your wish list, you won't have time to actually see much in any of them, and it would be exhausting; not to mention spending half of your daytime hours sitting on trains or getting to/from trains. You will have to edit your wish list.
You could take the night train to Venice from Munich. I've done it and got only a couple of hours of actual sleep, even in a sleeper car. Or you could catch a direct flight that takes an hour. Depends on how deep your pockets are.
With 10 nights, and the last 4 in Rome, I'd do 2-3 nights in Venice and 3-4 nights in Florence. You could do day trips to Pisa and Bologna from Florence if you stayed there 4 nights.
Posted by
8404 posts
You have 10 days in Italy, so stay with the Big 3, Venice, Florence and Rome.
Skip Parma, Bologna, Cinque Terre (Amalfi Coast is better), and Pisa. You can come back to Italy and see these places.
Plan on Venice for 2-3 nights, Florence for 3 and Rome for 4-5.
Personally, I would not rent a car for Italy, take the train. Parking is difficult in Venice, Florence and Rome.
Posted by
San Antonio, Texas, USA
57 posts
I had the same issue - how to get from Munich to Italy. I researched it and decided to fly from Munich to Florence. Since I don't want to be so tired, I decided against the night train. I'm staying 4 nights in Florence (with a day trip to Siena) and then I'm taking the train to Rome where I'm staying 7 nights. I'm taking a day trip to Naples where I'm going to see Herculaneum, Pompeii, and hopefully the archeology museum in Naples.