Narrowing down Rome/Tuscany/Verona Itinerary

While you can get flights out of Verona, you may find them to be cheaper from Venice or Malpensa; either would be preferable to going all the way back to Rome. Tuscany is tough to see in such a short time, but the top of my list would include Florence, Siena and Lucca. The hill towns are certainly charming, but are tough to do with trains (though bus day trips are always an option). If you opt for a day trip from Florence to Siena, I would suggest the bus, as it will drop you off in the center of town and was comparable in price. I am not aware of any bike tours, per se, but one of our favorite activities was biking atop the city walls in Lucca.

I'd pick one location in Tuscany for your trip. Is that three nights, two full days? Assuming so, you'll have 1/2 a day on arrival from Rome to settle in and look about the town. I'd recommend Siena, by the way. Then on your first full day in Siena, take a tour with Roberto http://toursbyroberto.com. You will see a very small historic hilltown, an Etruscan tomb, a family winery, and have a fabulous lunch, all escorted by the dynamic and entertaining Roberto in a small group of 8 people. He'll pick you up at your lodging. On your second full day, you can chill out in Siena or take a bus to Volterra and San Gimignano to see a couple more unique towns. Great B&B in Siena is Antica Residenza Cicogna. Very nice rooms, great breakfast, sweet and helpful people. BTW, Rome does not have to be frenetic. Take a couple of hours out each afternoon, go back to your B&B and rest. It will make the city less intimidating. It is a wonderful city and you will experience so much!

How fixed are you on mid July? Italy gets pretty darn hot in July and August. Better months to go are May-June and September, if you can.

Verona is great. It is about an hour from Venice and about two hours from Milan, so I would fly home from whichever place has the cheapest flight. If you aren't a city person, you might want to take a day from Rome and add it to Tuscany. There are many hill towns to explore. It is a little more difficult without a car, but you can manage. If you are going from Florence to Siena (or visa versa) the bus is better.

Hi Jon. If you do 5 days in Rome, I would take a day trip to Orvieto. It's a lovely town only 90 min by train from Rome & there are some interesting things to do/see there. If you do this day trip part way through your time in Rome, it will serve as a little break from the hustle & bustle of Rome. As for Tuscany, I would stay in Siena. I can recomend a great agriturismo (Agriturismo Marciano) only 10 minutes from the city walls (but it feels like you're way out in the country). It's reasonably priced and it's a fantastic experience. You can read the reviews on TripAdvisor. In 3 days and without a car, I'd suggest seeing Siena, San Gimignano & maybe Florence. Have a great trip.

I agree, no car needed in Verona and you definitely don't want one in Rome, unless you are a masochist! Tuscany on the other hand is better with one. We rented a car only for our time in Tuscany. We took the train from Rome to Orvieto, spent a few hours there looking around, then drove to Agriturismo Marciano in Siena. It is actually just outside of town. GPS is advisable. It was nice to be able to drive to the hill towns. If you only plan to see Siena and Florence you should stay in town and you won't need a car. I loved the hill towns and I'm glad we were able to visit a few.

I agree with Sharon about Agriturismo Marciano. One of the highlights of our 3 weeks in Italy. Their optional dinners were the best we had on the trip. Without a car I think it would be a bit of a challenge to stay there though. What is your real objection to driving in Tuscany? You can see so much more with a car.

Hi all, thanks for the great advice. This is giving us a real good starting point. I'll do some more research on the locations and undoubtedly return with more questions:) Michael: We're stuck with July because of our work schedules. Andrea: I'm not very keen on the idea of driving in foreign cities and I figured it'd probably be more hassle then it's worth. I assumed Rome would be real easy to handle without a car, Tuscany and Verona, don't know much about the driving there (Our neighbors went to Italy last year and did not like driving at all).

Verona's a piece of cake w/o a car. The city bus will take you to train station in 5 minutes, or you could cab it very cheaply as well.