One month family trip to Italy

Have you already booked your airfare? I would HIGHLY suggest a open jaw ticket. I've not traveled for 1 month but 2.5 weeks last time I was in Italy. We flew into Venice, traveled over to the Cinque Terre, down to Florence (great hub to see surrounding areas), then Siena, Rome and finished off our trip on the Amalfi Coast. We ultimately flew out of Naples to come home. Have you ever used Homeaway or VRBO? Great resources to rent an apartment or farmhouse. Do you have any idea of your itinerary? I would love to someday rent a farmhouse, with a chef, swimming pool, vineyard and drive through Tuscany. Can I come with you? :-)

PS, I have a great suggestion for an apartment in Rome. It's in the Trastevere neighborhood.... excellent area to stay in Rome. The owner was AMAZING! He was very helpful to explain the sights and recommend great restaurants. The apartment is 2 bedroom, one king bed and two singles. Here's the listing. Promise you wouldn't be disappointment with this apartment. We LOVED it! http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p300175

Thanks, DFaye. We are in the process of buying our tickets and considering to land in Rome and fly out of Milan or the opposite. Any suggestions? Yes, I'm very familiar with vrbo , homeaway, etc. I have look at several properties, but I'm holding out on locations until I figure out the best itinerary for our month away. I found this 21 day itinerary from Rick : http://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy/itinerary. However, since we are staying longer, not sure if we should add more places or stay longer at some of the places mentioned. Any suggestions are welcome!

One suggestion I have is to begin your travels in northern italy and end on the Amalfi coast. You'll ensure to have great weather around mid June and can enjoy swimming/beaches on the Amalfi coast. I didn't spend time in Milan or Lake Como so I don't have any suggestions for that area. I personally loved that we flew into Venice because it runs at a slower pace and the airport is smaller which is nice for someone that's never been to Italy. I used the tips from this blog when planning our trip. http://www.italylogue.com/planning-a-trip/italy-itinerary-the-perfect-two-weeks.html This is for a two week tour but you can extend time in each area and add the Amalfi coast which is what we did. My suggestion would be to stay a bit longer in certain areas and do lots of day trips. I am going to Italy May 14-26th.... and I found that most of the great places I found to rent were booked up already. We are staying in Vernazza for 3 nights on the Cinque Terre. I booked through Ivo which is a RS recommendation. He has 2 new rooms this year. Very professional and by reading the reviews seems very nice. www.larosadeiventi-vernazza.it Here's his new website. We are also staying 4 nights in Sorrento and using that as a home base to see Capri, Ravello, Amalfi, Positano etc.

********* Sorry I realized I attached the wrong link for the 2 week itinerary. I updated above with the correct link. :-)

When comparing your own travel to RS tour, keep in mind that the tour has transportation, accommodation, some meals, and sightseeing pre-arranged by people who have been doing this for a long time. They also know how to avoid, or get out of, mishaps/delays. Doing it on your own, for the first time, will mean that your pace will probably be (and should be) slower.

So by doing it yourself you may want to pad the RS itinerary with extra days in the larger cities, and add a day or two that the RS tour doesn't cover.

Buon viaggio!

I think that the 21 day tour that you have from Rick is a very good place to start. If it were me, I would go that route and then add the extra days between Lake Como, Tuscany and/or Amalfi Coast.

You can also pay for a 45 minute phone travel advice session with Rick's tour office to iron out an itinerary, plan travel, accommodations, etc. It's pretty affordable and may be time and money well spent.

Sounds like great fun!!

Zoe. I see you are from Toledo. I am also. You write as if you are a travel agent. Are you? Would you suggest using a tour for first time travelers with a family?

If you do the 21 day trip that RS outlines, I certainly wouldn't add more locations. You mentioned wanting down time and not rushing… The self-directed itinerary he outlines exhausts me just looking at it. You might take that same itinerary and slow it down, adding more days In the areas that most interest you. Regarding where to add those days, I would suggest getting some photo-based travel guides (DK and National Geographic make good ones). For a 30-day trip, I would even drop some locations from that RS-suggested itinerary… Maybe Pisa and the Dolomites.

I appreciate all the responses, they have been very helpful!
I have been reading and looking at pictures, and I agree with you all that adding more to RS schedule would be insane. I have narrowed it down to this schedule considering that we have two teen boys, one loves the outdoors and the other loves excitement and my husband and I love history and authenticity:

starting in Rome and ending in Milan(there are more accommodations available in south coast at end of May than end of June)

4 days in Rome

4 days in south coast - I was thinking Puglia instead of Amalfi Coast. There may not be as much to see but I read is less touristy and more of the real italian experience. Thoughts on this will be appreciated!

7 days in Tuscany - thinking of making base near Siena and taking day trips by renting a car. Where can I rent car in this area? Or should I rent car in Puglia and drive to Tuscany from there?

3 days in Cinque Terre area - best way to get from here to Venice?

3 days in Venice - any suggestions for home base in this area?

3 days Dolomites - is this too many days? Also, best way to go from dolomites to lake como - bus,train,car?

3 days Lake Como area - is this too many days?

end in Milan