Planning 14 day trip to Italy...need some help.

We had about 12 days for our 1st visit - spent 5 nights in Rome, 2 nights in CT (with a quick stop in Pisa on the way there) 1 night in Genoa and 1 in Bologna, and 1 night (almost 2 days - our flight out was 11pm) in Venice. Having returned, we spent 3 nights in Venice...(I love the place) and one of our Rome days was a day trip to Naples for Herculaneum and Vesuvius. With 14 days, I would do 5 in Rome, 2 in CT, 3 in Florence and 3 in Venice...and you have a day for the travel/jet-lag part. And for downtime, nothing is better then Cinque Terre - no museums or crazy shopping, just hiking between the villages if you feel like it, or just exploring the towns...very relaxing. And we did trains the whole way - not a problem... If you can do open jaw flights, it's best - where are you flying from?

Are your dates including your travel days to and from Europe? Be honest with yourself about how much time you actually have. I like to plan my trips by how many nights I will be in each location. Keep in mind that two nights in a location = one full day, etc. You can have your down time in CT. I'm not sure how the weather will be there that rime of year. Unless you want to rush from one location to the next I wouldn't add another place. I would fly into Rome and out of Venice or visa versa.

It is a bit overwhelming to plan a 14 day trip and try to decide what to see. The first thing you need to realize is you can't see everything in one trip and you really don't have 14 full days because of travel. The first day you arrive will be a partial day and you will have jet lag so don't plan to do too much. Also, allow travel time between cities and sites. That being said I would come to the conclusion that everything can't be seen in one trip and plan on a second trip and make your agenda based on that assumption. Trust me you will want to go back. That is what we did and we didn't regret it for a moment. Look at the RS book and videos and set your priorities. It is very subjective what to put on the top of the list. Our first trip we did Rome for 4 days, Florence for 3 days and the amalfi cost for 3 days. We loved it. We like to stay in one place more than a day to really see the sites and get to experience the flavor of the city. In our second trip we visited the Lake Cuomo and Milan area for 4 days, Cinque Terre for 2 and Venice area (including neighboring areas) for 4 days. We drove and took it easy between sites to see the areas. I would recommend Rome (4 days)and Florence (3 days) as a starting point. CT (2 days). I think most people would than tell you to put Venice (3 days) on the list. You could stop at Milan. Padua, Verona (2 days) on the way to Venice. This would allow you to fly into Rome out of Venice. An alternative would be to go to Amalfi coast instead of CT and drop one day from Vencie or the neighboring areas.

It is important that you decide what is most important to you on this trip. That will help you narrow down. For example, on my trip with my mother 2 years ago, I read the RS books and felt that i HAD to go to CT. When we got there, it was cold and rainy and there wasn't much to amuse us (Mom's not much of a hiker). For our money, we would have rather used that time to stay more nights in Siena and see some of Tuscany. We liked Siena much more than CT. However, if I was to go back to Italy with my boyfriend, who loves to hike, I would definitely do a few days in CT for that purpose. It won't be terribly warm in late March/early April. Do you feel that you NEED to see the CT? Or would more nights in Siena/tuscany be just as good for you? CT is also a bit out of the way and difficult to get to than the other cities you're mentioning. With 14 days, I would suggest flying open-jaw if possible (into Rome out of Venice, or the opposite). Assume that your first day on the ground will be wasted due to exhaustion. Your goal then is to take your 13 good solid days and use them to their best potential.
I'd do 3 days in Venice, 5 days in Rome, and 4-5 in some combination of Florence and Siena. You can do several side trips from those bases. With the other nights, I would find a smaller city or two that is on the train line between two of the bases and do a night there. I stayed in Bologna for one night between Rome and Venice and even though there wasn't too much to see it was the best food I've ever eaten, and I was very glad I'd done it.

Susan, try to keep in mind that your trip is going to be great. You can't really make a "bad" choice, as all of Italy is so different from what you experience in the US, that it's all really interesting, especially for the first timer. That was my impression. I just got back from 14 days. It was our first trip and I planned it all myself using Rick's books and this board. I liked each place I visited, but all for different reasons. My trip went like this: Flight into Milan, but headed straight to Lake Como 2 nights Lake Como 2 nights Venice 3 nights Florence 2 nights Cinque Terre 2 nights Siena 3 nights Rome
Fly home from Rome. If I had to do it all over again, I'd probably cut out Lake Como to add more time in Venice and Rome, as those were my two favorites. (flying into Venice instead of Milan) However, I had no way of knowing that until I got there. From reading the guidebooks, I thought Florence would be my favorite. But again, it was such a fun trip that I can't even begin to complain about having a little less time in one place and a little more in another. Specifically, for your time frame, I would echo what others have stated above and consider that the Cinque Terre might be skipable. My favorite part of the CT was swimming in the ocean, which probably isn't ideal in March. However, if you love hiking, that is a great and unique place to hike. It depends on your interests. Just remember, it's going to be almost impossible to screw this up.

Prioritize by your wants and desires, not by what Rick Steve's or anybody else says you need to see. During my travel to Italy this last May I discovered that I really preferred the smaller places in Italy to the big cities. I wish I had spent less time in Florence and Rome, and more in places like Siena and Verona. I will be keeping this in mind for future travel.

Amen to what Angela said. Read up and then decide what matches YOUR interests. There's no one-size-fits-all approach to travel.

The other posters are 100% right when they say you cannot make a bad decision on this. Remember you are chosing among excellent options. I would suggest that nothing is essential to see. There is no reason why you can't leave cinque terre or venice for a second trip. And I say that having LOVED both of those places. If you skip Venice you can cut out a good deal of travel time and save more time for exploring some of the smaller Tuscan towns using either Florence or Siena as a base. Many people enjoy the smaller towns more than the huge metropolises. On another note, and this is just my opinion, if I had to chose between the Cinque Terre and the Amalfi Coast, I would go to the Amalfi Coast.

I love the Amalfi coast but you may be off season. Our new favorite is charming Orvieto. It is an easy train ride north of Rome, scenic, relaxing, has more reasonably priced hotels and a beautiful duomo and is a great way to experience a hill town. I would fly into Venice and out of Rome. What fun

Thank you all for your responses - all very helpful. One last question has to do with being in Italy over Easter. Is there an area we should avoid just before during or after the holiday or one that we should definitely seek to be in? We will fly in to Rome or Venice and fly out of the other. Haven't yet decided which first. Thanks,
Susan

It seems rather obvious, but unless you love crowds, avoid Rome until after Easter. It will be seriously crowded, and hotels will be charging high season prices. Also, I wouldn't plan to visit any of the resort areas like the Cinque Terre, Sorrento, or the Amalfi Coast at that time of year. The weather is too iffy. Rome, Florence, and Venice (plus other Veneto cities like Padova, Vicenza, and Verona) have things to do if the weather is bad.

I prefer to fly into a more mellow place and recuperate from the flight and the time change so that's why I said I'd fly into Venice over Rome. I do agree though that you wouldn't want to be in Rome for Easter unless it's important to you.

Susan, To begin with, I'd skip the Amalfi Coast this time, as I don't believe you have the time with such a short time frame. Better to return when you have more time and can see it "properly". I'd normally suggest starting in Venice and then working south, as the culture becomes more "intense" from north to south. However at that time of year it would be better to start in Rome as it will likely be warmer. Easter falls on Mar. 31, so you may be able to avoid the huge crowds that go along with that? You haven't said, but I'm assuming you have 14-days "on the ground" (not including your two flight days)? Would something like this work: > Mar.22 - Arrive Rome; jet lag recovery & familiarization > Mar.23 - Rome > Mar.24 - Rome > Mar.25 - Rome > Mar.26 - train to Siena > Mar.27 - Siena > Mar.28 - Siena > Mar.30 - train to Cinque Terre (which of the 5 towns do you want to stay in?) > Mar. 31 - C.T., "down time" (be sure to try the local Pesto and Schiaccetra (a sweet dessert wine produced locally) > Apr.1 - C.T., "down time" > Apr. 2 - train to Florence > Apr.3 - Florence > Apr.4 - train to Venice > Apr.5 - Venice > Apr.6 - Venice The C.T. usually opens for the season on Apr. 1, so that's a good time to be there as it probably won't be too crowded. Good luck with your planning!

We were in Italy on Easter week a few years back. We just planned our trip so that we weren't in Rome on Easter itself. We left Rome for the Amalfi coast on Good Friday and everything was great. In fact we got to experience a passion play in Priano that was pretty cool.

Susan, don't worry about Rick's "priorities". Go where YOU want to go. I've been to Italy several times, but still no burning desire to go to Cinque Terre (NOOOOO!!! LOL!) So, I don't go. Yet. Maybe someday...But you just can't fit it all in :-( Have you seen RS' travel programs? Even if you have, you can watch them from this website; click on the blue tab at the top of this page that says "Rick on TV", then either click on YouTube or Hulu. See which locations really appeal to you. I'd suggest something like fly into Florence/Pisa and spend 4 days in Siena (incl. Florence, and a day of rest after flying), 3 days in Venice, 4-5 days in Rome (fly out of Rome), and maybe the rest in either Cinque Terre or Sorrento (if you're interested in Pompeii). Of course, your airline may fly into Venice (for instance); start there, then. Take those very early trains (7am-9am)!!! Keep as much of your day as you can. Or, a night in Orvieto between Siena/Venice and Rome. Or, ...whatever strikes your fancy. Who are you traveling with? A spouse? Children (ages?)? Parents? Friends? Any physical limitations (slow walkers, can't walk long distances, hard time climbing stairs/hills)? Any particular interests - art, history, wine?

Maybe I'm in the minority here but I can't imagine why you would spend 3 or 4 nights in Siena on such time constraints. Unless the idea is to use Siena as a base for seeing other Tuscan towns, I would not think you would need more than a day there. I love Siena but think the major sites can be taken in during a day when time is an issue. My personal preference would be to spend more time in Florence and a day in Siena. I second the previous post who recommended Orvieto. Wonderful city!! If you are in Orvieto you are not too far from Assissi which is also tremendous.

I agree with Angela & Michael. I made a list of all the things I'd like to see by city without worrying about prioritizing them or whether they would work for this trip or not. Once done, I had a long list that I would never tackle in one trip but there were 3 locations that stood out as having more that I wanted to see and do than the rest. This helped me narrow which cities to visit. I then used that same list to determine how to divide up my days between each location. And, as many say here, plan on going back! Happy travels!

We tend to enjoy spending more time in smaller towns and not in big cities. Last year, of 13 nights, we spent 1 night in Venice, and the rest in small towns. One of which was Cortona where we rented a farmhouse with a pool for a week and spent two days in Cortona, day tripped twice to Florence, Siena, Montalcina, and spent the last day driving through the Chianti region on the way to the airport. I chose Cortona since it seemed to be centrally located to a lot of sites. Next year we will spend 2 nights in Rome out of 14 nights, but then Montesrosso, Montalcino, Orvieto, and Sorrento for the rest of the trip. Everyone's travel goals are different, but for me spending the majority of two weeks in the big cities just isn't relaxing enough for us.
Lodging tends to be less money in the smaller towns than the big cities.

We also went for 14 days and I can relate. This was one of the toughest trips to plan because the choices are so vast. We had to break it into steps to make it more manageable. We had some specific sites we wanted to see in Rome so we started with that. We then watched the Rick Steves shows on DVD and made notes about other locations and did a little research on line and in guide books. As others have said, the list was too long to do in one trip but it really helped to have a comprehensive list of locations & what each had to offer. If gives a good overview. Once you figure out where you want to go, you might check out the flight options, it may make the choice for you on which cities to start and end your trip. One last thing that may help, we made a spreadsheet for our trip. Days we were in Italy were list across the top with all the sites we wanted to visit listed down the left side. We then marked which days each site was open and organized the sites in the order we'd see them. This really helped make sure we didn't plan to see a site on a day that the place was closed.

I dont have much to add, but when others are talking about weather in April for the resort towns, I wanted to let you know on my last trip to Venice (mid April several years ago) on 2 of 3 days, it poured and was so windy that the piazzas were littered with broken umbrellas the following morning. Our vaporetto trip to Murano was unpleasantly cold and wet and only by going into coffee bars or watching glass blowing could we get warm for a few minutes at a time. In Venice a lot of the charm for me had been strolling the narrow streets, looking in shops and hanging out in the many open areas, which was not really possible with the weather we encountered. I still loved our visit, but memories are of a "picnic" lunch on the floor of our pension, of shopping for warm scarves to ward off the sharp wind, of going to Burano on our last day when the sun mercifully came out and everything seemed more colorful than it is (that's saying a lot). Just plan to be flexible and make sure you have a jacket with a hood or a cap and you will be fine. We still enjoyed our trip, but would have been disappointed if we had a set agenda. Venice is an amazing place!

If you can, fly into Venice and start your trip there. Venice is THE best place to begin after a long-haul flight and with jetlag. You can just relax on the vaporetto on the Grand Canal, or wander the back streets and absorb the atmosphere while your bodies adjust. Then work your way south, arriving in Rome after Easter Sunday and flying home from there. Florence is all about art and architecture. So much of Michelangelo's works are there (most of the rest are in Rome), and other Italian masters, painters and sculptors. If you love it, you can spend 3 days and still not see it all. If that's not your thing, a day trip from Siena might be all you need. Verona is one of my favorite towns in Italy. There is a lot to see and there aren't so many tourists at that time of year. If you don't want to spend a lot of time in Florence, you may want to spend a couple of nights here. Alternatively, you can take the train from Venice early in the morning, leave your baggage at the train station, spend the day and then continue by train to Florence in the evening. If you haven't chosen to spend a lot of time in Florence, then stay in Siena (more "atmosphere") and take a day trip to Florence. I agree with the other posters, it's not the right time of year for the Cinque Terre and the Amalfi Coast is too far away for a 14-day trip starting in or near Venice. I haven't suggested Orvieto, simply because I haven't been there . . . yet.

Susan, A few more comments...... There should be no problem visiting the C.T. at that time of year. While it's just before the "official" start of the season, there will be Hotels open. Also, Orvieto would be an awesome place to visit, if you can fit it in (although it's worth at least a few days so you might plan that for a future visit). When you do get there, be sure to have a look at the incredible Signorelli Frescoes in the Chapel of the Madonna di San Brizio. It's a separate room at the back of the Duomo on the right side (as I recall). In Orvieto there's also an interesting Underground Tour and of course St. Patrick's Well (a very unique double-helix design). Nearby you could visit the small hill town of Civita di Bagnoregio which Rick features on his TV shows. Cheers!

I'd start by thinking about what made me choose Italy in the first place. If a gondola in Venice is it, that is a must. If it's narrow hilltop streets than that is a must. Put those couple things on the map first, then look at what is in between. Think of the kind of thing I like to do most when traveling: food, art museums (what period?), history, hiking, small town atmosphere, big city atmosphere, ruins. If you're not sure, choose for variety. But whatever you do spend at least 2 full days (three nights) most places. I'd try to limit myself to three to five cities.

I was in Rome this year for Easter, and then spent 5 days in Siena. Easter was April 9 (or 10). It rained sideways and blew like stink the second week. Probably bad luck, however, I'd save the CT for another trip later in the year. There are many things to do with cold weather in Rome, Florence and Siena, but I think the CT would be miserable with that kind of weather. Hopefully, you will have fantastic weather no matter what you do, but if this is when you're traveling, I'd save CT for your next trip.