Please help with 3 week plans

that's a lot of moving around. Remember, two nights in a location means one full day there. You already have 6 locations listed, I wouldn't add anymore and would consider taking at least one off. Those extra 3 days should be added to areas that only have two days listed in order to give you time to see those areas.

Donna

I agree that you're moving around too much. Rick's 3-week plan isn't bad if you're on a tour and don't have to worry about logistics, etc. but if you're doing it "on your own", it's way too ambitious, in my opinion. You will barely start to settle in to a place and then have to uproot & move again. You're under-estimating how time consuming it is to pack up, check out of a hotel, get to the train station, get your luggage onto/off of the train, get to your new hotel, check in, un-pack, etc & then do it all over again 2-3 days later. We went to Italy in 2009 & I, too, planned an overly ambitious trip and moved around too often. I learned the hard way & made sure that our 3-week trip last year didn't involve as many location changes. My husband was also appreciative because unfortunately he was tasked with "schlepping" our bags onto/off the trains, up and down many stairs in the train stations, etc.

I would suggest dropping the 2 nights in Orvieto from your itinerary and go straight from Florence to the Amalfi Coast and then visit Orvieto as a day trip from Rome before you depart for home. I don't think there's enough to do in Orvieto to warrant 2 nights there and by visiting Orvieto as a day trip from Rome, you will eliminate a location change. Orvieto is an easy 90-minute train ride from Rome. Although, if you've never been to Rome, you can easily just spend all 4 nights in Rome as there's so much to see/do there.

With your extra 3 nights, I would add 1 night to Venice, 1 night to Varenna and either a night in Sorrento or a night in Rome as there is so much to do in both places. I know you said you've been to Venice before and want to return. I felt the same way; we spent 3-4 nights there previously but I liked Venice so much that we spent 5 nights there this past September as well and loved it. I would definitely add a night to Venice. I think 3 nights in Florence is sufficient.

Just my 2 cents...have a great trip!

We have three weeks coming up in Italy this September also. I have to agree with others that I would drop Orvieto and not add anymore locations. Orvieto is a great day trip town. I would certainly add at least a night or two to lake Como and consider Borgo Le Terazze just above Bellagio. Remember you will still be recovering from jet lag. I would also adding time to the Amalfi Coast.

Remember Il dolce far niente. It is the point of Italy. :-)

I like your plan. You don't have any one-nighters except Milano, and with fast trains to major cities you will have most of your travel days to get settled and see some things. I go to Orvieto often, you will love having two nights there (mornings and evenings with no day trippers, and the sunset and evening light is magical).

PM me if you need recommendations for places to stay, especially on the Amalfi Coast.

I agree with Zoe: It's a good plan. I am favor stays of more than two nights, but I think in Varenna it is enough to decompress after travel, and in Orvieto it will be a little break that allows ou to experience a hill town. I would add your extra nights to Rome, Venice and Sorrento. Venice is simply addictive, and Rome and Sorrento have so much to offer they can easily consume you for 5 nights each (or more). DO NOT add more stops. Add your 3 extra nights to places you are already visiting. OR drop Orvieto as a stop making it a day trip from Rome and spend 2 nights in Assisi. Assisi trumps Verona in my opinion.

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions! You are right to remind me of how much time one loses to changing locations--I've noticed that after previous trips. It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of seeing all you can. I will add those extra days to the cities we already have planned. I appreciate all your input.

Actually, your itinerary sounds like the kind I enjoy. Verona is one of my favorites, and easy to see as a "day trip" on the way to Venice if you can manage taking an early train. Leave your baggage at the station, spend a few hours, then continue on to Venice. Verona is charming in the evenings, but for this trip I would add the night somewhere else.

I just came back from my first visit to Assisi and Orvieto and loved them both. I took an early train from Florence, left my suitcase at the train station and just took an overnight bag up to the town for one night. The next afternoon I took a train to Orvieto. I think you could do that. It's going to take the better part of a day getting down to Sorrento (the best base IMO for the AC) so whether you go from Florence or Orvieto won't make a lot of difference. Take the train to Rome Termini and then the fast train to Naples, then the local Circumvesuvani to Sorrento. If you go straight from Florence, you will save changing trains in Rome, but it's pretty easy since there are no stairs to negotiate at Termini. I stayed one night in Assisi based mostly on Rick's advice that an evening and a day is enough and while I would have enjoyed more time there (isn't that true of everywhere in Italy??), I had plenty of time to see a lot without stress.

Then I would add 1 or 2 nights to Sorrento to give you plenty of time for Pompeii, Herculaneum, a day in Naples (the archaeology museum there is a Wow), and to explore the AC.

If you have any nights left, add them to Rome. While I find the city too big and lacking in atmosphere, it is chock-full of wonderful sights.

That way you won't be going from destination to destination during the second half of your trip, when you are more likely to want to slow down anyway.

Hope your planning is going well. I have stayed two nights each in Varenna and Orvieto both on my own trips and with our tours, and always felt that timing to be adequate, since there's so much else to see with your limited budget of time and money. You're repeating Florence, too, and I would think you would want more new sites in the plan. If you add Assisi, you day trip within that area to Perugia, Cortona, or Spello. Train from Florence to Cinque Terre takes 2.5 - 3.5 hours depending on the connections, and from there (e.g., Vernazza) to Napoli is 6-7 hours (if you save Orvieto for later).

I'm a fan of the 2 night trips. I did a 2 week trip similar to the poster above with all those places and didn't mind all the travel since we saw a lot of the country. Next month we are going for 3 weeks just to tuscany and staying about 4 nights at each location.

I did 1 night on Orveito and found that was plenty. It was nice being there at night with all the daytrippers from Rome gone.

You can do 1 night in Orvieto, and add 2 nights in the Cinque Terra. You'll love it. What are your Florence plans? You could add that 4th night to Florence and take a tuscany daytrip if you don't have one planned.