Seeking Itinerary Feedback - Northern Italy September 2016

Posted by Elle Jay on 02/28/16 07:44 PM

Greetings! My husband & I are planning our first trip to Italy this coming September. We have our itinerary planned for our 16 day (15 night) trip and would love to gain your perspective. Our goal is to visit as many cities as possible without compromising our overall experience. Here is what we currently have planned:

Days 1 & 2 - Arrive into Milan early morning; take train to Lake Como (Varenna). Spending (2) nights in Varenna.
Days 3 & 4 - Depart for Venice; spending (2) nights in Venice.
Days 5 & 6 - Depart for CT; spending (2) nights in Vernazza.
Days 7-10 - Depart for Florence; spending (4) nights in Florence.
Days 11 & 12 - Depart for Montepulciano; spending (2) nights in countryside.
Days 13-16 - Depart for Rome; spending (3) nights.

We welcome any feedback you may have given your experiences. Thanks in advance!

Posted by Marika

Ontario, Canada

02/28/16 08:49 PM

362 posts

Can you fly into Venice to avoid backtracking?

Posted by Frank

Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA

02/28/16 08:57 PM

23273 posts

That is a quickee schedule. Two nights is really one day. The biggest experience you will gain is packing, unpacking, finding hotels, , checking in and out of hotels, finding trains, and, of course, riding in trains. You will get a small bit of each location but don't how you could relax in any of them other than Florence and a bit of Rome. I am not sure what you mean when you say, "without compromising our overall experience." What experience do you expect to achieve?

Posted by Valerie

Pacific Northwest

02/28/16 09:07 PM

2622 posts

I'd take out one of your two night stops to make the trip much more rewarding. Perhaps take the CT out. You could then do Varenna - 3, Venice - 3, Florence - 4, Montepulciano -2, Rome 3. This gives you a taste of big and small cities, small nice lakeside views, the charm of Venice, the jam-packed sites of Florence and Rome.

Posted by TC

Atlanta

02/28/16 10:09 PM

4852 posts

IMO, it's way too much in too little time. Frank was absolutely correct when he stated "The biggest experience you will gain is packing, unpacking, finding hotels, , checking in and out of hotels, finding trains, and, of course, riding in trains." My suggestion to pare your list down to not more four places (three would be better). Perhaps Lake Como, Venice, Rome and another spot you really want to see.

Posted by Laurel

Forest Grove, OR

02/29/16 05:21 AM

11330 posts

With 15 nights, 4 locations is a higher quality experience.

Varenna - 3 nights (one full day to cruise the lake, 1 to either hike the Viandante or visit some of the little towns

Venezia - 3 nights minimum

Firenze - 4 nights with day trips to Siena and perhaps a hill town or a Chianti wine tour

Roma - 5 nights

Posted by Elle Jay OP

03/01/16 03:01 AM

2 posts

Thanks for all of the great feedback & suggestions! You have all been a tremendous amount of help. Based on the guidance, we have made the hard decision to save CT for another time so that we are able to add an extra night in both Varenna and Venice. We have a renewed sense of comfort with our itinerary knowing that we will be spending less time unpacking, packing and hopping trains and more time sipping wine, enjoying the food, culture and sights of Italy.

Words cannot begin to express just how excited we are for this trip. Thank you again for weighing in on our itinerary. I am sure I will have more questions coming your way. Meanwhile, I would love to hear if anyone has any absolute "must-do's" for the destinations we will be visiting (Varenna, Venice, Florence, Montepulciano & Rome).

My husband and I are in our early 40's and are most interested in soaking up the culture and experiencing Italy through the lense of a local. Thanks in advance for helping this first-timer out. :)