Help! My husband and I have both retired (he is 67 and I am 59) and are taking our "dream' trip to Italy. However, we do not want to go on a group tour and want to plan our own vacation but don't know where to start. We have airline reservations for September 10 - 30, 2011 and will be flying into Rome and want to go to Sienna, Florence, Venice, Bellagio (on Lake Como), and will be flying back home from Milan. We are both wine afficiandos and want to spend the bulk of our time in Tuscany, if possible. But, are there other places we need to visit in northern Italy? We do not want to go south of Rome (my husband was there when he was in the Air Force). Please help us plan our trip. Also, we don't want to be extravagant on accomodations but want to feel safe and enjoy our accomodations. Thank you for any help you can give us.
Posted by
Honolulu/Seattle, HI/WA, USA
2788 posts
Do you have any Italy guide books yet that you have read?
That is the best way to start. RS has one I like. You also might research RS Italy tours to see which one fits the locations you want to visit and then check out its daily itinerary for more information. Good luck and happy travels.
Posted by
Austin
973 posts
Janet you have made a sensible start by allowing enough time to actually see the area. STart by visiting the library and checking out several guidebooks and reading those. You may think it's crazy to read about the same old garden or forest or lake or art museum, but actually the more you read, the more you find yourself interested-- or not! I keep a yellow legal pad and jot down places in several categories:interestng/maybe/ too far/ etc. Reading and looking at websites help me with routing the journey. I usually buy the RS guidebook while I am reading the others so I'll have a place to note any other suggestions. See if Rick's itinerary suits you. grab a pad and the map and give each city some time, based on what you've read and liked. In December we spent 4 nights Amsterdam 3 nights in Munich, 4 nights in Venice, 3 nights in Milan, drove over the Brenner Pass to Munch for one night,on the way back to Amsterdam for last night. Would have liked time spent time at the Lakes, but wrong season, so next time.
You'll have a great trips!
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32220 posts
Janet, As Charlie mentioned, the best place to start planning your trip is the Italy 2011 Guidebook. There's a wealth of information there covering sightseeing, Hotels, Restaurants, transportation, etc. It would also be a good idea to review the "Rail Skills" chapter in Europe Through The Back Door (should be available in your local Library). It appears that the duration of your trip is 21 days. Keep in mind that you'll "lose" the first and last days in travel, so will have 19 days for touring. I'm not sure that will allow much more time to visit "other places" in northern Italy. It's important to allow adequate travel times between locations, which will average about half a day in each case. As you'll be changing location five times, that will reduce your touring time by 2.5 days. As Siena and Florence are both in Tuscany, that should provide lots of time to see that area. I definitely agree that under the circmstances, it's better to focus on Rome and the north of Italy this time. Good luck with your planning!
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11361 posts
Janet: How fun for you! We are about your ages (not retired yet!) and took a not-too-different trip last fall. We are also wine afficianados and love to hike, both urban and countryside, so we included Montalcino for three nights. Here's what we did for 21 nights, just to give you an idea: Venice - 4 nights Vernazza - 3 Siena - 3 Montalcino - 3 Orvieto - 2 Rome - 5
Milan - 1 (spent 1/2 day to see Duomo, Last Supper, then flew out next AM) We took a wine tour with Roberto Bechi out of Siena that I highly recommend, www.toursbyroberto.com. He is a Rick Steves' "pick." Really loved the Brunellos in Montalcino; We bought 18 bottles there and shipped them home. We've been enjoying them for special dinners this winter. If you have a car, you can take a great daytrip from Montalcino to Montepulciano and Pienza. Seems like you have your list and mostly need to decide how many nights in each place. I would HIGHLY recommend sticking to no more than 6 places in 19 nights, knowing one of the 6 will be that last night in Milan. So maybe Rome, Montalcino, Siena OR Florence, Venice, Lake Como, Milan. IMHO this would play more to your wine hobby and allow you to experience a quiet, lovely hilltown, Montalcino. Have fun planning!
Posted by
Denver
787 posts
Given that you have 19 days and six destinations, you don't "need" to visit anywhere else - your time is already stretched out quite a bit. This is especially true if you already know you want to spend the bulk of your time in Tuscany enjoying the wine. I would even suggest that if that's the case, that you drop something - maybe Bellagio. And consider staying in Montalcino (Brunello) or Montepulciano (Vino Nobile di Montepulciano). You can visit Siena as a day trip from either of those locations, but be able to visit wine producers, if you want, as well as sample wine at enotecas (kind of like wine stores that have wine tastings) in the towns.