Starting in Rome, Then to Florence

Life, and your travels, are easier if you can buy multi-city ( aka open jaw) tickets and fly into Rome and out from Milan , or the reverse.

Car is mostly bother at Lake Como

Do you plan to just stay at the resort or do touring from there? Whether a rental car is the solution or something else depends on what your plans are

Flights are already booked. We looked into multi city but they were much pricier and flight itineraries weren't that great.

At both resorts (wherever we decide on) we plan on leaving the resorts to do other activities (e.g. wine tour).

For other readers we are big fans of multi city tickets as money and time savers. We have never found open jaws to be more expensive but your are looking at a round trip and not two, one-way tickets. "Which trains should we take? . You take the train that meets you schedule. Trains are frequent and general several trains a day to chose from. In Italy the main train service is provided by trenitalia. Their web site is in English. Italo is a private train service operating on trenitalia's tracks and provide high speed service to a limited number of Italian cities. Soomtimes they are cheaper so check them out. What are your travel dates?

Hello vyw, and welcome to the forum,

Just to be clear are you saying fly into Rome, navigate airport, train into the city, train to Florence, tram to airport, rent a car and then drive over an hour into rural Tuscany without stopping and sleeping along the way? If so this sounds like some kind of superhuman effort I wouldn't even dream of trying.

Now I fly from the West coast which adds hours and a stop over so maybe I'm underestimating how refreshed you might feel landing in Rome from an shorter flight but this sounds like a lot to expect to pull off while jet-lagged.

Drop the car in Florence at the same place you picked it up to avoid drop off fees. A car on the lake is nothing but a burden so avoid that.

The fast train from Florence to Milan is much faster than driving. Train from Milan to Lake Como - Varenna is a favorite among people here on the board. Reverse the trains to return to Rome - this should be abotu 3.5 hours from Milan to Rome by fast train.

Hope that helps,
=Tod

@Frank,

Arriving Apr 28 and departing May 7

@Hiredman,

Thanks!

I think you may have misread my post. We are heading to Florence and stay there 3 nights. Then, we are thinking about heading to Lake Como for 3 nights. Then come back to Rome and stay there for the remainder of the trip.

With only 9 nights I would stick to 2 locations
Florence 4or 5 with a day trip or 2 then back to Rome for remainder

A 3 night stay only gives you 2 full days

The trip to Lake Como will take up most of a day just to spend 2 days there then most of day to get back to Rome

thanks for the input!

Sorry I posted hastily but glad I misunderstood. I thought I was going to have to dissuade you from something Herculian.

Have a great trip,
=Tod

Haha no worries. Thanks!

I would concentrate on the areas close to Rome and Florence -- I would not spend all that extra travel time unless you a have a very specific reason to do so and think you will never be back.

Yep, that's what I'm trying to do but I'm getting resistance from the GF

There are lakes in Tuscany, and there is just so much to see in every square inch of the country that I fail to see her logic, but I hope you can work it out!

GF finally agreed to skip Como. We settled on Capri. First three nights in Radda Chianti about an hour south of Florence I believe (hotel already booked). Then to Naples/Capri for 3/4 nights so that's where I'm looking for some feedback. Should we stay in Naples and take a trip to Capri or should we stay in Capri?

Wait... hahaha, now I am really confused... But agree with others, stick with 2 destinations on this short of a trip, ok, add Radda to Florence leg , that's 3. More than enough! Hmmm did you cut back on Rome??

Just checking, you had planned to go to Florence directly from the airport, which is doable, BUT stay in Florence 3 nights before Radda? (As stated above, hope you're not considering flying across the pond, train to Roma termini, train to Florence, AND getting into a rental car to drive another hour.)

Based upon your info, you have 8 days on the ground, excluding arrival day (shot by jet lag and getting to Florence), if you spend one night in Florence, 3 in Radda, (which is gorgeous BTW) 3 nights in Rome that's 7 nights and you only have 9 nights, 8 days in Italy, so only 2 days to play with beyond what you've planned.

When are you going, sorry if I missed that nugget. And since we know nothing about your interests, are you keen on museums / foodies / crumbling ruins or perhaps more the 'resort vibe'?

Naples & Capri are another 1/2 day each way from Rome, where you need to be the night before departure to play it safe. Personally, I love Naples & have been to Capri numerous times, but I'm not doing it on this sort of itinerary. You're already in Florence, why not stay in Tuscany another day & add a day in Rome? Seriously there's a LOT to do just in these 2 cities! Really. A lot.