Starting Our Italy Itinerary! Help?

Or in venice, and out rome. you can go from one end to the other. also that is 10 days there and you want to see alot of places. may want to cut out pisa and tuscany is multiple cities

I hope you're not offended by me saying this, but you simply can't see 6 cities/regions in 11 days (and I'm assuming that doesn't include the flying days). Not with any time to appreciate and enjoy them, anyway. You certainly can set foot in all these places, but most of your trip is going to consist of transportation. Do yourself a favor and pick 3areas that you really want to see and spend 3 days in each of them. Tuscany is best with a car, so strike that one off the list. Positano is a long way south from Rome, so unless its really high on the list take it off too. You can do a nice trip with 3 days apiece in Venice, Florence, and Rome (including a day trip to Pisa from Florence) without so much rushing around. Fly open jaw, into Rome and out of Venice (or into Venice and out of Rome).

Dana, just to let you know that IMHO, the only thing to see in Pisa is the leaning tower and the adjoining historical grounds. Still, we have seen the leaning tower in our school books since we were children. It's very nice to visit. If you are day-tripping from Florence, the train ride will take just over an hour. Then, it's a 30-minute walk to the tower and 30 minutes back to the train station. At best, you are looking at 4hrs for the day trip. If you are based in Siena, add 2hrs to the train ride as Siena is farther away.

Yes, the flights out of Marco Polo depart early for major hubs. But, they also do this at Milan and Rome although Rome is a major hub. Many U.S. carrier non-stops do depart a bit later out of Rome. It will depend on the airline you choose. You can get a great United non-stop departing Rome at 11:10 to LAX. But, as I explained above, you would need to return to Rome the night before in preparation for the flight.

Thanks! I did just figure out that Pisa is only a days excursion. So I do feel better about that. So far we are planning to fly into Rome and out of Venice. We have decided to not rent a car and just go by train. One of the only things Im really stuck on is that we REALLY would love to see Positano. It is just so far out of the way. But we are willing to do it...

Hi Dana,

I agree with Mike's itinerary suggestion! Another option for more time in Rome, would be to take a day from either Florence or Venice and add it to Rome. You could do this trip by train without renting a car.

I agree with Mike. Too much planned for too short a time. I would fly into Venice and out of Rome splitting my time as:

2 nights Venice

3 nights Florence with day trip to Pisa

and the rest in Rome with a possible day trip to Pompeii.

This will allow you to enjoy the cities and not spend all your time on the train and checking into/out of hotels.

donna

You really do have quite a bit packed into this trip. I would first suggest building an Excel spreadsheet that shows where you will be each night. Then, I would add in the transportation times to and from these locations. For example, your first night will most likely be on the plane. Thus, you don't arrive until the 18th.

Second, I would suggest flying into Rome and flying out of Venice Marco Polo. This will save a lot of time over flying round-trip out of Rome. If you fly round trip out of Rome, you will have to return to Rome for your final night. Depending on flights and fares, you may find flying out of Milan attractive. But, for early flights out, you will spend your last night there.

Third, I suggest spending your 2 nights or so in Rome. Your trip to Positano will take longer than you think. You'll need to spend a night there or in Sorrento.

Fourth, for Northern Italy, I would suggest staying in Florence or Siena and day-tripping to other Tuscany locations. If Florence isn't too high on your list, I would suggest staying in Siena or San Gimignano and day-tripping into Florence. Just don't do this on Mondays when most of the best sites are closed. If you like Florence a lot, you can day-trip to Siena, San G. You can day-trip to Pisa and maybe the CT on another day. Staying in one place saves packing and unpacking time.

Then, it's on to Venice on the high-speed. You can do this trip but some parts will be what I call "blink and run for the train".

Wow! Thanks for all the replies. I am so happy I found this website. Ok so here is what I am thinking so far.. I agree that we should be flying into Rome and out of Venice. To be honest I dont know much about Florence, would we regret skipping it entirely? I would really LOVE to see Positano and I know it is so far out of the way. I think Pisa and Tuscany are good day trips and least Pisa forsure. Hmm. The only reason I thought this would all be possible is because 2 years ago my boyfriend and I travelled for 14 days and went to Paris, Belgium, Amsterdam and about a million different cities in between. But Im guessing they are all a lot closer together by train than Italy is. But it was the best time of our lives! Ok back to Italy...
When would be the best time to buy plane tickets? Any recommended airlines?

Just a couple of thoughts. First, fly into Venice and out of Rome. Generally flights out of Venice are brutally early in the morning.

Second, if you are leaving LA on the 17th you will not arrive until the 18th and will lose 1/2 of the 18th with airport transfers and hotel check-in, etc. Therefore, if you are flying out of Italy on the 28th, you really only have 9.5 days. On average you lose a 1/2 day with each city/hotel change, so if you visit 3 cities you will lose 1 to 1.5 days, which then leaves you with 8.5 days. I am just saying this so you will have a realistic idea of how much time you will actually have to see the sights.

Second, IMO you should not skip Florence. It is a beautiful compact city that has lots to offer and is not as overwhelming as Rome. It is also an excellent base for doing day trips to other towns, i.e. Pisa, Siena, SanG, etc., all of which you can do by bus/train from Florence.

Third, Tuscany is a large location and to really "see" Tuscany you need to rent a car. If that really isn't up your alley, then see my comment above re: staying in Florence for day-trips.

Fourth, Rome takes a minimum of 3 days to even scratch the surface.

Fifth, and most importantly, you will have a great trip and will return some day, so don't worry if you cannot fit it all into this trip!

Hi,

I was i nthe same boat as you about 6 months ago when I started planning my trip which is coming up in September. I would highly recommend Florence, I am staying in Tuscany for 6 days and the main reason is the peace and quiet of a small farmhouse and the ability to get to Florence for 2 days of sightseeing. I could be wrong but from what a lot of great people on other messageboards have told me, Pisa would be a place to skip if you are tight on time. It is a bit of a haul by car and other than the tower there is not a ton of stuff to do there. Take your time in Florence is the common theme I have recieved from more than a few people that have been over there...I will shoot you a message upon my return if you like.

"To be honest I dont know much about Florence"

I think you've got ahead of yourself here, picking days per city before really knowing enough to decide. My suggestion is to stop the timetable planning and get a book or two about Italy; Rick Steves publishes one, and do several others like Fodors and Lonely Planet. Spend a week or two reading thru the books and figuring out which cities are really worth visiting for what you want to see/do. Also at your local library you can probably get a copy of the Rick Steves PBS series and watch the episodes on Italy.

April 2010 is a long time away. It will still be a long ways away if you spend a few weeks learning more about the best places for you to visit in Italy, but you'll be able to make much more informed decisions. People on this forum are happy to give advice, but you're much better served (IMHO) asking questions about how to something rather than what to do; answers about how are based on experience (eg. "here's how you can get to Positano from Rome") but whether Positano is worth visiting and for how long is really just personal preference.

Reading your post about your trip 2 years ago, many cities in 14 days, it may just be that we have different ideas on what to see/do when traveling. I prefer to have time to visit some sights (eg. Colosseum, Palatine Hill, Vatican, Parthenon, etc), walk the streets, stop in some stores, without rushing to do a bunch in a day. Let serendipity take its course; you walk down a street and there's something you didn't even know was there or a festival going on, so you take a look. But another way of traveling is show up in the morning, walk around and admire the scenery, have a nice dinner, then either stay the next day and visit a place or two or don't stay and go to another town not too far away. You may prefer this latter form, which will make my advice (and that of many on this forum) not as useful to you.

Dana --
If you really want to see Positano, you can easily do it. You'd probably have to give up Florence, Pisa and Tuscany, but if you're willing -- then go for it.

See if you can fly into Naples. Then you can start your vacation with three days on the Amalfi Coast, either in Sorrento with day trips to Positano, or else stay right in Positano. What a beautiful place to recover from your jet lag! Then go to Rome for 3 days; then take a train to Venice to finish out your vacation. That would be an amazing trip!

You can always save Florence & Tuscany & Pisa (& CinqueTerra!) for your next visit to Italy.

Hi Dana,
I agree with Charlene, excellent suggestions!

The difference between seeing lots of little towns in Belgium and Holland, and seeing lots of little towns in Italy is that there is simply SO MUCH MORE to see in each of the "little" towns.

If you are set on Venice & Rome (good choices) I'd consider flying into Venice and out of Rome. To my mind, Venice is a better starting point after a long-haul flight. You can easily enjoy going slow and soaking up the special atmosphere. And it's probably easier to get to the airport for departure in Rome.

Florence IS renaissance art. If that turns you on, you will love it - painting, sculpture, architecture. If not, pick another place - there are several good ones.

Pisa - worth a 1/2 day trip, no more.

My suggestion is to fly into Venice, spend two nights, head to Florence for 3 nights, then to Rome for the rest and fly home from there. Since this is your first trip, flying into Venice rather than Rome is a good option. As one poster pointed out, flights leave early and getting there by water may be a little trickier. Also, Italy becomes more "Italian" the further south you go. Starting in the north and heading south gives you time to settle in. I would never skip Florence, my favorite place in the world. I love everything about it and the food is incredible. It took 3 trips to Italy before I could fit in Pisa and I'm glad I didn't use my time on it until I had seen other things. Spend the rest of your time in Rome and fly home from there since it's really easy to get to the airport for your morning flight.

Dana -- I agree with Mike, that you should do some research at this point, and also some soul-searching. What are your favorite kinds of places? Do you like big cities and crowds and hustle & bustle? Or do you prefer smaller quieter places, and beautiful scenery? Are you looking for a vacation consisting of hurrying from place to place, to see as much as possible; or of sitting at a sidewalk cafe, soaking up the ambience and watching the people?

The advice you are receiving is based on people's personal likes and dislikes. I personally found Rome to be one of my least favorite cities ever, and I wasn't overly enthused about Florence either. So a trip where I spend 2 days in Venice (which I love) and the rest of the time in Florence and Rome would be very disappointing for me. This is your vacation, so think carefully about what it is YOU want.

Dana,
If you think you will love Positano, I am sure you will love Positano! The Amalfi Coast is one of my favorite places in Italy! I've been there twice, and I can't imagine not including it (for a 3rd time) on my next trip to Italy in the summer of 2011. It is absolutely incredible and it'snot that far from Rome. My husband and I drove and it's only about 3 hours by car. I personally would pick Positano and the Amalfi Coast over Florence anyday!