time spent in each city

Common advice is to drive a rental car only in Tuscany, elsewhere do what the Europeans do and use trains. And avoid driving in big cities such as Rome and Florence. The number of days depends on what YOU want to see in each place. You could go through Rick's Italy book, make a list of what you want to see in each destination, allow for travel time, and then get a calendar out and it will come to you.

Ginny - Can you remind us when you will be in Italy? It makes a difference for recommending time in Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast.

Whoever told you not to spend a lot of time in Venice should be required to spend the rest of their traveling days in Branson, Missouri...

Ginny

Venice is a wonderful magical place and just two days is not really enough time for me. Having said that, Venice is also one of those places that seems to bring out the extremes in people. You tend to either love her and embrace her or not care for her much at all. I fall in the camp that think it's probably not possible to spend too much time in Venice. We are leaving in September for a 2 week trip with 7 nights in Venice and the rest of the trip will be spent in the Veneto.

So if you had spoken to me, you would have gotten an opposite view.

Ginny

I agree with previous poster. Venice is wonderful. At least 3 days I would think.
The other places you mentioned are great too. Dont miss them and of course there is magical Tuscany.....
Have a great trip.

I agree, Venice is wonderful. But stay in the city -- do not day trip in with the crowds. It's essential to be there in the evening, when it's not crowded and at its most magical and old worldly.

We are going November 17th and returning Dec. 1st (girls have school

Then at that time of the year I'd suggest concentrating on the bigger towns and not on the Amalfi coast or the Tuscan countryside. They'll be boarded up...

Okay, how is this. Venice, Florence, Sienna, Rome, Sorrento, and Pompeii. How about Cinque Terre. I was hoping that things going toward the south would be open more. How much time in Rome and how do we get the seating to see the Pope. Do you know? Thanks

Ginny it's probably no help, but the best answer is that nobody knows what will be best for you.

There's no universally-agreed upon answer as to what is the "right" amount of time to spend in each city. For that matter which are the best movies from the last decade, the best novels in the 20th century, and the best flavor of ice cream are also subject to debate. I think you see my point ...

Travel writers can give suggestions for itineraries that give you enough time to visit major highlights. But those highlights may be of little interest to you (in which case poking your head in is enough), or of great interest in which case they didn't give you enough. And if you fall in love with a city then you will want to spend even more time in it.

So what I suggest is look at a book like Rick's and use it to get an idea of a sample itinerary. Realize its Rick's guess of what the avg. person wants. Then adjust it based on your tastes.

You're packing a lot in. Agree with all said about Venice 2 days is just not enough and definately stay in Venice itself. I had 4 days there and was pleased I had allowed that. You could easily spend 4 - 5 days in Florence and a week in Rome. Think about what you really want to see in each place and then do a sample itinerary not forgetting travel times and allowing for the odd missed train connection. I think you'll find you've filled up all your time or close to. I suppose I always err on the side of allowing more time in a place as I never know when I'll be able to get back to it.

I, too, agree with other's comments about Venice: definitely stay in the city and give it at least two full days. It's worth it.

I'm not big on art galleries so 3 days in Florence was plenty for me, although I could have used another afternoon to complete the tour of the Boboli gardens.

Rome deserved waaay more time than I gave it at only three days. I focused on the antiquities,e.g., Colosseum, Forum, etc, and still needed more time to see them properly.

Ginny, what city are you flying into? From the dates you gave, sounds like you have 13 actual days of touring/siteseeing. From your previous entries, I believe you're travelling with your granddaughters. Are they teenagers? Just returned 2 weeks ago with our teenage son, so maybe I can tell you some of the sites he enjoyed. I'll get back to you.

Where are you arriving and leaving from in Italy? That should shape your trip. In two weeks, four different hotels and cities might make for a more satisfying trip. From Florence or Rome you can make day-trips by train or bus.

Definately plan more time in Venice.

Then stick to Florence/Tuscany and Rome. Save points south for the next trip.

If you switch hotels too often you never feel like you were really there. Your memories are of hotel rooms - not the area.

We are flying into Rome and out of Milan. Decided to leave on Dec. 2. Doing Rome forabout 4 or 5 days with a trip to Pompeii and Sorrento over night. Up to Forence then Venice and over to Milan for the day before we leeave. Seems like alot, but I think we can do it. We went to England for 2 weeks and I put 1500 miles on the car and we had a ball. Thanks for any advice. How about someplace nice to stay in Rome. I hate dragging the suitcases around.

The only Rome hotel in the "nice" category that I am personally acquainted with is the Aberdeen. There is one big flight of stairs up to the floor with the rooms. I was there earlier this year on a Rick Steves tour. It has a large breakfast room with a generous buffet breakfast. You can order a cappuccino to have with your breakfast. About 7 years ago I stayed at the Sonya; it has an elevator and several floors of rooms. It was nice. Both hotels are about a ten minute hike from the train station. Ciao, and have a wonderful time!

In the front of Rick's Italy book, he lists a 21-day itinerary, which I used to make my own travel plans, using the blank calendar page. We spent 21 days in Italy in May, traveling only by car (loved the flexibility) and moving in the direction he recommends - north to south. Open jaw flight into Milan and out of Rome. We visited every place you mentioned, and it was all very seamless and perfect. Our itinerary was as follows: Bellagio 2 nights; Venice 2 nights; Vernazza CT 3 nights; Siena 4 nights (to include day trips to Florence, etc.); Assisi 1 night; Civita 1 night; Sorrento 2 nights; Positano 1 night; Paestum 1 night; Rome 3 nights. Considering you only have 2 weeks in the winter, you may decide to save the coastal areas for your next trip, possibly in the warmer springtime. However, Cinque Terre & the Sorrento Peninsula were our absolute favorite places, even over all the cities and Tuscany. So: 3 weeks or 2 trips!