Travel Agency services

The first thing is self help. Go to your public library and check out tour books, DVDs, etc. covering those areas so that you have an idea of what you want to see and not to see. Second set you time line and your time of year travel. That makes a big difference. A week for what you asked about is entirely too short. You need a min of two weeks or a bit more to see well what you suggested. Once you have completed some homework and have a framework for your travels, come back to ask some specific questions.

Based on your nearly identical other post, Mike, it seems to me that you think you have found the ETBD staff or Rick Steves. This helpline is provided by them but is actually an anarchic collective of non affiliated volunteers who freely share their experience. If you want professional advice the nearest they come here is a paid consultation with a staff member, available elsewhere on the webpage.

Mike, Could you provide a bit of further information. For example..... > Is this a first trip to Italy? > How many in your group? > What type of budget are you working with? > What do you hope to see in each place? My first comment is that it's going to be extremely difficult (if not impossible) to tour five locations covering such a wide geographic area in a space of seven days. That would allow about 1.4 days in each place, but more importantly there's no allowance for travel times between locations, which will be a minimum of half a day each. Also, Tuscany is a region with numerous towns and cities, so you'd need to narrow down exactly which location you wanted to visit. The travel times will likely have a bearing on which place you visit. Does the one-week time frame include your travel days to and from Europe? Keep in mind you'll lose one day each way (you'll generally arrive in Europe the day after you depart the U.S. Is there any possibility you could add some time to the trip? My suggestion would be to either reduce the number of places to perhaps no more than three, or try and get some more time. As Nigel mentioned, ETBD does offer a trip planning service, which can be done in person (in Edmonds) or via phone. There is a charge for this. Have a look at This Link for more information. Good luck with your planning!

Go to http://www.ricksteves.com/about/consulting.htm

Seriously,, to do that take two weeks,, whats with Americans and their microwave holidays,, I know I know,, I am generalizing,, but seriously these " I want to see 5 places in 6 days" post are almost always posted by Americans under time crunches. Don't you guys get two week minimum holidays a year? Is a week all you really get .. I know the Australians get lots more then we do,, 3 or 4 weeks is minimum holiday time allowed them,, and we ( Canadians) are entitled to 2 weeks for first five years, then 3 weeks thereafter,, although some jobs( union etc) get to accumulate alot more, my ex husband got 7 weeks after 15 years at his job ..
Also as pointed out ,, Tuscany is a region,, so at least narrow down which place in Tuscany you want to see,, not that you will be able to though,, with your timeline you need to include the first day as a jetlagged,, and the last day as travelling to airport,, so what now, you have five days.. . Thats about right to visit ROME,, and Rome only.

pat, Different places do have different rules for the amount of vacation to be taken. I live in the UK. The UK government has the most most restrictive annual leave rules in western Europe, much more restrictive than in France or Germany for example. In the UK every employee is required to have a minimum of 28 days holiday, including bank holidays a year. I started 2011 with 40 days, but my block leave is restricted. I must take one week in Spring, one in Autumn and two together in Summer so I really don't have much choice when I take them. I fit into a roster around all the other workers of my grade so its not easily moved. I actually prefer to take holidays in one week lumps, perhaps with a couple of application days around it rather than a bigger chunk. Too much mail to come back to otherwise. Of course that pretty much limits me to Europe since I do live here. I'm not sure that most countries legislate mandatory leave as much as Europe. And, of course, if self-employed you can take as much or as little as you can afford...

Nigel so even the UK gets a minimum 4 weeks a year,, I have a feeling there are no such minimums in the States.. and at least you do get a 2 week block, not so important for you if just going to the mainland Europe, but if you wanted to go to Australia or Asia for instance,, where its a long flight then at least you make it a bit longer of a visit( 2 weeks) . As it is ,, you can take long weekends and jump over to Europe for a quickie,, a luxury us North Americaners don't have. We can pop over to States to Vegas for a few days, or do Hawaii or Mexico in a week,, but for Europe, where travel time can be 20 or more hours, I think 10 days is about the minimum i would want to consider.

Wow Pat, nice generalization. While I agree when I travel I enjoy spending 3-4 days minimum in each location. I think this type of post has more to do with an inexperienced traveler than Americans wanting to cram in 5 cities in 6 days.

Mike I feel this is totally unrealistic for a week trip. You will be doing nothing but traveling. One week would be Rome and florence. Tuscany is too general you could do a week in tuscany. Bellagio is in the north a few hours from florence

Mike, With only one week, it would be helpful to decide on what is important to you: an Italy overview, history and museums, food and wine.you could easily spend a week in Rome alone. With only a week, the CT is a bit out of the way as it takes a long time to get there and get out again. You'd be devoting much of two days to travel. That's a lot to give up when you only have one week. But I think you are asking for some professional help in planning a trip. Are you open to a guided tour where they arrange everything for you? Most on this helpline are do-it-yourselfers. Rick Steve's only week-long tour in Italy is a 7 day Rome tour, but there are companies who can do a customized itinerary for you depending on your budget. One I like is www.toursbyroberto.com. while I have only taken a day tour with Roberto, it was such a great experience that I'd trust him for a bigger tour. If you want to DIY, I suggest you stick to two locations maximum, or you,ll spend all of your time between places not in them having fun. If you are flying into Rome, proceed immediately to, say, a small town in Tuscany for 3 nights, then finish your trip in Rome before you fly out.

Pat - I have 4 weeks off a year but because of my work load it would be extremely difficult to take two weeks at a time off and I know of several others in the same boat. Mike,
I would pick one region or City and stick to that area for the entire week. We did a week in Rome with a day trip to Ostia and on another trip we did a week in Florence. Remember what Rick says and assume you will be back.