travel question - 2 wks in Italy

Sharon, Your tentative Itinerary looks well organized, and it's nice to see that you'll be spending at least three nights in each location. A few comments on each of your questions..... > Rome - 3 nights sounds good. That will allow you to get over jet lag and do a bit of exploring. > Umbria - I'm not sure which town would be best for "walking/hiking/exploring"? My preference would be Orvieto. While there you could take a day trip to Civita di Bagnoregio (details in the Guidebook). > La Spezia / Levanto - As you want "access to the Cinque Terre", I'm curious on why you're not staying in the Cinque Terre? Of the two towns you mentioned, Levanto would be my choice. One point to note is that you won't be able to do "all the hikes" as one of the Sentiero Azzuro trails is still closed. You'll need a Park Pass to hike ANY of those trails (you can easily buy the Pass when you arrive there). As you'll be travelling this September, it could be challenging finding accommodations in some places. Have you got anything booked yet? Have you travelled in Italy before? There are some potentially expensive "caveats" to be aware of with the public transit there. If you need information, post another note. Buon Viaggio!

Great advice from Ken! We spent some time in Umbria last year. Stayed in Spello and day-tripped to Perugia, Assisi and Spoleto via train. Spoleto has some great hiking opportunities, as does Assisi. I would gladly stay in Spoleto and in fact plan to on a future trip. There's a good TI that can advise you on hiking. There are also numerous hiking books about Umbria and you can simply Google "hiking in Umbria" for some options. You do need to get lodging lined up fast. It's still high season! Spoleto or Spello might have more open since they are not as popular as Perugia or Assisi, but they are lovely towns. Orvieto is a lovely classic town, but it does not have as many hiking opportunities and it's a long daytrip to either Assisi or Spoleto via bus or train. So it depends on what you want to do, of course: it always does! There's a great book I like to recommend for Rome: "24 Great Walks in Rome." It will help you cover the highlights but also get to some less-frequented corners.

Orvieto does have the La Rupe Trail that goes around the bottom of the cliff that the town sits on. Parts of it are a leisurely stroll on a paved path, and other parts are almost a down-on-all-fours scramble on gravel. The views from it are occasionally interesting. It goes back and forth from shade to sun. It was not a highlight of our stay in Orvieto (which we loved), although getting the fresh air was nice.

I really enjoyed Gubbio in Umbria. We hiked up the steep hills behind the town to the basilica of St. Ubaldo. Lovely views and the basilica and the relics of the Saint were fascinating.

I'm pretty sure that Assisi has a few nice hikes. You might do a google search.

I'd head to Umbria right away upon landing in Rome. One less day of packing, travel and unpacking is a good thing.

You might want to consider Siena as a pretty central location for exploring Tuscany and Umbria. We're going to be there in Sept as well and will be spending time in Portovenere, which is just south of La Spezia, but supposed to be much nicer. Bob

Good afternoon/evening all! thanks so much for the speedy replies, so greatly appreciated. I have not booked any lodging yet, oops, from many of the kind replies, this may be a mistake. I guess I thought kids are back to school!! Any suggestions people. I'm interested in the fact that there are "hidden" expenses, I'd love to hear about them. thanks again,
keep the good advice coming!