Travel Suggestions for Italy

Fly into Venice and home from Rome on a multicity ticket. Use whatever airline has nonstop flights. Transportation between your Italian cities/towns is easily accomplished by trains. If you are unfamiliar with European trains, read up on the Man in Seat 61 website. The Italian train lines are Trenitalia (govt owned) and Italo (privately owned). Since you will need to handle your own luggage, take the smallest suitcases you can manage.

When are you planning to travel, and for how many nights in Italy?

We're going for 8-10 days this September 2024, and dates are flexible. If I understand correctly, we should fly into Venice, travel to Cinque Terre via train, then go to Rome via train and fly home from Rome. I purchased nearly every Rick Steves book for Italy and all locations plus and using the rating system of what to see. I had too aggressive of an itinerary and trying to scale it back. For example, it's important to him that we see the Vatican and St Peters Basilica but not so much the museums. He prefers to walk around and enjoy the towns and people. I'm onboard but would also like to see a few of the sites. Any recommendations including what towns to walk around in is greatly appreciated.

1. You need to decide how many nights you will sleep in each place. The minimum number of nights in Venice should be three, Cinque Terre two unless you hike and then you need to add a night per hike. Rome deserves at least four nights if you include Vatican City. If you add day trips from any of these places you need to add a night per trip.
2. Once you decide what you want to see and do in each location you can buy your plane tickets. Buy open jaw (multi-city) tickets in and out of Venice and Rome airports. If you fly home from Venice, make sure your flight is not an early departure or else you’ll pay in the triple digits for a water taxi to the airport: https://www.motoscafivenezia.com/en/.
3. To get around ride the trains: https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html. Make sure you pack light so you’re not struggling with luggage while getting on and off the trains. This also causes unwanted attention from pick pockets who will be too willing to help. Instead, do laundry when you can and make sure you allow some down time in each location so you have time to wash clothes. If you stay at an Airbnb, request a washing machine and hangers so you can hang your clothes to dry. You may even be able to request a dryer.
4. Keep in mind that Venice and Rome have multiple train stations. The station you want in Venice is Venezia S. Lucia which is the end of line. The train station in Rome is Roma Termini.
5. Buy Rick Steves Italy guide book: https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/italy-guidebook and his Italy for Food Lovers: https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/italy-for-food-lovers. Websites to research are https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy, Wikivoyage: https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Venice_Marco_Polo_Airport, https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Venice, https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Cinque_Terre, https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Rome, https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Rome/Vatican, https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Rome/Trastevere and https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci-Fiumicino_Airport. Fodor’s and Frommer’s websites aren’t updated frequently but you can still get a good idea of what to see, do and experience in Italy: https://www.fodors.com/world/europe/italy and https://www.frommers.com/destinations/italy.

We're leaving from Florida, traveling to Venice, Cinque Terre and Rome. Any suggestions on airline,
.....which order to do them in, and a "one last time" must visit itinerary would be VERY helpful.

As others have suggested, arriving in Venice and departing from Rome is an ideal start. Which airline doesn't really matter, a non-stop, direct flight would be ideal, however most travelers from the US are changing planes at one of the big European hubs like Heathrow, Amsterdam or, Frankfurt. Being able to take a boat (water taxi) from the airport is just a really nice way to start your trip. Departures out of Venice, particularly int'l connections (which is the majority) are in the early AM and can be a hassle for some.

Suggestions on how best to get from point A to B is also greatly appreciated as is any advice you can give. Thank you in advance!

Train travel is fantastically easy, affordable and goes just about everywhere. If you're going from Venice to CT, you're going to be passing through Florence, any interest?
Cinque Terre is all hills & stairs, just about every town (except for Monterosso) is either all up or, down...is your 80yr old friend up for that? Is your friend comfortable walking and being on his feet for an hour or so at a time? A carry-on roller is ideal, Venice has lots of bridges & stairs, CT has hills & stairs; no one has ever returned from a trip and said they wished they'd packed more, a carry-on roller and a simple day-pack will make for an enjoyable trip and not a hassle or, burden.

The following itinerary or a combination of, is tried-true for first-timers & those looking to do a single-trip: it hits all the highlights:
Venice 2nts
Florence 3nts
CT 2nt
Rome 3nts

I'm not sure that 10 nights is sufficient for 4 stops. Given the age of your travel companion and the fact that you are almost guaranteed to be jet lagged on your arrival day, 3 nights in Venice would be the minimum needed to really see the high points IMO. And given the travel time between CT and Rome, 4 nights in Rome wouldn't go amiss. You don't want to cram in so much sightseeing every day that you are exhausted every evening. If you can stretch your stay to 12 days, then adding Florence would be a nice idea. But if 10 nights is your max, then I'd recommend keeping to only 3 locations.

As for walkable towns, Venice itself is flat, but there will be numerous arched bridges to cross every day. But you can use the vaporettos (buy a pass) to go longer distances. Florence is pretty flat unless you want to go up to Piazza Michaelangelo or the San Miniato church. In that case, take a bus or taxi. Rome has some hills, and stairs, but is walkable, and you can always take a taxi or sometimes a subway between sites. CT will present the most challenges to walking. The towns are built into steep hillsides, with the exception to lower Monterosso. Google Images of the 5 villages will give you an idea of what to expect.

Thank you for all the information and advice. I will plan from Venice, to CT via train, next to Rome via train and then back home. Stressful trying to plan this and appreciate the community help!

I was told you can take one day boat trip to each of the five towns. Is that true? Obviously you can do much but a quick stop but it would be nice to see the towns from the water.

How long does it take to see the Vatican and St. Peters Basilica? Can they both be done in one day?

If you are skipping Florence for Cinque Terre, I would not advise that. Florence is amazing and a MUST DO.

I was told you can take one day boat trip to each of the five towns. Is that true?

The view from the water is quite a sight. There is a boat that goes up-down the coastline, boarding/getting-off can be an adventure in some of the villages as, there's no terminal just a simple pier or, the boat ramp drops onto a flat part of the causeway/breakwater. There's no crowd control or, queuing so, at times it's a scramble-drill. The train stations between the villages are easy- Monterosso, Riomaggiore and Manarola their stations are along the water at the bottom of the village. Vernzza's station is 2/3 of the way up from the water's edge and Cornelia's station is down by the water but the village is either shuttle ride or, up 33-flights of steps.

How long does it take to see the Vatican and St. Peters Basilica? Can they both be done in one day?

Yes. The Basilica along with the Sistine Chapel are apart of the Vatican, its all together. Look into booking a guided tour so the experience is much easier.

This forum has a lot of information, buying a RS Italy book is a good start, You Tube has a ton of resources to include RS's channel.

I agree that Florence is a MUST DO. I had originally planned a nice trip to Rome, Siena/Florence with a great wine tour and then on to CT but that was overridden. LOL I was told Venice, CT and Rome so I'm taking my marching orders and doing it. I'm just on the ride and grateful for anything I get. Hopefully I'll be back several more times! I have all of RS's Italy travel books.

I will check out the boat tour in CT and see if that's something he thinks he can do. I appreciate the info on boarding/unboarding and the location of stations. All useful info.