Trying to avoid a Travel Agent for a 2 week trip to Italy. Any Tips?

We haven't used a travel agent since 1990. My husband travels extensibly for work and never uses one. We don't stay in apartments-use Hiltons(we have points) and sometimes suggestions from Rick's books. On a recent charitable group trip organized by a travel agent, the travel agent made a mistake that cost the group an additional $1200 that could have been better spent by the school we ministered to in Central America!

Tammy, I think the travel agents understand perfectly well what you want, but would much prefer to place you in hotels that will pay them nice commissions. They probably are planning to sell you expensive airport transfers, too, and some day-trips that you could do perfectly well on your own.

It sounds to me as if you have already spent as much time on travel agents as it will take you to arrange this by yourself!

You might need to do some adjusting to allow for transportation between your cities. Rome to the Cinque Terre is minimally going to be 5-6 hours, depending on how you get there. If you plan to go to Venice the next day, that's another 5 hours minimum. So do you really want to spend so much travel time to only spend half a day in the stunning Cinque Terre? Please add AT LEAST one more night to CT. There is so much to enjoy there. Remember, that 2 nights = 1 full day. As you plan, also remember at least half a day travel between each city.

I do think you can plan this on your own easily, because you have the time to do so. Take advantage of resources here and elsewhere online. Also, be sure to use Rick's books. I was in all of these places in Italy on the 21BOE tour in spring 2015. I'll be going back to them in October on the My Way Europe in 14 days tour. A friend of mine (with her hubby and 2 kids) did almost the exact Italy trip as I did on the 21 BOE. Only she planned it herself using Rick's books and downloaded guides.

Have a great time planning your wonderful trip! You can do it!
Lisa

I book flights through the airlines, cars thru Autoeurope and for this year accommodations thru AirBNB .

I liked that AirBNB showed me where the place was in each city and we ended up with 2 bedrooms apts for about $100 a night [more in Rome but less in Siena, Florence, and Verona]. I have also found that the owners were very helpful with parking, restaurants etc.

Travel agents are going to put you up in business class or luxury hotels, that's what they do. I recommend that you get a guidebook or use booking.com. Rick's book is good but the prices on the hotels he recommends is on the high side for me. I averaged $82 a night for a single in Rome (5 nights)-Orvieto(2)-Sienna (1)-Florence(4) on my November-December trip. 95 Rooms in Rome and Hotel Arcadia in Florence were good picks and you can find them on booking.com. Apartments can be a good choice too, but I have never done it. I think it makes more sense for a longer stay and my wife and I tend to max out at around five nights per stay. I would not bother with Cinque Terre on this itinerary, it's far out of your way and only staying one night does not make sense. If you want a smaller town break Orvieto is easy and more on your way. Depending upon how goal oriented you are, you can run yourself ragged in Rome and Florence--I did, and it was my fourth visit to each. So it's not a bad idea to have a stop where you slow things down a bit. Venice is a little more relaxing if you can avoid the crowds. Sienna is a nice stop too, but the crowds can be pretty significant there too.

Tammy,

Google maps combined with looking at TripAdvisor or Booking.com (or similar sites) to look at photos and reviews of hotels) are my primary means of finding what's available. I always book direct with an airline or hotel/B&B. I just use the 3rd party sites for research, and the mapping function to zoom in and use street view / satellite view functions to take a virtual look around neighborhoods.

You can easily plan this yourself. Buy the RS guidebooks and scout trip advisor. We plan all of our trips ourselves and planning is half the fun of the trip!

Use a travel agent only if you don't have time to organize the trip on your own. I could never afford them and so I've never used one in over 20 trips over 15 years. What can they tell you about where you are interested in going in seeing that you don't know about already or that you can't get from guide books at the public library for free (as long as you can read) and then researching the internet ?

And the guide books direct you too the sites you need to buy your flight and lodging. i know Rick Steves books do because I've taken them out the library on trips with me.They also have basic phrases polite in the local language that you can learn to use during your trip. Do travel agent include teaching basic language skills ?

Airfare is pretty easy to do on your own. It may work better to reverse your trip and depart from Rome. From Venice many flights will be connector flights to bigger European hubs for a flight back to the US and that usually means leaving early in the AM. The Venice airport is kind of a pain to get to early in the morning with having to use vaporetto transport. It's easier to arrive there! Then you can leave from Rome and take some kind of ground transport, either train or taxi, out to the airport.

Start with the airlines that fly in to St Louis, then look at routings with the fewest stops along the way. Since I fly from the West I always have to change somewhere and tend to avoid changing in the big cities in the NE. ALSO when you are looking at flights, give yourselves plenty of time when you have to change planes. Give yourself at least 2 hours for a transit in the US and 3 hours if you land somewhere in Europe where you will go thru Immigration. IF you use the travel agent for this, insist on this. Do not believe them unless they can tell you they personally have done shorter changes.

I haven't used a travel agent since 1990 or so, lol!!

I am hooked on Rick Steves tours so I organize independent travel ahead of and after my tours including air and hotels. With Rick's tours you get yourself to the tour hotel anyway.

Just because someone is a travel agent, doesn't mean s/he knows much about Italy. They all specialize in something, and it may not be what you want.

But one sure thing you can count on from Travel Agents is that they will try to maximize their commissions while minimizing the time they will spend doing research for you. You are therefore better off doing your own research, and you did the right thing to come here early. Most frequent contributors here can help you better than 99.9% of travel agents out there.

I don't usually stay in the most expensive hotels, but also don't stay in the cheapest hotels either (my student's years are long gone), but even when I splurge in a 4-star hotel I rarely spend more than 150-200euro a night. There aren't too many places in Italy that charge $300+ a night.

IMO, the best itinerary sequence and allocation of nights for you is:
Venice - 3 nights
Florence-Tuscany: 4 nights
Cinque Terre: 2 nights
Rome: 4 nights.

You can increase/decrease nights depending on your taste, but the above is good, and I don't like one nighters (too much trouble with checkin checkout and packing) that's why I reallocate 1 night to the CT and took it from Rome (4 nights in Rome are good).

you should try to find a flight arriving in Venice and returning home from Rome. Venice airport is far from the city center in the middle of the lagoon, and since flights to North America depart in the morning, it's a chore to get to the VCE airport so early in the morning.

If you intend to stay in an agriturismo outside Florence, it is best if you rent a car when you arrive to Florence and head out of town immediately (no cars are allowed in Florence city center, therefore don't stay in Florence with a car). You can visit Florence from your countryside location (just park outside the Florence city center at one of the many lots or use a train/bus from a nearby station). Then you'd drive to La Spezia (near Cinque Terre) where you return your rental car and take a short train ride to the Cinque Terre (you don't need a car at the Cinque Terre). Every other travel should be done by train.

If you decide not to rent a car, then it's best to stay in Florence itself. Florence is the transportation hub of Tuscany and you can take day trips by train and bus to nearby towns.

If you are staying in apartments in Rome or Florence, make sure they are in the right location. Lots of people renting AirBnB tell you they are in the city center when they are not. If you find something you like, come back here and we'll give you advice, there are a couple of Florentines contributing here (including myself) and some from Rome too (and I know Rome enough).

Tammy, you absolutely can do this without a travel agent. What with all the tools available online these days, it's never been easier. As far as airfare, we use Skycanner for prices BUT we always book directly with the airlines; if something goes awry, it's better not to have to deal with a 3rd party booker.

We use booking.com for hotels, B&Bs, etc. Multiple types of accommodations are available on the site, and many offer free-cancellation policies. You pay slightly more than no-cancellation rates but it's good insurance should your trip fall through.
Read ALL the print, including the reviews on each property. It's an easy site to use, and it's free.

Train tickets aren't tough either but no need to cover everything in one thread: don't want to overwhelm you! :O)

So YES YOU CAN, and you'll get lots of help from our gang!

Sounds like you know what you want, and you have some experience from previous trips. Use the travel agent for airfare if the deal is that much better, but you can do the rest yourselves. You can stay in B&Bs and save enough money to eat in good local restaurants; after all, food is culture, too. B&Bs usually include breakfast, and even one sit-down restaurant meal a day will be economical. The other meal can be a picnic or a light lunch on the go.

Trust yourself. Have a great time!

Sounds like the way you want to travel is not the travel agent way (usually bigger hotels and such). Much better to do it on your own. I'm sure there are exceptions but using travel agents is fairly uncommon now, especially among people who prefer smaller hotels/apartments and a more...local, non-luxury, non-tour experience.

• First draw an itinerary, INCLUDING travel time. It would look like this
  Day 0 fly
  Day 1 arrive in first city in the AM (look at likely flights to see arrival times). Jet lag, explore at leisure.
  3 nights (or whatever you want) there
  Day 4 take train to city 2, train takes x hours, arrive at y (look at schedules to get broad idea)
  And so on. Make sure you have enough time in each place including transit times.

• Then buy flights. I use kayak.com to see options, then buy on the airline website. If your days are flexible you may switch from flying on a Monday to a Wednesday or vice versa if it's cheaper. Adjust itinerary as needed.

• Then Book hotels. Airbnb or booking.com or vrbo or local vacation apartment services. Book yourself on the appropriate website, after checking location and reviews.

• Then up to maybe 90 days ahead you can get long distance trains that require reservations and give deals for booking early. Book these early, smaller local routes can be booked when you get to the station.

• Then reserve any sights thT need to be booked ahead. I'm thinking things like guided tours of the Vatican or museum tickets in Florence or Rome (this will save a lot of line time and may be the only way to see some places). Rick Steves guidebooks are perfect for this kind of info.

From there it's looking into what you want to do, finding good reviewed restaurants, learning about things going on etc.

Rick Steves Europe Through the Back Door (a great HOW TO travel book) will help immensely.

Tammy,

My suggestion would be a combination approach, using a travel agent for flights and the RS Italy guidebook to plan hotels, sightseeing and local transportation (pack the book along for reference). That's the method I've used for many years, and it's always worked well.

I would also suggest rearranging your itinerary to the one that Roberto suggested. At least two nights in the Cinque Terre is advisable, and at that time of the year it should be less crowded.

Hotels typically provide a good breakfast so all you'll have to worry about is lunch and supper. You'll be out touring for those meals so having a kitchen for cooking won't be of much benefit.

I'll try to expand on this reply later, when I'm not typing on a 4" screen.

I think planning the trip is half the fun of it! Our upcoming trip (the second trip to Italy) goes from Rome by rail to Gaeta 1 night jetlag recoup, ferry to Ponza Island for 3 nights, rail to Caserta (one night to break up a rather long train ride), rail to Bari 3 nights (stay in old town, visit Polignano a Mare and Monopoli), rental car for travel down the heel of the boot to stay in Ostuni 4 nights (day trips to Alberobello, Locorantando, Cisternino and surrounding towns), stay in Matera 1 night, return car and rail to Termoli 3 nights, rail to Tivoli 1 night, rail to Orvieto, and return to Rome by rail for one night. Once you have your itinerary and dates pretty well laid out, you can start watching for dips in airfare. You can also use expedia or booking.com, airbnb, Travelocity, or whatever agency you choose to research and book rooms, including B&B, apartments and agriturismo, that are cancellable. I found the rooms booked through expedia and booking.com to all be exactly as they were represented. Since our travels, both last year and the upcoming trip, covered a lot of ground, I used a rail map to get a general idea of itinerary and then researched the different towns. I used customer reviews as well as proximity to attractions or rail to choose rooms. I mapped it all out on a calendar and keep checking, double checking for accuracy. For the upcoming trip, I was able to secure roundtrip tickets from Tucson, AZ. to Rome, upgrade the seats, and buy trip insurance for about $700 each - really unheard of. I have reserved my rooms for approximately $100 per night, a car for one week of the trip, and have checked the prices of ferry to Ponza and rail tickets. Estimating food, some boat excursions, and activities, all totaled this 25 night trip will add up to approximately $6,000 for two people. Our 23 night trip last year totaled about $8,000 because airfare was higher and we did more touristy things in pricey Rome and Venice. We can't wait to go back!

Yes, you CAN plan this on your own! We are traveling in Europe for three weeks this summer and are planning the entire trip independently. Three great resources I've found:
1. Rick Steves travel books and this website! I have learned SO much about planning travel and about the places we will visit...kind of like a mini-vacation along the way.
2. Train travel--www.seat61.com. So informative for US residents who have limited experience with train travel (yes, me!).
3. For hotels, b & b's, an agriturismo, etc.--start with a booking website like booking.com or Trip Advisor. THEN see if the individual business has its own website. We will receive better rates by booking directly with the property--but needed help sorting through the options.
Happy planning...the adventure begins now!

Please do not think of using a travel agent! Your itinerary is an easy one to book. Rather than an apartment, on a real first time trip, you benefit from the help of the front desk of a hotel or BnB with local info and for making your dinner reservations..
Next trip, rent an apartment.
Look at hotels and bnbs for your dates through booking.com. Read the reviews which are only allowed to be posted after a guest stays at the property unlike TripAdvisor. Cross check the properties in guide books and online. Go to a region or city's tourism page online. Check agriturismo.it for local farmhouse stays.
Decide if you want a car or would rather take trains. I highly recommend a car in Tuscany. Travel light especially if taking trains( we prefer cars). We have been traveling to Europe one or two times a year for twenty years or so and never use travel agents. Book directly with airlines in case of any problems with flights. You will be taken care of by them before others who booked through a third party site.

I am not using a travel agent. You don't need one either.

I used airplane ticket websites to learn that at the nearest airport to me that I can depart from, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County airport, only one airplane goes to Italy each day, landing in Rome, operated by Delta, Leaving at 6:27 pm. ThenI booked directly on the the airline's website. Make sure you spell everything exactly right, put your first name in the box for first name and not in the box for last name, and so on! I used Rick's Steves Italy 2017 for certain recommendations of walking tours and websites to make museum reservations on, and I searched the open internet for walking tours and museum tickets too, just to compare and see what's out there.

Booking dot com and eurochepo dot com are both from the same company and thats who booked my hostels with; but I am a single young man; if I had a woman I was traveling with I would book me and her a private room together in a lower end hotel(s). You will do a better job of picking hotels than a travel agent; just spend an evening sitting with your husband at your computer selecting the most appealing hotels you see advertised on eurochepo or whatever other site. Print the confirmation pages, for your airplane tickets, museum reservations, train tickets, tour reservations, and hotel reservations, immediately after paying for or reserving each; put all the printouts in a ridgid plastic folder, in the order you will use them on your trip, and rememeber to take the folder with you in your carry-on travel bag. Will every reservation require advanced payment or will you have to pay for some tours in cash right before they start?

Most people on this site are older than me and have more travel experience than me. But most will spend more money on their trips than I ever would on my trips. I did successfully travel to Canada, and to London, England, without a travel agent.

I definitely agree that you don't need a travel agent, and that you would be much happier with your own choices. I recommend that you look at MonasteryStays.com as an option for accommodations in Rome, Florence, and Venice. Monasteries and convents in Italy have to be self-supporting, and one way they accomplish this is by providing lodging to travelers.

I planned our trip to Italy. We did small hotels in Venice and Florence for four nights each. I can recommend Ca' San Trovaso in Venice (on a small quiet canal) and Hotel Casci in Florence (very friendly). I like the included hotel breakfasts in the morning rather than the Italian quick coffee and sweet roll. For a short stay in a city I'd rather spend time exploring than shopping, cooking and cleaning up.

The hotel will do a load of laundry for you, which turned out better than an apartment. Most apartments have nonexistent or very small dryers.

We stayed eight nights in Rome so got an apt. through VRBO, which was perfect also.

You can use the search bar at the top for hotels other people have recommended.

Tammy,

A few comments to add to my earlier reply.....

One of the reasons I use a travel agent for overseas flights, is that they usuallly provide exceptional service in the event of any unexpected difficulties (which happened to me recently due to a medical issue). Good luck getting service like that from one of the online travel agencies like Expedia or Priceline. I also prefer to avoid the "middleman" as that tends to complicate things. I book short domestic flights directly with the airlines, but always use a T.A. for overseas flights. I believe RS also uses a travel agent for some things.

Although you've been in Italy before, I wanted to mention that there are some potentially expensive "caveats" to be aware of when using trains and other pubic transit. If you need further information, I can send you a PM.

For your stop in the Cinque Terre, have you decided which of the five towns you want to stay in? Everyone here has a favourite, and my preference is Monterosso. I wouldn't suggest staying in Porto Venere as it's a bit of a chore to get there as it doesn't have rail service, and that will make it awkward to see the five towns in the limited time you have (it's not "officially" part of the C.T.). At that time of the year, some of the tourist businesses will be starting to shut down for the season, so that's something to consider too when choosing a town.

I also wanted to mention that if you want to buy a copy of the RS Italy guidebook, it's available either in a paper version or as an E-book in several formats, including Kindle and iBooks.

A note on monasteries: they have a curfew, usually 11pm or midnight.

And Mike, I fly out of DTW also, and find several flights per day to Roma as well as Milano. Perhaps there is only one non-stop flight?

If you settle on this itinerary ...

Venice - 3 nights
Florence/Tuscany: 4 nights
Cinque Terre: 2 nights
Rome: 4 nights

Then bookings are simple ...

1. Airfare to Italy - 5 months ahead
   Book multi city in to Venice and home from Rome.

2. Hotels - 4 months ahead
   Search TripAdvisor for desired standard of hotel, preferred location and price. Book directly.

3. Trains - 3 months ahead
   Venice > Florence
   Florence > Monterosso
   Monterosso > Rome
   Go directly to trenitalia.com

4. Museums - 2 months ahead
   Venice - Doges Palace
   Florence - Uffizi, Academy
   Rome - Colosseum, Vatican Museums, Borghese

Enjoy

I am overwhelmed with the gernous and helpful replies. Thanks to each of you. I feel much more confident that I can indeed plan this out on my own now. Someone mentioned the CT beginning to "close down" that time of year. That is not something I had thought of, and counted on a TA to know. I am realizing, even the TA that I talked with who specializes in trips to Italy, isn't nearly as helpful as all of you here. I have replied to a few of you in PM, and probilby will reply to others now that I have time to sit down and sort through everyone's terrific advice.

I do enjoy planning trips, and have done several. I think for this one, I feel the pressure because I have raved about Italy for years to my husband, and about how much I want him to experience it with me. So, I don't want to make any mistakes that would make the trip disappointing. However, I expressed that to him yesterday, and I forgot how forgiving an easy going he is. He says, "No problem, we will be in Italy regardless. I'm sure it will be wonderful." So, between all of you and my husbands kindness and encouragement, I am going to be my own TA! I may hop back on here for more questions. But to each of you, please know, I am reading all of your replies and taking in to consideration all of your advice. I appreciate the time you took to give the advice. ~ Tammy

Hi All,

Thank you for this amazing post and all the wonderful support and advice! I did hire a travel agent and she booked travel and offered an initial itinerary, but I've taken it from there and am altering the itinerary based on my research of the areas. I find the travel agent to be pushy about booking accommodations and "her" bookings like a personal/small group local tour (I see why, now), but she's also very knowledgable about logistics at a high level.

So, it's been a mixed bag. I would probably negotiate for a more limited engagement next time. Definitely research the agent for personal experience and familiarity with the area you're going. The travel agent I'm using is from Austria (we are going to Venice, Dolomites and Austria).

These forums are an invaluable source of knowledge!

Thank you all!

Melissa

He says, "No problem, we will be in Italy regardless. I'm sure it will
be wonderful." So, between all of you and my husbands kindness and
encouragement, I am going to be my own TA!

You're got a keeper there. :O)
I do know how you feel, though, as I lined up all 8 of our accommodations for the last trip, and was holding breath that I hadn't booked any real dogs. Nope. All went well, and my Other Half is a great traveler who is pretty darn happy just BEING wherever we are so I shouldn't have worried.

So relax. You're going to be just fine. The only stupid question is usually the one never asked - as many of us know all too well when it comes to after-fact rants about rental car fines and non-validation of transit tickets - so ask away! Besides getting what YOU want and saving some $$, you'll gain a sense of accomplishment and confidence that will serve you well on future trips. Heck, you'll come home able to pay YOUR knowledge forward! Very cool, eh?

Tammy, don't stress too much about planning the perfect trip, or trying to recreate your own past experiences.

Italy is wonderful, as you know, and it sounds like your DH is open to new experiences. So do as others have suggested: get a good guidebook (don't forget your public library as a source.) Research flights on the internet - but buy the tickets from the airlines themselves, not Orbitz or Kayak. Too many of us have done that, and regretted it.

Rick's books are good for researching hotels, as well, but it does seem that he's leaning more toward more upscale places these days. But he almost always includes a few smaller, less expensive places. And again, the internet can be your friend here. And I'd recommend booking hotels directly, not through a booking agent.

And as you have seen, the folks here are delighted to help. Don't hesitate to ask specific questions - about hotels, restaurants, favorite museums, walks, etc.

Planning is half the fun; just don't worry yourself to a frazzle. And don't try to fill every moment. Leave lots of time for exploring and making your own discoveries.

You're going to have a wonderful time.

You have hit on the main reasons besides expense that it is unwise to use travel agents in Europe. They tend to have little actual experience themselves and so use their big book of boring expensive chain hotels and their book of local pre-paid overpriced tours to design your experience.

We have been doing it ourselves since the days when you had to use catalogues to find apartments. The internet makes it dead easy. And so you book a hotel that turns out not to be great in spite of your pouring over the reviews? The same thing could happen with a travel agent and in our experience is more likely.

Just don't do SUCH a good job that he'll say "Oh, you do it so well ... you can do them all"

Regarding booking trains, I don't see the need for booking Florence to Monterosso, unless one travels with the FrecciaBianca from Firenze Campo Di Marte (departs shortly after 7:30). All other options are mostly aboard Regional trains which give no discounts and require no reservations. The potential savings for the short segment between Pisa and Spezia, which could be aboard faster Freccia or Intercity trains, are simply not large enough to justify locking yourself in one choice. Discounted tickets are restrictive, they are not changeable or refundable.

Laura B: LOL! You are so right!

Similar thing, totally different topic: a friend of mine who worked at a hardware store once said the secret to her marriage was never letting her husband know she could change out a toilet. My response: "Too late!"

If only there were a series of guidebooks designed to help people, esp. American, plan their own trips to various parts of Europe. Even better if they were updated each year so you could always have the latest information. Also good if there were books specific to cities, not just countries, for those who want a deeper dive. Oh, wait. (^_^)

Hi Tammy,

We stayed at Hotel Ala in Venice last year (3rd trip to Venice), and the location was wonderful. We noticed a couple of Rick Steves groups there overlapping on the 4 days we were there, too. The hotel staff went above & beyond, I.e. changed towels twice during the day for us when we took a shower the afternoon we arrived or when we washed a few items to dry. The breakfast was fine. It's located near the vaporetto stop, S. Maria del Giglio, and no bridges to cross with your luggage between the vaporetto stop & the hotel.

Not to marginalize the RS tours and whatnot? We've never stayed in an RS-recommended hotel and don't own the guidebooks, although we have others. We've never taken one of the tours. That said, this forum is GREAT for Q And A's. There are many ways to get the job done so explore them all!

I think I love you, Michael. And of course the internet that makes this all possible.
Cynthia

@ Zoe:
I only saw one one direct flight for sale that leaves from Detroit and goes to Italy. There are a lot of possible indirect flights for sale.

We are going to France, Germany and Italy in Sept. I have done all the planning...all you need is a good internet connection and lots of Rick Steve's books. Air...I used Google flights to find the best fare, then booked directly with the airline. Only regret...they have some really good flights out of Las Vegas, LAX, and Denver now...we are flying Southwest to the east coast, then Norwegian. ALL lodging done thru Air bnb. Amazing what you can find, very nice places, averaging $75/night, including any additional charges. Some, we are out a bit, like opening day of Oktoberfest in Munich. I can live with a 20-30 min train commute for the significant savings. We are still making reservations for Eiffel tower and Vatican...dates are not yet open.

YES...you can do this without a travel agent, or tour.

Travel Agents have gone the way of the dinosaurs and traveler's cheques. The last time I used a TA was for my honeymoon in 1987, and now not only would I never dream of using a TA for such simple trips as European destinations - I also plan entire trips for groups of high school students. Again - we leave out those overpriced ridiculous Education Travel Groups and do it all ourselves. It's so simple!

If you find that Cinque Terre will be " closed down" you surely can go to Capri for 2 nights...then return to Rome for your visit and fly home from there. I have been there many times in October and it is lovely...

Enjoy your trip, you can do it on your own!

Cannot emphasize enough doing research with booking.com or other sites and then contacting the hotel directly. These sites can take a hefty cut of the room rate as a finder fee which can be hard on the B&B owner. No big deal with Hilton, but with an 8 room BnB, it's not terribly nice.

As everyone else has said, you can do this. I like the plan with two nights in CT at the expense of a Rome day. CT involves some slow trains and some changes to get to, and doing two half days there seems like a waste. You can't really walk the whole road and see the towns in half days.

Am just ending my 3and a half week stay in Italy. Got a better price for air tickets with travel agent and did rest on my own. I am in my mid 70's and if I can do this believe me anybody can do this. I booked apartments through home away and Bed and breakfasts through Booking.com. I checked reviews and everyone of them was a winner. Not only did I save a ton of money, I got a real feel of Italy that you can't get in an American hotel. After booking places to stay, I went to this site and got a great deal of help and advice for side trips and such. Have a great trip.

I have been to 70 countries and not used a travel agent since the birth of the internet.

Do your own research.

Rick Steves and guidebooks can help.

Use Kayak for cheapest flights then go to the airline and book direct.

For hotels guidebooks can help, but use kayak and trip advisor where you can read reviews from others and check prices as well as location.

As far as transportation, for Italy, Venice, Florence and Rome, using the train is best. Driving is expensive and the tolls on the autostrada are high.

Consider eliminating Cinque Terre, one night is not worth going that far out of the way. If you take days from Venice, Florence or Rome, you will miss a lot, plus waste a lot of travel time. Plan of visiting it on another trip when you can go to Lucca, Pisa and Siena.