We Need Itinerary Help!!!

I have a few questions/comments:

1. Exactly how many days/nights will you have? (you said 2 weeks, but is that including getting to/from Italy)

2. Do you really have to fly into and out of Milan? Given the areas you want to see, I would fly into/out of Rome and Venice (open jaw), in whichever order you prefer.

3. I would cut out at least 1 of these, even if you can do open jaw.

We spent 15 days in Italy this summer, and we found that the maximum cities/towns we could do with any sort of quality was 5 (Rome 4 nights, Sorrento 3 nights, Florence 3 nights, Vernazza 2 nights, Venice 3 nights). That included 4 driving days (Rome to Sorrento - stopped at Vesuvius and Pompeii on the way), Sorrento to Florence (brief checking out of Tuscan hill towns along the way, but no stopping), Florence to Venice (stopped in Pisa for a brief visit/tower climb), Vernazza to Venice (drove through small towns, but no stopping).

We flew into Rome and left from Venice (actually, headed out of Italy on a train and flew home from Amsterdam). We rented our car on our way out of Rome and returned it when we arrived in Venice.

You have a very busy travel schedule. Not only have you not allowed enough time in some places, you have selected locations that are quite geographically separated. You're looking at a few 6-8hr. train rides no matter how you cut it. Which Tuscan hill towns do you want to see? There are local trains to some and local buses to others. An Italy only pass would not save you time or money. In Italy, there is a 15E-18Euro seat reservation fee for every Eurostar-category train you ride. And, most of your journeys will be on these trains. From Naples to the Amalfi Coast and back, your pass is no good on the private Circumvesuviana train system.

I would seriously suggest giving up on the Tuscan hill towns or the Amalfi Coast. Or, give up the Cinque Terre. I don't think you realize how much train time your facing. Not only train time but bus time as well. A car could work from Venice to Florence to the Tuscan hill towns to Rome to reduce time with the exception that you absolutely do not drive in Florence. Do a search on Zona Traffico Limitato and that will explain why.

Still, you have too much travel time. You're looking at about 36-40 hours on the trains and in/out time for the train stations. As a small example, the journey back to Milan from the Amalfi Coast (i.e. Positano) will take about 10.0hrs. About an hour less from Sorrento. You might want to know that Milan Centrale is just over an hour from Malpensa by bus and that you need to be at Malpensa 2.5hr-3.0hrs prior to your international departure. It will be almost mandatory that if you have a flight out of Milan before noon, your train from the CT or Venice will need to leave at about 4:30am. You make make it from Florence. You won't make it from Rome. It is most likely that you'll need to spend the night before travel in Milan.

I suggest that you build a spreadsheet to outline your travel plans.

Leslie, thanks for the reply. We are going to be there for a full uninterrupted 13 days.

Unfortunately, Continental flys only to Rome and Milan from Newark. We are flying free on airline benefits, so there is no negotiating on that. Being that the Rome flights are nearly full, we expect to be on the flight to Milan (same with return trip).

Was 2 nights in Vernazza enough? I mean, I know Cinque Terre is amazing and we would all love to spend more time there, but did you get a good taste of it with the time you allocated?

Here is what I have come up with so far:

Day 1 - Arrive Milan 8AM, 1/2 day in Venice
Day 2 - Venice
Day 3 - Florence
Day 4 - Florence
Day 5 - Cinque Terre
Day 6 - Cinque Terre
Day 7 - Tuscany B&B (Hilltowns)
Day 8 - Tuscany B&B (Hilltowns)
Day 9 - Rome
Day 10 - Rome
Day 11 - Rome
Day 12 - Amalfi Coast; sleep Positano
Day 13 - Positano; Pompeii; train from Rome to Milan
Day 14 - Depart Milan for USA

EDIT - after reading your reviews, it appears my plans are too aggressive. Sigh - Ill have to hit the books to try and cut something out of the plans. Tough call.

Brian: Re your edit, above, yes. This link may help you revise the itinerary: Europe Itinerary Planning 101

Brian - 2 nights in Vernazza was enough, not ideal, but enough. I would have preferred to have at least 3.

We arrived mid-afternoon on Sunday and left late morning on Tuesday, so we had a bit of time on the 2 "sandwich" days. The full day that we had there was enough to really savor Vernazza itself (hung out and enjoyed the town, spent a lot of time in the water, my son bought a fishing rod and caught an anchovy, etc.), then took a late afternoon boat to Monterosso, spent just a few minutes wandering Monterosso (in search of pre-hike gelato!), then hiked back to Vernazza. More swimming, great dinner, more wandering (oh, and more gelato!).

All in all, a great visit to CT, but we only saw 2 of the towns. We were extremely content, but are anxious to go back someday.

Planning an itinerary and deciding what to miss is certainly a challenge. Our feeling was that we always wanted at least 3 nights everywhere, so we weren't on the move too much. We adhered to that, but we stole 1 night from Vernazza to give it to the much-deserved and needed Rome.

I hope that helps.

I just went back and edited my earlier reply that outlined our days. I originally said that we had 3 driving days, but I had forgotten about Florence to Vernazza (via Pisa), which I have now added above.

Let me say one thing, two of the folks in our party of 4 (our mothers) will never make it back to Italy. Thats what they have said, its not a guarantee, but I'm pretty confident that it's going to be the case.

With that information in mind, any other recommendations.

Brian, we see so frequently that travelers have to see see everything you possibly can because you may never return. Then, they not only fly to Europe, they fly through it as well. Blink at the site, grab your luggage and run for the train. Some even plan several night train journeys to save every precious hour of daylight. Since that seems to be your plan, here's some more info.

1) Arrive Milan 8:00am. Arrive Milan Centrale train station about 10:30am. Buy your tickets to Venezia Santa Lucia at the self-service machine. This machine will prompt you in English, make your seat reservations and accept your American credit card. Catch the 11:05am ICPLus train to Venice. 3hrs to Venice. Cost for 4 - 88Euro. If you miss that train, there are 3 more by 12:05am. Arrival time is 2:05pm. As you come out of the Venice train station, I need a favor. Stand on the top of the stairs and take your first look at the Grand Canal. It's right in front of you. Your world will stop.

2)Venice to Florence. I suggest the 8:43am but there are several later trains. About 3hrs. Cost for 4 on the Eurostar is 129.20Euro. If you take the ICPlus train at 9:21am, the cost for 4 is 86Euro. Yes, the ICPLus train is less expensive than the Eurostar-category trains.

3) Florence to the CT. 3hrs to Vernazza. 61.20Euro for 4 on the ICPlus/Regionale trains.

4) Don't know where you want to go in the Tuscan hill towns. Siena, San Gimignano, Montepulciano, Volterra?

5) Siena to Rome (my guess). 4hrs. 88Euro for 4 on the ICPlus/Regionale. Could be a bus segment depending on the run you choose.

6) Rome to Positano. 2hrs. to Naples on Trenitalia. 144Euro for 4 on the Eurostar. 78Euro on the ICPlus. Then, 1.5hrs from Naples to Sorrento on Circumvesuviana and another hour by SITA bus to Positano. Not too expensive here.

7) Positano to Milan. About 10hrs. 292.80Euro for 4 on the Eurostar from Naples to Milan.

To save some time from Naples to Positano and back, your group of 4 can hire a car and driver. There are some good services out of Naples train station. It's more expensive than the train/bus but the cost can be shared by 4.

Have you guys heard much about doing Rome to Salerno by train? Online says 2.5 hours, then you are hitting Amalfi coast without back-tracking. Or could Ferry boat to Amalfi, ferry to Positano, then hit the train that route home?

Any suggestions here?

About how long does it takes to hit Pompeii on the way back to Rome? Does Pompeii need a dedicated trip?

I got a price of 120 euros from reliable amd rec RS service that the 4 of you could split: monettitaxi17@libero.it

Brian, you can take the Trentialia train further south to Salerno. But, you still have to take either the SITA bus into Positano or the ferry from Salerno to Positano. The ferry dock in Salerno is very close to the train station. However, you won't save any time. Unlike the SITA bus that goes from Sorrento to Positano, the SITA bus from Salerno doesn't. You have to change buses at Amalfi. This will extend your travel time. Next, the ferry isn't all that frequent. And, it's not all that fast. Extremely scenic however.

Thanks so much to all of you for posting with me tonight. I'm going to look things over and see what I can trim down - I'd like to post an updated itinerary tomorrow.If yall would consider checking back again tomorrow and comment, I would truly appreciate it. I have been researching train times over the past hour (and watching the olympics) so I'm a bit more educated than I was a few hours ago.Im actually impressed you can get from Rome to Venice or Milan in 4.5 hours! Too bad Eurostar doesnt run every route!Brian

After reading the replies to Brians itinerary I wonder about my own and would welcome some input.

We are 2 couples leaving Minnesota Oct for 2 weeks including flight into Milan and out of Rome.

Spending one night in Milan, followed by 2 nights in Venice, 2 nights in Florence, 2 nights in Cinque terra, 2 nights in Sienna and 3 nights in Rome. We have yet to decide where to spend our last night. Should we add it to one of the places we are already visiting or should we add a one night somewhere in the middle of all this? Appreciate any input.

Connie
Minnesota

Connie, you're doing fine. Could be a day more here and there but it can work. Your itinerary works a bit better because you are departing from Rome. Two questions What time is your flight out of Rome-FCO? and, is this an international flight back to the U.S or is it a domestic flight to another EU airport to pick up your international flight?

Usually, if your flight out of FCO is before 9:00am and you want to spend your last night in Rome, you will need a taxi or shuttle outside your hotel at about 5:00am to get you to the airport in time for your 3hr international check-in. Of course, if the flight is earlier, the taxi/shuttle needs to be earlier. Public trains and buses do not start up until 5:50am with arrival at the airport at 6:30am. If you have an early flight, you have the option of staying in nearby Fiumicino. If your flight departure is later than 9:00am, you can take the first out public transportation and you'll make it to the airport on time.

Connie....don't forget that packing up, checking out, getting to the train station, taking the train, getting to your next hotel, then unpacking....will probably consume about half a day on each leg. So in cities where you plan to stay 2 nights, you've really only got 1 1/2 days....3 nights, 2 1/2 days. When you arrive in Milan, you're probably going to be pretty bagged out, so the day in Milan may not be as rewarding as you might wish. Therefore, to try to maximize the good times, I would suggest that, unless there's something extraordinary you wish to see in Milan, take a train from there to Venice as soon as you arrive. You'll then have 2 1/2 to 3 hours to rest before your first evening in Venice, and you'd have freed up another day to spend elsewhere. Personally, I would allot an extra day to Siena and another to Rome....but decide democratically! ;)

Norm,

Thanks for your input. No democratic decisions here, they made me trip leader!!:) My friends have not been there, so they don't care and my husband is just happy to be away from work for a while. I considered going to Venice right away, as all I really wanted to show my friends in Milan was the duomo and the last supper. Would three nights in Venice be too much?? Is there a train station near Malpensa airport? Or do we have to go into Milan centrale station to get a train to Venice?? Thanks

Connie

Connie....ahhh...travel dictator! Nice position to be in! Personally, I would take one of the bus shuttles directly to Milan's Centrale station (about an hour if no traffic jams), where you catch your Venice train. You can take a faster rail service into the city (40 minutes), but then it means shifting over to the Metro or taking a cab to Centrale. Private shuttles are available, but they tend to be pricey....it's about 30 miles from the airport to the train station. Sure, you can add a day in Venice....since that first night will probably be an early one after the long-haul flight.