Where to go....

When I have time and money to travel, but no concrete plan or drive, I start by looking at flights. A deal may dictate my destination.

Then, if I'm in a region, I'll pick one focal place (usually the arrival and/or departure city) to hang the rest of my trip from. Sometimes there's backtracking. Sometimes not quite enough time in that one town, or too much in another. But if it's a "found" travel opportunity, I'm grateful for whatever I end up with, even if not perfectly planned.

One think I like about going back to Italy is that I've been there a few times now and feel like I can maneuver transportation and language.

A few questions for you:

• Please tell us which cities/ towns you’ve already visited on your previous visits to Italy.

• What are your interests?

• You mentioned 5 nights in Florence plus 5 nights elsewhere, so will you trip be 10 nights long or can you spare a few more?

• Do you prefer public transport, or do you plan to rent a car?

"You were all so helpful to me when I planned my last trip"

I didn't see a post outlining what you liked most, liked least about your last trip!

Does this happen to anyone else? There's so much of the world I'd like to see that I can't seem to contain my ideas.

Yes. Constantly. I have so many notebooks and word documents and hypothetical future trips planned it's dizzying.

On my most recent trip, I spent a week in Florence with day trips to Lucca, Fiesole and a little village north of Fiesole where there was a specific park I wanted to see (I can't remember the name right now), then another week in Rome. While I'm glad I saw Rome, I don't really need to go back. I could spend months in Florence though. I loved the artwork and the shops and the atmosphere, and I wandered around the streets for days and days, walking 10-15 miles a day. It's a small enough place that I could come back to my little apartment throughout the day for a break if I wanted and I felt safe roaming the streets alone after dark. The only other time I was in Italy before that was over 10 years ago. We rented a car that time and spent a few weeks, so we drove all over the place from Florence to Bologna, staying in Fosdinova and Santa Margherita. We hiked between the villages of Cinque Terre and visited so many little towns that I can't recall them all. I don't like crowds, which is one reason I'd like to visit in the fall when crowds are down. I'd be happy to see some water front towns and/or some mountain towns. I discovered I don't like tours at all. I prefer wandering at my own pace rather than being stuck listening to someone talk about history at their pace.

My dates and number of days are somewhat flexible, but no more than two weeks.

I didn't do an after trip update because 1) I'm not that organized to remember all the things I did 2) by the time I got home, I was ready to just get back into my routine. Jet lag hit me hard about two days after I got home and it took me almost a week to feel normal again. To quickly sum up my trip though, this site helped me understand the trains and buses, which did overwhelm me a bit at first. I saw David all by myself for about 2 minutes before anyone else joined me because of some advice I read here. I saw the Donatello exhibit with only a hand few of other people because it was raining and I just walked right in and bought a ticket on site. I ate gelato every single day, sometimes more than once and still lost a few pounds by the time I got home because I walked so much. I'm not an extreme foodie, so I just stopped somewhere when I got hungry. Most of the food was delicious, some was only adequate, but I was content with it. Both my Airbnb's were great and the hosts were helpful. The walk up to the church far above Florence on the other side of the water was intense, but worth it for the view and the chanting monks. I saw Trevi Fountain early in the morning when there were only a few other people there and I flew into and out of Rome early in the morning, and there weren't many people at all in the airports. That's probably not a great summary, but hopefully it will give you some idea of what I liked.

Thanks!

The last day of DST in Italy is Oct 29. Sunset is around 6 pm, then from the 30th around 5 pm. So I'd spend time in the south first, where that extra hour is more important for outdoor sights. Can you fly into Naples? If you haven't been to the the area, here are suggestions.

1. Base in Naples. There's a lot to see in Naples, day trips to Caserta, Herculaneum, Pompeii by train, Ischia, Capri by ferry.
2. Base in Sorrento, my least favorite because there's nothing much to see or do in Sorrento. But it is convenient for day trips to Naples, Herculaneum, Pompeii by train, Capri by ferry and the Amalfi Coast by bus. That gives you a bit of everything.
   1. Base in Salerno. There are fast trains from Salerno north. I think there may even be direct trains to Florence. Salerno has lots of good restaurants, a well- preserved historic center and a big sandy beach and seaside promenade. You can train or bus for a day to Paestum, and have more time to explore the Amalfi Coast (good hiking, beautiful views) by bus. You can get to Pompeii by train.

Then, when sunset's an hour earlier, take the train to Florence and enjoy!

We loved Salerno as a base and liked it there so much we stayed longer than we planned!

Chiani:

You do mean CEST, not DST, right?

I just meant Daylight Savings Time, which I thought was generic.

First decide what is your objective. Recommend sticking to one country and depending on your available time, one area.
We’re going to Italy in October and we like hiking but not too strenuously, so this trip we’re going to Lake Como, Lake Maggoire and Dolomites with 3 nights in each, which gives us 2 full days in each with half day travelling by train between them. One day will be a short hike about 8 miles, accessed by gondola or similar, one day walking around and sightseeing (ferries on the lakes?) and sitting in cafes (or bars), reading a book and generally soaking in the atmosphere.
In 2019, we did some of southern Italy, starting in Naples and doing Capri, Sorrento and Amalfi by ferries and buses before going onto on Puglia by car from Salerno and returning the car in Naples for our flight home.
Each trip in different but now we don’t try to see everything listed in the guide books.
There is always next year even though as we age, we’re not as agile or athletic as we were.