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Which is better? (itinerary ? and backtracking or getting another hotel?)

Posted by (Houston) on

Plan right now is:
Fly into Milan (arriving at 08:30 AM I think) and spend the day there. train to Como when we are ready.
2 nights in Como (relaxing thew whole time)
2 nights in Venice (one day Venice one day at the glass blowing)
2 nights in Florence (relax/ walk around/ see the sites)
1 day in Assisi (see the sites and relax)
4 days in Rome (sites)

Here are my questions- Is is better for example to go Florence to Assisi by train early in the morning and then go back to Florence for the night (allowing us to not have to bring luggage on the train) or stay one night in Assisi then head the next morning to Rome. We could also stay the day in Assisi and that evening train over to Rome. (but if we do that we will have to carry our luggage with us everywhere so its not ideal) Basically should we add one more hotel to the list or just go back to Florence that night and then the following morning train over to Rome? What do yall think? With our whole trip we have the recurring decision to make- do we travel at night or wake up very early each day to trafvel to the next destination. If you could add a day or two anywhere, where would it be? I feel like even though I say its 2 nights somewhere, it is not necessarily 2 days. Does this make sense? Thanks for all your help!

Posted by
1589 posts

Use as few "home bases " as possible. The moving every day is very taxing and cuts hours off the siteseeing.

Posted by
3313 posts

If it's not a long train trip (I can't look up timetables right now), I'd do Assisi as a day trip to avoid packing and unpacking for only one night.

Also, I'd rather have more evenings in Florence than Assisi - as charming as Assisi is.

Posted by
799 posts

You are doing a lot of moving around, especially, as you point out, 2 nights at a location does not equal two days. For planning purposes, as a rule of thumb, each time you change lodgings takes 1/2 day out of your trip (between packing, unpacking, paying for room, moving to new location, finding new hotel, etc.)

With your time frame, I would skip Como and Assisi, and just visit Venice, Florence and Rome.

Posted by
6898 posts

We did the day trip to Assisi from Florence. We loved Assisi. Our visit was too short. Several reasons to vote for an overnight stay. First, it's a 2.5hr. train journey each way so that takes 5.0hrs out of your day. Second, with all of the churches and shops, it's a long day. Third, I wasn't impressed with luggage storage at the train station. The storage we saw was in the gift shop next door and it wasn't secure - it was just open shelves that anybody could approach. Perhaps there's another facility in the train station. Fourth. All of the nice restaurants close from 4-7. So if you're looking for a nice dinner there, you will have to wait. We ended up eating in the train station.

I would vote for staying a night in Assisi and then proceeding onto Rome. The train trip from Assisi to Rome is just over 2.0hrs. Interestingly, the Eurostar journey to Rome from Florence is 1hr. 37min. so you really can work it either way.

Posted by
10344 posts

Lexma: I like your rule of thumb of a half day.

Posted by
479 posts

Andrea, if budget is at all a concern it will be cheaper to stay in or near Assisi than in Florence. Florence hotels are some of the most expensive in Europe.

If you pack properly then you won't even notice your bags on the train from Florence to Assisi. When I did this same trip I stayed in Siena. I had a rental car and drove to Assisi for the day. It's surprisingly far, but not too far for a day trip.

I'm sure I just confused matters. No matter which you pick, it will have its pros and cons. I like to change hotels as little as possible. However, I also don't like to waste time or money. So given your situation I'd probably stay again in Siena because it's cheaper and do both Florence and Assisi on day trips.

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