My Way® Italy in 13 Days - daily activity suggestions??

Hello. I'm going to travel Italy in 5 days. So I have same question with Mammatoteen.
Thank you for you help! <3

The suggestions and logistical information for more than enough options are in Rick's Italy guidebook, which you should both read ahead and bring along. Cut out the chapters you don't need. The tour itinerary at https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/italy/my-way-italy puts and (r) by the recommended sights that require or encourage advance reservation.

We did the My Way Europe in 14 days tour last year and loved it! I really enjoy the planning phase of our trips and this format made it possible for me to shoulder much of the planning without the stress of planning the logistics involved with the transportation. Plus the lodging is also a non concern. We love the hotels that are selected by the RS crew, and look forward each new city especially with regards to the adventure that is the local hotel. That being said, Laura's advice to pre read and bring along your guide book. As I said, for me the planning is a huge part of the experience, so we had an experience planned (along with reservations where needed) for each city we were visiting. But to my surprise, I think that we were the only ones that that was true for. Some of our tour mates had a vague idea of what they wanted to do, but for the most part, the planning was done on the bus as we traveled between cities. Was the experience any less enjoyable for those that flew by the seat of their pants? I don't think so. That's just not my nature. Whatever, do familiarize yourself with the guidebook and take it with you. Even with plans made, you may have to alter them as you go along. You will undoubtably have a great time.

Excellent post from Pat.

I've not done a My Way tour but I've done 10 regular guided tours with RS. I AM a planner and the more tours I go on them the more I plan my free time. I like to make sure I don't miss anything that might be of interest to me. I sometimes don't stick to the plan, especially if someone has a more interesting suggestion but I like to know what my options are.

As indicated, if you want to visit something that needs tickets bought ahead of time (Vatican Museum/Sistine Chapel or Borghese Museum come to mind for Rome) then you'll want to organize that.

I would second Laura's recommendation to get the RS guide book. It will give you plenty of ideas on what to see in each of the locations. You will need to make reservations in advance for the most popular sites or risk sitting in a long line.

Here are few things above and beyond what you might see in the book for you to consider:

Venice:

• Check out the blog from Skye McAlpine. She is food blogger and cookbook author specializing in Venetian cuisine. She not only covers some nice restaurants in all price ranges, but has a good overview of each of the individual quarters of Venice with shopping, local sites, what to see. Here is the link: http://www.frommydiningtable.com/about/ .
• I would also recommend the bar & cicchetti tour (more alcohol than food) with Allessandro is a local, knows the history of Venice, the food, and is a lovely man. This was a very entertaining evening for my friends and family. His website link doesn't seem to be working, so here is his contact email: [email protected].

Cinque Terre:

• It is really all about the hiking and the RS book provides some good information and your hotel will let you know what trails are open when you arrive.
• If you can get a few people together, I would recommend a sunset cruise. One of the best ways to see the Cinque Terre is on the water. We went in May and took Fish & Chill with Diego. The weather was not cooperating and most of the small operators cancelled their trips. However, this was the one thing that my girls really wanted to do, so we convinced Diego to take us out for an abbreviated trip. It was amazing. I would love to come back and take the full trip. Here is his contact info: http://www.cinqueterreboat.com/.

Florence:

• I would highly recommend the Eating Italy Florence Sunset Food Tour: https://www.eatingeurope.com/florence-food-tours/florence-sunset-food-tour/. These are small tours, less than 12 people (our group had 8). You see the other side of the Arno and experience a typical Florentine experience from an aperitivo to a delicious Florentine steak. It is a great way to experience a neighborhood and try the local food & drink.

Rome:

• In Rome, I would recommend taking the Twilight Trastevere Tour from Eating Italy and go on your first night. We went towards the end of our trip on a Saturday and the girls went back the next day to get some food for the plane and the bakery and Suppli place were closed on Sundays. This is a fun tour, you get to visit a local Vegan bakery, then sample the best Porchetta that I have ever had, and visit a wine cellar older than the Colosseum. My only complaint was there was too much food:). Here is the link: https://www.eatingeurope.com/rome-food-tours/twilight-trastevere/.

Overall Eating Italy app also has good recommendations for food at all different price points. Also, I not only used the RS book for food recommendations, but also the app and local food blogs.

Have a great trip.

I don't want to do a ton of pre-planning, however I would like to go
on the trip armed with an idea of what to do daily. Also, do you
suggest making reservations at tourist attractions beforehand?

This is where a guidebook is invaluable! What to see? What are you interested in!? If I hadn't read one of your previous posts then I would have sent you a list of fabulous churches full of artwork and/or history to take your pick from...except that you wondered in that post what you could see besides churches. So, it's best for you to spend some time browsing what's available and marking the things that spark your curiosity lest your trip become someone else's. :O)

Yes, there are some attractions which require reservations/pre-purchased tickets to skip long ticket lines, and they tend be the most-visited sites (e.g. Colosseum and Vatican Museums in Rome; Uffizi in Florence, etc.) and a few which have limited access, such as the Galleria Borghese in Rome.

Aside from just being "armed" with an idea of what to do, it's really helpful to understand WHY some of the choices are especially important/interesting before you get there.