Travel in Italy

You can easily do all this by train, although 2 days is short for each place you list. I'll start by suggestion you visit Pisa on your way from Florence to Cinque Terre (you'll likely chnage trains there anyway), rather than giving up a day in Florence to do this. Further thoughts-Lucca offers great bicycling, including along the top of the walls, which have been turned into a park. You can bike in the city as well. As far as I know, cycling is banned in the historic center of Siena.

Hi Tara. Have you been to any of these cities before? Two days in most of these places (be aware that Cinque Terre is 5 towns) isn't enough, honestly. Maybe it's enough time in Venice, but not in Florence (especially if you want to take a daytrip to Pisa) and definitely not in Rome. I recommend two days in Venice, at least 3 in Florence if you want to go to Pisa, and least 4 in Rome. You can visit Siena in a day. I can't comment on the CT because I haven't been there. You can take trains to and from all of these places. Some people choose to rent a car. As for the order, fly open-jaw into Venice and out of Rome (or into Rome and out of Venice, whichever's cheaper).

Tara, To begin with, it would help to know if this your first trip to Europe or Italy? Based on the information in your post, I'm assuming your trip is two weeks so my comments are based on that. Have you allowed for the two travel days at the beginning and end? With such a very short time frame, I'd suggest dropping Pisa as the time spent in getting back and forth for just a short look at the Tower will be better spent elsewhere. I'd suggest open-jaw flights, inbound Venice and outbound Rome. The order I'd use is Venice - Cinque Terre - Florence - Siena - Rome. The trip from Venice to the C.T. will be ~ 5-hours, which is basically the better part of a full day. Although I've never tried, I suspect your best bet to "bike around" will be Siena. Hopefully some of the others can provide suggestions. IMO, two days is not enough for Rome. Is there any possibility you could get a few more days for the trip? You might want to pick up a copy of the Italy 2011 Guidebook, as there's a LOT of information there on sights to see, how to avoid queues for tickets, etc. I usually pack along a copy of the book when in Italy. Happy travels!

Thanks everyone. Yes, we are planning on going for 2 weeks. I decided 2 days each place based on Rick Steves Italy book. He suggested all of these places (except Pisa, I was just hoping it would be easy to fit in) and Civita if the trip were for 10 days. It is my first trip to Italy, or Europe for that matter. I wasn't sure about the travel time to each place, so I haven't really taken that into account. I am trying to put together some type of schedule to then detail out. I was also thinking about a tour, but none seemed to fit what I really wanted. Any suggestions if I should go through a travel agency?
Thanks again!

What you may be missing is the travel time between these locations. You'll see as much from the train window as you will on the ground in the locations you mention. I'm hoping that you are flying into Venice and out of Rome. If not, that's another 4hrs-5hrs on the train and then a bus to Marco Polo airport. Please forgive us on the RS website that wrinkle up when new travelers to Europe squeeze everything together to see as much as they possibly can. Most of the sites you describe need more time to see and enjoy which is why most of the frequent posters return again and again. But, if you must...

Tara: I think with a tour the two-nights-in-a-city plan works a little better than when you are on your own because there is a tour guide to direct activities, ensure you don't get lost, negotiate the culture, etc. Personally, I want to do it for myself! I don't want to see only what someone else decided I should see. "Assume you will return" and scale it back a bit. If you have two weeks/14 nights on the ground, try something like this: - Venice, 3 nights - Florence, 4 nights with daytrip to Siena. or vice versa (stay in Siena and daytrip to Florence) - Cinque Terre, 3 nights
- Rome, 4 nights See Pisa on the way to the CT if you must. If you cannot fly open jaw, i.e., you must fly in and out of Rome, you can still do this. You will land early and can get a train to Venice that will have you there by mid-afternoon. Nap on the train and you will be ready for a full evening in Venice.

Tara, Thanks for the additional information. As this is your first trip to Europe, I would highly recommend pre-reading Europe Through The Back Door before you get too far in your planning. Pay careful attention to the "Rail Skills" chapter. You mentioned Civita in your last reply. With such a short time frame, it's highly doubtful that you'll have time to get there for a visit. Unfortunately, Rick's suggested Itinerary describes a "best case" scenario for seeing multiple locations in a short period of time. This type of Itinerary is not realistic for many travellers. I'd suggest allocating more time to Rome, as there are so MANY things to see there. If your trip is 14-days total, keep in mind that you'll lose the first day (you'll arrive in Europe the day after you depart), and the last day will be spent on the flight home. Therefore you'll have 12-days for actual touring. Getting over jet lag will take a day or two, so you won't be up to full "touring speed". Regarding the travel times between cities, you can determine that by checking the trenitalia website. Note that some trains require changes, so you'll need to be "up to speed" on that. The changes often involve going down into a tunnel to get from one track to another. That's why it's a good idea to pack light, as you'll be hauling your luggage up and down stairs. You might enjoy having a look at This short video (it describes rail travel in other parts of Europe, but it's similar to Italy). Cheers!

Tara If you are romantic you will want more than one day in Venice (2 days = arrive, sleep, depart). It is a wonderful, unique city. Rome has four eras, roman, medival, renaissance, and modern (also Christianity). Decide what you want so see before you get there. Same, 2 days may not be enough. Hire a docent (Goggle docents Rome). Spending 12 days and six cities (dividing by 2) may not be what you really want to do. Think about what you really want to see. Pisa is 1/2 day unless you want to climb the tower, which usually has a very long wait. Pisa is directly on the way to 5 Terre from Firenze. Tuscany is good biking country. Seriously, you will want to make some hard choices before you go. Have fun.

I have been many times to CT and it did not work out to spend the night, but I feel as though I have seen and enjoyed it as a 'daytripper.' It would be great to spend the night sometime, but if I had the rest of Italy waiting and it was my first trip I would spend more time elsewhere (Tuscany) Pisa was great for a lunch and an afternoon but I would not have gone out of my way to see it. If you want to bike around maybe a smaller town in Tuscany (San. G) I have been to Rome a few times, and although there is always more to see...after a few days I have had enough and I need to get to the villages and vineyards of Tuscany. If I had only been to big cities in Europe I would probably not have longed to go back!