Help with creating an itinerary

Posted by dede723 on 01/10/16 10:11 PM

Hello!

My husband and I are taking our sons (25,22,19,14) to Italy for 2 weeks (college graduation). It is my 2nd trip but our sons 1st. I am overwhelmed with planning such a big trip in a little over 4 months. I would appreciate ANY advise or tips on planning an itinerary. Tuscany, Rome and Venice are a must. Our tentative travel dates would be either 6/11/16 to 6/25/16 OR 6/18/16 to 7/2/16. I realize this is short notice for planning a huge trip but my son just decided where he'd like to go. Is this too ambitious?

Thank you in advance!
Dianna

Posted by Ilja

Seattle

01/10/16 10:32 PM

4637 posts

I already answered your question in the identical post under Italy.

Posted by tierf1234

02/13/16 07:18 PM

6 posts

I would suggest flying into Rome, when you are finished there, rent a car to take through Tuscany to Siena; I would then use trains to Florence and Venice. Fly back out of there. This is an itinerary from 2012- we left out important sites of Rome out as we had recently been there. If you drive, make sure you have a GPS set up for Europe. The second one includes Venice and Florence.

http://tierneysineurope.blogspot.com/2015/11/italy.html

http://tierneysineurope.blogspot.com/2015/11/croatia-italy-and-slovenia.html

Posted by Nancy

Bloomington, IL, USA

02/13/16 08:00 PM

9371 posts

Let (make) your sons get involved in the planning! They are young adults and should be able to find some things that interest them - and you shouldn't have to do all of the planning. Make a list of everyone's "must do" places, then see where you end up. Once you know what everyone would like to do, a route might suggest itself. Be sure to plot in travel times between places, as well as allowing adequate time to see what you are going to see.

Posted by dragonpilot38

02/18/16 12:22 AM

22 posts

We flew into Venice first...2 nights...lots of walking, but you can see just about all you need to see in a day and a half. We took the train to Lake Como (Verrena) and spent 2 nights there (small village, easy walking, ferry to Bellagio for a day trip). Thence train to Cinque Terra...3 nights there...stayed in Vernazza...hiked the trail trail to Monte Rosso one day, then down to Rio Maggiore the next, lunching in Corniglia...take the milk run train back to Vernazza. From there to Siena by train...OMG, Siena is glorious! We enjoyed it so much we skipped plans to visit Florence to spend more time in Siena exploring. Then on to Rome by bus which we enjoyed a lot...one gets to see a bit more of the countryside in the bus. Italian food is awesome and everyone in the USA knows how to order it! Most restaurants don't serve dinner until 7 PM, but most Italians don't even show up until 9 PM! If you're craving a mid-day cup of coffee order un Cafe Americano...if you order "un cafe" you'll get a shot of espresso (not that there's anything wrong with that).