Is Viater a good choice for day trips ?

Long story short, I had two other trips in planning that my teen daughter eventually vetoed :)

She has requested a culture/sightseeing/city trip over the 'nature' and 'beach' options. She's had a really tough year and with all the anxiety about heading into high school, I would love to make this happen for her. I have about a month to plan this trip, so here's my first attempt at an itinerary. We will be flying in and out of Rome (only option for a direct flight), which we'll be skipping as we have previously visited:

Day 0: overnight flight into Rome, arrive 7:30 am

Day 1: Rome to Naples via high speed train, Napoli, Overnight in Napoli

Day 2: Pompeii tour, Overnight in Napoli

Day 3: Amalfi coast tour (bus tour or private driver), Overnight in Napoli

Day 4: Napoli in the morning, leave for Florence via high speed train, Overnight in Florence

Day 5: Florence, Overnight in Florence

Day 6: Tuscany day trip (bus tour or private driver), Overnight in Florence

Day 7: Train to Cinque Terre w/ stopover in Pisa, Overnight in CT

Day 8: Cinque Terre, Overnight in Cinque Terre

Day 9: Train to Milan, Overnight in Milan

Day 10: Milan in the morning, train to Venice, Overnight in Venice

Day 11: Venice, Overnight in Venice

Day 12: Venice in the morning, Venice to Rome via high speed train or flight, Overnight Rome near airport

Day 13: fly home

Would love to hear your thoughts:

- We like fast paced, but is it too fast paced? Any suggestions?

- I feel like Milan is a bit of a 'detour' and I wonder if it's worth just for one day?

- Should we get TrainItalia passes? Which one?

- I would love to have some flexibility and not prebook hotels in case we want to linger in one area more - is this too much of a risk? (I wouldn't have considered it but i feel like we could 'wing it' this year?)

- Is there anything else I need to pre-book? (ie. tours, transportation, admission tickets, etc).

Thanks all in advance!

We'll be in Florence at the end of June for 5 days. We would like to spend a few hours in the afternoon at a winery in the Tuscany countryside. We are not wine connoisseurs and are not looking for a tour, but are more interested in a very pretty winery with beautiful views so we may drink some wine and have a bite to eat. We are looking for a place that's within 45 minutes of Florence as we will take a cab. Thank you.

Hi Everyone,

Re-planning my postponed trip from 2020 this year. I seem to have forgotten all the valuable tips I had received for my previously planned trip. Is August a bad time to travel in terms of closures and holidays? Since I have nothing book yet, would it be better to travel in September instead?

I am thinking the following itinerary for now:

Aug 5-10-Roma

Aug 10-13-Florence with day trips to Sienna, Pisa?

Aug 13-15-Venice

Aug 15-16-Train back to Rome and fly home.

Is this too ambitious?

Will be travelling on a Covid tested flight in and out from Rome from Canada

Hello,

My husband and I will be arriving in Florence on November 30 after 4 nights in Rome. On our trip booked for last September we were planning one night in Siena at an Agriturismo. Now that we are coming during late Fall would you recommend just staying 4 nights Rome/4 nights Florence and just taking a day trip to Siena/Tuscany? Is there anything still growing or in bloom in late November? I already have a voucher for 2 nights at San Firenze Suites but have not rebooked with them yet.

Thank you for sharing your travel wisdom. This will be our first trip to Italy.

Hey there. We are planning a trip to Italy (and Paris) next June. We are bringing our DDs, first timers to Europe, ages 21 and 16. I’ve been reading through itineraries, guide books, youtube videos of Italy and getting so excited. We have limited time (only 10 nights in Italy) and we are packing in A LOT I know. We are considering using Zicasso or another company to make the most of our time, especially since we are trying to do so much...Here’s our latest itinerary so far. (we like to see as much as possible/get a taste so we know where to spend more time the next time:)

. Summary. 2 nights, 1 1/2 full days in Venice,

4 nights in Florence with day trip to Cinque Terre, 5 nights in Rome with day trip to Pompeii and Amalfi

*We already bought our tickets flying into Venice

Day 1. Arrive Venice from Paris on the 13th. Half day in Venice

Day 2. Venice

Day 3. Take a late train from Venice to Florence.

Day 4. Florence

Day 5. Florence. (Day trip to Cinque Terre)

Day 6 Florence

Day 7. Train to Rome by 7pm. Stay near Piazza Novana

Day 8. Rome

Day 9 Rome

Day 10. LONG day with private guide to Pompeii/Amalfi

Day 11. Rome

Day 12. Departure day

Grazie!

First off- this may be a bit of a 'bouncing around' post. Sorry! Trying to keep it clear...

I'm planning a trip for Spring 2022 Italy and France. So far, I have booked:

A) Flight into Rome and out of Paris

B) 3 nights in Rome and the following 4 nights in Cinque Terre (Riomaggiore).

This leaves 8 nights before my flight home.

I planned to get from Rome to Riomaggiore by train, via Florence, but this isn't booked yet.

I had thought after check out in the CT that I would go to Milan on an early bus or train, spend the day, and take a night/sleeper train from Milan to Paris, which I would then make my base, and do day trips here and there. I have been to Paris before, as well as Marseille and Nice. LOVE all three - want to see more of France, but also want to have a home base, to feel less nomadic.

I've found plenty of advice to take the Thello train for this. However, I also saw somewhere credible (of course...I can't find it again to quote here... it was on the Thello or Eurail website or something like that...), it looks like the Thello Paris-Milan/Venice is discontinued. Is this true? Are there any other sleeper train options Milan to Paris? I would really like to be able to do a few hours/day in Milan, but am completely open minded.

As a follow up question - I had thought it may be worth it to get the Eurail global 10 day pass. I believe it's good for 10 random days within a one or two month time period. Is this a better plan, to get me to my base camps, and use for the day trips from Paris, allowing me to do them solo rather than booking viator, or some such tour company?

Appreciate all friendly pieces of advice and responses!

I'd love to head to San Marino after Florence in October. I can't afford a private tour. Are there any group trips that head there? Or an easy way to do it myself? I have no interest in driving there myself, but wouldn't mind exploring San Marino solo once I'm there.

Hi I saw the news unfolded today on the current situation with the Coronavirus in Italy. We have already booked our flights and accommodation for our 3 week itinerary 9-27 Apr to Rome, Sorrento/ Positano, Venice, Bologna, Parma, Cinque T, Florence, and Tuscany. We are travelling on our own (not following tours) and have booked a few bike tours in the major cities like Rome and Florence.

Advice needed to help us decide to cancel trip or just go with it. Thanks

Hi! We have been to Italy a few times, mainly Venice and Rome with trips in Tuscany, Florence, Verona, and Naples. At this point, I'm looking to go back for a mix of adventure and relaxation, going to 2-3 destinations over the course of ~9 days. What we can't determine is where...places we are interested is: Capri, Positano (and nearby areas), Sorrento, sardegna, bari, and lake guarda. Any suggestions on where to focus or not focus would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hello! I'm feeling overwhelmed trying to find the right area and accommodation type for our first visit to Tuscany.

We do not want to stay in Florence and are absolutely willing to rent a car (not sure where we would pick one up). We will be coming from Rome by train and heading to Venice afterwards.

Would like to be in a country setting, but close enough to access some restaurants in the evening and convenient to visit/do the following:

Florence - 1 full day

San Gimignano

Siena?

Wine tasting

A cooking glass

Our budget: moderate. Willing to spend more for a something special (ie: winery property, a view, etc)

Thank you so much!!