First trip to Italy, 3 week itinerary help please!

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!

After cancelling our 2020 Italy trip, I've just booked a trip for spring 2022. We fly into Venice in late April and will be in the country for 21 nights before leaving from Rome. I've booked accommodations online but everything is cancellable so I'd love to know you suggest any changes to my itinerary. And I have a few questions. Any input would be much appreciated as I've never been to Italy!

Here's what I've booked:

3 nights Venice - Wander, see Doge's palace & St. Mark's Square

3 nights in Sirmione, Lake Garda - explore Roman ruins, drive around lake, maybe boat trip to Isola del Garde

3 Nights in Florence - Museums & sights. Rent car when leaving & drive to Montepulciano via Chianti.

3 Nights in Montepulciano - Wine tasting, explore hill towns in Tuscany (& maybe hot springs?)

4 Nights in Sorrento (day trips to Capri & Amalfi Coast & maybe Pompeii, but that would be all the days and I want to just relax & wander in Sorrento too)

4 Nights in Rome - Colosseum, Vatican, and maybe day trip to Tivoli or Ninfa Gardens (though my husband won't be that excited about the latter so may skip it)

Does this look like a good number of days / nights in each place?

Also, I have a few other questions... From Venice to Sirmione - Would I be better off to simply take the train from Venice to Desenzano and rent a car there, meaning I could drop it at the end of my Sirmione stay and not pay one-way charge? Or rent a car in Venice and drive to Desenzano? And when we leave Montepulciano to go to Sorrento, am I better off dropping the car in Chiusi and taking train from there to Sorrento, or driving back to Florence & dropping it there, taking the high-speed traing?

Or should I re-order the whole trip, driving from Venice to Sirmione and then to Montepulciano, then take the car back to Florence, spend 3 nights there and then train to Sorrento?

I've noticed that a lot of accommodations are booking up already for next spring so if my itinerary isn't logical, I want to switch it around now while there's lots of options. I know there's plenty of time for booking cars & trains, but does the order make sense? Thanks in advance for any input!!

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.

We are planning again for our revised 40th anniversary trip next September 2022. Like so many, we were canceled last fall 2020. So, Italy 2.0! I know I will have many questions going forward so I appreciate these forums tremendously. Our plan is for 5 nights in Rome, 5 nights near Pienza, 5 nights in the Chianti area, 4 nights Florence and 4 nights in Venice. I am checking what route would be most scenic? Would it be possible to drive through Bagno Vignoni and San Quirico to Pienza? Is Lake Bolsena worth driving to or by? Thank you in advance for your input. Planning is part of the journey!

Hi Everyone,

We need some advice. I’ll try and fill in as many gaps so this won’t be painful. My family loves to travel and Italy has been our favorite destination. On multiple longer trips..and some shorter..we’ve hit Rome, A little of Umbria, a lot of Tuscany, Cinque Terre, Amalfi Coast, Lakes Como and Maggiore and Venice. We had the kids for 2 weeks on one of these. We planned to hit Sicily the last 2 Summers but it was not to be and had to cancel. We are now coming end of November now..Thanksgiving week..and are flying into Rome.

With all that laid out we are driving from Rome so we don’t want to go too far..maybe 3 hours any direction. That gives us really regions of Lazio, Tuscany, Umbria, parts of Campania, Abruzzo and Molise. I’m guessing on some. I know it’s rainy season and is chilly. We are fine with as our honeymoon there was in October.

So with all that said and where we’ve been what would be a beautiful area for that time of year where we can see midieval villages, maybe some leftover Fall colors, great food/wine vineyards? I’ve thought about going off script with Abruzzo or Le Marche but we love Tuscany so much. I know there are pros here. Appreciate y’all!

Chris

Hello! Our family is planning a trip to Italy in early June. We want to spend 7-10 days there. There are 5 of us, two parents and three kids ages 18-24. We are thinking of flying into Rome and taking the train from there to Florence then Cinque Terre then Venice and flying out of Venice.

1. Does this sound like a reasonable itinerary or is it too much to fit in?

2. I have seen some articles online about some of these places being overrated and crowded. Is this true? Is there somewhere better worth seeing?

Thank you for your help!!

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!

Hello everyone!

My Plan A was Sicily but may have to park that until October!

Plan B, flying into Napoli and I guess I want to explore places I've not seen before! 2 week itinerary required!

Rough idea is spending two nights in Rome with seeing Galleria Borghese and Capitol Hill museo

I was only in Rome last summer and explored alot then as I had a full week!

This time I would like to see Tivoli and Hadrian's villa, any other day trips?

I'm hoping to get Assisi seen too.

Making my way.... public transporte, train, to Puglia, I'd like to see in particular Lecce, Matera, Maratea, Peastum, Caserta in Campania! Flight out of Napoli!!

Please advise on a feasible itinerary! Looking for suggestions on good bases to stay for 2/3 nights before moving my luggage off again!

Thank you!

We are planning 5 weeks in Italy next Sept! We will be going to Rome,Tuscany,Cinque Terre,Venice and Amalfi Coast.

Which would be the best direction of places to go? We do not want our last week in Rome as we prefer Rome in the beginning of the trip! Which would be the best last place to be other than Rome for easiest access to a departure airport. Thanks

Would you recommend flying from Venice to Naples, taking a train or driving and stopping 1/2 way for a few nights in Tuscany (our original plan).

We fly into Venice for a few nights and then out of Naples. Originally was planning on spending 1/3 of our trip in Venice, 1/3 in Tuscany area and 1/3 around Amalfi Coast. Now I'm leaning towards longer time in Venice to day trip and longer time in AC area.