Hubby and I are leaving the kids at home and travelling to Italy in late September/early October for 13 nights. Based on research using TUG and Rick Steve’s resources, here is an overview of our trip as of now (need to finalize so we can book airfare and accommodations):
2 nights Venice
2 nights in Cinque Terre
4-5 nights in Tuscany in our Hilton timeshare (hub for Siena, Florence, Pisa and immediate area)
2 nights in Sorrento
2-3 nights in Rome
For those of you who have been, does this itinerary look good? Would you recommend that we spend 4 nights in Tuscany and 3 nights in Rome or 5 nights in Tuscany and 2 nights in Rome?
As for transportation, how do you all recommend we get from location to location (e.g., from Venice to Cinque Terre)? Thanks in advance for your help!
We were there this past early October with another couple, did our own itinerary, awesome...
GREAT time to go, congratulations on that. We had perfect sunny weather, around 68 degrees high, cool evenings, no rain at all.
Every day was idyllic & pristine....everything looked like those pictures on a calendar.
We had, in this order: (flew into and out of Rome, traveled within Italy city to city by train, beautiful)
3 nights in Rome..perfect, wouldn't change..loved Rome. Marriott Autograph Hotel
Palazzo Naiadi,
................2 blocks & walkable from Roma Termini (the train station).
.................
https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x132f614752aef0cb:0x6c52bef2cbef5d9c!2m22!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i20!16m16!1b1!2m2!1m1!1e1!2m2!1m1!1e3!2m2!1m1!1e5!2m2!1m1!1e4!2m2!1m1!1e6!3m1!7e115!4shttps://lh5.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipOo4viK94nK66NTOYA0H7BOtkBdhePpSzbmPcr-=w569-h320-k-no!5spalazzo naiadi - Google Search!15sCAQ&imagekey=!1e10!2sAF1QipOo4viK94nK66NTOYA0H7BOtkBdhePpSzbmPcr-&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj28KLJk_PhAhVtdt8KHSsTAuIQoiowC3oECAwQBg
2 nights in Monterosso, absolutely best town in Cinque Terre, no contest, loved it, wouldn't change. Airbnb 2BR apartment, great.
.............One evening must dine at Ristorante Miky (Rick Steves dined there on his show, friends of owners...we met them)
...........
http://www.ristorantemiky.it/
4 nights in Florence....took day trip through Tuscany (Siena, San Gimignano, & Monteriggioni)....perfect, wouldn't change.
................Airbnb large 2BR ("The Terrace in the Heart of Florence"...amazing, absolutely the best spot in middle of city, large private terrace.)
.................
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/23580792?guests=1&adults=1
1 night back in Rome....(arranged train trip to Rome to arrive early so we could enjoy another day)....an airport hotel for convenience.
We decided to skip Venice...(might do "next time" as day trip, but would NEVER sacrifice even one glorious Florence day for Venice).
......would consider a short train trip to Venice as a Day Trip...met another couple who did that and they "saw all the wanted to see" there.
We also decided NOT to take long train trips
north to south to east to west etc etc in order to make it more relaxing
(not seeing "too many towns" in one vacation)
and not so hectic and run-together as many try to do (for you, Monterosso farthest north > Sorrento/Positano in south).
And mostly because of the wasted and tedious travel time, essentially takes a full day for some moves,
unless you're flying.....
Train travel takes a lot more time than one might imagine.
On purpose we did a circle-----
Rome> Monterosso (our longest trip @ 3.5 hrs, but we were rested and it was fun) > Florence > Rome....remaining short trips as we circled back to Rome!!! Next time, we'll absolutely do Positano and Amalfi Coast, along with Sicily & maybe Capri, keeping it regional!!!!!
Longer stays in each place (like our 4 nights in Florence) make it gorgeous, fun, AND a real relaxing vacation.
We did so much more walking around and experiencing the things that the locals do....dinners on street-side cafes (most of our dinners were outdoors), and lots of lingering.
Shopping in the leather shops, and yes we did load up on the leather....amazing prices for the world's best. Museums without rushing!
Third trip some day??? to north....Milan, Lake Como, then maybe over to Monaco/Monte Carlo, etc.
Enjoy...whatever you do in Italy will be over-the-top amazing. (Always get a local house wine....great and less expensive.)