Originally Posted by
detroit1010
My wife and I (early 30's, active) are planning our first trip to Italy. We are trying to strike a balance between seeing a lot (we like being on the go, waking up early, eating late, etc) but not over doing it. We have about 12 nights. As of right now, our itinerary is as follows:
Night 1,2 - Venice
Night 3,4,5,6 - Florence and Tuscany
Night 7,8,9,10 - Amalfi Coast
Night 11,12 - Rome
My guess is that most will say 2 nights is not enough for Venice nor Rome but otherwise any thoughts or suggestions? I think we will be taking the train between cities with the exception of renting a car in Florence for Tuscany and in Naples for Amalfi.
As mentioned before, time of the year could impact your decision making.
Some additional details would help:
-Are museums your thing or would you prefer more of walking around the city and taking in the outdoor sites?
Venice, do you want to island hop (Murano, Burano) or stay on the main island?
Florence, try and make it up to Fiesole for dinner one night.
Tuscany, heading out to the countryside for anything in particular? A particular city (i.e. Siena, San Gimignano, Lucca, Montalcino, etc) perhaps? Toscana is a vast area
Amalfi Coast - I'd skip all together and roll those days into Rome, Florence and the countryside, especially if this is your first visit and you plan on going back. If you do head to the coast, IMO skip renting a car. You'll end up leaving it parked at your hotel for most of your stay - and driving along the coast is not for the faint of heart. Bus transportation on the peninsula is adequate, as is the ferry system (adequate by Italian standards). Frecciarossa train to Napoli and transfer to a regional train down to the coast. What town are you considering to set as home base?
Rome - you'll need more time, especially if you want to take in the basics. I think Rome has an underrated food scene as well that you'll want to explore. If you're going in 2016 please note it's a Jubilee year so you might see an uptick in population during your stay.
Feel free to PM me...