14 days in Italy

[susant]

Hello, I am in the VERY beginning stages of planning a 14 day trip to Italy with my husband. There are SO many things that we want to do and see!! We do not usually take leisurely vacations. Our vacations are usually FULLY packed. We go with the idea of "we may never come here again so let's see as much as we can". Here is where I am at so far. Just curious if you think this is doable or if I need to cut out a couple of locations?

Day 1 – Fly to Venice – arrive early – day in Venice - stay in Venice

Day 2 – 3 hour drive to Prager Wildsee in the Dolomites, stopping to see Dolomites and San Ciascian along the way – Stay in Prager Wildsee

Day 3 – 3.5 hour drive to Lake Garda – visit villages around Lake Garda – stay in Lake Garda

Day 4 – 2 hour drive to Milan – stay in Milan

Day 5 – 2.5 hour drive to Camogli – drive through the Itallian Riviera, Camogli, Portofino, Santa Margherita Ligure – stay in that area

Day 6 – Drive 1.5 hours to Cinque Terre – spend the day checking out the villages along the coast, headed toward Pisa – stay somewhere along route

Day 7 – Visit Pisa then drive 4 hours to Rome – day 7 and 8 in Rome - stay the night in Rome

Day 8 – Rome – Stay the night in Rome

Day 9 – Drive 2.5 hours to Naples

Day 10 – Day 9 and 10 spent in Naples and Capri

Day 11 – Drive 1.5 hours to the Amalfi Coast – visit Pompei, Positano, and city of Amalfi Coast – ruins at Pompei - stay the night in the area

Day 12 – Drive 6 hours to Tuscany area – day 12 and 13 spent in this area

Day 13 – See above - San Gimignano, Tuscany, Florence

Day 14 - Drive 3 hours back to Venice – day in Venice – Late flight - Leave to come home

 

[Lourdes]

Ciao Susan,

I understand the way you're thinking about seeing everything because you might not ever come back again.
While that MAY BE true, the itinerary you have planned turns basically into a drive ACROSS Italy without giving yourself TIME to stop and enjoy each of the many iconic locations on your itinerary. You can certainly do it; I won't say you can't, but is that the trip you want through Italy?

How about enjoying the famous Italian "Dolce Vita"? How about sitting by a piazza and watching the world go by - it literally will, considering all the nationalities of the visitors to the main cities - with a glass of wine in hand? Or strolling through the main sights while enjoying a creamy gelato? What type of vacation are you looking for?

Why visit Cinque Terre if you're not going to hike between the towns? Consider you also cannot drive through them at all, you need to take the local train between them and walk around them. That in itself takes a whole day, you won't get to see all 5 in a day and be on your way to Pisa by a decent hour.

Why would you skip Tuscany on your way south to Rome, only to return to it later? You could actually save time by not having to drive back to Venice, although the plane ticket is likely more expensive. You haven't built in time for any flexibility in your travel time. Google Maps might say it s 3 hour drive with current traffic, maybe you get an accident along the way slowing you down and that will ruin that entire day's plans since you don't build in much time in between each stop.

You say you're in early plans.... when are you planning to come? From where? Is it going to be high season i.e. summer? Take into consideration whether you will be jet-lagged when you arrive and whether you want to start driving right away. I am sure you're reading lots of info online, if you post on any other forums you'll get similar replies telling you to plan for less, slow down and enjoy what you do. Mainly because while distances on the map are not great compared to other countries, what to see and do is condensed and you'll find a LOT in a small space.

For example, what do you want to see in Venice, Milan or Rome? Tuscany is an entire region which includes Pisa, San Gimignano and Florence where I normally would recommend spending 1/2 a day each in the first two, and a whole 2-3 days in the third. Most of the historical city centers are closed off to cars so you cannot drive by and see the sights, you actually have to park and walk into the center of town and walk around to see the sights.... even if you were to not enter any museum or church and just walk around you'll need more time in each of your stops.
I'd say you need at least a month to cover all the ground you've added into 14 days.

I don't know all of Italy even after living here for 20 years, but I do know Tuscany pretty well and most of the major cities across Italy. Each one of them requires at least full 2 days in each to see most of the main sights, 3 days if you want to see it without being a hurry. Pompeii by itself requires a full day, considering time to get there, park, walk in, walk all around (it's BIG!) and then leaving.

When are you going to eat? Doesn't seem you've given yourself much time for that, especially if you want to sit down at any restaurant (plan 2 hours for those types of meals, minimum) .... or for checking in and out at the hotels, does take time as well. So I hope I've given you lots of things to consider for now, I don't want to say you cannot do something like this, just asking you to consider to slow down, see less but really really enjoy what you do see, even if it means you don't get to check off the list some places in Italy.

I don't want to discourage you so as you learn more about Italy and Tuscany and decide what types of things you want to do while in Italy, just post and I am sure we can give you more ideas to help sort out your itinerary.