8 days - Italy. Itinerary Suggestions?

Cintrapark

My parter and I are off to Italy for 8 days. We fly in and out of Rome. The two priority places are Rome and Venice.

Any ideas for an 8 day itinerary in terms of how many days to spend in each city and any other place we could visit? We're also debating whether or not to hire a car.

Thanks!

PeacefulWaters

It's a big country. You might be best to localise your travelling to north of Rome or south of Rome.

Here goes though. My knowledge is quite limited.

Rome. A few days.
Florence. A must for a day.
Pisa. Worth a couple of hours to see the tower.
Lake Garda. Lake Como. Possible Alpine drive. Days.
Bay of Naples and Vesuvius. Days.

richardw

Were you thinking of driving from Rome to Venice?

missbiggles1

There's so much to see and do in and around Rome, personally I'd save Venice for another time (again, for at least a week). You can do a couple of interesting side trips to the coast and inland to get out of the city but 2 major cities a good distance apart is too much for 8 days IMO.

Kynthia

It probably have been better to fly into one of those locations and and back home from the other to save you travelling back to Rome. I've gotten the train from Venice to a Rome before and I think it was about 5 hours plus transfers either end but it was a few years ago now so I could be remembering incorrectly.

As you're only there 8 days you could manage without a car if you wanted. Do Rome for a bit, train to Florence for a couple of days (I think it's on the train route between the two, and then Venice for a bit before returning to Rome.

In Venice as well as seeing the sights on the a island we did a trip to Murano and Burano islands (where the glass and lace famously cone from), plus went to Lido island by water bus and spent the afternoon relaxing on the beach after so much sightseeing.

I haven't been to Florence but I've heard it's beautiful with stunning architecture and art. In Rome you'll probably want to see the Vatican (don't go on a tour that rushes you through as I regret that and we found the queues horrendous in the morning but gone in tge afternoon but check that's often the case first). We do the bus tours the day we arrive as it's a good way of using a part day and familiarising yourself with the area.

The lakes are near Venice and are beautiful, but you might need a car and I doubt you'll have time unless you don't do Florence. There are other options near Venice like Padua (the location for Taming of the Shrew) and a bit further is Verona (the location for Romeo and Juliet). These can be done as day trips with a car or taxi.

However as others have said the distance might mean Venice and th surrounding areas are better for another time so that you can enjoy the sights nearer Rome. You could either drive to some or get the train to Sorrento to stay for a few days and get public transport to Pompeii, Mount Vesuvius, the Island of Capri, the stunning Amalfi Coast, etc. The views of the Bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvius from many hotels there is stunning. All well worth a visit and much nearer Rome as is the train to Florence, which I think is only 90 minutes from Rome so you wouldn't lose a day travelling. However don't try to do too much as you'll be exhausted. There's so much to see in Italy.

Voyager2002

I did this years ago (flights in and out of Rome), but had two weeks available. The distance to Venice, and the abundance of wonderful places that were closer, meant that Venice was postponed for a later trip.

You could easily spend a week seeing just Rome (don't forget the lovely parks and the countryside nearby), but if you want another destination then a couple of hours on a fast train would take you to Naples, the gateway for Pompeii and the Amalfi coast, not to mention the island of Capri. Or you could go north: Firenze (Florence) is an outstanding destination, and on the way you could stop off at wonderful Siena. An interesting excursion would be to San Gimignano (nearest railway station Poggibonsi), the setting for the film "Where Angels Fear to Tread".

Cintrapark

Thanks to all you wonderful people for your suggestions. Will look into it all!

Andypandyboy

We go to Italy twice a year usually, we are going tomorrow actually! I agree that with only 8 days it will be better to stay in and around Rome. If you absolutely have to go to Venice then do it by train ( fast train takes just over 3 hours) and stay a couple of nights, as it is a very different city in the evenings when all the day trippers and cruise ships have departed. Enjoy.

peachyprice

Andypandyboy wrote: »

We go to Italy twice a year usually, we are going tomorrow actually! I agree that with only 8 days it will be better to stay in and around Rome. If you absolutely have to go to Venice then do it by train ( fast train takes just over 3 hours) and stay a couple of nights, as it is a very different city in the evenings when all the day trippers and cruise ships have departed. Enjoy.

We're off on Monday, I shall raise a glass to you as I watch the sunset over Lake Como

OP, I would just concentrate on Rome and the surrounding areas, there is so much to see and do and TBH, the Italian pace of life doesn't really suit charging around the country trying to fit in as much as possible.

Andypandyboy

I shall do likewise from the Bay of Poets in Liguria.

martindow

If you are visiting cities a car will be a nuisance. Parking is difficult and driving can be hair-raising. Public transport is good and quite cheap in Italy.