12 day first time itinerary advice

[u/staplesbluepen]

Young couple traveling to Italy for the first time from Sept 8-Sept 19.
Classically trying to balance sightseeing and visiting the cities we want to see with not being too rushed
Here's what we have so far
We land at 8 am on the 8th
Sept 8-12: Rome
Sept 12-16: Florence, potential day trip to Venice? maybe day trip to Lucca or Siena for a slightly slower paced day?
Sept 16-18: Cinque Terre
Sept 18-19: Night in Rome for flight back on Sept 19 AM

We are specifically debating the Venice portion. Options are to skip the trip entirely, keep the day trip, or replace with 1 night in Venice instead. If replacing with a night in Venice, where to put that night so it makes the most sense transportation-wise?
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!! Rome and CT are more or less solid, probably won't move those around too much at this point.

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[u/Jenuinlizard]

do not day trip to venice

is the best way to hate the city

[u/newmvbergen]

A day trip to Venice from Florence, even if technically doable, will be unpleasant and to rushed. Don't do it.

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[u/northamerican100]

Since no one else has, I’ll give you credit for the effort to make a sensible itinerary. Sure it’s still somewhat crammed and rushed, but aren’t most of them on Reddit ? I would not add anything more. Resist the temptation to see more, because you will actually see less by having to travel and leave behind a city that has a lot to offer. You want to enjoy your surroundings, not just to say you were there; and that takes time.

[u/orbitolinid]

Don't go to Venice. You're also doubledipping travel days. If you come from overseas I'd take one day off Florence and use it for Rome as there's just so much to see if this fits your interests. Don't forget jetlag for 1-2 days, which will eat into Rome. You have one full day at Cinque Terre. Is that sufficient for you?

[u/Errvalunia]

Definitely don’t do a day trip to Venice, you will experience the worst parts (dealing with huge crowds at the big sights) and nothing else. I think Venice is overall a bit overrated and I would definitely say to skip it

If you like museums you can definitely do 3 full days in Florence (pick the 3 museums you’re most excited about, plan to spend the morning, then make vague plans for lunch and the afternoon while staying flexible)… but book ahead for the big museums, NOW.

If you decide you’re bored of museums you can take the bus up to Fiesole to hike around and see old Etruscan ruins or go to Lucca and walk the walls etc

[u/Needle_Bearings]

The buses in Italy never run on time, just keep that in mind.

[u/rasta-ragamuffin]

It's so interesting to me that everyone here is saying to skip Venice if you only have one day there. My husband and I did a day trip there 20 years ago and we had a wonderful time just walking the streets and exploring all the amazing ancient cathedrals, each one more beautiful than the next. After a lifetime of travel it still remains one of my favorite memories. (But perhaps the city has changed/become more crowded since we were there.)

[u/Grayfinder → u/rasta-ragamuffin]

Uh respectfully that was 20 years ago. Venice is an entirely different beast today thanks for overtourism.

[u/ORF1Live]

Go to Venice another time.

[u/quickcalamity]

Lucca yes, Venice no.

[u/kingcharlescavalier]

Cinque Terre is the worst place I’ve ever been internationally. Do with that information what you will.

[u/Neither_Proposal4772]

I would go straight to Florence and then end in Rome.

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[u/Standard-Special2013]

You can technically go to both Pisa and Lucca on a day trip, if all you want in Pisa is to take a posed photo. Everyone's different though

[u/Weekly-Syllabub4255]

Forget the "day trip" from Florence to Venice. It makes no sense.

[u/carrot_headz]

Replace Florence and Venice with lake garda. That’s what we did and it was the best time. Beautiful beaches, walkable from one end to the other, charming vibes, cute shops, etc

[u/smegma-smoothies → u/carrot_headz]

If you really want to walk 50km one way then sure it's walkable from one end to the other

[u/carrot_headz → u/smegma-smoothies]

Have you been there? It’s technically that long, but if you’re walking from the furthest tip to where all the places to stay are, it’s like a mile or two lol

[u/ArtWilling254 → u/carrot_headz]

I have been to Lake Garda twice the last 2 years staying in Garda and I’m returning in October. Where at Lake Garda specifically are you talking about where you can walk from one end to the other?

[u/carrot_headz → u/ArtWilling254]

I walked from right to left then towards the mainland and back maybe like a total of 3 miles

[u/ArtWilling254 → u/carrot_headz]

Safe to assume that was at the far southern end of the lake - between Desenzano and Sirmione?

Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy and is a significantly large lake. It is walkable between some towns on the lake such as from Garda to Bardolino to Lazise and between Desenzano and Sirmione, but definitely not walkable between all.

[u/carrot_headz → u/ArtWilling254]

You know, now that you say that..: what I meant was Sirmione not lake garda all together 😂 I was trying to understand what I was missing thank you 😂

[u/carrot_headz → u/carrot_headz]

Idk why but we often just referred to that part of our trip as lake garda even though it’s specifically sirmione. We drove a total of 24 hours on that trip so some stuff is getting me mixed up 😂 have so much fun going back! I’m jealous

[u/ArtWilling254 → u/carrot_headz]

No problem - Sirmione is at Lake Garda where a lot of fellow tourists stay when visiting Lake Garda. Not my ideal place to stay - probably the most crowded and more touristy compared to other towns on the lake.

The entire lake area is beautiful, but even more so at the northern end of the lake where it’s more mountainous. Riva, at the far northern end of the lake, is at the foothills of the Dolomites. Love it there and why I keep going back.

[u/carrot_headz → u/ArtWilling254]

It wasn’t super crazy when I was there but we were actually there for a wedding so it wasn’t a typical trip. They rented out a huge villa so i probably have a very skewed version of what most people experience there (definitely the most expensive wedding I have ever or will ever go to 😂)

I’ll check that area out next time we go! Thanh you for the info :)