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Central Italy Itinerary Assistance

Posted by (Los Angeles, CA, USA) on

Well after 2 years of dreaming of going back to Italy, I found a flight from LA to Florence in October that I couldn't refuse ($579!)... now the fun begins of planning my itinerary. I thought I had it all worked out in my head, but the options seem endless, so I'd love input from people here because this board was so helpful when I planned my last big trip to europe 2 years ago. I don't want to be running around like a crazy person but there's so much to see. and I know this is way in advance, but a friend in England is going to join me partway through, so I have to solidify things before she can book her flight, ask for the time off work, etc. This is what I have so far (I've got 18 nights to work with):

Arrive 7pm Florence
2 nights Florence
3 nights Bologna
1 night Parma (normally I'd never want to just spend one night in a city, but since I'm heading to CT next, and it seems that many of the trains from Bologna to CT go through Parma, I figured it's better to spend a night instead of taking a daytrip from Bologna and then having to double back and transfer trains there anyway)
3 nights Cinque Terre
8 nights Tuscany probably near Siena in an agriturismo with car
get rid of the car and spend last night in Florence b/c the flight back leaves at 9:30am and I'd rather not try to navigate the roads at 6am
It seems to make decent sense in my head but I feel like I'm missing/forgetting things that I should be considering. What do you guys think? Thanks so much!

Posted by
850 posts

Looks like you have it laid out pretty good to me. Having a car in Tuscany for day trips is a good idea. You also have room to revise your itinerary if you decide to cut one night somewhere and add one to another of your destinations in case you find you like one of the places better than another. Looks like a good overall plan though. Not too rushed.

Posted by
345 posts

You might be short-changing Florence a bit-- you only have one full day there.

I've never been to Parma, but I agree with your one-night vs. day-trip rationale with the caveat that I don't know what the travel times are for this part of the itinerary.

As long as you have a car, consider making full use of it by staying in/near a Tuscan hilltown instead of near Siena. That's just something to think about, not a warning. Staying near Siena is a fine choice.

Posted by
1003 posts

Yes Linda, you're definitely right. But I did spend 5 glorious days in Florence 2 years ago, so I think I'd rather spend my days seeing new places and just try to hit a few of the things I feel like I missed in Florence the first time around!

By "near siena" I just meant in that general area of Central Tuscany to be well-located for various trips into the hilltowns.... kind of between Florence and Siena, Chianti, Colle val d'Elsa, somewhere around there. I really want to stay in an agriturismo to have that experience and there seem to be quite a lot in that general area. it just seems that being in that general area will be good for the towns we'd like to see. I mean, I want to see it all, but of course that's not possible in 8 days! I thought about splitting the Tuscany bit into 4 and 4 nights but I think I'd rather have one central base for the whole stay, since the front part of the trip will be a lot more traveling, I'd rather take it a bit easier the second half.

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the opinions!

Posted by
345 posts

Consider buying a PDF of Karen Brown's "Tuscany" at karenbrown.com. It is not a "travel guide" but a short booklet of Tuscan countryside driving itineraries. No restaurant or hotel info, just suggested day trips and routes.

You buy it online (see "Itineraries" section) and download the PDF immediately. Although the price has gone up since I bought it, I still think it's really a good deal if you will have a car for 8 days in the Tuscan countryside.

It augments, but does not replace a real map or detailed travel guides. As you've noticed RS gives this area scant coverage, so you may wish to purchase another travel guide that covers the Chianti, Tuscan hill towns, etc.

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