Itinerary Planning for Italy

Becky and I wanted to go on a more adventurous trip this time. We decided to go to Italy. We wanted to travel independently in a country that does not use English as the primary language. Italy has a reputation of being a very interesting country to explore and the food is great. We decided September would be a good time to visit as it is near the end of the tourist season and the weather should still be good.

Itinerary Decisions

I made a list of the places we would like to visit in Italy.

• Venice
• Cinque Terre
• Florence/Tuscany
• Pisa
• Rome
• Lake Como
• Milan

Becky also wanted to go to Monte Carlo and I wanted to explore the Alps. So we added the following to our wish list:

• Monte Carlo
• Nice
• Chamonix
• Berner Oberland

Now all I had to do was fit this into about 17 days. Obviously it was not all happening.

Our priorities were the classic Italian sites and the Alps. I primarily used Rick Steves’ Guidebooks to help us with our priorities. I think Rick Steves is a very useful resource that helps you get the most out of your trip. His books give you site-seeing priorities and help you make the most efficient use of your time. I combined that information with travel times between sites and began to optimize the itinerary.

First it became obvious that the French towns, including Monte Carlo, would have to go. It was just too far out of the way. Next it looked like Rome was going to have to wait until another time. It was really a choice between going North to the Alps or going South to Rome. For variety we chose the Alps. Next on the hit list was Lake Como. I really wanted to go to Lake Como, but it was difficult to work it in. Instead we substituted Lake Maggiore. Lake Maggiore is also in the Lake District. These lakes sit at the foot of the Alps creating a picturesque backdrop for the lakes.. It has the advantage of being very close to the Milan Airport so it can easily be done at the very end of our trip.

So here is the final itinerary: Italy Trip Sept. 12 - Sept. 28 Summary
Agenda	Overnight
9/12 (Fri)Leave for Italy
9/13 (Sat)Arrive in Milan	Milan
9/14 (Sun)Morning in Milan - Train to Venice	Venice
9/15 (Mon)Venice day	Venice
9/16 (Tue)Train to Siena	Siena
9/17 (Wed)Siena Day	Siena
9/18 (Thu)Chianti Day	Siena
9/19 (Fri)Train to Florence, Florence Day	Florence
9/20 (Sat)Train to Cinque Terre, Florence AM/Pisa PM	Vernazza
9/21 (Sun)Cinque Terre Day	Vernazza
9/22 (Mon)Cinque Terre Day	Vernazza
9/23 (Tue)Train to Berner Oberland (Swiss Alps)	Murren
9/24 (Wed)Alps Day	Murren
9/25 (Thu)Alps Day	Murren
9/26 (Fri)Bern AM, Train to Lake Maggiore Italy	Stresa
9/27 (Sat)Lake Maggiore Day	Stresa
9/28 (Sun)Fly to San Franciso