Italy 10 days

Old Dec 9th, 2022, 06:25 AM
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Italy 10 days

I need help planning our first trip to Italy. We are going for 10 days. Flying into Milan and out of Rome or vice versa. It is first week of June. Should we go to Almalfi or Cinque Terre or Lake Como, Planning on staying a few days in Florence and 2 in Rome for sure. Any thoughts? Would appreciate recommendations on hotels or villas? Do you use VRBO? There are 6 adults.
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Old Dec 9th, 2022, 06:29 AM
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hi jean, welcome to Fodors, what do you like to do? First time I might start in a hotel just to get the benefit of conceirge. Airbnb is fine if you want that sort of thing. you might need to read up on seat61.com Rome to FLorence is easy by train and Florence has a ZTL which makes a car a real pain.
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Old Dec 9th, 2022, 07:08 AM
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We would like some site seeing along with good food. I would love to try a cooking class.
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Old Dec 9th, 2022, 07:58 AM
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June is good because it is not high season. Certainly 5 Terre it would make sense, though watch out for any local holidays. Amalfi, travel there by train as again car access is tough. Tuscany itself is fantastic in June and would fit in with 5T very well. The small hill towns are tremendous and of course food/wine is off the scale. Siena(car not required) and Firenze (car not required) are the big drawers for the area but there are lots of small place that are a bit easier to enjoy. Tuscan countryside can be visited by train/bus but if you want to spend a lot of time there I might look at a car. Cooking course gives you at least a flavour of the special taste of the Italian family.

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Old Dec 9th, 2022, 11:28 AM
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These days, I would consider June to be pretty much high season already.
https://italyexplained.com/tourist-s...low-shoulders/
June will most certainly be crowded everywhere.

Do not book flights until you have firmed up your itinerary because if you decided on the Amalfi Coast rather than Como or Cinque Terre, you would not want to arrive or depart from Milan.

Questions, things to think about.
Very important; Is ten days your total time or time on the ground once you arrive? Exact number of days or nights is so important in determining what you have time for. Even one day can make a difference.
Are you wanting hiking, just to chill with beautiful views, great archeological sites like Pompeii, Art museums, Countryside?
Is everyone in the group planning to do everything together, like hiking or a cooking class, or split up for different activities?
Are you planning to rent cars or a van for countryside exploration? In many places like the AC and cities, cars are not a good choice. Trains are wonderful and convenient in Italy.
Are you couples or a family?
Do some people need or want more privacy?
Are you big into Art, so want more time in Florence rather than Rome? Otherwise, Rome could be explored for days, Florence is small and hot in Summer.
Will all adults, do they actually want to spend time cooking or do they want to be going out, eating local foods and sight seeing?

On a beach vacation, Our family cooks, but moving around, while visiting an exciting country like Italy, especially for such a short time and for very short stays, we prefer hotels in good locations for restaurants and walking. We like a pool for hot afternoons.

Read more threads about the Cinque Terre and how things are there now, as far as crowds, hiking, etc.
Amalfi Coast is horribly crowded in places, but it is a fairly large area and can accommodate more people. You can always find less crowded places to enjoy.
In Rome and Florence, perhaps book small group walking tours. Perhaps book a one day tour of Tuscany countryside. If you want a lake experience, also consider Lake Garda.

For Como, fly into Milan. For Garda, fly into Venice. For The AC, fly into Naples.

Italy is a long country. Travel takes time. Remember that every time you move, checking out of your hotel, getting to the train station, the trip time, getting to the next hotel, will eat up at least 1/2 a day or more.

Once you have narrowed your choices to no more than three places, people here can advise on the best ways of combining travel and time.

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Old Dec 10th, 2022, 06:40 AM
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I was in Paris Nov 2021, crowded and still in COVID mode, In Venice, Florence and Rome in April 2022, wall to wall people. Just came back last week from Northern Italy (Milan, Genoa, Turin and Bologna) with overwhelming crowds in Milan. These trips were all in my mind taken off season. I think now that COVID precautions are waning, people are traveling. I think that is only going to pick up and major cities will be very crowded. In my mind, June is not off season but it seems to me it doesn't matter, value of euro, pent up desire to travel, removal of covid restrictions, and I'm sure the list could go on, crowds are here to stay--probably all year long except maybe for Jan/Feb.
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Old Dec 10th, 2022, 11:13 AM
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In most of Italy, high season begins just after Easter. May and June are busier than July and August.

As already mentioned, "ten days" could mean from the time you leave home until the time you get back; or it could mean ten full days in Italy, which would be eleven nights.

It may be because of my priorities, but I would consider a cooking class in Italy to be a waste of a day.

There are lots of excellent Italian cooking classes in other parts of the world, maybe even in your home city. If you could take a course, maybe a full week in the evenings, it would give you an insight into Italian cuisine, which would help you to enjoy your meals from the minute you touch down.

If you can't manage that, even a good book about Italian cuisine, including its regional varieties, would be better than a rushed class that focuses on things that can be cooked and served in the limited time, which usually includes a trip to a market, and often a light meal. It's time that would be better spent at a museum or just enjoying a meal at a good restaurant.

I can't help with a book. Before I moved to Italy, almost 25 years ago, I had a small book in the Sunset series that did a good job of explaining Italian cooking and had some good recipes, including a few I still use. It's no longer available, or it's much changed. Now all of my Italian cookbooks are in Italian.
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