Goenka

Hey guys. I am a first timer here. I have been reading your posts and found them very interesting

I plan to do a 10 day car trip to Italy and would seek your advice as how and when should i do it.
i had wanted to do from 28th april 23 onwards

Sassafrass

There is a lot to see and Italy is a long country. What kinds of things do you want to do and see? Mountains, cities, walled towns, churches, art, architecture, archeological sites, coastal towns, etc. Where do you want to go in Italy? Are you doing this solo, with family, partner, etc? If with others, what do they want to see? Kids?

Why car rather than train? Are you driving from another country in Europe? Have you been to Italy or traveled in Europe before and just prefer a car?

Where are you coming from? Have you booked flights. Arrival city?

You are thinking this April? Is the 28th your arrival day in Italy? Do your 10 days include arrival and departure days (leaving only 8 days on the ground), or do you have 10 full days on the ground, not counting arrival and departure days?

Goenka

1st time to Italy. Travelling with family. Total of 4 of us. No kids. would like to cover full Italy. Would like cities, Architecture, towns and touristy places.'
No preference for car, just thought it could be at our pace. But I do like car travel.
We r from India. Flights and all are open.10 full days for going around besides travel days.

janisj

"would like to cover full Italy"

Welcome to Fodors . . . sorry but that is totally 100% impossible. Don't even know where to start to help you . . . .

Goenka

Full Italy means from North to south . The main Touristy places.
Maybe can start fro north to south for from Rome. U suggest

shelemm

You have enough time to do Rome, Sorrento, Amalfi Coast, Pompei, Isle of Capri.

Sassafrass

With mostly towns, cities, touristy places, you do not need a car. It may be more of a hassle because of restricted driving areas, parking, cost, etc. Also, trains are so easy. They take you from city center to city center. You might want one for part of the time, after you decided on the itinerary, but you might want a day tour instead. Ten days is not enough to see all of Italy, so you will have to choose what most appeals to you.

It may cost a bit more initially, but will save time and money in the end and buy you more sightseeing time to arrive in one city and depart from another. Even if it seems a good price, do not arrive into and out of cities in which you have no interest. The cost and time involved in getting from there to the places you actually want to visit will negate the savings. Try not to spend time backtracking.

A traditional, first time, ten day trip to Italy usually includes Venice, Florence and Rome. They are easily connected by train. There are good day trips from all of them. It will take at least 1/2 day of travel between each. Add, expand, shorten or lengthen times to suit your interests.You may want to see more in one place or rush around to see more places. You might want to cut one place and include a completely different place. Some people might want to do Florence, Rome and the Amalfi Coast. Others might skip Rome to see Pompeii and Positano, etc. entirely up to your family and their interests.
One Sample to get you started:

Days 1-3
Venice, Arrival day to walk, get oriented, 1 full day for major sightseeing, 1 full day for day trip to islands in the Laguna or more Venice or day trip to Padua, etc. (3 nights)

Days 4-6
Travel to Florence by train (1/2 day travel)
Florence, 1/2 day plus 2 full days, with 1 for Florence, 1 day trip to Siena, Pisa or other areas of Tuscany. (3 nights.)

Days 7-10,
Travel to Rome by train, (1/2 day travel)
Rome, 1/2 day plus 3 full days, 4 nights.
Depart from Rome.

Sassafrass

I think people are trying to kindly say that it is simply not possible to see even the major sights in Italy in ten days. You can see only a few places, only a few sights in those places and not all the way from North to South. Is there one sight anyone in your family has dreamed of seeing? One major work of art or one building or archeological site? Unless you are familiar with some of what Italy has to offer, perhaps watch a couple of videos about Italy, the architecture of Rome and Florence, the Renaissance in Florence, the building of Venice, the hill towns of Tuscany, etc. look at a film that shows The Amalfi Coast. Then make some fast decisions on your itinerary. You don’t have much time. It should be fun though. You might want to just quickly book a tour in each city you visit.

Goenka

i do want to visit Amalfi coast, Capri , Vatican also. Hence can push my trip to 12 days in Italy instead of 10 days
is Lake Como worth visiting or should I skip it

Sassafrass

Have not been to Lake Como, so can’t say, but two more days will barely allow you to add the Amalfi Coast, even if you cut something. It would help a little bit if you can possibly fly into or out of Naples? Can you do that? If not, you will likely fly into or out of Rome. Can you fly into or out of Venice? Is Venice on your must see list? it will take most of a day to travel from the Amalfi Coast to Florence or visa versa. It will take a half day to travel from The Amalfi Coast to Rome, so it would be best to put Rome at the end of the trip and fly home from there.

With 12 days, including the Amalfi Coast, I would still fly into Venice.

Venice, 3 nights, 2 &1/2 days (jet lag will likely make arrival day a blur, so only 2 usable days.
Travel to Florence, 1/2 day travel
Florence, 3 nights, 2 &1/2 days (with day trip)
Travel to Amalfi Coast, 1 day travel
Amalfi Coast, 3 nights, 2 full days minimum (one day for a trip down the the AC, one day for Capri, you choose).
Travel to Rome with stop for tour of Pompeii, 1 full day, 1/2 day for tour, 1/2 day travel.
Rome, 4 nights, 3 days.

I would not do this because it would be really rushed, you would miss a lot of Venice and not be able to see much in Florence, but some people like a super fast pace to see only a quick glimpse of only a few things. So, if you really must, there are ways to scrunch things a tiny bit more, such as, instead of staying in Venice 3 nights, depart Venice late afternoon for Florence. Stay in Florence 3 nights (2 full days), head to the Amalfi Coast. You would be cutting one afternoon from Venice and one afternoon from Florence. What to do with an extra day? Day trip to Orvieto from Rome?

That is about all I know to help. Others can give more about Como and other suggestions.

Goenka

tks a lot

janisj

OK -- four of you are wanting to travel in less than 5 weeks from now but apparently 1) haven't booked your flights yet, (since the number of days is still 'iffy' - that would seem to be the case), 2) don't know where you want to visit, and 3) think you can hit all of Italy north to south in 10 or 12 days?? I am finding this harder to understand with every post.

No, you can't add Lake Como.

Maybe you can find a fast paced coach tour with availability at this late date???

Sassafrass

Janisj is right. A tour might actually be a good idea for you if you can find one you like. A big if because all the better ones I looked at for your time frame are sold out. I am posting a website for you to look it. If you can change your dates, you might find something.
Please though, if you decide to go the tour route, do not let some local company where you are book a tour for you or put one together for up you. The worst problems I have ever seen happened to people who did that. Before you book a tour, post it here and people will be honest with you about it. Use a reliable company that does hundreds of tours and has been in businesses for a long time.

https://www.tourvacationstogo.com/ti...ge=0&ci=0&sp=y

Though I have personally booked cruises with this agency, I would probably not do so right now. However, the website is excellent for looking at tours offered by major companies. Unfortunately, all that depart on the 28th that fit your needs are sold out. It is a popular time. There are longer tours and some the week or two after, into mid-May. Gate1 had tours that looked quite good, just not available for your dates. Globus and Trafalgar also, but not quite as good or longer. Some spend days in places I would not bother with and some skipped Rome or Florence. Some spend too much time on the road. You just have to carefully read the itineraries. At least, most are pretty efficient with time.

shelemm

Hey, OP, unfortunately your question "is Lake Como worth visiting or should I skip it" sounds like a joke or prank.

Most any place you've heard of is 'worth visiting' depending on the circumstances. Many people go there as their primary / only destination. You could spend all of your vacation there or at any of the lakes. Pick a city you'd like to fly into / out of and then go see the amazing sites nearby. You don't have much more time than that, though you can arrive and depart form two different cities.