Travel Itinerary: 15 days in Italy!

Our jammed packed itinerary to see and eat your way through this beautifully historic country

Rome: 3 days

At a Glance: Welcome to Italy! Hop in your awaiting transport and ride into ancient Rome. Since you will have three days in Rome, first explore the piazza's around your hotel. Take a stroll through Piazza Navona, or Campo De Fiori. While touristy, these areas are a great place to sit on the cobblestone streets and people watch in this historic city. The following day, make your way to the Pantheon, Roman Forum, Colosseum, Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. This is the order we prefer to visit the sites, hitting the Colosseum and Roman Forum early (need admittance) when the crowds are smaller. We always purchase tickets directly for the Roman Forum and Colosseum at Coop Culture.You can also purchase a Roma Pass, which covers up to two historic sites and public transportation. Whichever admittance you choose, it is required that you make a reservation at the colosseum. On your third day, get up early (to beat the crowds) and visit Vatican City! If interested, you can set up a tour of St. Peter's Necropolis (the crypt) directly. Then enjoy a leisurely afternoon exploring Rome on your final day in Italy's capital.

Logistics: Upon arrival to Rome airport, be sure to hit the ATM for Euros. Having local currency on hand is always a good idea. If asked whether you want to extract in your currency, or Euros, always choose Euros. Depending on the size of your group, take a taxi from the airport or schedule a private shuttle service. We used Welcome Pickups shuttle and they were wonderful. The ride from the airport to ancient Rome is approximately 45 minutes. ***Note: Before departing home, be sure to download an offline version of Google maps on your phone, so you don't need to burn data while navigating. This is useful while driving AND walking.*** We always suggest exploring the city on foot whenever possible.

Accommodations: Book a hotel room in the heart of ancient Rome. We recommend staying at either the Bollo apartments (near Campo de Fiori), or Pantheon Caesar Relais (near the Pantheon).

Restaurants: There are endless restaurants in Rome, and as you can imagine you really can’t go wrong when you finally choose a place to sit down. One of our favorites: Mamma Mia (of course it’s a gelateria, but trust us, it is THE BEST).

Sorrento: 3 days

At a Glance: Make your way to the Amalfi Coast and prepare to slow down! The first day will be spent arriving to your hotel balcony and enjoying a glass of red while you watch the sunset above Mt. Vesuvius. The following day, explore the lazy lanes of Sorrento and visit the heralded Island of Capri. You can take the free hotel shuttle down to the city center in the morning and then walk (or taxi if needed) down to the Port of Sorrento. Arrive early to the port and purchase your transfer ticket to Capri (roughly 20-30 minute ride and 20 euro PP). Upon arrival in Capri, explore the water front and then take the funicular to the top of Capri for commanding views of the Island and Gulf of Naples. Feel free to walk this luxurious area and take in the views. Grab lunch at the top. If interested, visit the Blue Grotto (14 euro per person). Arrive EARLY, as this is a popular tourist attraction. Keep in mind that if the seas are too rough, this tour will be unavailable (this was our experience when we tried to take the tour). Use the return ferry to get back to Sorrento and the Il Nido shuttle to return to the hotel, once you have had your fill for the day! The next two days can be spent exploring the town or neighboring towns on the Amalfi coast. A popular choice is to rent a moped in Sorrento and then drive along the coastline to the other towns, like Positano and Ravello. We did not do this, but it looks like one he** of a ride!

Logistics: Take a taxi from your hotel (don't forget that you have to find a taxi stand) to the Roma Termini train station and board your train for Naples. We generally purchase tickets before we leave for our trip. When you arrive in Naples, there are two methods of transport that we would recommend: The cheaper route is to take the regional Circumvesuviana train (~6 Euro) to Sorrento and then walk to the hotel shuttle for pick up. The more expensive, but much more comfortable and efficient way to get to Sorrento is to hire a private driver from the Naples train station (190 Euro through Sorrento Car Tours - email us for a better rate). Once in Sorrento, if you book with hotel Il Nido, you are able to leverage their hotel shuttle, which runs on the hour, to and from the city center of Sorrento.

Accommodations: Stay at Hotel Il Nido, we have stayed here multiple times and have recommended it to everyone we know - the feedback we receive is FANTASTIC. The hotel sits on the hillside with a stunning panoramic view of the Gulf of Naples. Looking down the hillside you will see the beautiful Mediterranean vegetation of citrus trees and olive groves! The hotel has a restaurant with delicious food and homemade limoncello! The best limoncello we’ve ever tasted. An amazing spread is prepared each morning for breakfast (make you own freshly squeezed orange juice)! To learn more about the hotel, check out our value-based accommodation reviews.

Restaurants: Bagni Delfino is one of our favorite restaurants in the entire world. It is a MUST VISIT! Their food is spectacular, their menu changes daily offering fresh ingredients and a fish of the day. The restaurant is elegantly decorated, with a stunning view on the sea (especially at night when the Bay of Naples is lit up).

Florence: 1 day

At a Glance: Travel early to Florence. Eat gloriously, visit the Accademia Museum and walk Ponte Vecchio.

Logistics: Have the hotel call you a taxi for the train station or have the hotel shuttle drop you off in town and walk the short distance to the train station, your choice. Again, you can either hire a private company to drive you back to Naples or take the Circumvesuviana train. Book tickets for the Frecciarossa bullet train from Naples to Florence! Once you arrive in Florence you can simply walk 5 minutes to your hotel or hop in a taxi.

Accommodations: We stayed at Hotel Porta Faenza. We chose the hotel for a few reasons, mainly because we think it’s a good value for location and price. It is located in Old Town, a 5 minute walk to the train station and walking distance to all the main attractions, at around $175/night. We found the rooms to be spacious, comfortable and clean.

Restaurants: Florence, like Rome, has plenty of restaurants to choose from so there are not any that we would specifically recommend. However, if you want a break from Italian wine (we really don’t understand why you would, but to each their own!), and you are hankering for some beer, there is a place not far from the Porta Faenza hotel called Mostodolce. It gets very busy at night, but they have a diverse beer selection.

Tuscany: 3 days

At a Glance: Travel to wine country! Pick up car at Peretola airport and drive to your agriturismo. Enjoy the beauty and charm of Tuscany. Tour a vineyard (we highly recommend getting a tour at Piombiai), visit a wine cellar and get lost along the quaint cobblestone streets.

Logistics: Arrange for a taxi from the hotelier to the airport. Prepare for the scariest ride of your life (yes, we think it was worse than a taxi ride in Rome)! Rent a car ahead of time to pick up at the airport. We rented a GPS with the car, but you can also use Google Maps if you download it ahead of time! Be careful with the speed limit, there are cameras set up everywhere running radar.

Accommodations: We have stayed in Tuscany twice, at two different locations. The first time we stayed in Montepulciano at Il Sasso and the second time we stayed in Montalcino at Piombiai. Both are beautiful agriturismos, but we prefer the town of Montepulciano (Kyle’s all time favorite restaurant is there). Wherever you .choose to stay, make sure to plan day trips to the neighboring towns.

Restaurants: Osteria Acquacheta is a MUST! You need to make reservations well ahead of time, they book out months in advance. The best steak you’ll ever have and at the most reasonable price point! They cook the steak rare, don’t try to order it any other way. However, if rare steak isn’t your thing, have no fear, their other dishes are absolutely amazing as well!

Manarola: 3 days

At a Glance: Drive to your car rental drop off location and take trains to Cinque Terre. When you arrive to Manarola, grab some wine and pesto pasta and enjoy the gorgeous balcony views from your accommodation! Throughout your stay, make the trek to the four other hillside towns - you may choose to visit by trail, train or boat! Each of the towns are unique and beautiful.

Logistics: Take the train from La Spezia to Milano Centrale, then hop on the regional train to Cinque Terre. Make sure to get a window seat on the left side of regional train, there are some AMAZING views when you emerge from each tunnel. Hiking maps can be found all over the place and are very useful for getting from town to town via trail. The train is an easy hop on hop off form of transit and only costs a handful of euros. ***NOTE: you have to stamp your ticket at the yellow colored machines BEFORE heading to the platform. This validates your ticket.***

Accommodations: There are five hillside towns to choose from in the Cinque Terre, we prefer Manarola. We stayed at a small hotel, Arpaiu, located directly on the picturesque heralded hillside. To learn more about the hotel, check out our value-based accommodation reviews.

Restaurants: Dine in a cave (or on a terrace) at Trattoria dal Billy. The restaurant has two internal rooms as well as a large open space overlooking the ocean. Owned by three generations of fisherman, dal Billy has pleasant staff and delicious food. We ordered the mixed starter which offered 12 different dishes, it was fabulous.

Lake Como: 2 days

At a Glance: Take trains from Manarola to Milan and on to Varenna. Explore the small seaside town of Varenna, and/or take a ferry over to Bellagio.

Logistics: Once at the Milan train station, you’ll be hopping on a regional train out to Varenna. Yet again, get a window seat on the left side of the train, as this is a beautiful ride.

Accommodations: The accommodation we loved in Varenna, Eremo Gaudio, is now permanantly closed. During our trips, we’ve only stayed at this hotel and have always recommended our fellow travelers to stay as well (it had an unbelievable balcony view). You can find other hotels available here.

Restaurants: There are many restaurants right along the water to dine at: Ristorante Du Lac (menu changes weekly), Al Prato and Varenna Caffe Bistrot are all great options. The favored restaurant in Varenna, Il Cavatappi, is a must visit, so make reservations ahead of time!