Italy still stands as one of my favorite trips ever. The country offers a great blend of food, history, scenery, and culture. It was also one of those trips that just worked. For anyone that has traveled, they know the feeling when a trip just works and you are fully satisfied with your itinerary. My trip to Italy was just that. Here is a brief overview of how I did it.
Day 1: Fly Into Naples
Day 2: Naples-Excursion to Pompeii and Amalfi Coast
Day 3: Rome-Colosseum and Forum
Day 4: Rome-Vatican Excursion, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and Spanish Steps
Day 5: Rome-Free Day and Trastevere
Day 6: Florence-City
Day 7: Florence-Excursion to Tuscany
Day 8: Florence-Excursion to Pisa and Night in Florence
Day 9: Venice-City
Day 10: Venice- Burano and Murano Excursion
Naples
Naples is a great entry point if you have the option to choose where to land. I chose it mainly for its proximity to Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast which were two things I wanted to see on the trip. There isn’t a ton to see in Naples, but landing here definitely meant a good opportunity to try the world famous Naples Pizza. It did not disappoint! This meal was just the start of amazing food in Italy.
Pompeii and Amalfi
Package day tours can be found that take you to both Pompeii and Amalfi from Naples. It is an all-day experience that can cost you anywhere between $100-$200, but the price is definitely well worth it.
Pompeii is an old Roman City that dissolved in 79 A.D. after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius volcano. Luckily for all of us, many of the ruins remain, and the city is still recognizable. I’ve seen many ruins but Pompeii was different. The city and its layout are very recognizable which made the walk through it feel a lot more real. Having a guide or reading up on your history can help enhance your experience as well. It is always nice visually experiencing history while also having an understanding of what it is you are seeing.
About an hour away from Pompeii, is the Amalfi Coast. The drive by the coast is extremely difficult to navigate. The roads are narrow and there are tons of cars and large buses trying to drive on what is essentially a one-way street. It’s pretty amazing to see. Going here via a tour is useful as you won’t have to worry about driving and instead get to enjoy the scenery. If your driver is good, you may also make a few cool pit stops along the way. We got the opportunity to stop for some delicious Limoncello (an alcoholic drink famous in Italy) as well as a stop to see the gorgeous waters of Blue Grotto Cave.
The town of Amalfi itself is very pleasant, however, Amalfi is one of those places where the journey is better than the destination. You’ll leave the tour remembering the scenic drive more than the city itself.
Pictures Along the Amalfi Coast Drive:
Amalfi Coast Town:
Rome
Rome ended up being my favorite city in Italy. It was a walking history lesson. What I loved about Rome was how it felt as if two cities were merged into one. You had your current day modernish city with regular stores and buildings, merged with ancient day Roman structures. I still remember being constantly surprised as I walked through an ordinary street only to suddenly run into the Grand Colosseum or to look down and see thousand-year-old ruins. If you plan to visit Rome, be sure to read my Rome guide as well (post coming soon!)
Florence
Florence had a completely different feel than Rome. The city has a more modern and artistic look to it. Florence is home to many art galleries, and its buildings and cathedrals are incredibly well designed. If you love art, you can spend days here as the art museums are some of the best in Europe. I personally am not an art fanatic which is why I preferred Rome over Florence. That being said, Florence is a must stop for any traveler to Italy. The city is really beautiful and the architecture here is awesome.
The highlight for me was the Florence Cathedral and the climb up the Dumo. The exterior and interior of this Cathedral are astonishing. To get to the top, you have to walk up some very old and narrow staircases. It’s a hike to the top but the view from the Dumo is worth it. The minute you step out onto the terrace, you will see an explosion of red from all of Florence’s red roof buildings.
Tuscany
From Florence, we booked a day-long wine tasting excursion in the Tuscany region. There are several tour options available and I would advise asking your hotel concierge for tour suggestions.This was amazing and so worth a full day commitment. The Italian countryside is beautiful and a nice change of pace from the busy city life. As you drive to your destination, be sure to enjoy the highland scenery.
You’ll also get a chance to learn about one of Italy’s most popular drinks…wine! A good tour will probably teach you how the wine is made and go through some of the basics of wine such as understanding its color, texture, and tastes. I think the thing everyone enjoyed the most however was the lesson on spinning and sniffing wine the right way. The room was a mess of inexperienced wine drinkers attempting to look sophisticated, which turned out to be a very entertaining time. The tour ended with a nice meal coupled with many different pairing wines. All that Italian wine made for an even more fun bus ride back!
Pisa
Admittedly, I took this day trip from Florence just to say I saw one of the Wonders of the World. I was hesitant to do this however, as I thought the “lean” in the leaning tower of Pisa was exaggerated. Never the less, I decided I had to go see it. The train ride to Pisa from Florence is about an hour long so it is not a huge commitment or loss of a day.
Upon arrival at the tower, I was surprised by how much this building actually was leaning. Sometimes pictures just don’t do justice to a place. Everything looks better in person. Since I was here, I also bought tickets to enter the tower and climb up to the top. The tickets are for select time slots so sometimes a wait is required. Around the tower, there is an open field which is a nice place to enjoy lunch, people watch, and relax as you wait for your allotted time.
When I finally started going up, the “lean” really hit me as I could feel the slant in my body. It was honestly a very unique walk up the tower. The view from above is not to bad as well but it is not as nice as the one you’ll see from the Dumo in Florence.
Overall, the tower ended up surprising me and made me feel at ease with my choice to come to see it. The total excursion took about four hours which was worth the time to see one of the world’s more famous structures. We got back to Florence by mid-afternoon which allowed us enough time to finish seeing anything that still remained undone.
Venice
No trip to Italy is complete without a stop in Venice. Venice is a great city to end your trip with. There isn’t as much sightseeing to do as in Florence or Rome, but the concept of this city is very unique. It was as if you took your ordinary city and replaced all the roads with water. My favorite thing to do in Venice was just relaxing by the waterfront at night, and watching the boats pass by. If you’re in Venice for more than one day, day trips to Burano (known for colorful houses) and Murano (glass-making island) are great excursions. Apart from that, just enjoy strolling by the water, seeing the boats, living in an incredibly unique place, and of course who could forget the famous Venice gondola rides!
Italy Reaction
Italy has something for everyone and that is what I loved about it the most. History, food, scenery, romance or art, you name it and it is there. To this day, I still crave the incredible Italian food, in particular the amazing yet simplistic tomato sauce. YUM! I loved this trip and I am almost positive I will return back in the near future. If you are planning on visiting, make sure you do it right. Allot enough days and have your itinerary squared out. This is one trip you wont want hastily plan.
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