Planning my 1st trip to Italy and looking for itinerary help

[CuriousRaven]

Hello all.
So I've decided to treat myself at the end of my transfer degree in 2 years with the trip to Italy I've always wanted before starting uni. I don't know anyone who would be able to afford to go with me so I will be travelling alone. I live in the states and this will be my first trip out of the country by myself as I've only ever gone to Mexico with family before. I'm not really too worried about the alone part as I will be 32 by the time this trip happens and I'm confidant I can handle a little male attention.

As I will be saving and paying for this on a students budget I have already started looking into prices and a general itinerary and am now looking for some advice on where I should spend more of my time.

I'm looking to go for about 2 weeks and my original thoughts were to hit the big 3 first: Venice, Florence and then Rome, spending a few days in each before heading to the Amalfi Coast and spending the remainder of my time there. However, I'm wondering if I should add another city onto my trip such as Bologna or Naples and spend less time on the coast. Or even spending a couple more days in Rome?

I will be using trains and buses to get myself around so I don't want to add anything to my itinerary that would eat up too much time with travel but I would like to make the most of my trip as I'm sure it will be awhile before I can make it back again since the next trip to Europe after that will be Ireland with my Grandma.

Any suggestions would be helpful so that I can smooth my plans out a bit more.

Thanks!
Angelina

[Host Ciao]

I certainly agree that you should see the "Big Three" cities that you mentioned. The Amalfi Coast is beautiful, and local bus transportaion is available. I don't know where you are flying into, but once you are in Rome, you can take the train to the Central Naples station and if you don't want to stop in Naples, which is a fascinating, lively city, you can take the Circumvesuviana train from the depths of the Naples station that will get you to Sorrento, from where it is easy to take a bus down the coast.
If you want to check out Bologna, it is often a stop on the line from Venice to Florence and perhaps a train change. It is an interesting city too. I certainly applaud your idea of taking the train and bus to travel around Italy. I have done that myself except for my first trip, which was a tour.
I can't give you much advice on hotels/hostels is the latter is what you choose to stay in, but I expect you can search for it on Google or even on the Italy info pages of Independent Traveler. Another guide aimed at budget travelers is Lonely Planet.
If you are planning on two weeks, there is much to see. I suggest you do some basic reading to decide what you want to see in the Big Three, the Amalfi Coast, and perhaps more places. You will need to decide what time of year you want to take this trip. Summer is very crowded. When you develop your ideas and have more questions please send them in. I am sure you will receive answers.
Sincerely,
Host Ciao
Italy Board Monitor

[soliteyah]

Sounds like a fun trip, congrats! I'd say Venice needs a good 2 days to hit the highlights, Florence needs 3 (maybe 2 if you're not into museums, more if you want to do a few day trips to pretty Tuscan towns nearby) and Rome needs 3 - 4. The Amalfi Coast could definitely take up the rest of your time if you wanted to sightsee in a leisurely fashion and take side trips to Pompei/Herculaneum, Naples, etc.

I second Host Ciao's comment that summer is crowded -- spring or fall would be really nice times to travel, unless you have your heart set on swimming when you're in the Amalfi area. Spring and fall would also be cheaper than summer for airfare, hotels, etc.

You'll want to look into an Italy rail pass to see if it might save you money over point-to-point tickets. (You can compare at RailEurope.com.) Good sites for hostels include Hostels.com and HostelWorld.com. And as Host Ciao said, read, read, read! Make a list of your absolute must-sees and go from there.

Good luck!

[Campbel37]

I'm confidant I can handle a little male attention.

Are you into nightlife? Evenings in Bologna great, been there once! They call it “pistachio gelato and a twilight passeggiata” to stylish Via Santo Stefano, here night-outs fill the frescoed spaces of ancient palaces. But you’re alone unfortunately; I hope you get some one to enjoy the famous symphonic concerts of the Teatro Comunale.
Enjoy yourself!!!

[CuriousRaven]

Thanks for the help everyone! ^_^

Host Ciao ~ I'm pretty sure I'm going to fly into Venice and work my way down before flying out of Naples so that I'm not doing alot of backtracking. I'm probably looking at going in September. Because I want to go a couple weeks I have to fit it in during my summer break which means July-September and of those months I think September is going to be best.

soliteyah ~ Thanks for the day estimates, they're very close to what I was tentatively writing into my plan book. I would love to travel in the fall but I wouldn't be able to miss that much uni. The rail site was very helpful as well as it's alittle easier to navigate than one of the others I found.

Campbel37 ~ I do enjoy a bit of nightlife! I will def keep your suggestion in mind.

[soliteyah]

I think of your potential travel months, September would definitely be best -- it's outside the absolute peak time for crowds/expensive airfare, and the weather should be starting to cool off at least a little.

Glad the rail site was helpful. Do come back if you have more questions.

[mcolombo78]

Amalfi coast is a little bit more expensive then Rome, even if you travel with public transport (restaurants, hotels, boat hire etc remains expensive!); Naples is definitively cheaper and full of "must see". In my opinion you could also consider some italian center city like Perugia, Assisi or Urbino, really nice for art lover and really cheap.

[blujeans]

I think Florence is good for 2 days unless you want to wander the awesome villages in Tuscany. Rome requires more days!! It is my favorite place on earth though, so I'm biased! The Amalfi Coast is awesome but may be more time consuming to get to than you want when you could go from Florence to Cinque Terre, which is amazing & can be walked in a day. However, if you do go to the Amalfi Coast, you must take a day to visit Capri.

I totally recommend Couchsurfing. There are many willing & friendly surfers in all of those areas to make your trip more memorable & cheaper!