After reading blogs on this website about how to plan trips for Norway (northern Europe), Paris and Amsterdam (central Europe), Hungary-Slovakia-Austria- Croatia (mid eastern Europe), Portugal (south-western Europe), here comes a blog about planning a a trip to Italy.

Italy!!! Ohhh another country which is on everyone’s list. I have to confess this Italy plan only covers three cities, as it is meant for first time Italy travelers, not for veterans. I have many more cities yet on my bucket list and will be completing them in coming years. So much more to look forward, nevertheless first trips to any country are equally fun!

Let’s start with planning the Italy trip

Things to consider for our trip

• Plan a trip for a couple
• Visit at least three places in Italy – Rome, Florence and Milan
• Book accommodation suitable for these three places
• Total trip days: 5 days! Finish it off in Easter holidays of Sweden
• Have to eat Italian food, view ancient ruins and wonder why are we here only for 5 days! 😦

Travel Route and means of transport

• Stockholm – Rome by flight
• Rome to Florence by train
• Florence to Milan by train
• Milan to Stockholm by flight

Book an air travel ticket

I booked our tickets in November for my Easter vacations! I think this was the most proactive I had been for a vacation. This might be due to the fact that winters in Sweden were approaching and I was already looking for an escape! Stockholm-Rome flight was a 3 hour journey and we arrived at Leonardo da Vinci Airport at Fiumicino. Rome has another airport called Ciampino Airport used by budget airlines Easyjet and Ryanair.

How to reach the city from Airport?

There are many bus services available at the airport. We booked one on the spot at the airport itself. There is some waiting time as they organize people travelling to the same region of Rome in the same bus.

Did we book the Roma Pass?

We booked Roma Pass at the Fiumicino airport. Roma Pass saves you time and money. Currently the website mentions that Roma Pass provides two free visits to the museums and archaeological sites on their list. But when we booked back in April 2018, it showed validity for only one visit to any one site. We used this to our advantage while visiting the Colosseum.

Itinerary of the trip

Reach Lisbon by afternoon of first day

Day 1 (half day), Day 2: Explore Rome

Day 3: Travel to Florence by train. Reach by afternoon, explore half of the day

Day 4: Move to Milan and Explore Milan

Day 5: Leave for Stockholm

Book comfortable accommodation

We stayed in hostels for the entire trip of Italy. As usual all the hostels were booked via hostelworld.com. We stayed at Funny Palace Rome which was very close to the Rome Termini train Station. The place itself was safe and clean. The owner also provided us with breakfast at nearby cafe as it was included in the booking. He was so friendly that he even gave us a free red wine bottle which we carried with us enjoyed during rest of the days. Archi Rossi hostel in Florence was close to station, had beautiful decor in lobby area, had a canteen type kitchen and was a comfortable stay as well. Ostello Bello Grande Milan hostel was more like a Hotel. Located near the central station, this hostel is very professionally managed in a huge building. Three different cities provided three very distinct hostel experiences. Infact, someday I am going to write a detailed blog post about hostels.

Book the connecting modes of transport

Rome to Florence

We traveled from Rome to Florence via train. Train was from Roma Termini to Firenze SMN. This Italo train journey was of one and half hour journey and it costed us around 40 euros even though we booked it 2 months in advance. Such a ticket provides a reserved seat and coach in the train.

Florence to Milan

We booked our train for Milan from Florence on GoEuro website. The train carrier was Italo and it costed us around 35 euros (2 persons) for one and half hour journey. Such a ticket provides a reserved seat and coach in the train. We took the train from Firenze Santa Maria Novella till Milano Rogoredo.

Hope you find this quick guide helpful. I will write some more interesting ‘what to see’ articles in all the three cities. Also let me know which cities and places of Italy would you recommend me to visit next. It is definitely high on my priority list as soon as I resume travelling.