Trip Guide · 2026

Plan Your Trip to Italy: Rome, Tuscany & the Amalfi Coast

Italy delivers layered history, world-class food, and dramatic landscapes within a country you can cross by train in a few hours.

Best Time

April–June & September–October

Daily Budget

€120–€230 / day

Ideal Duration

10–14 days

Italy delivers layered history, world-class food, and dramatic landscapes within a country you can cross by train in a few hours. That density is a trap as much as a gift: the classic first-time mistake is six cities in ten days, arriving everywhere tired and seeing nothing properly. This 2026 guide builds a realistic ten-to-fourteen-day route around Rome, Florence, and Venice, explains ETIAS and Schengen rules, decodes high-speed rail and the ZTL driving zones that catch out visitors, and sets out honest daily budgets in euros.

01Schengen Entry Rules & ETIAS

Italy is part of the Schengen Area, so entry rules are shared across 29 European countries and the 90-days-in-180 clock counts every day spent anywhere in the zone. From 2026 the EU's Entry/Exit System registers biometrics at the border, and visa-exempt travellers additionally need an ETIAS travel authorisation. Neither replaces a passport valid for three months beyond your planned departure.

ETIAS

A €7 online authorisation valid three years or until passport expiry, taking around ten minutes to complete and usually approved within minutes. It is a pre-travel screening for visa-exempt nationalities such as the US, UK, Canada, and Australia — not a visa, and not a guarantee of entry.

Under 18 or Over 70

Free of charge, but the application is still required.

Official Portal Only

Apply on the EU's own site. Commercial intermediaries add fees for the same form.

Schengen Visa

Nationalities that need a visa apply at the Italian consulate covering their region, typically 15–45 days ahead, with travel insurance of at least €30,000 medical cover, confirmed accommodation, and proof of funds. The visa allows 90 days in any 180 across the whole Schengen zone.

Main Destination Rule

Apply to the country where you will spend the most nights, or the first point of entry if evenly split.

Insurance Proof

The €30,000 medical minimum is checked at application and can be checked again at the border.

02The Classic Two-Week Route

Rome, Florence, and Venice cover the essentials of ancient, Renaissance, and maritime Italy, and high-speed trains link them in ninety minutes to two hours each. Add one landscape leg — the Amalfi Coast, Cinque Terre, or the Dolomites — and resist the urge for more. Three nights minimum per base keeps travel days from swallowing the trip.

Rome (3–4 nights)

The Vatican Museums, Colosseum and Forum, Pantheon, and Trastevere for evening dining. Book the Vatican, Borghese Gallery, and Colosseum underground tickets weeks ahead — walk-up entry in high season means hours of queueing or nothing at all.

Early Entry

First-slot tickets at 8am at the Vatican and Colosseum are worth the early alarm in June to September.

Dress Code

Covered shoulders and knees are enforced at St Peter's and most major churches.

Florence & Tuscany (3 nights)

The Uffizi, Accademia, and Duomo complex fill two days; the third belongs to the countryside. A Chianti wine day or a Siena and San Gimignano loop shows the Tuscany people picture. Renting a car for one day out of Florence is far easier than keeping one in the city.

Museum Reservations

The Uffizi and Accademia require timed slots in peak months; buy directly from the official ticket office online.

Val d'Orcia

Pienza, Montalcino, and Montepulciano make a superb full-day drive south of Siena.

Venice (2 nights)

Stay overnight rather than day-tripping: the city transforms after the cruise crowds leave. Get lost in Cannaregio and Dorsoduro, take the number 1 vaporetto down the Grand Canal at dusk, and remember the day-visitor access fee that now applies on many peak dates.

Access Fee

Day visitors pay a booked entry contribution on designated busy days; overnight guests are exempt but must register.

Acqua Alta

High water is most likely from October to January. Raised walkways appear, but pack waterproof shoes.

03Trains, Driving & ZTL Zones

Trenitalia's Frecciarossa and the private operator Italo run frequent high-speed services between major cities, with advance fares from around €19 and walk-up prices three times higher. Regional trains need no reservation but are slow and occasionally strike-affected. Driving is only worth it for Tuscany, Puglia, and the Dolomites — and city historic centres are protected by ZTL zones where cameras issue fines automatically to unauthorised cars.

Booking Rail Smartly

Buy directly from Trenitalia or Italo. Fares open around four months ahead; the cheapest Super Economy tickets are non-refundable but half the flexible price.

Car Hire Cautions

Confirm with your hotel whether its street lies inside a ZTL and have your plate registered. Fines arrive months later via the rental agency with an administration charge on top.

04Food Culture & Eating Well

Italian eating has rhythms worth respecting: cappuccino before eleven, an aperitivo from six, dinner from eight. Coperto, the small per-person cover charge, is normal and not a scam, and tipping beyond rounding up is not expected. The best value rule remains simple — eat where the menu is short, seasonal, in Italian, and not translated into five languages outside a major monument.

Regional Specialities

Cacio e pepe and carbonara in Rome, bistecca alla fiorentina and ribollita in Florence, cicchetti and seafood risotto in Venice, and pizza in its birthplace in Naples. Ordering the region's dish rather than a national favourite is consistently the better meal.

Lunch Value

Set menù del giorno lunches at €12–€18 often use the same kitchen as a €40 dinner.

Water and Bread

Bottled water and bread are charged as items; still and sparkling both cost €2–€4.

Daily Budget

Plan on €120–€230 per person per day: €80–€150 for a mid-range room, €40–€60 for food, €10–€20 for local transport, and €25–€45 for museums and sites. Rome and Venice run above this range in summer; Puglia, Umbria, and Sicily run comfortably below it.

05Seasons, Crowds & Practicalities

April to June and September to October give warm days, workable queues, and the best light. July and August are hot — often above 35°C in Rome and Florence — and much of the country goes on holiday in mid-August, when family-run restaurants close for two weeks. Winter is genuinely rewarding in the art cities: no queues, low hotel rates, and Christmas markets in the north.

Money and Safety

Cards are accepted almost everywhere and ATMs are common, but keep €30–€50 cash for small cafés. Pickpocketing is the main risk on Rome and Naples transit; use a zipped cross-body bag on crowded buses.

Connectivity and Plugs

EU eSIMs cost €10–€20 for 10–20GB with excellent coverage. Italy uses 230V with Type C, F, and L sockets — bring an adapter that handles the three-pin L variant.