ITALY Readers's Tips - Hi fish, Florence is the transportation hub of Tuscany.Very easy to get to Pisa/Lucca and Siena. Are you planning on driving around Tuscany I suggest that, since you are going to the Amalfi Coast, you drop the CT and add the time to Rome. Is there a reason why you are skipping Venice Do you already have your airplane tickets

hi ira, thanks for your response.no, we dont have the flight booked yet. have heard mixed reviews on venice and i know, everyone has their opinion but i dont know, at the most i guess we would do a day trip.is this a big mistake yes, we'd like to drive around tuscany, unless that is a bad idea.i have looked into some farmstays near florence, btw fl and siena etc and just wondered how accessible tuscany's regions are from there via car. thought about dropping CT but then i couldnt because i have heard SO much amazing stuff about it and we love hiking, outdoors type of stuff, coastlines (hence the amalfi as well.is there comparable hiking and village life along the amalfi which is better for beauty, italian culture, less touristy in septand32; also, could you tell me if the weather is much worse at the end of sept/early oct bc we could go a little later and try to miss crowds but we still want great weather in tuscany and to swim etc. thanks a lot. fish Hi fish, I had heard mixed reviews on Venice too, so I skipped it on my first trip to Italy, but visited on a following trip.Venice is a wonderful city, however, some people really love it and some really don't.If you don't have time for it and it's not a priority, then plan on it for your next trip. In the Tuscany area, if you plan to rent a car, then I suggest you plan your stay in a town other than Florence.Florence is a complete headache with a car.Parking is extremely difficult and the streets are a navigational nightmare.If you plan to stay in Siena, ask your hotel if they have car park available prior to booking.The old center of Siena is no good with a car, but if you find a hotel outside the old center, a car may be ok. I've been to both CT and the Amalfi Coast, both are gorgeous.I prefer the Amalfi Coast.While both are touristy (even in Sept, the Amalfi is more spread out so you may not be bumping into tourists such as the CT.I was in CT in Sept of 2003, and it was completely overrun by tourists.There didn't seem to be any authenticity left.I admit that it was beautiful and unlike anything I've ever seen, yet I couldn't get away from the throngs of tourists for a real Italian experience. Hope this helps.

For a first visit to the Amalfi coast for 5 days, if I wanted to visit other places such as Capri and Pompeii, I would choose the town of Amalfi http://www.alfitouristoffice./.Amalfi has a range of accommodations and good transportation to the many attractions of the Amalfi coast and beyond, a beautiful big harbor and much level space, unlike Positano which has many staircases and felt qui

Popular Italy Hotels