I first visited Italy in my early 20s. I was just married and off we went for an extended honeymoon for three months driving around Europe. We spent two weeks in England, hiring a new Eurodrive Renault Clio in Calais France and took off for 10 weeks through Europe. It was the most exciting three months of travel. When we arrived back in Australia, the hum drum of daily life took over. I had two children, became a sole parent then 28 years flew by.

The last five years, I watched several friends post their Europe holiday photos on Facebook and I became nostalgic. I often thought back on my Europe holiday when I first went in 1991, especially the quick visit through Italy. Now both of my children had grown up and moved out of the home. It was just me and two dogs. I dug out my old photo albums and scanned them to my computer and started to post them on my Instagram. This ignited a yearning in my heart to travel.

I became determined to start traveling again and my dream was to see Italy. Early this year, I said to my partner I’m going back to Italy!  He said yes, let’s do that one day, I said yes this year!  I’m going so if you are keen, you can come along but we must start planning now, that was in February 2019.  I left on the 10 August this year for three amazing weeks in Italy.  Not only did I have a dream holiday, but I also planned every step of my 3-weeks in Italy myself.  I’m proud to say my 3 week Italy itinerary turned out perfect!

I bought my plane ticket with Emirates in February 2019, then it was real, I was going to Italy at last!

I had to start researching what locations I wanted to see and map out a route. I followed several Travel Facebook pages. These were a great source of information and inspiration. The people on the travel facebook pages especially Rick Steves’s Europe Group and Italy Travel Planning page were just as excited about Italy and traveling in general like me. My fellow Italy lovers advice proved excellent for travel tips and ideas on how best to travel to and see each location. I also bought Rick Steves Italy guidebook for expert travel tips.

At one point, I started to get overwhelmed and I lost a little confidence and it all seemed too hard. I went to a travel agent to see what they could plan for a 3 weeks in Italy itinerary.  I had to tell them my desired route and then they provided hotel choices and tours. I didn’t like their choices. The agent offered mostly large chain hotels that to me were impersonal and some weren’t in ideal locations. No doubt the agent receives a small commission from each hotel or tour. I personally prefer smaller boutique hotels, unique, unusual or Airbnb houses or apartments. My accommodation must be in walking distance from the attractions, I don’t care about close to trains etc as a short taxi to the hotel is worth it if it means I can walk out and see everything after I arrive. I was about to spend a fair amount of money on my dream holiday, and I was determined it would be perfect.  I decided to be brave and do it all myself!

The first and most important app I downloaded was TripIt.  I used the free version and it was a fantastic tool for travel.  Every booking I made, airline tickets, hotels, trains, skip the line tickets I would receive an email confirmation. TripIt then would automatically draw information from my email confirmations and create the Itinerary.  I could also go online within the app or on my computer and edit, add to each plan and print it out.  It was such a great tool.  Each plan of the Itinerary had all the information, address, map, phone numbers, website links, nearby attraction suggestions, loads of info plus payment details and so on. My partner also downloaded it so each new plan confirmation sent to my email automatically shared with him. Every step of the way he could see our Itinerary growing.  Being a methodical person who loves details and being organised, this app was just perfect for me.  TripIt sample of the type of screen view below.

My 3 Weeks in Italy Itinerary Plan

Rome – 2 nights

Naples – 1 night

Amalfi – 3 nights

Florence – 2 nights

Tuscany- 3 nights

Cinque Terre – 3 nights

Lake Como – 3 nights

Venice – 3 nights

*If you are keen to see my 3 Week Italy Itinerary unfold, then stay tuned for my next post:

Flight and Arrival Tips in Rome.

Published by Seafarrwide

Passionate woman, enjoying life, learning new things, love traveling, writing thoughts and sharing memories. View all posts by Seafarrwide