Tour of Italy: A Two Week Trip

For my very first official blog post, it only felt right to share one of my favorite adventures—a two-week journey through Italy.

From breathtaking coastlines and centuries of history to some of the best food I've ever tasted, it's easy to see why Italy is one of the world's most beloved travel destinations. Every stop on this trip offered something completely different, making it an unforgettable experience from beginning to end.

Our itinerary took us from the Renaissance charm of Florence to the colorful cliffs of Positano before ending our adventure in the timeless city of Rome. Each destination left its own lasting impression, and I can't wait to share them with you.

Join me as I take you through the highlights of our trip, my favorite restaurants and experiences, must-see attractions, and the travel tips I picked up along the way to help you plan your own unforgettable Italian getaway.

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Before we even booked our flights, one of the best planning decisions we made was joining a Facebook travel group dedicated to Italy. It quickly became one of my favorite travel resources.

The group was filled with travelers who had recently visited Italy and were eager to share their favorite hotels, restaurants, hidden gems, transportation tips, and must-see attractions. Reading through their recommendations helped us build our itinerary with confidence and introduced us to experiences we may have never found on our own.

If you're planning a trip to Italy—or really any destination—I can't recommend this enough. Connecting with people who have firsthand experience can make the planning process feel much less overwhelming and help you uncover places that aren't always listed in traditional travel guides.

Now that you've got a great planning resource in your back pocket, it's time to start the adventure. Let's head to Italy!

FIRST STOP : FlORENCE

Our first stop was the beautiful city of Florence. After landing in Rome, we made our way to the train station and boarded a train north to begin our Italian adventure.

The journey itself was an experience. As we traveled through the rolling hills and picturesque countryside of Tuscany, I found myself glued to the window the entire ride. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking and the perfect introduction to Italy.

Before our trip, we were a little nervous about navigating the train system since it was our first time traveling by rail in Italy. Thankfully, it turned out to be incredibly easy, efficient, and stress-free. I highly recommend booking one of the high-speed trains, which gets you from Rome to Florence in about 1 hour and 30 minutes instead of the 3+ hours required on slower regional routes. Not only did it save us valuable vacation time, but it was also one of the smoothest and most enjoyable train rides we've ever taken.

One thing we quickly discovered was just how hot Florence can be in June! We still had an amazing time, but the summer heat was definitely more intense than we expected. If the weather is an important factor when planning your travels, it's something worth keeping in mind. Be sure to pack lightweight clothing, stay hydrated, and plan for a few breaks throughout the day if you're visiting during the summer months.

For this trip, we chose to stay in Airbnbs rather than hotels, and it was one of the best decisions we made. Staying in local neighborhoods gave us a more authentic feel for each destination, introduced us to areas we may not have discovered otherwise, and made the experience feel a little more like living there than simply visiting.

As we explored Florence, we discovered so many incredible experiences that made our time in the city unforgettable. While there are countless things to see and do, a few activities stood out as absolute highlights of our trip. If you're planning a visit to Florence, I highly recommend adding some of these experiences to your itinerary. They not only gave us a deeper appreciation for the city's history and culture but also created some of our favorite memories from the entire vacation.

• Climb to the Top of the Duomo: We booked our tickets online using this website with ticket cost at around 45.00 for a person above the age of 15. For the exact tour The full roundtrip of climbing to the top of the Duomo takes about an hour to complete. This of course depends upon your speed climbing, etc. Some factors to consider when deciding if this is a great idea for you are the weather (it can get pretty toasty in the narrow stairs), as well as how comfortable you are with tight spaces. Some of the walkway with the stairs can run rather tight.

  
  

• See the Original Gucci Store: If you are a fashion lover like me, you must stop at the original Gucci store at 7 Via Della Vigna Nuova. It is neat to step inside the original store and look at all the gorgeous pieces. Everyone is so friendly and helpful inside as well. This is a must see!

  
  

• Walk Around the Uffizi Gallery: I highly recommend making this a part of your vacation. The Gallery is stunning and filled with many extraordinary, famous pieces of art such as Madonna and Child by Filippo Lippi, The Birth of Venus by Botticelli, Medusa by Caravaggio, and many more. The gallery is astounding to walk through and a must-do when in Florence. It does take some time as the Gallery is quite large, so plan accordingly to spend a few hours here.

  
  

• Visit the Galleria dell'Accademi: This was one of my favorite parts of visiting Florence. Much like the Uffizi Gallery, the Galleria dell'Accademi is home too many famous works of art. One of these works of art is the infamous David by Michelangelo. To be able to see this statue in person is incredible. I was surprised by the size and scale of just how large the scale is in person. One thing to note is this gallery is smaller in size compared to the Uffizi, and does not take as much time to walk through. You can buy your tickets at the entrance as well.

SECOND STOP: POSITANO, CAPRI, + POMPEII

Our second leg of our vacation began with a train ride to Naples. In Naples, a driver, arranged with help from our Airbnb hosts, picked us up and drove us to Positano. Rounding the corner and finally seeing the view of Positano is breathtaking. The water here is the bluest I have ever seen. Our driver dropped us off at our Airbnb located in the nearby village of Montepertuso.

I cannot say enough good things about our Airbnb the stunning Villa Laura. After researching Airbnb and reading the reviews I knew it was the perfect place for us! From breakfast, every morning to helping us arrange transportation our hosts were truly the best! As I mentioned previously I will definitely be doing a more detailed post regarding our Airbnb spots in Italy and the amazing time we had staying at Villa Laura.

Below are just a few of the incredible highlights from our trip to Positano. To say Positano is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen is an understatement. It was one of the highlights of my trip for sure, and I hope a few of these activities help you plan your next vacation.

• Walk the path of the gods: When you first start your hike on the path of the gods, it can be a little tricky to figure out where the starting point is. We took a bus from Montepertuso to Bomeron and started with the path ending in a town called Nocelle. During the hike we did cross people who began in Nocelle and planned to end in Bomeron, so I believe either way works. Also, there are some things to think about when considering if this hike is the best for you. The first thing is that you should know the path can be tricky at parts with no hand railing and rough terrain. You are right on the side of the cliffs during the hike, and it is extremely high up. If you have a fear of heights, I might not would recommend. The walk can be tricky, so please consider these things before going. We watched a lot of youtube videos to understand and research the hike before deciding, which I also recommend doing. Videos really show just how high up you are and how close to the edge the path can run. We started our hike around 5pm, so due to us not wanting to be up there during night fall with little light, we only hiked for about an hr and a half roundtrip. After speaking with others, we learned the hike can take over three hours from one end to the other.

  
  

• A Day Trip to Capri: We decided to take a day trip to Capri. After having lunch on the waterfront in Positano, we boarded our ferry and headed to the island of Capri. We bought our ferry tickets the day of at the waterfront, but I would recommend considering purchasing ahead of time. We ran into some timing issues as one of the ferries was not running. When we arrived in Capri, we met up with our boat tour guide for the next two hours. I found the boat trip on Airbnb as well. I 100% recommend doing this and looking into the different options. Four our two hour boat trip it cost a little over 200.00. There were some longer boat tours available as well as different experiences. The boat trip took us completely around the island of Capri, and I even got to stop to jump into the world, which was the bluest water I have ever seen. It was amazing to see the caves up close and the beach clubs along the island, and we even got to see some ancient Roman ruins as well. Sadly, when we were in Capri, the blue grotto was closed, but our tour guide did take us into other caves, which were incredible. We also took the boat right through Faraglioni rocks!

  
  

• Stop in Pompeii: On our way back to the train station from Positano, we asked our driver if we could stop in Pompeii for a few minutes, and he was happy to say we could stay for a few hours. I am so glad we were able to stop and visit. Upon arrival, you buy your tickets, and you then have access to the grounds and the museum, which I highly recommend stopping in. You could easily spend hours touring. In the two hours we had, we were able to see a number of the sights and visit the museum. It is such an incredible experience and absolutely worth the visit to see the ruins of history which have been preserved.

THIRD STOP: ROME

Our final stop for the vacation was in Rome. We arrived on the train from Naples and then made our way to our Airbnb near Vatican City. The area we stayed in was great with food and shops close. We even ate at the most delicious creamery shop called Gelateria Cremilla by our Airbnb, where you could watch it being made daily. I think we were here nearly every day (sometimes even twice in one day!)

Since we were within walking distance from Vatican city to our Airbnb, we spent all of our time here on our first day. Here we visited places such as the Sistine Chapel, which is stunning, toured the Vatican museums, and saw St. Peter's Basilica. Vatican city is an all-day thing to do. There is just so much to do you will spend lots of time here.

After a long day of touring the Vatican City, we headed to rest for our next days in Rome. Over the next few days, we saw so many incredible sights Rome that has to offer. We also were able to try some unique experiences as well that I think could be great for your next trip to Rome. I wanted to list a few of my favorites below.

• Golf Cart Tour: We found our lovely golf tour guide through the Facebook group I mentioned earlier. He was incredibly accommodating and so nice as well. He picked us up right at our Airbnb. He took us on a tour through the city on a golf cart, and because a golf cart is much smaller than a car, you are able to go down side streets and places you cannot normally reach. Overall the tour lasted about two hours and was a little over 200.00 US dollars. We saw everything from the Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, and the Piazza Navona just to name a few. This experience is super unique as well. Our tour guide let us stop at each destination to take pictures, as well as explained the history of them as well. Also, as our trip was made up of mostly walking to places, it was nice to sit and relax for a little while. It is such a great way to see the entire city.

  
  

• See the Trevi Fountain: We arrived at the fountain around noon. There was a crowd, but I was able to get amazing pictures. Be sure to toss a coin in to guarantee your return to Rome in the future!

  
  

• The Spanish Steps: What I really loved about going to see the Spanish steps was the atmosphere and area around them. The Piazza di Spagna is stunning, and the atmosphere around is just as great. If you love to shop there are also many designer shops around that are great to pop into.

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