An Italy planning tool
The train is fast.
The hotel move takes longer.
Rome to Florence can take 1 hour 25 minutes by high-speed train. That is only the middle of a day spent checking out, reaching a station, crossing the city and getting into another hotel. Put your own numbers in below before adding a third base to a short trip.
What one hotel change actually costs
The starting values are editorial allowances for a Rome to Florence travel day. They are deliberately editable. The 85-minute rail example comes from Italo’s published fastest journey; your train, stations, hotel locations and check-in time may differ.
Time until you are free to explore again
4 hr 15 minThe train is 85 minutes of this total. This is a planning example, not a quoted schedule or a guaranteed transfer time.
Three ways to use seven calendar days
| Route | Nights | Hotel changes | What you gain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rome and Florence | 3 + 3 | 1 | The Colosseum, Vatican and Renaissance art, with a transfer block on day four. |
| Bologna with Modena | 6 in Bologna | 0 | Cooking, markets and a Modena day trip without repacking. |
| Naples and Sorrento | 3 + 3 | 1 | Pompeii, Naples and the bay. Check EAV’s current rail timetable for the transfer. |
A Modena day trip uses travel time too, but your luggage stays in Bologna and the day ends at the same hotel. That is a different kind of cost.
My rule for adding a stop
If the extra city is mainly a name you want to fit into the trip, keep the nights where they are. If it changes what the trip is for, as Florence does for someone coming to see Renaissance art, spend the transfer time and stay at least two nights. This is why I would choose one of these routes over a Rome, Florence and Venice race in six nights.
See the full seven-day comparison for the daily plans and what each trip deliberately leaves out.