mizzee Loc: Boston,Ma

I adored my Nikon 16-85 lens when we went National Park-ing! Great walk around lens, not too heavy and tack sharp. I had a d7000 paired with it. That and a 35mm prime or thereabouts would work really well. Leave the heavy beast at home. I took my 70-200 lens on our park trip and only used it twice in the 6 weeks we were gone. Have fun and remember to step away from the camera and just take it all in. Don’t forget a raincoat for your camera!

Blaster34 Loc: Florida Treasure Coast

Not to worry though, they'll sell you those cheap plastic boots right there at the train station before you get on the Vaporetta....

John Howard Loc: SW Florida and Blue Ridge Mountains of NC.

Lira has not been in circulation for 20 years. You can get Euro from a “hole in the wall” their expression for a automatic teller /cash station. Inform your US bank in advance so they don’t block you.

d2b2 Loc: Catonsville, Maryland, USA

The Wife and I are going in late September for 16 days. We are doing a combination of train and car, but have hired a driver for one day along the Amalfi Coast. We are staying a day or two in each Salerno and Positano. It will be helter-skelter visit, but our goal is to do an overview and determine where to concentrate our time during our next trip.

Blaster34 Loc: Florida Treasure Coast

If it hasn't already been said, The Uffizi in Florence is an absolute MUST, get your tickets on line, much easier

Bird Dawg Loc: Georgia

All of those locations are wonderful places to enjoy taking photos. Beautiful country gives beautiful photograph opportunities.

NewBEE161 Loc: Olney, Maryland

Enjoy a steak in Florence. They are well known for their beef.

John Howard Loc: SW Florida and Blue Ridge Mountains of NC.

If you are going to Rome anyway the city center is a nice place to spend a few days. A lot to see and shoot. I went to school there back in the ‘70s and have been many times on business. Spending 4 days there in October between trips to northern Greece and Tuscany. Cinque Terre be prepared to hike and allow one day per town. Positano a long way difficult trip for one town. Florence and Siena a good two days surrounded by good countryside. Venice a trip of its own. Bologna very historic and beautifull with best pasta. I could go on and on ....

FrankR Loc: NYC

As you’re going over a week early, see if your company will have your ticket rewritten and fly into either Milan or Venice. If so, spend some time in each city and then go south to Rome to join your group. There are trains that will get you to Rome from either city in around 3.5 hours. Besides all the beauty and magic of Venice, you can take excursions to the lagoon islands or go to Padova, which is a beautiful little city about half an hour away, loaded with history and great photo ops. In Milan, purchase tickets in advance to see Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece, The Last Supper. Visit the Duomo in Milan and make sure to go up to the roof for spectacular views over the city. You can get to Lake Como by train (and they run frequently) in about forty minutes. An hour east of Milan is Bergamo and spending some time in the old heart of the city, the Citta’ Alta or upper city is well worth the time and effort. Beautiful architecture, old fortifications and not a lot of crowds. If you can’t change your ticket, while in Rome you can go south to Naples and the Amalfi Coast and spend a couple of days there. Note that some hotels, shops, etc close in Nov. You can also take day trips from Rome to the countryside outside the city, know as the Castelli Romano. It’s several towns which include Castel Gandolfo, the pope’s summer residence and Frascati, famous for its white wine. Perugia and Assisi are not far away and there are excursions availaable to both cities. The hotel concierge can make all the arrangements for you. From Florence, Sienna, San Gimignano, Pisa and Lucca are all easy to get to and worth the trip. The same applies to Bologna, which will not be crowded, has a lot to see and some of the best food in Italy. It’s not without reason the city is called, “Bologna la Grassa,” Bologna the Fat. What ever you decide, you won’t be bored, run out of things to do or photo ops.

lsimpkins Loc: SE Pennsylvania

All good points. And it would be great to have a bank card that does not charge foreign transaction fees. Mine refunded all my fees once I returned from a European trip.

rustfarmer

Lens choice depends on what you like to shoot. I used my 70-300 quite a bit as I like architectural details. Also used my wide lens for landscapes. I disagree about Amalfi and Capri being not so photogenic, as I love this area.

Ed Chu Loc: Las Vegas NV

in Florence, you can see the usual stuff in one day or less; go over the bridge to the other side and wander around the neighborhood; I cam across a Sunday bazaar in a church courtyard where food
was being cooked and sold, lots of photo opportunities; Piti Palace is awesome; from Florence take the train and go west to Lucca, and, Pisa

Mike1017

24-70 will work fine it's my choice love it Mike

Latsok Loc: Recently moved to Washington State.

Thank you for asking your question, I was about to ask almost an identical question. We are going on a Venice to Rome (via Adriatic Sea, Greek islands, Sicily, and Naples) cruise in Oct-Nov, and have added an extra 10 days to spend time in Venice, Florence and Rome.
I too, will be using a Nikon 7100 and am planning on taking my Tamron 18-400 mm lens. As I would like to travel light, would this one lens be enough, or should I consider a back up lens - should there be a malfunction? If so, what range? We did some research on things to do/see in each location, and the UHH suggestions seem to be the most interesting of all places I've read about.
Does anyone have an idea as to what the weather is like in Italy in November? Temperatures, rain, etc. last time I was in Rome, it was in July and the temperatures exceeded 100 F.
It would be fun if we ran across each other in Italy! Happy travels and best of luck with photographing those amazing places.

Bykewrydr Loc: Alberta

Don't forget Lago Como and Bellagio... there is no one nice place in Italy, it's just one new wonderful experience after another... from the people to the food to the scenery ... an 18/135 is all you need, keep it simple and enjoy.