Iconic Italy: Self-Launched (Venice to Rome)

Land at Marco Polo and take the Alilaguna Arancio water bus to Guglie (~£13), or the ATVO bus to Piazzale Roma (~£9) if you're on a tight budget. Check into a hostel or guesthouse in Cannaregio — the same quiet, local-feeling neighbourhood the tour uses, minus the four-star price. In the evening do your own orientation loop: Fondamenta della Misericordia, the Rialto Bridge, Piazza San Marco at dusk and back along the Zattere. Grab a spritz and cicchetti in Cannaregio rather than on the tourist drag.

🚌Alilaguna water bus from airport ~£13, or ATVO bus + walk ~£9

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse, Cannaregio (e.g. Anda Venice or a Cannaregio B&B)

• →Self-guided Cannaregio wandering
• →Rialto Bridge and Piazza San Marco by night
• →Cicchetti and spritz crawl

Buy a 24-hour ACTV vaporetto pass (~£21) and head to Murano on line 3 or 4.2. Book a small-group glass furnace visit direct with a Murano workshop or through GetYourGuide (~£25–35) — you'll watch a maestro blow glass and see the showroom. Continue to Burano for the coloured houses and a cheap seafood lunch, and optionally Torcello. Back in Venice, use the pass for a traghetto (standing gondola ferry, £2) across the Grand Canal instead of paying £60+ for a private gondola. Evening free to explore Castello.

🚌24h ACTV vaporetto pass ~£21

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse, Cannaregio

• →Murano glassblowing workshop (~£30)
• →Burano island
• →Traghetto canal crossing (£2)
• →Optional Guggenheim Collection (~£13)

Take an early Trenitalia regional train from Venezia S. Lucia to La Spezia (change at Bologna or Florence, ~5–6 hrs, ~£35 if booked ahead). Drop bags at a guesthouse near La Spezia Centrale or in Riomaggiore. Buy the Cinque Terre Card Treno (~£20) for unlimited village trains plus trail access, then hike the classic Monterosso–Vernazza–Corniglia stretch (~4–5 hrs, moderate). Swim at Monterosso and finish with pesto and focaccia in Vernazza. Note the Sentiero Azzurro sections open/close seasonally — check the Cinque Terre National Park site the day before.

🚌Trenitalia regional Venice–La Spezia ~£35 book-ahead; Cinque Terre Card ~£20

🛏Budget guesthouse or hostel, La Spezia or Riomaggiore

• →Monterosso to Vernazza to Corniglia coastal hike
• →Village train hopping
• →Swim at Monterosso

Morning swim or a short boat trip to Portovenere (ferry from Riomaggiore/La Spezia ~£10 each way, seasonal). Then take an afternoon regional train to Florence (~2.5 hrs, ~£17). Check into a hostel in Santa Croce or near the station. Do your own aperitivo hour in the Oltrarno — Piazza Santo Spirito bars do a drink-plus-buffet for £8–12 — then wander to Piazzale Michelangelo for sunset, saving the walk for tomorrow if you'd rather split it up.

🚌Regional train La Spezia–Florence ~£17; optional ferry to Portovenere ~£20 return

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse, Santa Croce / near Firenze S.M.N.

• →Oltrarno aperitivo
• →Sunset at Piazzale Michelangelo
• →Optional Portovenere day trip

Self-guided morning walk: Il Duomo (exterior free; book the dome climb ~£30 if you want it), Piazza della Signoria, Ponte Vecchio and a coffee stop. For lunch, do the market experience yourself at Mercato Centrale / San Lorenzo — pecorino and salumi plates, lampredotto from a street stall, artisanal cantucci — roughly £15–20 total. Afternoon: cross to Santo Spirito and Santa Maria Novella neighbourhoods, or book a small-group food tour on GetYourGuide (~£45) if you'd rather have a guide and tastings bundled in.

🚌All on foot

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse, Santa Croce

• →Self-guided Duomo / Signoria / Ponte Vecchio walk
• →Mercato Centrale food crawl (~£18)
• →Optional small-group Florence food tour (~£45)

Pre-book timed tickets direct: Galleria dell'Accademia for Michelangelo's David (~£18) and the Uffizi (~£22), or pick one and use the rest of the day for the Pitti Palace/Boboli Gardens (~£16) or the Medici Chapels (~£8–28). Book online at the official Uffizi/Accademia sites — much cheaper than resellers and saves the queue. Evening: cheap trattoria dinner in San Frediano, then a slow walk back through the centre to see the buildings lit up with far fewer crowds.

🚌All on foot

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse, Santa Croce

• →Galleria dell'Accademia (~£18)
• →Uffizi Gallery (~£22)
• →Optional Pitti Palace or Medici Chapels
• →San Frediano dinner

High-speed Frecciarossa or Italo Florence–Napoli Centrale, ~3 hrs, ~£30–55 booked in advance. Stay in the centro storico or Chiaia in a budget hotel/guesthouse — Naples budget accommodation is notably cheap. Do your own Naples food tour: pizza fritta or a margherita at a historic pizzeria (£6–10), fried snacks from a friggitoria, then sfogliatella and gelato. Evening orientation walk through Via Toledo, Galleria Umberto I, Piazza del Plebiscito and the Royal Palace exterior. Stay street-smart with your bag in the station area.

🚌High-speed train Florence–Naples ~£40 (book ahead)

🛏Budget hotel or guesthouse, centro storico / Chiaia

• →Self-guided Naples street-food crawl (~£20)
• →Via Toledo / Plebiscito / Galleria Umberto I walk

Take the Circumvesuviana train from Napoli to Pompei Scavi (~£3, 35 mins — watch for pickpockets). Buy your Pompeii entry direct (~£17) and download an audio guide app or use the official audioguide (~£6) in place of the tour's archaeologist. Spend 3–4 hrs there, and optionally add Herculaneum or the Vesuvius crater bus (~£12 + park entry ~£10). Continue on the Circumvesuviana to Sorrento (~£4). Evening orientation stroll: Piazza Tasso, the Marina Grande fishing harbour and the Villa Comunale clifftop views over the Bay of Naples.

🚌Circumvesuviana trains ~£7 total

🛏Budget hotel or guesthouse, Sorrento (book well ahead — summer prices spike)

• →Pompeii entry with audio guide (~£23)
• →Sorrento orientation walk

Cheapest way to Capri is the public ferry from Sorrento (~£20–24 return, ~20 mins) — far less than the tour's £100+ excursion. On the island, skip the overpriced boat tour and hike up to Villa Jovis or walk the Pizzolungo coastal path for free. Take the local bus up to Anacapri (£4) and the chairlift to Monte Solaro (~£10) for the best views. Swim at the free Marina Piccola or Bagni di Tiberio. Back in Sorrento, dinner at a Marina Grande trattoria. Alternative rainy-day plan: Ischia by ferry (~£18 return) or the Correale Museum (~£6).

🚌Sorrento–Capri ferry ~£22 return; local buses ~£6

🛏Budget hotel or guesthouse, Sorrento

• →Capri ferry and island hike
• →Monte Solaro chairlift (~£10)
• →Marina Piccola swim
• →Optional Ischia ferry

Take the SITA SITA bus Sorrento–Amalfi (~£3, ~1.5 hrs; get there early for a seat on the right side for the views) or the seasonal ferry (~£12). Base yourself in Amalfi town or, cheaper and better for hiking, Agerola (Bomerano). Visit a family lemon farm and limoncello cellar — small producers around Sorrento/Amalfi take direct visits for ~£15–20, often with tasting. Afternoon swim at Marina Grande and explore Amalfi's Duomo. Stop at Positano on the way (bus or ferry hop ~£4) for the classic view from Via Cristoforo Colombo.

🚌SITA bus ~£3–8; optional ferry ~£12

🛏Budget guesthouse, Amalfi or Bomerano/Agerola

• →Lemon farm and limoncello tasting (~£18)
• →Positano viewpoint stop
• →Amalfi town and Duomo

The Path of the Gods (Sentiero degli Dei) is free and self-navigable: bus from Amalfi to Bomerano (~£2), then hike Bomerano–Nocelle (~2.5–3 hrs, moderate, exposed — go early, bring water, check weather). Note a few sections have seasonal closures; the Amalfi Coast tourism office posts current status. Finish with the 1,700 steps down to Positano or a bus from Nocelle. Book lunch at a hillside agriturismo direct by phone/email (~£20–25 for a fixed farm-to-table menu with house wine). Afternoon: swim at Positano's Fornillo beach. Bus back to base.

🚌Local buses ~£6

🛏Budget guesthouse, Amalfi or Bomerano/Agerola

• →Path of the Gods hike (free)
• →Agriturismo farm lunch (~£22)
• →Fornillo beach swim

Bus or ferry back to Salerno (~£4–10), then a high-speed Frecciarossa/Italo Salerno–Roma Termini (~2 hrs, ~£25–45 booked ahead). Stay in Monti or near Termini — cheaper than the centre and walkable to everything. Evening self-guided walk: Spanish Steps, Via dei Condotti, Trevi Fountain (go after 9pm for fewer crowds), the Pantheon exterior, Piazza Navona and Campo de' Fiori. Dinner in Trastevere or Monti — a plate of cacio e pepe plus house wine for £15–20.

🚌Bus/ferry to Salerno ~£7; high-speed train to Rome ~£35

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse, Monti / Termini

• →Self-guided Baroque fountain walk
• →Trastevere or Monti dinner

Book Colosseum + Roman Forum + Palatine combined entry direct on the official Parco Colosseo site (~£18, timed slot; skip resellers). Spend the morning there. Lunch: street food — supplì, pizza al taglio, trapizzino near Campo de' Fiori, £8–12. Afternoon: Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel (~£18 direct, plus St Peter's Basilica free but expect a queue — pre-book a timed entry or go late). Cheap self-guided street-food walk along Testaccio instead if you prefer food over museums — same experience as the £55 tour, about £12.

🚌Metro/bus day ticket ~£6

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse, Monti / Termini

• →Colosseum / Forum / Palatine combined ticket (~£18)
• →Vatican Museums (~£18) or free basilica
• →Testaccio street-food walk (~£12)

Final morning: a farewell espresso and cornetto, Trastevere lanes or the Villa Borghese park if there's time. Take the Leonardo Express from Termini to Fiumicino (~£12, 32 mins) or the regional FL1 (~£7) for the airport. If you're staying on, add a cheap A/R regional train to Ostia Antica or Tivoli. Transfer times: allow 2 hrs before an intra-Europe flight, 3 hrs for long-haul.

🚌Leonardo Express ~£12 or FL1 regional ~£7

🛏Checkout

• →Final morning walk
• →Airport transfer