Husband and I have decided a last-minute Southern Italy vacation from December 12-27, 2018. We will be arriving in Rome on December 12, 2018 . I am just starting to look for hotels. Places we would like to visit; Colosseum, Forum, Vatican, the usual tourist spots. We would like to stay in Rome for 3 nights. We want a modern style hotel, free breakfast, walking distance or short rides to most of the tourist sites. We would like to see Reynaldo play soccer then head to Sorrento. We are considering Sorrento to be our next base to spend a few days. Then day trips to Naples Capri, Amalfi and Salerno then back to Rome. Would it be best to have a third base to stay for a few more nights somewhere on our way back to Rome? We have fifteen days to see all these. Is that doable? We love to eat, we don't mind long walks, I like to experience staying in a working vineyard or farm for a couple of nights.
Any tips regarding hotels, agriturismo, itinerary, transportation, places to eat and visit, etc. will be greatly appreciated.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
11841 posts
I think your 'wish list' is way longer than the days available.
1) You need more than 3 nights in Rome to do " the usual tourist spots"
2) Remember you will be there during the shortest daylight hours of the year
3) use something like booking.com and plug in your desires into the filtering system for that aspect.
4) Trains will get you to the areas you mention, (except for an agriturismo)
Have you been to Italy before? If so where ?
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15777 posts
A few observations . . .
It's time-consuming to go from Sorrento to Salerno. The scenic route would be bus to Amalfi, then bus to Salerno, but that's close to 3 hours bus time, not including transfer time. The faster route would be to take the local train to Naples, then a fast train to Salerno. The local train takes an hour or more. Don't count on them being on schedule. There are fast trains from Naples to Salerno that take as little as half an hour, but you'd have to allow plenty of transfer time in Naples because of the possibility of the local train being late. You might consider splitting your time and staying 3 nights in Sorrento and then 2-3 nights in Salerno. It's a little faster to get to the AC towns by bus from Salerno. You could also visit Paestum and one of the buffalo dairy farms in the area, especially if you rent a car in Salerno. I don't know if there are any places to stay or if you'd want to stay on a dairy farm. I would think there's little going on at vineyards in winter, maybe a little pruning?
3 nights in Rome gives you 2 days of sightseeing, and the first one, you may still be in a haze of jetlag, even if you manage a good night's sleep. You may do better to spend a single night and then go south, then spending your last several nights in Rome. Or you may even splurge and arrange a private transfer from Rome FCO to Sorrento. I don't know what the small towns are like on Christmas, but you will surely have more options for sightseeing and restaurants in Rome from the 24th through the 26th and you'll want to be in Rome on the 26th anyway so you are near the airport for your departure.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
I appreciate your tips. I have been to Rome, Florence, Assisi, and Venice before but first time for my husband. I agree now that you mention jetlag that probably we need to stay a few more days in Rome. Anyway, I googled where the soccer game is on December 16th and it is close to the hotel where we plan to stay. The dairy farm may be interesting. So I think our itinerary where we will be spending nights will be Rome, Sorrento and then Salerno then back to Rome. I was wondering if we have time to go to Tuscany a couple of days before heading back to the States. I have not booked all our hotels yet. Any suggestions on hotels in Rome, Sorrento and Salerno will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks again!