Hi everyone! I am going to italy next month for seven days. The plan is to spend 3 days in rome (for a conference), 2 days in florence (including day trip to pisa) and a day in venice (returning to florence with latest evening train). My conference ends on a wednesday around 5pm and i was thinking about taking evening train to salerno (reaches close to midnight). Do you guys think it would be feasable to spend all of thursday visiting positano and maybe sorrento and then heading home thursday night? My flight back to australia leaves rome on friday afternoon. I'm just having trouble deciding on whether I should attempt this positano trip..or just spend my last day in italy in Rome before heading home. I look forward to your advice. :)
Posted by
Chicago
7808 posts
So you are going to Florence including the day trips before the conference?
I would either cut Pisa or Venice, it is trying to do too much. And I don't see
the Amalfi Coast part as worth the time spent to get there and get around for a 24 hour visit. Save it for another time on vacation not tied to the end business trip.
Posted by
WPB, FL & Firenze
3112 posts
While I wouldn't recommend going to Amalfi Coast for just one day nor would I do it myself, it is feasible if it checks an item off your bucket list. If you do decide to go, spend 20 euro more and take the 18:50 direct Freccia train that gets you to Salerno almost 3 hours earlier instead of taking the much slower 18:56 train that arrives very late and requires 2 changes. You could return to Rome on Thursday evening on the 19:25 direct Freccia train from Salerno, or return from Napoli Centrale where there are more options for direct evening Freccia trains. The one big downside I see for this trip is that, unless you plan to return to your lodging in Salerno before departing for Rome, you'll very likely be dragging your luggage around with you all day on Thursday. Maybe you could store most of your luggage at your Thursday night hotel in Rome and just take a small backpack with one change of clothes and essentials to Amalfi Coast.
Posted by
Portland
3592 posts
There’s very little to do in Positano. I’m sure you have much nicer beaches in Australia. Other than the beach, about the only other attraction is tourist-oriented shops. Nothing to warrant the time and effort to get there. Better to add the time to Rome (1st choice), Florence (2nd), or Venice (3rd).
Posted by
874 posts
Way too much effort and travel time for a day in Positano. Take that time and enjoy a low stress day somewhere else.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32198 posts
harman,
For such a short time period, trying to fit Positano into the Itinerary is FAR too ambitious. Keep in mind that Positano is only reachable by car or bus (not sure how many boats will be running in October?). If you get to Salerno at midnight, you'd likely have to wait until the morning to go to Positano. Visiting both Positano and Sorrento on the same day and then heading home that night is not a good idea, unless of course you've invented a "beam me up Scotty" machine!