Doing some preliminary planning for next October. We will have about 12 nights to spend in Italy. We've already seen northern Italy (Venice, Verona, Italian Lakes) and absolutely loved it. Now we want to focus on southern Italy.
There are 4 of us, including one in a wheelchair. Our interests include beautiful scenery/architecture, vibrant culture, lively and charming atmosphere, and good food. We aren't big into museums. We will visit the biggest ones but only need to see the highlights.
Would like to do the following regions:
-Tuscany (Florence, Siena, Tuscan Hill Towns) (2 nights in Florence, 2-3 in Tuscan hill towns)
-Rome (not too excited about Rome but seems like a crime to skip it since we'll be in the vicinity) (3 nights)
-Amalfi Coast (4-5 nights)
We'll be starting our vacation in Spain and flying from either Seville or Barcelona to Italy. Would it be best to fly into Florence, Rome, or Pisa? Which airport do you think would be the most equipped for handling a power wheelchair?
Depending on where we fly into, I'm thinking something like this:
-Fly into Rome, rent a van, and drive through Umbria/Tuscany. Can you recommend a great agriturismo somewhere in Tuscany? We'd like to spend a night or two (or three) in the beautiful Tuscan hillside. We'll visit Siena (maybe spend a night?). Would love to hear your opinions on the best way to spend our time in this region. Return our van in Florence, and spend 2 nights in Florence.
-Take the morning train from Florence to Naples. Explore Naples for the day before heading to our base in either Sorrento or Positano. Which would you suggest? Spend 4-5 nights. Take day trips to Pompeii, Amalfi Coast bus ride, and maybe Capri. Anything else we shouldn't miss in this region?
-Take the morning train from Naples to Rome. Spend 3 nights. Fly home from Rome.
The above plan probably isn't the most efficient use of our time. It'd be nice to fly from Sevillle/Barcelona to Pisa. Visit the Leaning Tower and take the bus to Lucca. Then take the train to Florence. Would probably need 3 nights in Florence as we wouldn't get there until late the first night. Is Pisa/Lucca worth the extra effort? Do you think Pisa airport would be equipped to handle a power wheelchair?
If we fly into Pisa, then we'd rent our van in Florence and drive through Tuscany/Umbria. Return the van in Rome (at the train station) and take the train from Rome to Naples. Then return to Rome for the last 3 nights. It'd probably be more efficient to end in Naples (instead of Rome) but I worry about flying international out of Naples. I'm sure Rome airport is much larger and it seems like it'd be easier for them to deal with the wheelchair.
Would love to hear your opinions/suggestions!