We are spending 16/ 17 days in Italy in June/early July. The tentative plan:
Day 1 Milan (Just get our feet under us)
Day 2 Milan-Lake Maggiore
Day 3-5 Lake Maggiore x3 days
Day 6. Lake Maggiore- to (?)*
Day 7-9 (?) to Montepulciano x 3 days
Day 10 Drive to Chiusi fast train to Rome- Salerno***
Day 11 Salerno- Amalfi
Day 12-15 Amalfi
Day 16 Amalfi-Naples Fly Out
Questions:
Where/how should we pick up a car? and where is a good one night stay on the road on the way to Montepulciano?
* Suggestion for route combinations that will "get us there" but also allow for a day of meandering and seeing sites?
*** We need to be in Amalfi by Day 11 not sure how to go from Montepulciano Day 9 to Amalfi -Transportation options? The directions to the house we are renting in Amalfi says to take the bus from Salerno.
****Depending on the weather we are anxious to see Pompeii and am not sure how to fit that in.
Notes: Yes, we realize that we are missing a lot of the major sites. We really enjoy finding our own little corners and major crowds/urban areas are not really our thing. We are just as thrilled by the small village church as the Sistine Chapel. We may come back to hit all the "big" sites another time in a less busy time of year.
Are we biting off too much?
Thanks in advance for the advice!
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
11181 posts
Day 16 Amalfi-Naples Fly Out
Does this mean you plan to get from the town of Amalfi to NAP on the day of your flight?
What time does that flight leave and where does it go?
From Amalfi to Pompeii the choice is expensive ( taxi type service) or time consuming ( ~3hrs each way) on public transportation.
Posted by
Irving
2962 posts
When you arrive in Milan take a direct bus from the airport to Lake Maggiore. Where are you sleeping on Lake Maggiore? Knowing will help us recommend where to pick up your rental car.
Posted by
Miami
253 posts
On day 10, drive from Montepulciano to Salerno instead of taking the train and visit Pompeii on the way.
Posted by
OP
Oregon
4 posts
Great information. Looking at our flight arrival time and where we are staying near Stresa it makes no sense to go to Milan and then go back to Stresa when we can take the train directly. It will also allow us to add a day trip to Brig from Stresa which we would rather do than Milan.
We are reconsidering our plans to ditch the car and take the train to Salerno. Keeping the car will allow us to see some side trips and visit Pompeii without schlepping bags everywhere. Still working out when when/where to pick a car up.
We are still working out what to do after the stay in Amalfi. Do we go to Naples and fly out or do we make our way back to Rome for a day or two and fly out from there? Flights are less expensive from Rome but factoring travel time it is probably a wash. I don't want to head home regretting not having a little taste of Rome.
Thank you!