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2-3 Days to relax? Amalfi, Sardinia, Capri?

I will be traveling through Tuscany for a 10 day trip with a friend. I have an extra 2-3 days at the end to myself (late Sept) and am looking for suggestions on a relaxing weekend before I head home. I fly home out of Rome. I would like a seaside spot with a view, a town that is convenient and close to walk into for meals, beach nearby, and safe. I will be taking the train from Florence to Rome to see my friend off, and then would travel on to my next stop. Since it's not a lot of time, I'd prefer to not spend an entire day traveling or on multiple modes if possible. Any suggestions?
Thank. you!

Posted by
7229 posts

Consider the beach town of Ostia
How many nights? 3 nights gives you just 2.5 days
Since you are departing from FCO you would need to be IN Rome ( or close by) the night before. Ostia is closer to FCO than Rome

The 3 destinations you mentioned will all take most of a day to get there then most of a day to get back to Rome

Posted by
1144 posts

All of the places you suggest are lovely but also require probably too much time or difficulty in travel to qualify as relaxing.
Sardinia is a flight, Amalfi is a train and a ferry or two trains and a bus or a ferry and Capri is probably two trains and and a boat ride. And this all needs to be repeated heading back to Rome.

Based on reputation there are several beach communities within an hour or so of Rome by train. Check out:
- Ladispoli (train station Ladispoli-Cerveteri about 45 minutes, hourly trains)
- Santa Marinella (about 45 minutes)
- Anzio and/or nearby Nettuno (about an hour)
- Sperlonga is probably a train and a bus and is further down towards Naples but is an interesting town

There are other options I would look around and see what feels right and fits your budget. And if you are looking for September of this year maybe wherever you can find availability. In June I think you are behind the curve in looking for beach reservations for this year because Italians love to go to the beach for the summer.

Good luck, have a great trip,
=Tod

Posted by
16133 posts

Stay in Rome those days before your flight and relax in Rome, or, If you want, you can spend a day in Ostia or some other location near Rome. I wouldn’t bother to go too far and change hotels for just a couple of days, since you must spend the last night in Rome or near the airport.

Posted by
10 posts

Thank you all for the input. I was starting to think the travel challenge to get some of the beautiful places I have dreamed of, might not be worth the hassle for the 2 days. Another trip!

Posted by
75 posts

If you stay in Rome without a major sightseeing agenda and perhaps choose a hotel not in dead-center tourist mecca, you might be surprised how relaxing the city can be. Just hang out!

Posted by
10 posts

If you have any recommendations for areas in Rome to stay for an authentic feel- like where the locals live- I would appreciate it. I think Rome makes sense to end the trip without chaos, but I don't want to pack it with tourist things. I appreciate all the tips!

Posted by
8322 posts

Save the Naples area when you have 4-5 days.
Amalfi Coast is great, but beaches, not so much.
In fact, the beaches in Italy from Amalfi north are nothing to brag about.

Posted by
7939 posts

Mike, if you do get to an Italian beach, please come back here and report. Especially since you're from a US coastal city. There is a lot of romantic sentiment here for ( ... yet unvisited) Italian beaches. But my experience is that the US has some of the best beaches (not counting the Caribbean) in the world. I have a couple of doctors who won't swim in the Mediterranean.

I agree with the earlier comment about the Amalfi Coast. Pebbles don't do it for me.