7 Day Trip to Rome in October - Go North or South?

You will get many opinions on this one! I personally would go to Florence/Tuscany, but that is me.

My advice, though, is whichever you choose, go directly upon arriving in Rome. Catch a train, do not drive (jet lag can impair you). Relax in your destination, then back to Rome before flying out.

Florence! If you have 7 nights, 3 Florence and 4 Rome. If 6 nights, do 2 & 4. You will not have time to go outside of Florence, IMO.

A good 'problem' to have!

Option #1: Transport Roma Fiumicino to Roma Termini station on arrival.

Freccia train 90 min to Florence SMN station. 3 nights soaking in wonderful Firenze, daytrip one day to Siena or Pisa, or hire a private driver for a winery tour in Tuscany. Return train to Rome, 3 nights in a walkable-to-attractions neighborhood.

Option #2: From Roma Termini, train to Naples, change to train to Sorrento. 3 nights on the Amalfi Coast. Daytrip to Pompei. Return to Rome, etc.

South will probably be 5-10 degrees warmer. Could be less crowded than going north. Florence is full of tourists on the weekends most of the year, in October should be quieter during the week.

Let us know your choice, obviously there is no bad choice, enjoy your planning!

It should really depend on what sites you really want to see. I would definitely not try to do both since you have very little time (for either). Think about doing all you can to minimize travel time in between places. If you've never been to Rome, then it makes sense to give Rome about half the time (3-4 days)...then you only have 3 extra days to work with. You can do side trips or pick another base. I would say keep it at 2 bases max - Rome and another city. Or you can easily spend the whole week in Rome and still have plenty to do - that may be more realistic considering you'll have a day or two of jetlag to get over.

How many nights do you have in Italy?

I would suggest staying the whole time in Rome, especially because you are flying in and out of the same city. There is so much to see and do in and near Rome. You have very limited days. If you venture out of Rome for a stay, you need to budget time to return to Rome to fly out. Just going to and back from Florence even on a fast train will eat up an aggregate of close to a full day in travel time which could be much better spent in or around Rome.

If you insist on doing two major cities, then Florence would be a good choice. Fast train will minimize your lost travel time and once you are in the city, stay two nights so you get at least one full day in the city. There are dozens of things to see and do in a very short walkable distance. On the other hand, if you were to go to Southern Italy for those same two days, you will be sitting in a train, bus or car trying to squeeze in the various major sites, Pompeii, Sorrento, Amalfi etc. They are all within short distances of each other, but all the travel time really all adds up.

The most important words you wrote were our first time. Why? Because it means you're already planning to return. So choose anywhere and then forget about the rest. No matter how many times you visit Italy or how long you stay, you won't see it all. There are no bad choices, so don't have regrets.

October's a difficult month for weather predictions - it could be hot or cool, sunny or rainy, or all of them. In October, I'd only book hotels with AC. My first visit to Italy was in mid-October. I was okay with just a fan in my Venetian hotel, but I was really glad I had AC when I got to Florence.

As funpig (I love that handle!) previously asked, how many nights do you have? More specifically, what day (date and time) are you expected to arrive in Rome, and what day (date and time) does your flight depart? That will give us a better idea of exactly how much time you have to work with.

This is all outstanding advice! Thanks everyone. We will be flying into Rome on a Wednesday morning, and departing the following Tuesday afternoon.

So you have six nights. If you want to visit Firenze, I would do that first, perhaps two nights. Then take a late afternoon or early evening train to Roma for the rest of your time.

Been looking at the monthly weather averages for October for Florence vs. Sorrento. Averages are only that--averages, but high temps in Sorrento are 72 vs. 70 in Florence, not a big difference, but very comfortable--light jacket weather at night. Maybe a chance of a little more rain up north than south, but as stated upthread October can be virtually anything. And certainly more rain overall than you would've gotten in September--it's on the cusp of the rainy season. We were rained on in Taormina, Sicily for 4 straight days a few years ago in mid-October, and never saw Mt. Etna until we were flying out of Catania. Keep a cheap foldable poncho and an umbrella with you & you'll be fine.

That being said, if you had your heart set on going to a beach on the Amalfi Coast, I would say October ain't the month for it. But...the south has Pompei--simply, absolutely magnificent, it has the spectacular scenery of the Amalfi Coast, no matter what the season, and it has the intoxicating grittiness and food of Naples. And not to generalize, but I find the people a bit warmer overall the farther south I've traveled. Real Italians, for better or worse!

The thing Florence has going for it is that even in crappy weather it doesn't matter. I've been there twice, in every type weather except snow or excessive heat, and it just--doesn't--matter. It's enjoyment around every corner. Even if you're not an art guy or a Renaissance guy, the fact that you're walking a neighborhood in its own way unchanged from the Medici days in the 1400's trips me out every time. Great markets, great shopping, an easy place to live if you had to. For three nights you would find a nice hotel in the middle of things & explore. If you wanted to take a daytrip, fine, easily done, but trust me, you will find it difficult to tear yourself away from Firenze, even for a few hours. Wednesday late afternoon arrival in Florence will give you all day Thursday & Friday before the horde of tourists hit Saturday.