7 days in italy

Do these 7 days include the days you are arriving and departing? Will you have to go back to Rome from Florence to fly out?

Which day are you leaving and from where?

Given what you've outlined, I'd spend 3 days in Rome (one day Vatican, one day Colosseum/Forum/etc., one day Ostia Antica (sp?)); then I'd stage out of Sorrento for 2 days (one day tour of Amalfi, one day either Pompeii or Capri/Anacapri), then train to Florence for the last two days. But I'd ask you to reconsider the Naples / Amalfi leg and do 3 days in Rome, 4 days in a Tuscan base which you could use for Florence. That way you maximize your time - the train leg you mention eats up a good part of a day. And you could hit Orvieto on the way to Tuscany...Orvieto is something special.

Grace, I think you'll be rushed if you try to do this itinerary, unless you only want to go to the Uffizi in which case it is kinda doable. But my advice would be to drop Florence, 4 days Rome (including a day trip to Orvieto), and 3 days in the Amalfi coast region.

Thank you for such prompt help. 7 days do not include travel days. Hope to stay along Amalfi Coast, not Naples. Considering Sorrento, Capri or Amalfi. Granddaughter wants to see coast. "I am reviewing the situation..." Yes, we will return to Rome to depart. I am considering leaving Florence off the itinerary.

As Mike suggested, if you would like a more relaxed visit with less travel overall, then you can save Florence for your next visit. In this case (with 7 days in between your arrival and departure days) you could arrive in Rome on 4/4, 4/5 Rome, 4/6 Rome, 4/7 Rome, 4/8 Rome to Amalfi Coast, 4/9 Amalfi, 4/10 Amalfi, 4/11 Amalfi Coast back to Rome in the afternoon/evening, and depart Rome on 4/12.

For your stay in the Amalfi, I would recommend basing in Sorrento. From there you can daytrip down the Amalfi coast, to Capri, to Pompeii, etc. You could also take a daytrip on one of your days in Rome if you wish to a place like Orvieto, Ostia Antica, or Tivoli. Also keep in mind that a handful of sights will be closed in Rome on Mon. 4/6, so I would save the Coliseum, Forum, churches, and/or Vatican (or your daytrip) for that day, on which I believe they should still be open. In terms of train travel, you should be fine, except I would go ahead and get your ticket from Naples back to Rome as soon as you get there (especially for a Eurostar train) because you will be heading into Rome on Easter weekend, as will many others.

If you would also like to squeeze Florence in there, then I would suggest: arrive in Rome on 4/4, 4/5 Rome, 4/6 Rome, 4/7 Rome to Amalfi Coast early in the morning, 4/8 Amalfi, 4/9 Amalfi Coast to Florence in the evening, 4/10 Florence, 4/11 Florence to Rome in the evening, and depart Rome on 4/12.

I would recommend saving Florence for your next trip if it's not a priority like the other two, but that's up to you.

Happy travels!

I'd recommend staying in Sorrento. Easily reachable by Circumvesuviana train or ferry from Naples (although there's been some discussion about whether the ferry's are running this year). Sorrento is a nice town, and a much better base for exploration of the area than the towns farther down the coast. From Sorrento you can take ferries to Capri or down along the coast, catch the bus RS talks about to go down the coast, use the train to visit Herculaneum or Pompeii.

My tip that isn't in the guidebooks is to stop at the Circumvesuviana station at Castellammare di Stabia and take the funicular (its right next to the train station) up for a spectacular view of the Bay of Naples. You can see a sample shot at http://www.panoramio.com/photo/11560826

Also take a look at the ArteCarde that includes all the rides you want on the Circumvesuviana (which isn't that expensive, anyway) as well as museum admissions. See http://www.campaniartecard.it/EN/Home.cfm or http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Italy/Campania/Sorrento-142235/General_Tips-Sorrento-BR-1.html

Are you flying open jaw - ie. into Rome and then out of Florence? If so, I'd skip Naples and the Amalfi Coast and do four days in Rome and three days in Florence.

Back Tracking all the way from the Amalfi Coast to Florence is going to eat into too much of your limited time.

Hope you are not planning on flying in and out of Naples.

To avoid a one night stay at the end, consider doing Florence first. It only adds 1.5 hours of travel on your arrival day. Then go to Sorrento and finish your trip in Rome. You could also do Sorrento first, but it adds 3.5-4.0 hours of travel. I've done that and it worked well for me, but some find it too much extra travel on their arrival day.