Advice: Rome and where else? Naples? Or north?

That's not too long to give Rome. Rome is so full of fascinating attractions that it could keep a person going for a week, a month (or longer).

Since you're saving areas north of Rome for a subsequent trip, it makes sense to go to areas south of Rome for the non-Rome part of your trip: Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento, Amalfi coast.

Do you have a guidebook to consider for working out the details of when and for how long?

5 days Rome is vgd. Naples is wonderful for me though many are unsettled there. However museums, cloisters, opera , amazing veiled christ marble, and of course pizza are fab there. It is nitty gritty Italian one loves it or not. Also Pompeii on a dry day. Always use your money belt, for sure. Sorrento, positano , amalfi , ravello are a must for sure. Try to fit it in with a 3 day stay in Sorrento, transport easy from there south. In March u may have rain so plan for alternates if possible. I can only offer suggestions for hotels.

Rome is one of my favorite places, have spent most of 3 weeks there over the years over four trips. My preference is to stay in the Trastevere area, though I have not stayed there recently, I used Hotel Trastevere, but there are many options. For food I would recommend Popi Popi as a casual Roman place, La Scala as more upscale; Dar Poeta for pizza.

The Naples area is a great "other" stop, you need not spend a night in Naples, I would use Sorrento as a base, but Naples does have some historic pizza places, the Archaeological Museum, and a couple other sights, but little else. Sorrento is better for relaxing, plus access to Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the Amalfi coast. You could maybe do a night or two closer to Salerno, and maybe pick up Paestum as well.

Rome, Naples, Sorrento as a base for Pompeii, Amalfi coast, Capri. We booked Sorrento only for 3 nights but we liked it so much we stayed for five nights. From Naples to Sorrento we went by boat. Much more enjoyable than Circumvesuviana train.

Travestere is very nice! You can’t go wrong there. I highly recommend the Eating Italy Travestere Twilight Food Tour your 2nd night there.

https://www.eatingeurope.com/rome-food-tours/twilight-trastevere/

I personally disliked Naples and my recommendation would be to stay in Sorrento and use as a base for touring Naples if you want, Ercolano and Capri. Them stay on the Amalfi Coaxt for a few nights, we loved Positano. You can ferry to other towns for some sightseeing from there.

If you plan N. Italy for later, then go south. I recommend staying in Sorrento. From there you can visit Capri, Pompeii, Naples and the Amalfi Coast.

What we did in late February/early March of 2017 was a week at an apartment in Rome overlooking Campo de' Fiori, then we took the train to Naples and stayed 5 nights in Sorrento.

The week in Rome was absolutely magical--you're going to love it that time of year with mostly locals & few tourists. Got down to Sorrento and weather--which was great in Rome--turned nasty for 3 days--you have no control over that. But at least the restaurants were fabulous and reasonably-priced. You're just going to have to allow for Plans B & C if weather on the A.C. takes you out--in Rome it doesn't much matter because there's so much to do.

We have also stayed in Salerno in March (on a different trip) and daytripped it to Amalfi & Pompei from there. I would investigate that option as well.

Enjoy your planning, but you had better get on the stick with booking if you want optimum choices!

Jay advised me to stay in Salerno 2 years ago and since then I have been recommending it as a better base for the Amalfi Coast than Sorrento. First I spent several nights in Naples - see this thread. The National Archaeology Museum was as much of a wow on my second visit as it was several years before. You can also visit Herculaneum and/or Pompeii easily using the Circumvesuviana commuter train. Then take a fast train from Naples to Salerno. I also wrote a bit about my adventures on the Amalfi Coast here, I don't know how helpful it is since it's mostly about driving. I liked Salerno at least as much as Sorrento and it's certainly more convenient for the buses along the coast. Sadly for you, the ferries probably won't start running until after you leave. I didn't find the AC towns to be particularly interesting, but the views along the road are gorgeous. BTW prices for rooms and meals are highest in the AC towns, lowest in Salerno. Sorrento prices are in-between.

Our first trip to Italy was based out of Rome. We spend 3 full days in Rome on the first leg. We then took the train to Florence and spend 3 nights. Using Florence as a base, this will allow you a wine/food tour in Tuscany. This will give you a little taste of Siena, San Gimigano and Pisa. The other two days in Florence is plenty to stroll the museums and such. We did not like Florence and opted for a day trip to Cinque Terre for the day as well. While there we visited Vernazza, sipping wine, eating cheese and people watching. We then ventured to Venice where we spent an additional 3 days. I cannot say this was my favorite.

The next trip we are flying into Venice from London and spending the night in Treviso. We will take the train to Milan and spend 2 nights there. One of the days we will spend in Lake Como. We will then train to Florence and use this as our base (AirBnB's and plentiful). From here we will spend most of our time roaming the other parts of Tuscany. My husband and I fell in love with Rome so we will spend 3 more nights there. Finally, we will head south using Naples as our base. From Naples we will go to Ischia, Pompeii, Capri and Anacapri. We are flying out of Naples back to London.

**** Do not hesitate to use AirBnB! We have used and are using it in Rome, Florence, Naples, Milan and Venice. Please let me know if you would like to have the links to the places we stayed.

Wow, thanks! Lots of great info so far, I really appreciate it.
Kent: We have Rick Steves Rome and Lonely Planet Italy.

Ilja: We are considering the ferry to Sorrento, just to do something different!

Jay: glad to hear our plan to go in March is good for Rome. Almost all of our Europe trips have been in mid-March due to our jobs, but I just retired so we can go a bit later this year. Hopefully late March is still super crowded (I know Rome always has tourists!) We started considering Salerno instead of Sorrento after I posted this. Still have to think it through.

Chani: thanks for the links. Sounds like great trips! Yeah, no ferry service definitely means buses.

Hopefully late March is still super crowded (I know Rome always has
tourists!)

Laura, I assume you meant not super-crowded!

Yes, Rome always has tourists, especially near the main attractions--offhand we observed it crowded near Piazza Navona, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain and the Vatican, but other than that it seemed to be business as usual that time of year, with the added comment that Rome seems to absorb tourists better than a concentrated place like central Florence.

Salerno is medium-size city of just over 100,000 with a wonderful Old Town, great & diverse restaurants, and a fantastic lungomare along the sea for afternoon walks. I'd definitely consider it.

Are gardens of interest? One thing about a lot of Italian gardens is that they rely on evergreens. Villa d'este or Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli just outside Rome is a day trip (or two) and might suit your travel style. If you have Netflix, Monty Don's Italian Gardens might be an interesting watch. I am sure you can get it on YouTube as well. This was a BBC series.
The Appian way and extensive archeology works outside of Rome.
I could easily spend 7-10 days in Rome.
If the weather is looking good, the Amalfi Coast or that region could hold interest. Certainly consider Naples for some time if you are prepared for something a little more rough around the edges. I suspect you would prefer staying there to visit it, than to commute several days, but that is just what I take away from your description.
Here is the thing.....do you have to commit to anything other than your flights and 5 Rome days? It is March. Cities and towns do not completely book up. Why not research Naples, Orvieto and A.C., short list a few hotels or apartments, and see what you feel like on Day 3 or 4 in Rome? With websites like Booking and AirBnB, it takes only minutes to see what is available. That, or make cancellable reservations.

We just got back from Rome & Sorrento. We loved both. We spent two nights in Sorrento and could have spent a few more. We were off season so some places were not open. Enjoy!

Thanks! Lots to consider still, just bought a Southern Italy guide book to go with my Rome and Italy books.
One thing we're considering is the 2nd to last day, the "travel back to Rome for Friday night in Rome" day. Where we go for that 1st week in April, after a week in Rome, is partly dependent on how long it would take to get back to Rome. I have a B&B booked in Rome for that night.

Jay: sheesh, yes, I guess I mis-typed that one! Definitely meant is not super crowded! Thanks for the input on Salerno.

Maria: we are considering just deciding once we're in Rome. We've done a couple of trips that way, starting & ending accommodation booked and the rest on the fly.

SA: thanks! What types of places weren't open? I'm still a bit apprehensive about Sorrento being referred to as "touristy". We prefer our tourist places to be a little less aimed at tourists, if that makes sens.