Me and my husband would be flying from North America to Rome (to and fro) this May 2020 - first time visting Italy. Tentative plan is to reach on 16th May evening and fly back on 26th night (flights not booked yet). We definitely want to visit Rome, Florence but are flexible on other options. We are interested in spending some time in beautiful coastal small towns and are confused between Cinque Terre or Sorrento/Naples/Pompei. Would love to hear your recommendations on the same and what else we can include in our itinerary :)
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
6788 posts
For starters...
Don't book your flights yet. You need to get a handle on your itinerary first.
"10 nights/days" is a short trip. You will get more out of it if you can stretch it longer (makes your airfare go further, too). Be careful how you count your days/nights (don't count your arrival day nor your departure day). With a short trip (if you stick to your proposed plan, you actually have just 9 usable days), you will want to stick to just 2 or maybe 3 locations maximum. Both CT and Naples take some time to get to (pick one or the other, you don't have time for both), don't discount how much time you will consume every time you move, and how much you will spend on basic needs.
Do you have a guide book yet? Have you watched the Rick Steves Italy videos? Those are a good place to start.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
11731 posts
As David points out , you have 9 real days in country.
3 places should be your max. If Rome and Florence are your 'must do' you could easily stay well occupied with those 2.
If a 3rd place is a must, Cinque Terre is the better choice logistically
If flights are not yet booked, have you considered the 'classic' Venice -Florence -Rome ( fly into Venice and out of Rome) to avoid the waste of backtracking? See the "Itinerary" tab here for inspiration
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
16396 posts
Hi there -
As David and Joe advised, with 9 full sightseeing days to work with - the 16th doesn't count - just Rome and Florence (with a day trip or two from there) would very easily be enough. The less time taken up in location moves, the better! You could fit in a couple nights in the CT but I would definitely scrap Sorrento/Pompeii/Naples as it's a geographical outlier.
Do be aware that the CT will be very busy.
Any reason why you can't fly into Italy in the morning or afternoon of the 16th? That would allow you to, say, fly into Rome, immediately get on a train to Florence, and end the trip in Rome; fly home from there. You could also look at an open-jaw plan into a northern airport and out of Rome, e.g. Florence> Rome, Pisa>Rome or vice versa. What you want to try and avoid is a one-night stay at either end of the trip just to be safely close to your airport of departure.
Example (this order could be reversed):
16 - arrive in Rome
17 - Rome
18 - Rome
19 - Rome
20 - transfer to CT
21 - CT
22 - transfer to Florence (or another day in the CT)
23 - Florence
24 - Florence/day trip to Siena or Lucca
25 - Florence
26 - fly home from Pisa or Florence
If you couldn't fly open jaw but could get into Rome earlier in the day:
16 - arrive in Rome/train to Florence
17 - Florence
18 - Florence/day trip to Siena or Lucca
19 - Florence
20 - transfer to CT
21 - CT
22 - transfer to Rome
23 - Rome
24 - Rome
25 - Rome
26 - fly home from Pisa or Florence
Posted by
Franklin, TN, USA
898 posts
Have been to both the Cinque Terre area and Sorrento/Naples.......the Cinque Terre area is small towns linked by a trail that between some towns is very walkable. The towns are charming....and the views from the coast are incredible. We found it fun just to walk through them, exploring the storefronts and shops.....but they are small towns. We stayed in Monterosso al Mare and had a nice lunch in Riomaggiore. It was strenuous but fun to walk the trail between towns and enjoy the coastal view as we did. We drove from Rome to Sorrento......did not stop in Naples which to us looked like a huge crowded town. After enjoying the quiet charm of small Italian towns Naples seemed overwhelming. We stayed in Sorrento by the water in a hotel on the side of the cliff and enjoyed those views as well. We took the cliff-hanging coastal bus ride to Amalfi.....let them do the driving!!!!.....and boated back to Sorrento from Amalfi. Did not see Pompei.....but loved the streets of Sorrento and Amalfi......and will always regret we did not take a day and see Capri!
Posted by
Washington DC
27648 posts
I believe Jane is referring to the lower walking trails in the Cinque Terre; there are others, higher up. Two of the four lower trails have been closed for several years following severe weather damage. They have announced plans to open them in 2021, meaning they will remain closed next year.
Reports from people who have been to Cinque Terre recently strongly suggest that day-tripping there is highly questionable because of the crushing tourist load at mid-day. Spending the night allows a visitor to experience some much quieter time early in the morning and late in the evening.
Posted by
616 posts
If you really want to go to the coast,
I would choose either Costa Amalfitana with Pompei.
or Porto San Stefano or Porto Ercole in the Monte Argentario région, or Isola d’Elba, not so far from Pisa, Livorno, all of the latter being in Toscana.
You should take care to have at least 5 full days in Rome and three full days in Florence.
To benefit from the Italian coast, I would try to get at least 13 days if you can.
If you can’t just do the Amalfi Coast and the Campania Région another time.
The CT, I would rather do it in June.
Posted by
4811 posts
Would you be open to choosing either Florence or Rome, and pairing either one with a coastal stop?