Capri & Blue Grotto or drive through Tuscany?

I think you are wise to rethink your plans. I suggest you skip the hot and crowded Amalfi/Sorrento/Capri plan altogether and spend more time in the countryside of Tuscany OR think about Umbria, more rural and peaceful overall. Do you land in Rome on Day 1? If so, it is mostly a lost day. I would have you stay 3 nights in Rome to start and feed that history interest. Something like this.

Day 1 - Rome (assume arrival day) - 3 nights Rome

Day 2 - Rome

Day 3 - Rome

Day 4 - Rome to rural Tuscany or Umbria . (Depending on where you decide to go, we can advise on where to rent the car, whether in Rome or not.) - 3 nights countryside. I think you'd love an agriturismo where you stay on a working farm. You might look at this one in Umbria and this one in Tuscany.

Day 5 - Tuscany/Umbria

Day 6 - Tuscany/Umbria

Day 7 - Drive to Siena and turn in your car, see Siena; proceed to Florence by bus. I suggest this rather than changing lodging yet another time - 3 nights Florence

Day 8 - Florence

Day 9 - Florence

Day 10 - Venice - 2 nights Venice not really enough but it's all you've got

Day 11 - Venice

Day 12-17 - Family Reunion near Rapallo / Alba

Rapallo/Alba are smallish if not quite rural. The blog www.APathtoLunch.com has some info on the area. You'll want a car again for that last week, I suspect. Post another question if you need advice on where. You certainly do not need to drive from Venice.

I like Laurel's plan. Yes, I think spending more time in Tuscany/Umbria + adding a day to Rome is preferable to cramming in the Amalfi/Sorrentine. It's not worth trying to do the coast + Blue Grotto - which is not a given anyway if the seas are too choppy + expensive for the few minutes in the thing if you DO get into it - at the expense of wasting time and money backtracking for the short time you'd be there. Save it for a future trip when you have more time to devote to that part of Italy.

The day I visited Capri from Sorrento, the rough waters prevented all trips to the Blue Grotto, so that's never a guarantee. Tuscany will always be there, wind, rain, or shine, for what that's worth. I believe Capri produces a lot of lemons, but that's pretty much the extent of their agriculture, for what that's worth. if you're limited on time, as Kathy suggests, an extra day in Tuscany might offer you more than a ferry to Capri with a possible Blue Grotto visit.

I absolutely love history and so does my husband, but we also love
the countryside and fewer crowds.

Then I'd skip the Amalfi/Capri for sure as it'll be heaving with tourists in August, not that Rome and Florence won't be as well. As suggested, some time at an agriturismo in rural Tuscany/Umbria will be a nice break between those two cities.

Alba in the Piemonte is wonderful, a large town surrpimded by vineyards.
We loved our exploring the Piemonte and it’s wine villages, less touristed than Tuscany.
Rapallo in Liguria is near Santa Margherita Ligure, a lovely small city/large waterfront town. You can drive or take a boat to see nearby Portofino for a few hours.

Wow, such great advice!

Laurel, thanks for the adjusted schedule and the links for the agritourismo. I definitely will consider that route!

Kathy and Cyn, I hadn't considered the weather being a possible cancellation, that would really be frustrating if we had sacrificed Tuscany and end up with cancelled plans.

Suki, thanks for the info on the Alba / Rapallo regions. It is hard to get a feel for what that portion of the trip may be like.

I think my parents who are traveling with my husband and I are pretty excited about the Amalfi coast, so I will have to talk to them and see what they would prefer.

We took a cruise to Alaska a couple of years ago and I tell everyone what a wonderful trip it was, except we really only got to explore the "touristy" areas since we were in port and then shipped out. It was still lovely, but left me wanting to see more of the rural and rugged atmosphere of real life in Alaska. When I remembered that, I realized I should probably opt for Tuscany over Capri. Now just to modify reservations and things to make that happen....

Thanks again for your help!

From one farm girl to another, a little late to the post, but another agriturismo to look at.

http://www.agriturismobagnolo.it/ENG/index_en.html

I spoke with my parents, who are pretty set on visiting the Amalfi Coast. So we can steal the day we were going to go to Capri to head towards Siena. That changes our itinerary to:

Day 1 - Rome
Day 2 - Rome,
Day 3 - Rome to Naples to Pompeii to Sorrento
Day 4 - Sorrento to Amalfi Coast, sleep in Sorrento
Day 5 - To Orvieto
Day 6 - Tuscany Drive ending in Siena
Day 7 - See Siena, late train to Florence
Day 8 - Florence
Day 9 - Florence
Day 10 - Venice
Day 11 - Venice
Day 12-17 - Family Reunion near Rapallo / Alba

So from the morning of Day 5 we will leave Sorrento, giving us Day 5, 6, & most of 7 to see Tuscany (including Siena). We currently have a hotel with parking booked for the night of Day 6, but we could cancel it in favor of another plan.

I am wondering about the best way to get 4 of us from Sorrento to the Tuscany region, and what do you think the best way to spend that time is - and in what towns?

TIA!

I should also mention that our flight gets to Rome at 9am on Day 1.

Ooof, Karen....

You are allowing only 1 full day for Rome, only 1 full day for the Amalfi Coast, a partial day for Orvieto, a partial day for Siena, and only 1 full day for Venice. Not counting your (jet-lagged) arrival day in Rome, 6 moves* is a lot of packing up and moving around for 11 days, IMHO. We all travel differently so maybe ya'll can deal with it but I'd be pooped halfway through your itinerary.

*Rome>Sorrento>Orvieto>Siena>Florence>Venice>near Rapallo

But my bigger concern with tight itineraries is that things don't always go according to plan. That one day/partial day could pour rain, be a day of someone's attack of Traveler's Tummy, the day the museum/attraction you want to see is closed, the day of a transport complication, etc. So if your parents' hearts are set on the Amalfi, I'd cut something else and have at least 3 nights there. I'd do the same for Rome as there's a lot of ground to cover in that one, and arrival day could be a jet-lagged haze not good for much but walking about trying to stay awake until bedtime.

Just my IMHO. :O)

Karen,

You're not understanding the time it takes to connect these cities. You have too many places, if you want to have an enjoyable trip, you need to cut something. I would cut Venice due to the time it would take to reach Rapallo. (6 hours). Add those days to Rome and the AC. Try this.

Day 1. Arrive Rome 9:00. The problem is it could take up to 3 hours to clear passport control and actually arrive in the city. What time does your hotel have check in? Most are 2-3pm. Now, you can drop your luggage, grab lunch then back to the hotel. You've now been traveling 24 hours. Walk around your neighborhood, have dinner wander around a bit more and head to bed.

Day 2. Jet lagged day. You may or may not react, but your parents will.
Plan on seeing 1-2 sites, and take it easy.

Day 3. Explore Rome.

Day 4. Train Rome-Naples 1hr10m.
Taxi to the port, 15-30 min. Ferry to Sorrento 45 min. Bus or taxi to the top of town. Check into lodging, explore Sorrento.

Day 5. Sorrento-Pompeii Scavi via Circumvesuvian 30 min. 2-4 hours at Pompeii. Note, there is no shade here and very rough cobblestones.
Reverse to Sorrento.

Day 6. Sorrento-Amalfi Coast by bus or ferry.

Day 7. Sorrento-Orvieto train 4hr50 min. Car 3hr50min. You can pick up in Sorrento.

Day 8. Orvieto

Day 9. Orvieto-Siena. Drive time is 1hr30m without the Tuscany drive.
Drop car Siena.

Day 10. Siena, evening train or bus to Florence. 1hr11m

Day 11. Florence.

Day 12. Train. Florence-Rapallo 3hr25m.

Enjoy your family reunion.

Edit spelling.

In response to your question about getting from Sorrento to Tuscany, I would drive. We just did it and it's a very easy drive on a highway. You'll need a car in Tuscany anyway and that's an easy route - esp. With luggage.

Good luck with the itinerary. Everything is so wonderful, it's hard to narrow it down. I'll just say that we had 5 days in Rome and it was almost enough for us.

So many of you have been so helpful! After much of your advice, I was able to have a long conversation with my parents about the trip and reducing the number of towns to slow down and not switch hotels so much. They agreed that would probably be better.

I also didn't realize how long it may take to get through customs the day we fly into Rome (that was the day I wanted to go to the Vatican).

So here is our new itinerary:
Day 1 - Rome (flight arrives 9am)
Day 2 - Rome
Day 3 - Rome
Day 4 - Orvieto to Siena
Day 5 - Siena - explore Tuscany Region
Day 6 - Siena, late train to Florence
Day 7 - Florence
Day 8 - Florence
Day 9 - Venice
Day 10 - Venice
Day 11 - Venice to Cinque Terre
Day 11 - Cinque Terre
Day 12-17 - Rapallo & Family Reunion

We cut out Naples/Pompeii/Sorrento/Capri/Amalfi from the original plan.

Any recommendations for Day 5 when we "explore the Tuscany region"? Would it be better to drive through Montepulciano area and stop here or there, or do a cooking class or some other activity? TIA! You all have been so helpful!

OK, Karen, not to frustrate you further but I'll throw this out? This is still a lot of moves for the time you have, IMHO, and I think you may have difficulties finding open rooms in the CT at this late date: rooms there fill far in advance of high season. While I usually highly recommend an overnight stay there - to take advantage of the hours day-trippers aren't flooding the place - this would be another location I'd either eliminate or substitute a stay for a day trip, given your itinerary.

You appear to have quite a lot of time near Rapallo for the reunion, and my guess is that there aren't family activities happening ALL day, EVERY day? Guessing that other members of the family will spend time day-tripping cities/towns reasonably nearby? Inexpensive trains from Rapallo* can have you in the northernmost CT town (Monterosso) in 34-45 minutes, no changes, and from there it's a matter of just a few minutes by train to the other 4 villages. Cutting the stay in the CT would give you more time for one of your other locations, such as an overnight in Orvieto.

(*From Alba it would be considerably more time-consuming by train: it's unsure exactly where you're located but if you have a car, you could cut some time.)

You are looking at 5 hours or more by train from the Venice to the CT.

I also didn't realize how long it may take to get through customs the
day we fly into Rome (that was the day I wanted to go to the Vatican

On arrival day? Another "OOOF!" Please, PLEASE reconsider trying to do one of Rome's most overcrowded attractions right off an international flight! That one is a trial on the BEST of high-season days, when one is well rested and has early-entry tickets, and would be absolutely miserable when jet-lagged and tired. Especially so if you were looking at afternoon hours when the place is hot and wall-to-wall with tourists. A flight or other delay could also cause you to lose your advance-ticket investment (and delays DO happen).

Here's what was advised to a very recent poster with the same plan:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/official-vatican-tour-vs-tour-company

Thanks Kathy!

In my original plan I was going to the Vatican on arrival day, but you guys taught me that was a bad plan. :) Now, we will go on Day 3 (Day 2 is a Sunday). Day 2 will be Pantheon, Capitoline Hill, etc.

The Family reunion was organized through a travel agency so we have a day in San Marguerita & Portofino, a day in CT traveling by boat and train, then to Alba to visit family home sites, cemeteries & wineries, and a day truffle hunting.

The CT hotel was booked a while ago, and unfortunately is the only hotel with no refund. My parents are traveling with my husband and I, but we are splitting up to go to Venice (to celebrate our anniversary) and they are going to Pisa/Lucca, and then we meet back up in CT to travel to Rapallo together. We were thinking a day trip to CT would not be the same as an overnight stay, and I really wanted a chance to have some time on the beach. Cancelling out Sorrento eliminated any beach time except Monterosso. (at least that is what I was thinking?).

We could stay in Orvieto on Day 4 rather than continuing to Siena, I was just thinking maybe it would be beneficial to eliminate another hotel stop? Thoughts?