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Crazy Itinerary

Posted by (Fairfield, CA, USA) on

There are six of us traveling together. First, let me say that I have no control over the itinerary:

The itinerary:
Thursday arrive Rome at 9:30am
Friday Rome

Saturday Travel to Amalfi
Sunday Amalfi
Monday Amalfi (Pompeii)
Tuesday Amalfi

Wednesday Travel to Montespertoli
Thursday Montespertoli (Florence for White Night Festival)
Friday Montespertoli (Florence for Int’l. Handicraft Trade Show)
Saturday Montespertoli
Sunday Montespertoli (Day trip Sienna or Milan)
Monday Monespertoli
Tuesday Monespertoli
Wednesday Flight Home

My questions:
My plan is to take the train from Rome to Naples and then take a bus or hire a driver to get to Amalfi. Is this the easiest way to get to Amalfi? I am willing to hire a driver as it might be a good way to spend the day sightseeing along the Naples to Amalfi route.
Next, I will need to travel from Amalfi back to Florence, actually the house I will be staying at is in Montespertoli (which is outside of Florence). Does anyone know the easiest way to make this trip?
I really don’t want to rent a car as I am not familiar with the area. Since I will be in Montespertoli for several days, is it easy to get back into Florence? If we wanted to have a late night in Florence is it easy to get back to Montespertoli in the evening?
If necessary, can anyone recommend a good driver for this area?
Florence is 12 miles away; the train 5 miles, bus 1 mile.
Any advice or suggestions is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Posted by
16247 posts

You don't seem to want to spend a lot of time in Rome. Have you been to Rome before maybe? Two nights only in Rome is very little if you haven't been there before, see if you can make it at least 3 nights and take that time away from either Amalfi or Montespertoli.

Montespertoli. I've been there a lot of times, since my father used to buy wine in bulk from a local winemaker there. I've been there only by car or by motorcycle, but there is bus service with SITA bus. The problem is that it is not that frequent especially on Sunday, and if you intend to spend the evening in Florence, then you'll be stuck there and be forced to take a very expensive taxi.

If you want to stay in Montespertoli, my heartfelt advice is to rent a car (actually 2 of them, since it's six of you). You will enjoy your trip more and give you much more flexibility. One thing that people need to understand is that if you don't want to rent a car, you need to stay in Florence (or other big city), not in a small village in the middle of the Tuscan countryside.

Actually given your itinerary I would rent the car(s) after visiting Rome and drive to Amalfi as well (and from there drive to Montespertoli).

Posted by
11613 posts

If you rent a car, each driver must have the International Driving Permit as well as the state Driver's License.

Roads are good in Italy, even if only two-lane in some places. If you can drive on highways and country roads in the US, you can do it in Italy. Just learn the basic rules/signs.

Posted by
524 posts

Another easy way to get to Amalfi (we are actually going to Positano from Rome): Take fast train to Salerno, then catch a ferry over to Amalfi. You will get to see the beautiful coastline from the sea and not have to take the drive from Naples to Amalfi on the cliff slide.

Posted by
37 posts

We have been to Rome several times. Rome is great, but we want to spend time in other places this trip. I like the option of taking the train to Salerno and then the ferry to Amalfi.

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