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Drive, fly or train?

Posted by on

Hello fellow travelers. I am going to Italy with a couple of old friends for 2 weeks in early May. I would like to find a villa or agritourista in the Tuscany area and do day trips to surrounding locations then move on to Amalfi Coast. We are flying into Florence and flying out of Naples. We planned on using a car for our day trips to Sienna, Lucca, Florence, etc but have Cinque Terra on our must visit list. I thought we could park in LaSpenzia and take the train to CT. We may stay the night so we can experience more of the area after all the cruise ship visitors have left. I really want to see Assisi and then move on to Amalfi and stay in one of the towns along the coast and explore the area. I plan on finding us local guides to get the most out of the trip.

Questions:

1. We were thinking of driving from Tuscany to Amalfi (they do not want to go to Rome) would it be better to fly or take train to Naples? The thought was maybe stopping at places along the way if something looked interesting but ai don't know if we should lose a day doing this.
2. Any recommendations for what towns to stay? We don't want to change hotels constantly but was thinking of something in or near Florence first night, then stay somewhere central for a few nights, stay 1 or 2 nights in CT, and then maybe a night in Assisi. Rest of time stay in Amalfi location except last night at hotel in Naples to be able to catch flight easily.
3. Pompei and Mt. Vesuvius - I have heard there isn't that much to see in Pompei because a lot of ruins are in Naples museum. Thoughts on tour of both?
4. Ok to use rental car in Amalfi or better just to use guides and local transportation? Will need to get to Naples last day.

Thanks for any advice!
NM

Posted by
16240 posts
  1. You can't fly to Naples from Tuscany. No direct flights. You can drive or take a train from Florence. Since you have car(s) and staying in a country house somewhere around maybe Siena, my opinion it is more efficient and faster to drive to the Amalfi coast. If you want to return the car there, you can do so in Sorrento. I would drop off luggage and passengers at the hotel in the Amalfi coast, then, if you don't want a car while there, driv to Sorrento and drop it off. If you return the car in La Spezia, at the Cinque Terre, before heading to Amalfi, then you'd go by train from the Cinque Terre.
  2. Villa hotel or Agriturismo near Siena. Assisi is only 90 min drive from Siena. You can visit from there.
  3. There is a lot to see in Pompeii. But you can visit both Pompeii and museum in Naples on the same day.
  4. Up to you. You can use either. But driving inside Naples requires skill.
Posted by
11613 posts

I like Roberto's advice. I would not want to drive in Napoli itself. The airport is very close to the city, so your hotel can arrange a taxi for you if you have an early morning flight.

Posted by
4105 posts

Nancy,

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