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Driving from Sorrento to Montepulciano? Daytrip to Florence to Montepulciano from Florence?

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Hi,

We will be traveling to Italy, and are planning on 3 days in Tuscany Region - April 14th to 17th. We will be driving to Montepulciano from Sorrento on April 14th and we are flying out from Rome at 1pm on Monday April 17th. We are traveling with children ages 9 and 7 years of age.

  1. How long do you think the drive from Sorrento to Montepulciao will take? Google maps says about 4.5 hours. Is this a reasonable estimate? We also considered taking the train, but thought the drive would allow us to make stops along the way. I would appreciate advice for this trip. I read that stopping at Orvieto or Umbria would be nice. Would you recommend driving or taking the train? If we take train, we may consider going to Florence, and spending 1 night in there.
  2. Do you recommend visiting Mt Vesuvius when we leave Sorrento if we drive up towards Tuscany? (We will already be visiting Pompeii and Herculaneum during our time in Sorrento)
  3. During our time in Tuscany, we would like to spend a day in Florence. I am confused if we should spend 2 nights in Montepulciao, and then 1 night in Florence, or visit Florence as a daytrip from Montepulciano and spend 3 nights in Montepulciano. This of course relates to Question 1 because if we take train from Sorrento, so will end up in Florence and then may spend 1 night there. We will have a car so could drive close to Florence and park, or drive to close by train station and park. If we spend Sunday night in Florence, we will drop off car and then highspeed train back to Rome, and then taxi to airport. If she stay in Montepulciano, we will drive back to Rome and go straight to airport.
  4. Will Accademia and Uffizi Galleries be closed on Easter Sunday April 16th? Should we avoid visiting Florence on Easter Sunday? Will places be closed in Tuscany as well on Easter Sunday?
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www.viamichelin.com is another source for driving times. I'd go with whichever estimate is longer, and remember that they don't account for delays or breaks. No, don't stop to walk up to the summit of Mt. Vesuvius, unless you're feeling ready to toss somebody in. You'll get a good look at it during your other sightseeing. Your time is short, so get on the main road (or the fast train) and on to your next destination as early as possible.

Orvieto is great and easy to visit on the way to or from Montepulciano, with no detour off the fastest driving route. You can park near the train station. By car, I'd stick to the smaller Tuscan towns and skip Florence. I would not try to day-trip there and deal with city traffic and parking. Siena would be easier.

You could consider 2 nights in Montepulciano and the last night in Orvieto. Although it's only an hour drive between them, it would put you that much closer to drive to Rome airport on the last day. I'm not personally familiar with other towns closer to Rome, such as Viterbo. But the further that you have to travel on your flight day the more nervous it makes me, especially with kids along.

If traveling by train, the direct train Naples-Florence takes under 3 hours. You could day-trip from Florence to Siena by bus or take a van tour into the countryside. From Florence to Roma Fiumicino, you'd have to be on the direct train that departs at 7:38 and arrives at 9:52. A later train would require a connection in Rome as well as cut it closer on arrival time. Trains leaving Orvieto are not any better.

Are you visiting Rome earlier in the trip?

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