I am traveling to Italy for the first time in the spring, and I have basically sorted out my itinerary for the most part, but I have an extra day to spend unexpectedly. I am not sure where to put it in my trip. Let me know your thoughts on this or if there are any other edits I should make to my itinerary.
Rome (4 nights)
Naples (3 nights)
- Day trip to Pompeii/Vesuvius
Orvieto (2 nights)
Florence (4 nights)
- Day trip to Pisa/Lucca
Rome (1 night)
- Fly home next day
It depends on your arrival time and how grueling your journey is, and it is not a big problem to have two stays in Rome, but what a lot of us do is continue on arrival to one of the other destinations that is an easy train ride (like Naples) and put all of the Rome time together at the end.
As for the extra day, make a detailed list of what you want to do and see in each place and look where it would help--there is no rule that you have to put it where there is more to see or whatever.
ETA Which month? That can make a difference, for weather or specific events.
I think your schedule looks good. You're doing Rome, Florence, (Orvieto), Naples for a first trip versus the usual F, R, Venice but that's fine.
I would add an extra day in Florence since you're using one day for a day trip and either spend more time in Florence or add a day trip to Siena.
If you really like ruins you could consider adding a day to Naples and looking into Paestum, but only if Greek/Roman ruins are a highlight for you. If none of this interests you Rome will always swallow another day given everything there.
Have a great trip!
=Tod
what a lot of us do is continue on arrival to one of the other destinations that is an easy train ride (like Naples) and put all of the Rome time together at the end.
As valadelphia says, but I think it's a pretty worthwhile idea.
I'd also say you can't have too much time in Rome, so adding a sixth night there (all six nights at the end) wouldn't be a bad idea.
Alternatively, you could do an overnight in Lucca. It's worth more than a quick stop, especially if you want to see Pisa also.
Oops, forgot to say: The best sfogliatelle in the world is 5 minutes from the Naples train station. Antico Forno delle Sfogliatelle Calde Fratelli Attanasio Vico at Ferrovia 1/2/3/4. Walk over, show up, grab a number right away and wait your turn.
So worth it.
Enjoy Naples,
=Tod
I was going to suggest what hired man recommended. Except I was going to suggest a day trip to Capri if you added a day to Naples.
If you must fly RT to Rome then I agree with moving onward on arrival so you eliminate the split stay/1 nighter in Rome at end. Put all Rome nights at end of trip.
Do check on flying into Rome, out of Naples as well.
I wouldn’t recommend starting a first trip in Naples.
Orvieto is less than a 2 hr train ride from Termini and makes a great place to get over jet lag.
From Orvieto train to Florence, then down to Naples then back up to end in Rome
Give the extra day to Naples since it’s a longer travel day.
Orvieto 2 nights
Florence 4 nights- day trip Lucca/Pisa, Siena?
Naples 4 nights- day trip Pompeii, Capri or Paestum or AC
Rome 5 nights
If you do want to add day trip to Siena (very worthwhile) then you could give Florence 5 nights and Rome 4 nights.
Agreed with others, you should go far away from your departure city right away and then come and end in Rome, meaning you have even MORE time there! A plethora of extra days! (as each day you move you lose at LEAST a half day and definitely any major sightseeing time)
I like Christine's suggestions too for your extra days :)
Just the mention of Sfogliatelle has me dreaming of a return trip to Naples!
UPDATE
I will be going mid-May.
I have had a few people tell me about flying in one airport and out of another, so maybe I should look further into that.
My reasoning for going to Rome first and not last is that I know myself enough from past trips that my energy dips a lot toward the end and I’ve been told that Rome is busy and chaotic and if I were to save that for the end I think I will be too tired to enjoy it, especially for as many days as I will be there (4-5).
Capri, Paestum, and Herculaneum interest me immensely, so maybe Naples is where I should put my extra day. I’m a major history buff/nerd and love anything to do with ancient civilizations (I plan to go to the Etruscan caves at Orvieto).
Is there an alternative itinerary anyone would suggest with all the details I have given? I’m open to suggestions.
I have had a few people tell me about flying in one airport and out of
another, so maybe I should look further into that.
This is called an open jaw or multi-city ticket- usually under advanced search on the airlines site.
Do not book 2 one way tickets.
Consider flying in to Florence, out of Naples putting Rome right in the middle.
Or vice versa
That makes sense, and if the open jaw flight does not work out, don't sweat it too much. Sometimes it is nice to return to a place and see one last thing you missed or just stay in a different neighborhood.
Putting the extra day in Naples sounds like a good bet.
A day trip you could look into in Tuscany is Volterra for Etruscan museum. Many of the Etruscan sites require a car but that is one that does not.
I see you have reduced the number of nights since the 1st iteration.
If you can do a multi-city ( aka open jaw) routing, flying into Rome and leaving from Naples would save some back tracking and an extra hotel change. It might be a little more than r/t to Rome, but your time has value.
So this might be possible:
Rome 5 n
Florence 4n
Orvieto 2n
Naples 4n
I would add a day trip to a hill town in Tuscany, Pisa and Lucca are lovely, but a place like San Gimignano or a Wine Day out to the Chianti Region would be easy from Florence. Italy is such an incredible place, no matter what you do, it's all good.
UPDATE 2
If I did
Rome (5)
Florence (4
Orvieto (2)
Naples (4)
But then took the train back to Rome airport on the day of my flight (a noon flight) is that possible or are train delays too likely making it risky? Was just looking at open jaw flights from both Florence and Naples and they are significantly more expensive than a RT from Rome.
We are generally a risk-averse crowd (likely earned by having had travel difficulties at some point!), but I always say consider whether missing a flight would cause you considerable financial hardship. If so, then be safe and be in the city of departure the night before. You can see how many strikes and things are going on currently to know that it is possible for a train to not run, or some other calamity to occur.
You might hold off on tickets also--I travel in May and usually buy in late winter.
So exciting -- the first time but not the last time you'll be in Italy!
I wouldn’t do it-too risky
Consider splitting Rome 3 at beginning, 2 at end.
Choose 2 diff neighborhoods
But then took the train back to Rome airport on the day of my flight (a noon flight) is that possible or are train delays too likely making it risky?
See words in bold.
If you find the multi city fares to expensive, you will find a walk up ticket price even less friendly.
You did check 'multi- city', not two one way fares?
I don't think having your last night in the city that you're flying out of is a bad idea. Yeah it uses up a day but there's something relaxing about being near the airport and having some down time.
Just to throw another crazy idea out there. We once stayed at a hotel near the airport. It's the Holiday inn parco de medici, which we liked a lot. If you went up to Rome in the morning from Florence and stayed in this area, you would be within 15 to 20 minutes of either the Appian Way or Ostia Antica, both of which are great places to visit, especially if you like history
Reading through the suggestions and your interests I have a modest proposal - move your Naples days to Salerno instead.
ChristineH is correct Naples is a lot. I don't know your history of large, chaotic cities but Naples can be a lot even for the seasoned Italian tourist. Salerno gives you excellent access to Paestum, pretty good access to Pompeii, and easy access to Naples via the train for the Archeological Museum and other Naples sight seeing. It also gives you a small taste of the southern chaos but in much more manageable doses than the full-on Naples. Capri is pretty far from Salerno but there are ferries to the Amalfi Coast from there.
Just a suggestion - if you are willing to tackle Naples head on good for you! But you're also doing mostly big city Italy so I think a little time off may give you some relaxation from big, busy city Italy since most of Italy is actually rural and small towns.
Also I always advocate being in the city you're flying out of. I have not always done it myself but I try to. As always in Italy - especially in the south - have a back-up plan. The problem is Naples is 2.5 hours away from Rome even by car so if you have train problem and decide to switch to a bus you're 3+ hours away when you start and there is no easy answer to make faster.
My $.02, always it's your trip and this is all just advice,
=Tod
@joe32f yes I did do that, was about $200-$300 more than a round-trip
I really like Christine's idea of starting in Orvieto. It's a quieter, easier town in which to start a trip. Naples is bustling and a bit "gritty" and you're going to need transportation to Pompeii, Herculaneum, etc. I also agree with others who suggested not splitting Rome into 2 separate stays because every change of location takes up valuable time.
UPDATE 3
So from what everyone seems to be saying, and from the good tip of waiting until late Jan- into Feb to book my flights, I think I will plan to do an open-jaw flight and hope for a lower price, maybe move my dates around to see what’s cheaper/expensive and go from there. Also I will edit my itinerary to include the following;
Thanks everyone for all the lovely comments and suggestions. I can’t wait to get there!
Check the train routes/schedules before deciding where to slot in Orvieto.
Fast trains from Florence to Naples are 3 hr direct- no changes.
From Florence to Orvieto will probably be a couple of regional trains or at least 1 regional, 1 fast
From Orvieto to Naples you will likely need to change in Rome and there are fewer trains from Orvieto to Rome as I recall.
Might be nice to stop in Orvieto for a bit of a breather between Rome and Florence as both will be crazy busy
You can check now same day of week as schedules don't change all that much
https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html
Also Tod’s Salerno idea is great
We really enjoyed our time there but I can see preferring Naples
