First time in Europe, First time Traveling alone...

I don't think you have a concept of distances and time. Also I don't think you realize how much there is to see, in terms of history, landscape and culture, in every single place.

You only have 8 or 9 days free. After the wedding you should visit the rest of Italy instead of going all over the place to BCN and AMS. Every travel day is a wasted day.
First of all you could go straight to Sorrento the day of arrival and rest for the evening. You'll be jet lagged when you arrive, so visiting Rome will hard. Since you have never traveled before you probably don't know how brutal jet lagging can be when the time difference is 6 to 9 hours. Also Rome needs at least a minimum of 2 full days (3 nights) just to see half of the bare minimum.
You will have 4 nights in Sorrento, which is the bare minimum since the gulf of Naples has a lot to offer (Sorrento, Capri, Amalfi Coast, Pompeii, Ercolano, Vesuvius, Naples, Ischia, Procida, etc.). You could spend a month in that area and not see everything.
After the wedding, you could utilize your available 10 days to visit Rome (3 nights), Florence and Tuscany (4 nights) and Venice (2 nights). Return from Venice.
See a soccer match in Florence or Rome, if one is scheduled.

Thanks for your reply ; >

maybe i don't have a concept of distance haha.. the flight to Barcelona for the weekend shouldn't be too bad.. this isn't my first time traveling .. just to Europe and by myself.. the flight is 1hr 45m and since it's within europe i don;t see too much added time, since i won't have a bag (just a napsack)... i do weekend trips to NYC every other month so it's not so bad..

the reason to go to Barcelona is STRICTLY to see Barcelona FC play.. they are my favourite FC in Europe and to see the likes of Messi, Neymar Jr (if he's recovered) and the rest of the squad would be unreal to me! If i get to spend a few hours in Barcelona and get some good food i will be happy..

I travel to Korea once every year and jet lag is no issue for me.. but maybe a 12-13 hr difference is easier to get over then a 6-9 hr difference?.. it's worse when i return home.. but ur right it might be smarter to just go down to Sorrento right away .. my house mates for the time at the wedding are not arriving till the 7th so i will have to get a hotel anyway..hence why ithought i could spend that arrival day in ROME..

i like urban life... NYC is awesome and Korea is awesome... i do appreciate what Italy will have to offer but i don't think i can spend more then 5 days "sight seeing" ... Amsterdam might be pushing it... but it was just a thought..

i came across this site from another forum and thought i'd get as much info as possible.

To BCN is not just 1:45 min.
There are no airports in Sorrento, so you need to go to NAP and be there 75 min prior to departure. So 3 hours are gone and you haven't even taken off. Then the flight time is 2 hours. The only flight NAP BCN departs at 2:15pm and arrives at 4:10pm, so you are lucky if you make it to Camp Nou by 6pm. I hope Barca plays at night that day, otherwise you need to go a day earlier. So you have wasted a perfectly fine day just to get to destination. If you plan to return to Italy the next day, another day will be wasted on the return trip. So 2 days are gone and you have seen nothing but airports and maybe 90 minutes of Bleu Grana jerseys playing and didn't even have the time to walk the ramblas from Placa de Catalunya to the port. If that is you plan, see what Vueling has available from NAP to BCN.

i'll actually be in ROME on the 10th...as i do not have any accomendations after the 10th .. spend the 11th in ROME doing the vatican and probably going to BCN on the 12th to the 14th..

probably use Airbnb in Barcelona

and for me to see Barcelona FC play ... that is worth it for me over seeing the sights..

I would like to help you but im baffled by the idea of going from Sorrento to Barcelona in the middle of your Italy vacation. Rather than returning to Italy after you Barcelona FC game, would it make any sense for you to simply stay and enjoy Spain once you get to Barcelona? It seems to me you would spend less time in transit if you were to do so. I don't see a clear way to go from Sorrento to Barcelona and back to Sorrento in the middle of your trip, nor do I see how you can fit in Amsterdam if you return to Italy after Barcelona. Perhaps others will have better ideas.

I think it would also help others on this travel site if you could clarify what your existing airline reservations are. for example have you already booked a round trip that requires you to arrive and leave from Rome? Or are you considering changing a reservation so that you can fly open jaw into Rome and then out of Amsterdam? Or into Rome and out of Barcelona?

Wherever you go, enjoy it!

As you said 11th to the 20th are free for all days and if seeing BCN FC is what you want to do by all means. It sounds to me that it is worth the travel time for you.

Since you have 8 or nine days why not split the time between Barcelona & Rome? You will love Barcelona. It is a young hip city with a vibrant night life, great food, fantastic people oh - and apparently an awesome football club! BTW - we were there last May when Bayern beat them - oh my it was quite a night on Rambla!

Who knows whether you will still be in Sorrento when you leave for BCN - I am thinking after the wedding 4 days you had planned to leave Sorrento.

If you are in Rome Ryanair also uses Ciampino airport which is much smaller than FCO and sometimes flies out of one and returns to the other so be aware when /if you book.

While everyone may not understand - it is your vacation - spend it how you want.

haha thank you everyone... people may not understand but i've been a Barcelona Fan since i was in my teens.. this will be probably my only opportunity to be remotely close to Barcelona to see them play.

i am not going back to sorrento after the wedding.. sorrento is only for the wedding which is on the 9th nor am i returning there at any point in my trip... going to Capi and the bus tour in sorrento is more then enough for me..

so everyone including my friend who is getting married is leaving sorrento after the 10th..

my original plan was to only stay till sept 14th, which would take me to ROME on the 10th till the 14th.. but since i am already there i might as well spend another week there which opens up the time to go to BCN in the middle.. which i can understand a lot of you might not make sense of since i am not "enjoying" the city to the fullest... but to me i would like to mix it up.. food, history, culture, sports, clubs, and little bit of risk.

i know this might not be the right site as a lot of the readership is into sight seeing and going to landmarks, backpacking, seeing the coast and different cities and culture.. but i am really not into that.. i wouldn't mind doing the above for a few days but not for more then a few.. i would get bored.. hence why i asked for out of the box ideas like clubs and more of the urban life activities.

in the summer months my friends and i drive to the US to go on Baseball road trips.. stop in a city for a day watch the game at a nice stadium and then drive to the next city for a day to watch another game... so flying all the way to europe without seeing my favourite football team play when i am only a 2 hr flight away would a total missed opportunity.

but again back to my original question... any ideas of fun, out of the box things to do in Rome besides sight seeing?

Then go straight to the stadio olimpico and watch Roma play. Also while in Sorrento go to Naples San Paolo stadium and see Higuain play.
When you are done in BCN fly to Milan. Both AC Milan and Inter play there. Maybe you can get a chance to see Supermario Balotelli. Also while in Milan you can find a couple of hours to go to Turin and watch Juventus.
Forget the Vatican. Why bother with the Argentine pope if you can see Argentina's Messi

Look into bike or segway tours. There is Gladiator training.

Head out late at night in Rome – when all the tourists have gone home safely tucked away in their hotel room beds and see the sites. Visiting the Trevi Fountain at midnight is magical – and probably the only time that you can get an unobstructed photo of the iconic fountain!

take a Vespa Tour by night

read these and ideas here

Here are a few more tidbits I found:

Trastevere – Viccolo de Cinque street between the Ponte Sisto and Ponte Garibaldi bridges is crowded and lively on the weekends. Cheap food, people drinking on the bridges, on the church steps — you’re sure to have some fun if you hang out in Trastevere. Try the Akab Club for electronic and occasional indie rock nights.

San Lorenzo – Just a ten minute walk down via Marsala. It’s near the University so lots of young trendy folks around. There is a club or two and plenty cheap foods. Try the pizza at Formula One!

Pigneto – This neighborhood (just further south from San Lorenzo) is one of thew newest hotspots for Rome locals. Wine bars and restaurants are the main fare here.

Madonna dei Monti – The Monti neighborhood is probably THE hipster area of Rome. There are some great mens fashion shops and cafes worth visiting during daytime, but visit the plaza at night to see the real fun. There’s a local drink shop where most people just buy a cheap beer to enjoy while sitting at the fountain.

Campo de Fiori - Lonely Planet describes this plaza as the place where you’re most likely to find drunk Romans. With street buskers and heaps of restaurants, it was a cool area to hang out in the evening but it still felt a bit too touristic. Better to visit this square to mark it off your “been there, done that” list, and then head over to Trastevere where all the real locals are.

Perhaps others can chime in on these.

^ amazing!! that's what i was looking for!
Gladiator training and segway tours?? sign me up!

Thank you so very much!

I tend to agree with Roberto that you may have underestimated the time it will take to get from one place to another. You may find that conditions in Europe are a bit different than travelling in this part of the world. Especially as this is your first time in Europe and also your first solo trip, there's going to be "learning curve".

i know this might not be the right site as a lot of the readership is into sight seeing and going to landmarks, backpacking, seeing the coast and different cities and culture.

This IS the right website to seek advice, as there's a very well travelled group here that have many years of travel experience not only for "sight seeing" but also for business and other purposes.