Hi,
Our party of 5, 3 folks in their 50s and two 18 year olds, will be traveling to Rome for 3 days, on to Sorrento for 4 days and then (likely) on to Florence for 6 days. My question: should we stay in Florence for the entire time and do day trips? Recommendations? Or is there someplace along the route to Florence to stop? We'd like a combination of museums/ sights along with a few hikes thrown in if possible. Thanks for past and present suggestions!
6 nights is 5 full days -- a nice amount of time for Florence. I would do a day trip by bus to Siena. You might also do a day trip to Lucca with a short stop in Pisa -- but certainly don't drop below 3 full days for Florence itself. It is densely packed with things to see.
Are you counting days or nights? Most of us find it's clearer to count nights. Take into account that changing locations uses up 1/2 day or more, that means 3 nights = 2 full days and a bit of one more.
If you land in Rome from the U.S., for 3 nights, you have 2 days to see Rome and you may find that even after a night's sleep, you're still jetlagged and can't absorb much or even do much. Rome to Sorrento can take a lot of time. You have to change trains in Naples, takes a few minutes to get to the Circumvesuviana train and you may have to wait a while for it, then it's a slow train to Sorrento. 4 nights in Sorrento gives you 3 days there. Then a long journey to Florence. You'll need to allow enough time to arrive in Naples and get to the train to Florence - and the Circumvesuviana is often late.
I now see that this is the third question you've posted for this trip, but you haven't answered our questions - like when you are planning to go. You asked about renting a car. Are you going to or not? I really want to help, but I feel like I'm just guessing at your thoughts. I look at a lot of questions every day and don't usually remember who's asked what (or what answers they've received). So I suggest you give us more information and instead of revising your plan and starting a new thread, you continue with one, so that you don't get repeating advice and we don't have to look for your other posts.
For instance, you asked is there someplace along the route to Florence to stop which sounds to me like you are planning to make the trip from Sorrento to Florence by car. The answer will be completely different with a car than by train. And probably also if you're going in March or August.
Last summer, myself and another traveler stayed in Florence for 4 nights. We spent our evenings and some afternoons walking around Florence, which was perfect. Then, we did a day trip to Cinque Terre (highly recommended), a half-day trip to Pisa, and a day trip around Tuscany and to San Gimignano.
The Cinque Terre and Pisa trips were through a tour company called "CAF Tours" and they were wonderful. We will be using them again when we visit Italy next summer.
Our trip to Tuscany was through "Fun in Tuscany", who were also fantastic and I highly recommend them.
Agree with Jane as to Florence being 'densely packed', which is good for you in that you will get maximum bang for your buck while having a home base. Whether you're a novice or seasoned European traveler, research the possibility of an apartment, seeing that you'll be there 5 nights. We did this last March on our 2nd trip to Florence, and it seemed to help us assimilate in short order.
For daytrips, it would be beneficial to stay relatively close to the Santa Maria Novella train station, and the bus station is right next to that, but anything not too far east, and preferably north of the river would work. It's a walking town.
Yes, Siena by bus is a do, I think Fiesole is a nice little diversion, but I wouldn't plan too much. The magic of Florence is the quiet in the morning when sneaking out for an espresso, or grabbing a quick gelato at night on the way back to your apartment or hotel.
You don't specify the time of year for this trip, which could affect plans from my way of thinking. Hopefully it's not in the heat of summer and tourists, July or August.
Enjoy your planning!
