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florence or naples/sorrento ? (or elsewhere?)

hello,

We have 14 full days in italy, flying in and out of Rome. I have been to Rome and Assisi once before but my fiancee (wife as of the honeymoon) has not. We were thinking Rome 4 days + 1 day trip to pompeii, siena 2 days, cinque terre 2 days, skip florence (I know, i know, I have seen the flak people are taking on this site for suggesting that - we haven't completely ruled it out, especially since we have some extra time) then venice for 2 days. That leaves us 3 full days to squeeze in anywhere in the itinerary. One of the things my fiancee is interested in doing is spending at least 2 days on a beach so I did ask earlier if there was a good beach north of Rome in late June or if we would have to go south to Naples/Sorrento?. Someone suggested Orbetello, but I wasnt sure if it would be cold for swimming in late June? Basically should we use the extra time to stop in florence and find a beach north of Rome or is it worth it to extend the pompeii trip into extra days and then double back past Rome to go north? Any input is greatly appreciated!

Posted by
536 posts

Hi Richard - I would absolutely suggest Cinque Terre - A truly amazing area with lots to do from walking the trails to beaches, to sitting in a Cafe doing nothing!! I would suggest Carla's place in Vernazza -
http://www.nerinarooms.it/ Please check out her website - Located directly on The Harbor next to Al Castello - Fabulous location - no problem going to the beaches from any of the villages - the local train will get you there in minutes!!

Have a Great Trip, Greg

Posted by
1201 posts

Why not combine the beach days with the CT days? Stay in Monterosso al Mare. It has the largest beach and actually looks like a beach that Americans would recognize instead of a short span of pebble in front of the rocks. Google it for some photos.

No problems from me with skipping Florence altogether, not one of my favorite cities.

You might want to consider leaving the Rome portion of your trip until the end since you will likely want to be closer to the airport on your last night.

You could train to Venice on arrival in Rome and then work your way back to Rome for departure. You might want to add a day to Venice.

Posted by
689 posts

The beaches near Orbetello (Monte Argentario) should be plenty warm for swimming by late June. The water was like bathwater in July. It's further south of the CT and not at all crowded. We stayed at Baia d'Argento Hotel in Porto San Stefano.

We love Florence but we love smaller, out of the way places better. We've found some charms in our travels!

Posted by
527 posts

Not to be a negative but when I was in Italy in 2008 a newspaper article had a map of the polluted beaches in Italy. It was very extensive including all of our favorites. I do love the water and the small pebbled beaches are picturesque in both the North and South. In Positano my husband was bitten twice by a huge jelly fish. Our last trip we enjoyed the sea from a boat and balconies.