florence, rome, calabria

You should start with the RS Italy 2009 book. Itineraries differ depending on interests, time of year, physical ability, etc. You might want to share those here to help people help you.

What time of year? Why did you pick Calabria? is there something special you want to see? What about the Rome, Florence, and Venice option.

We did Rome and Puglia (heal of the boot...an awesome unspoiled area of Italy) in one trip, but you are covering a large area, with not much in the way of flight options.

Or we did the mainland and a quick train trip or cheap flight to Sicily.

At least when we did the Rome -Puglia trip we had rail, auto, and lots of lo-cost flight options that made the distance easy to transverse.

Thanks Everyone,
Time of year: late May into April
Interests: sights, food, art, curiosity
Reason for Calabria: 89 yr. old Aunt is coming and her one desire is to go to Calabria which is the home of her late husband...can't say no to that.

Allison: Looking at a map, I can see 2 ways to do this, both of them awkward because of the location of Calabria at the toe of the heel: Fly into Rome, go 400 miles south to Calabria, then about 600 miles north to Florence, then 175 miles south to Rome, fly out of Rome.orFly into Florence or Pisa airport (Florence unless you get a significantly better airfare into Pisa), then 175 miles to Rome, then 400 miles to Calabria, then 400 miles back to Rome, fly out of Rome.

So, with Calabria being so far out of the way, should we skip Rome & Florence and visit somewhere closer/more convenient to Calabria??

I think you need to examine why you wanted to come to Italy. Was it to see Rome and Florence or to visit Calabria? BTW, where in Calabria, as the region is large. The drive from Calabria to Rome takes a day, do not go by how many miles to calculate how long it would take, the highway that runs through Calabria is infamous for its traffic jams especially in summer, and the drivers can be agressive. Rome and Florence are a must if you are coming all the way to Italy for the first time. But if you are set on heading south, maybe leave Florence out, go into Rome, then head down to Naples and the Amalfi coast before going on down to Calabria. Calabria is beautiful, with a kind of wild beauty, most tourists are Italians, many who live up north but vacation there in the summer or come back to see relatives. it is also one of the poorest parts of Italy, but definitely off the beaten path. If you are there during the warmer months plan a few days on the beach. Calabria is filled with free, public beaches that are open to anyone.

Meridiana (www.meridana.it) offers flights between Rome & Calabria starting March 31. Prices begin at 24.99 euro per person one way. Instead of spending one long day driving you could fly there & pick up a car. If your other destinations are Florence & Rome you only need a car to explore Calabria.

Great info Sam! It would make it easier on everyone to fly to Calabria.

Allison, your trip will have to revolve around your 89 year old aunt. Walking is the name of the game in Rome and Florence, and you will need to see how you can do that with her. It might be best for you to limit your trip to only two locations this time; Rome and Calabria, or Firenze and Calabria. 2 weeks and three locations just might be too much for your Aunt, and the cobblestones in Rome and Firenze are going to be hard on your Aunt.

If you rent an apt (with an elevator!)in some of the locations it can make it much more convenient for all of you. Maybe your Aunt could stay at the apt, while you go off exploring on some days? She will feel much more at home in an apt.

In Calabria you can make the trip a "car exploration" jaunt, and you can take day trips from a central location. This would prob be best for all involved. Also it will be warmer and beautiful down south.

We have rented our apts from VRBO.com, and Homelidays.com with great success. a good reference guide that we always use in Itlay is our Lonely Planet guidebook. It does a good job covering Calabria. What ever you do, keep the trip simple and easy, so your whole family can have a great time!

Thanks so much for all the info. The truth is that my Aunt has more energy than most of us! She still travels around the country and does tons of heavy-duty gardening...very inspiring. However, I think you're right that perhaps limiting our trip to two locations may be a better idea. Most of us in this group have already been to Rome & Florence so it may be a matter of choosing one in addition to Calabria...Rome is sounding like the better choice. Many thanks!

Allison, my personal recommendation is to fly into Roma and home from Lamezia or Reggio. I've done this myself several times. Back tracking by land from Calabria all the way to Roma to fly home is a terrible waste of time and money. Good luck and enjoy Calabria!! It is a beautiful region that is yet untapped by American tourists. The people are intense, the food and wine is delicious and the beaches are really beautiful. Be sure to visit Reggio, Vibo Valentia and Scila.