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florence / tuscany/sorrento/rome - december 20 2015 - January 7 2016

Posted by (singapore) on

family of 4 planning this itinerary : florence 3days, tuscany 6 days, sorrento 6 days, rome 3 days
We will be spending christmas in montepulciano and new years in sorrento.
1) Looking for english speaking guided tours in florence, pompeii and rome. would appreciate recomendation of guide.
2) planning to do day trips from montepulciano to siena, san gimignano, val d'orcia, chianti, etc from dec 24-29. appreciate recommendations to narrow places to visit in tuscany during this period.

3) we would like to also visit one of the thermal wilderness pool. which is open and best around montepulciano ?
4) recommendation for day trips from sorrento during dec 30 - jan 3. Positano? amlafi coast ? naples? pompeii?
5) any other tips/sugggestions with itinerary welcomed and appreciated

KLC

Posted by
11852 posts

Sorrento portion: Day trips to Pompeii and possibly Herculeneum on same day. Greatest guide is Gaetano Manfredi. He is in high demand so contact ASAP. We loved visiting Pompeii on a cold but clear December day a number of years ago. Also a day in Naples is good, following the Rick Steves' self-guided tour (in his book). And a day going down the coast to Positano and Amalfi Town via the bus. It is a bust period in Sorrento, so I hope you have your reservations. The Italians love to go there after Christmas, at least the ones that are not skiing up north.

Roma: Try Francesca Caruso ([email protected]) or Sonia Tavoletta ([email protected]) for private tours of Ancient Roma or the Vatican. Walks of Italy also does a great job.

You'll need a car for your time in Tuscan countryside but not in Florence (Firenze), Sorrento nor Roma. In fact cars are a liability in the latter three cities.

The drive from Montepulciano to Montalcino is lovely, and the abbeys at Monte Olivieto Maggiore and Sant'Antimo (Montalcino) are treasures. Check opening hours as I believe they both close at Noon and not certain at what hour they reopen. Everything is subject to change at Christmas anyway so check and double-check.

Posted by
2216 posts

We fly out the day you fly in. I suggest you look at the Walks of Italy tours of Florence. We are taking their "Florence In a Day" tour. This looks like a great introduction to Florence, hitting the highlights. You could use this as your first day orientation, then fill in the other 2 days.

They also offer some great looking Rome tours. I'd love to do their early Vatican tour and their VIP tour of the Coliseum.

I hope you have a great time! We're really excited about our trip!

Posted by
5 posts

How did you find Italy in January? We are going in a couple of weeks and I am getting a bit nervous about short hours and closures. Would you say you were able to see and do what you wanted in this low season? We are going to be primarily in Tuscany, spending 3 days in Florence.

Thank you.

B

Posted by
1246 posts

B,

I think if you start a new thread with your question, you will get more responses. This is an older thread :)

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