Flying Rome to Naples/Florence to Rome questions

You will go through immigration in Rome and customs in Florence assuming you are coming directly from the US. Your hours may not be wasted since immigration in Rome can be very, very slow if a number of other planes are in at the same time.

Your flight from Florence is domestic - you will go through immigration in Rome for your return flight to the US. An hour and a half is significant in Florence. You will be one of the first to leave.

Thank you Frank! That is helpful--I think you were saying that we can get to Florence airport at 5:30 for our 7 am flight, so that isn't too bad. Glad to know there's a reason to be in FCO for 3.5 hours (and I've heard they have excellent gelato as well)!

We have been through immigration in Rome in as little as 30, 45 minutes. Two years ago on a Saturday morning it was over 2.5 hours. Only two officers on duty and maybe four or five planes unloading in roughly the same time period. So your travel agent may not have done you wrong.

ferrin,

Flying from Rome to Naples and then Florence to Rome is absurd! Your travel agent needs to be "educated" in the Rick Steves travel methods.

In any case, I hope you have a wonderful holiday!

I get the feeling you will be planning your own trips in the future, good for you. No train ride for your trip would be more than two hours, so you are spending unnecessary transit time on this trip. But the hours in Roma will give you a nice cushion in case immigration is backed up.

Hah yes, I'm not ever using her again. I'm confident now I could have planned this better but I'm basically a first timer and traveling with kids so I wanted help. I didn't discover Rick Steves until the trip was mostly booked. Alas, next time! I'm still making the best of it. 10 days in Italy, how can it be bad? :) Thanks everyone! I'll be back with some specific Rome and Florence questions...

10 days in Italy, how can it be bad?

Exactly! You'll have a GREAT time and come home with enough know-how under your belt to confidently plan the next trip on your own! Looking forward to those "specific" questions. :O)

Oh, and do take a run-thorugh of the Italy forums? Many first-timers' questions are asked frequently so you may find some of your ? have already been answered.

You are in for a treat! Prepare to fall in love.

Did the travel agent just arrange your flights or do you have other activities pre-arranged? 10 days may seem like a long time, but trying to do Rome-Naples-Florence in just 10 days is an aggressive schedule, especially since you'll be eating up the better part of a day just getting from Naples to Florence. Is that another flight?

Resign yourself to the fact that you won't be able to do it all (you could take a year and not do it all). Avoid the urge to rush from one bucket list site to another. For us, Italy is as much about ambience as it is about famous sites. Book in some time just to wander around and soak up the atmosphere.

I take it there will be children on the trip. What are their ages? That will have some bearing on how hard you can push and the activities best suited for the entire family. Climbing the Duomo in Florence with a 16 and 18 year old is completely different from trying to do it with a 6 and 8 year old.

Thanks! Yes it is a busy itinerary. I'm open to suggestions as how to spend free time and make the most of it all. My kids are 11 and 14, if that helps. I know we have a lot of time spent traveling between cities, but I wanted to make sure we got to see the places that were important to us. Please don't tell me it's too much (I know it probably is) bc there isn't anything I can do about that at this point other than make it as fun as possible :)

I have been reading a lot in the forums. Trying not to post something redundant ;)

Day1: arrive Rome, transfer to Naples, taxi to hotel in Ercolano
Day2: Tour Pompeii and amalfi with private driver
Day3: train in am to Rome, arrive 9am, afternoon tour of colosseum etc
Day 4: Vatican City morning, free afternoon-heart of Rome walking tour?
Day 5: Rome no plans yet
Day 6: travel by train to La Spezia, hotel is near train station, explore CT in afternoon/evening
Day 7: hike CT, private sunset boat tour
Day 8: train to Florence, hotel near SMN station, afternoon guided tour of Uffizi
Day 9: Florence-no set plans, maybe Duomo and Accademia
Day 10: tour of Tuscany
Day 11: Florence to Rome to USA...

Any suggestions for our free time that tween/young teen kids would enjoy? I'm thinking Via Appia or Ostia Antica maybe in Rome...not sure about Florence yet.
Thanks!

Day1: arrive Rome, transfer to Naples, taxi to hotel in Ercolano
Day2: Tour Pompeii and amalfi with private driver
Day3: train in am to Rome, arrive 9am, afternoon tour of colosseum etc
Day 4: Vatican City morning, free afternoon-heart of Rome walking tour?
Day 5: Rome no plans yet
Day 8: train to Florence, hotel near SMN station, afternoon guided tour of Uffizi
Day 9: Florence-no set plans, maybe Duomo and Accademia
Day 10: tour of Tuscany
Day 11: Florence to Rome to USA...

That sounds like a great trip! Who is doing the Uffizi tour? We did Walks of Italy and loved it. On Day 9, consider the Walks of Italy Florence walking tour. It starts with the Accademia @8:30, where you spend an hour. Then you walk down to the Duomo and from there you walk through the city, ending up at the Ponte Vecchio. You could then decide on the afternoon activities. That might be a good afternoon to leave free and do what the spirit moves you to do.

Do you have your tour of Tuscany booked? You're in the Chianti region and can get a good taste of the region in a day.

This won't be a bad trip for the first visit, but you'll be worn out by the end.

Thanks DougMac-I think you are right--we will be totally exhausted after the trip. I think so far, we have plenty of rest time built in (train rides for one). I have booked the Tuscany tour, found on TripAdvisor. For Uffizi, I have not booked it yet-but I will look into the walks of Italy tours. Thank you! :)

I planned my own trip and sadly also have a Rome To Naples, and Naples to Rome to and from Europe from NYC.

It was oddly way cheaper than a direct to Rome or to Naples at the time. Very odd, but hopefully doesn't suck too much.

I hope so too dantbarnes! :) Good luck to both of us!