Hi
We are a group of eight adults travelling for two weeks in Italy stating May 15,2020. We want to do Rome and the Amalfi coast. Not sure if we have enough time for Sicily. We need to fly home from Rome in May 30, 2020. What is the best way to approach the planning of this trip?
If you can fly into Naples, do so. Otherwise, try to arrive in Rome early enough where you can depart for the coast immediately (so you don't have to split your Rome stay). I'd do about a week in the coast area and about a week in Rome, but allot your days according to your interests. What you want to do on the Amalfi Coast will determine where you stay, so flesh that out first (i.e., any interest in Naples, Pompeii, etc.?) I don't see any advantage to squeezing in a too-shot visit to Sicily in there.
The best way to approach the planning is to hit your local library and check out guides books and especially the travel DVDs - Rick Steves are very good --- and spend a lot of time reviewing the material so that you have some idea of what YOU want to see and do. There are choices and trade-offs to be made. Have a few wine parties to jointly view the DVDs. With eight people there will be mixed interests. The open jaw recommendation above should be seriously considered.
Fly into Rome , and out of Naples. Flying out of Naples, try for flights from Delta / Alitalia or United / Lufthansa these codeshare flights leave Naples after 11:30 allowing ample time to get to the airport from the Amalfi Coast. The other option is to spend your last night in Naples.
I disagree. Returning from Naples is not the best idea. Naples is a much smaller airport with limited flight options. A quick schedule check showed no direct direct flights back to the US. If you return from Naples you will have an early flight from Naples to a connecting flight somewhere else in Europe. The options from Rome, including direct flights, is far better and at a more reasonable hour of the day. And so much easier to get to the Rome airport than the Naples airport.
Thank you all for your helpful responses. We are all from the Toronto, Canada area and the cost of flying direct to and from Rome make the most sense financially.
We are considering flying to Tome and immediately getting a short flight to somewhere near the Amalfi or Sicily. We are wondering if it possible to establish a home base in a smaller town and do day trips from there. We understand hiring a driver might be best.
I would not include Sicily on this trip. It's more of a 2-week destination, not a place to go for a couple of days.
From Rome FCO hire a private driver from the airport to Rome Termini station. About 30 minutes. Then Train from Roma Termini-Napoli Centrale. 1 hour 10 minutes. On arrival in Naples, a private driver to the Amalfi Coast would make the most sense. Around 1 hr 20 min drive. Use this site for train timetables.
https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html
Another option is train, Rome-Salerno 1hr33min
Then ferry to town of choice 35-70 min.
Bus and ferry timetables.
There's a schedule change in December so you just need to choose the same day of the week you'll be traveling to see departure times and prices. This ticket needs to be purchased after you reach the station. If you pre purchase, and your flight is late the ticket is worthless.
Do you have an idea of what you want to see for this portion of your trip? Naples, Pompeii, places on the Amalfi Coast, Caserta Palace, Capri?
All the villages on the coast are small, there is good bus and ferry service to all of them. What type of lodging do you require? Individual hotel rooms, apartments or a villa.
If you can narrow it down, we can be of more help.
....... the cost of flying direct to and from Rome make the most sense financially. ....... Are you absolutely sure? I just ran some test schedules using your dates. The open-jaw ticket into Naples and home from Rome was consistently $700 US dollars. There were cheaper flights but a decent time schedule was $700. RT in/out of Rome had greater variation ranging from from $600 to $725. A comparable decent time schedule was $675. You cannot get to and from Naples via the train for $25/person. The super economy fare is 20 euro but no one would recommend you purchase that fare on your arrival day. The base fare is 48 euro each way plus a 14 euro fare on the Leonard Express from the airport to Termini. The cost of getting to Naples from the Rome airport could easily add 60 euro to your expenses.
It would substantially cheaper to do a open jaw ticket into Naples and home from Rome.
No need to fly to the Amalfi coast, bus or train are better ways to get there. There is a direct bus from Rome airport to Naples. https://www.fiumicinoexpress.com/?lang=en
That or the train are both quite easy. Save your transfer money for when it really counts.
Best course for now is to read up on the Amalfi coast. Some like to stay in one place, some like to move around. With 8 people, you need to tailor it to what is best for your group, but I would certainly emphasize simplicity.
