Help with itinerary for Italy vacation?

It looks like your central areas could be Rome, Positano and one location in Northern Italy. You can visit Sorrento, Pompei and Capri from Positano. For Northern Italy, you can stay in either Florence or Siena and day-trip to the other locations. Pisa is easily reached from Florence and Siena. Also, there is frequent bus service (except on Sunday) from Siena to San G. or Florence so that's not a problem. If you can get more specific about where you will be and when, we can get more specific about trains, buses, ferries and jet boats.

Thanks, Larry What do you think of Rome to Orvieto and visiting Montalcino/Montepuliano/Pieza and maybe Assisi and Cortona? Is
this all easily accessed by train/bus and is it to many towns to explore?
Also when buying train tickets do you suggest a rail pass or point to
point travel? Then we would head to Positano for four nights. I have so
many questions. Sorry I'm very new at traveling and this helpline as well.
Thanks
Judy

Judy,

Recently returned from a trip trough Italy. We rented a car when leaving Rome in order to travel through Tuscany. We visited Orvieto, then on to Asissi for the night. We stayed at the Hotel Belvedere and I highly recommend it. The staff are very kind and helpful and the room was clean, roomy and had a great view. After that we drove to Montalcino and found a wonderful apartment in the country, Salicutti. It was beautiful and peaceful.
Enjoy

Judy, you can get a lot of info about traveling in Italy from a guide book. Rick Steve's Italy book will cover all the destinations you mention. It will recommend hotels, sights to see, whether to buy a rail pass or not, train vs. bus vs. car, how to make hotel reservations, etc. It's really up to you, but I doubt you're going to get the same comprehensive advice from a 400+ page book by posting a question at a time on a forum, and it really does sound like you're starting with the very basics.

Judy, it looks like you have a circular type of trip before going SW to Positano from Rome. I would say that you are a great candidate for a rental car out of Orvieto for your Tuscany and Umbria journeys but you asked about train/bus. There are trains to Assisi, Cortona and Montepulciano but there is no train station at Montalcino. For Montalcino, you can take a bus for 2.2Euro from Chiusi which is a handy train station and a nice town to visit. Note the the train stations in Assisi and Montepulciano are not in the towns and you will need to take the local bus up to the towns

If you have the time, this is a great hilltown intinerary. But, you will be spending a lot of time on the local Regionale trains (I still like the rental car). From Orvieto, I would suggest going to Montalcino via Chiusi and then to Montepulciano. You can go via the bus to Siena and then the train to Montepulciano or go back out to Chiusi and then take the train. While in Montalcino, CLICK HERE to check out this local hidden train ride treasure.

From the Montepulciano train station, you are an hour away from the Camucia-Cortona train station. CLICK HERE to see the train schedule.

From Cortona, its a short ride to Assisi. At the train station, go next door to the shop and buy a ticket on the Line C bus. The bus stop is in front of the shop. Line C takes you to the top of Assisi. Being a steep town, you can casually walk down. The Basilica is at the bottom.

From Assisi, you have a 2.5hr train ride back to Rome to begin your journey to Positano.

You do not need a railpass. I never recommend a railpass for Italy but in your case its an even stronger recommendation for two reasons. First, you will be on Regionale trains for all of the legs of the trip above except for some bus rides. You might see a Eurostar ride from Foligno to Rome when you depart Assisi. Yes, the Eurail pass will provide free rides on the Regionale trains. But, Regionale train fares are really CHEAP. I've looked up the point-to-point fares for all of your legs (including the buses) and the total does not exceed 60Euros for one person 2nd class on the trains. That's a couple of hundred dollars less than a railpass. Second, and most importantly, a Eurail pass is not accepted on the buses, the Circumvesuviana train from Naples to Sorrento or the SITA bus from Sorrento to Positano (neither does the ferry). If you ride the nice Eurostar from Rome to Naples, Italy will charge you a 20Euro supplemental fee to ride the Eurostar. Coming back out of Positano for your flight home, nothing is covered by the railpass. Please don't waste your mone on a rail pass.

Larry. Thanks so much for all the information. I guess the only problem for me and driving is getting lost,but I'm sure in Tuscany thats half the fun. Would it be best to have a gps or a map? If we did rent a car would you suggest dropping it off in Naples as I do not want to drive The Amalfi Coast. Heading to Positano if we take the bus do they have a luggage compartment? I really appreciate all the help you share. Thanks Judy

Judy, yea for the rental car. I'm usually not a fan of rental cars because people want to drive to Florence, the CT and Venice - three places where you shouldn't have one. But your situation is great. Wandering a bit around Tuscany and Umbria could be priceless. Yes on the map. One website I recommend for car trip planning is http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/viamichelin/gbr/tpl/hme/MaHomePage.htm. It's like Mapquest here in the U.S. A GPS is great. You could invest in a Tom Tom here with European software and have it for your use when you return. It could be a bit pricey to rent there. Also note that most rental cars in Italy are stick shift. You'll have to look for the automatic. Yes on turning the car in at Naples. Works great.

Larry and others who responded. I found your info very helpful. I did invest in a couple of R.S. travel books, lots of help. I have narrowed down my itinerary it is as follows. Rome-4 nights
Orvieto, Montalcino area - 4 nights
Amalfi Town- 4 nights
Naples - 4 nights
We will rent a car to tour Central Italy. Can you rent in Orvieto? Or outside Rome?We will take the train from Naples train station to Salerno. What are the chances of a ferry running for the trip to Amalfi on May 12? I'm not sure if it to early in the season. Larry, I loved the info on Ferrovie Turishche Italiane, we will definitely do it! Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks again as I know the info you share takes a lot of research and time on your part.
Thanks
Judy