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Honeymoon Rome/Sorrento/Sicily, 2 weeks

Posted by on

Hello Guys!

My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon and feel overwhelmed by the breadth of resources. We are aiming for a 2 week trip total, plus maybe 1-2 days. We are flying in at the beginning of September.

Itinerary Possible:
1) Fly into Rome for 4 full days (one of those days being in Vatican City). Travel around Rome by foot & metro.
2) Morning of the 5th day: Rent a car (manual) from Rome to Pompeii, Italy driving about 2hr30 on the fastest route.
3) Morning exploring Pompeii, Italy.
4) Drive from Pompeii to Sorrento at night to sleep, about 45 min drive.
5) Stay in Sorrento for another 3 days. Explore Sorrento/Amalfi/Positano/Capri during that time.
6) Evening of 3rd day in Sorrento: Drive car to Naples in evening. 55 min drive.
7) Take the Napoli Palermo ferry with our car, 10 hrs 30 minutes at night. Or whatever ferry there is to Sicily.
8) Spend 7 days. Maybe 8 days in Sicily.
9) Drop off car. Fly home to JFK from Rome via Palermo or Catania.

Since this is a honeymoon trip. We would like to explore more the first week and relax more in Sicily on the beautiful beaches week 2, perhaps see some ruins/volcanos/city life in the evenings for Sicily. We love walking all day. What cities do you suggest? Where do we rent a car and drop it off for the least amount of $$$?

Ideas of cities in Sicily: Palermo, Taormina, Syracuse, Cefalu, Catania, Erice.

In summary, we are wondering if you could provide guidance on the following:
-general thoughts on the itinerary (e.g., flow through the cities & sufficient number of days in each city)
-recommendations for itinerary in Sicily

We thank you for any ideas.
Natalia

Posted by
11613 posts

Make sure your rental car is covered for driving in Sicilia.

If not, or to save some time, you could turn in the car at Capodicchino airport (Napoli), and fly into Palermo and out of Catania, renting another car at Palermo airport or, if you spend some time in Palermo, pick up the car on your way out.

Cefalu and Erice (and I would add Segesta) can be done as daytrips from Palermo, although Cefalu has beautiful beaches and might be your base for a few nights, visiting Palermo, Segesta and Erice as daytrips.

I don't know if you have enough time for Taormina, Siracusa and Catania. But I would spend a couple of nights in Siracusa (Ortigia) and perhaps one night in Taormina (or two if you have an afternoon flight out of Catania); turn in your car at Catania airport and enjoy the view of Mount Etna from the departure area.

Posted by
4105 posts

Zoe has given you excellent advice. Why spend 10+ hours on a ferry and use valuable vacation time. Flight will be less expensive too.

I love driving in Italy, but the trip between Rome and Naples is frankly boaring. It's just a major highway unless you plan to stop somewhere.

Take an early train to Napoli centrale, then the Circumvesuvian to Pompeii scavi. Baggage check at the train station and the entrance at Pompeii. 3-4 hours at the site, pick up luggage then continue by train to Sorrento.
If you really need a car here, there are several agencies on the main road. Be aware parking on the AC is very expensive.

Posted by
15798 posts

I really don't think a car will enhance any of your time from Rome to Naples. I was just there last month. And I rented a car and drove the Amalfi Coast. In February, there are very few tourists, so only local traffic on the road. Driving is slow and the road is narrow and winding with lots of blind curves and some of the locals are crazy drivers. Add to that motorcycles and some bicycles, plus the public SITA buses. I didn't stop in Positano because I didn't find a convenient parking place. There were very few parking spots in Amalfi or any of the other towns. I am a pretty intrepid driver, but I gave up trying to drive from Amalfi to Ravello. Parking, when I found it, was €1-2 an hour, but that was clearly winter rates. You'll want to take the ferry along the coast for the views - they weren't running when I was there. That means parking for hours and having to return by bus or ferry to pick up the car - or leaving it in Sorrento and taking the bus or ferry for the day.

From Naples, you can take the ferry, but you can also fly - that's what I'd suggest. You can easily rent a car in Palermo or Catania and drop it at the other end. I would not try to connect to/from Sicily to the U.S. on a separate ticket. Either plan to spend a day in Rome at both ends of your trip or book open-jaw into Rome and out of Sicily or vice versa, so you are "covered" if there's a delay with a flight or your luggage.

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