Our family of 4; my husband & I and our 2 adult kids; age 23 & 20 are heading to Italy May 10-21st. I have most of it figured out but the last leg. We land in Venice on May 11th and will be travelling by train and other public transportation. Here is our itinerary thus far:
Day 1-Venice (1 night)
Day 2-4-Cinque Terre (2 nights)
Day 4-7 Florence (3 nights)- we'll be taking a day tour through Tuscany
Day 7-9-this is the leg I am indecisive over. 3 ideas:
Take a ferry to Ischia and stay 3 nights with a cooking class, possible boat tour, etc.
Stay in Sorrento and do boat tour of Amalfi coast, cooking class, etc
Stay in Amalfi or Ravello and do boat tour, cooking class, etc.
I was hoping to be able to not end our trip in a chaotic place but also want to be able to see the coast from the water. It would be great if we could do an Amalfi coast boat tour from Ischia but I know it is far away and have been having problems finding one. Our family is not huge on shopping and fighting crowds. At the moment, i have an airbnb reserved for both Sorrento and Ischia and will need to cancel one of them.
Any ideas or suggestions?
Our last night is in Naples near the airport so we can fly out early the next day.
Posted by
5645 posts
Are you sure you are going to be okay with just one night in Venice?
Just be aware that you lose several hours in transit to CT from Venice and to Florence, so you will want to check the train times carefully to make sure you get the fastest one. If everything is not already booked, then I would strongly suggest putting your CT days toward the Amalfi area, as then you could get everything you want without being so rushed. Two days on Ischia or the Amalfi Coast would be too little for me--it's not enough to account for the travel time. Naples does have some wonderful waterfront hotels, so that is where I would choose.
Posted by
1263 posts
I know you wont want to hear this, but you are spreading yourself so thin that the 'return' of laying eyes on these places is less than the investment of time and energy to move from place to place. You have 1 day in the CT (assuming you arrive in VCE early on the check-in day so you have time to at least see something for 10 hours, and then depart to the train station the next morning where you will wait for the train, and if all goes well, take 6 more hours to get to the CT. You'll arrive there in the afternoon and have that evening and the next full day). 2 days in Florence is the minimum I would say someone wants to get a good taste of a few of the wonders of it, so that's ok. Then another long voyage South. To get from Florence to Ishcia would take most of that day. So far, of your 10 days, you have 2 where you are spending almost the whole day traveling.
I would choose north or south to focus on Florence and North, or Florence and south. Another way to think of it is 3 places. So if you want the CT, I would fly in to Pisa and go to the CT, then Florence, then south. Or Venice, CT, and Florence. Or Florence, Ischia or Sorrento, and Naples.
Posted by
2995 posts
I am afraid I agree with the others. If your flights are set, I would spend the two days you have allocated to Cinque Terre to Venice, keep Florence the same, and go to Ischia for your last three nights. You only have 9 nights and you currently are trying to go to 4 places and are losing a lot of time to travel.
The Amalfi coast is very crowded and would not be a good idea if not huge on crowds. It is much harder to get away from the crowds than in Venice or Florence.
Posted by
1122 posts
This gets easier when you drop Cinque Terre. It’s a total divergence in time/transportation for more of what you’re already getting on your Amalfi Coast leg. Take one of those two nights and give it to Venice, the other to Amalfi.
Cancel Ischia and stay in Sorrento. You’re completely stranded in Ischia. Sorrento gives you nothing but options. You’re there a little early in the season, so some less than ideal weather is a possibility. For that reason alone, I’d stay on the mainland. Amalfi Town would also be a very good choice, but since you have reservations already in Sorrento I’d stick with that.
Posted by
16 posts
Ischia is definitely the most relaxing option. It’s less touristy than the Amalfi Coast, but it is a big island and, as you mentioned, a bit more removed. The ferry ride to Positano is one of the shorter options (around 2 hours), and from there you could do a boat tour of the Amalfi Coast if you can’t find one directly from Ischia. Here's a link that might help: https://www.ferryhopper.com/en/ferry-routes/direct/ferry-ischia-positano-traghetti
Otherwise, Sorrento might be a good middle ground. It’s more connected, with easier access to the Amalfi Coast and other nearby spots. You’d have no trouble finding a boat tour from there, and while it is more touristy, it's not overwhelming.