1st trip to Italy. My wife and I are adding 4 days to our trip to Italy, last week of March 2022. (Flight is in addition.) We can fly into Italy anywhere and will meet a group in Sorrento for rest of trip after our additional days. Current itinerary with group: Sorrento (2 1/2 days) - includes 1 day to Amalfi Coast; Pompeii tour; Rome (2 days); Florence (2 1/2 days - mostly at leisure). We thought of more time in Amalfi Coast but are afraid the weather might not be conducive/places may be closed at this time of year. Thank you in advance for your suggestions!
Is this your first trip to Italy? If not, what other places have you seen?
Yes first trip. Thanks and also first timer to this forum. :-) We are open to hitting the ground running or can be swayed to relax and take it easy. Just starting to plan and a little overwhelmed.
Gosh it could really be anywhere you can get a good flight to. I would look at flights from your home airport and see what piques your interest. However, it is a short trip and Rome or Florence could certainly use more time. You could fly into Venice and then fly to Naples. The choices are endless.
If the weather is marvelous, you might be kicking yourself you don't have time in the Amalfi Coast, but I would not risk a stay in March. Any interest in Naples? That would be convenient and you could see what was removed from Pompeii. If Naples is intimidating, you could stay in Salerno, a much smaller city at the end of the Amalfi coast. If the weather is good, you could enjoy the coast. If it's dreary, do museums. There are amazing Greek temples about 30 minutes south of Salerno at Paestum.
The weather could indeed be iffy. But your current days in your 3 locations are extremely limited. And I wonder if anyone has considered that your arrival day may well be a blurry brain fog of jet lag. Only 2 days in Rome is really a crying shame. If you're flying into Rome, then stay there for at least 2-3 days, get over your jet lag, and see some of the things you won't have time for with your group. Then perhaps go to Sorrento a day early and explore that town.
Is this a tour you're adding 4 days to? Or have any of your group been to italy?
I agree with Jean adding the extra days as suggested.
We are adding 4 days on our own. (6 days with the flight and a day of rest.)The rest of the trip is with experienced group. I agree that’s it’s short and quick in each city and will need to account for rest from jet lag.
Can you add the 4 days at the end?
Is Sorrento-Rome-Florence the order of the group jog-a-thon?
I'll agree that just two days in Rome is a shame; I'd definitely add more time to that one. And count your time in NIGHTS rather than days? To have 2 FULL sightseeing days in Rome, you need 3 hotel nights. Same for Florence...and I'd add time there too if the group was OK with it; there's not only a lot to see in that one but it's a good base for some nice day trips (Siena, Lucca, etc. )
Do be aware that the ferries around the Sorrentine/Amalfi coasts will only be running between limited locations, such as Sorrento to Capri, in March. They will not be running between Sorrento, Positano and Amalfi until around the beginning of April, weather permitting, so if planning on getting around coastal towns via water versus land....
From this site, under "Ferry information for Amalfi Coast, Italy"
https://www.sorrentoinsider.com/en/ferry-schedule
"Ferry routes run during the tourist season from the beginning of April through October. During the winter months, the only ferry routes active are those between Sorrento and Naples, and Naples or Sorrento and the islands."
Thank you all for your helpful suggestions!
Are you and group flying out of Rome or Florence? If Rome, the trip should end there to avoid backtracking. You need to be in city of airport the previous day to your flight. You should be excited about this trip rather than stressed-you have plenty of time to do your planning a little at the time.