Italy Itenerary

EKC took the words right off of my fingertips. You probably arrive in Rome early in the morning. Take the Leonardo Express to Termini and catch a train to Siena. Take the bus into the main part of Siena (or walk if you are up for it). The bus in Siena is easy. Just ask your hotelier which bus to take and where to get off. You'll save a lot of time by not checking in and out of Rome three times and having all 5 nights in one stay. Get an apartment. You'' be glad for the space and also probably save some money.

I would travel immediately to Siena upon your arrival (assuming you arrive in the morning) and leave all of your Rome time for the end, so my version of your itinerary would be as follows: 9/19: Arrive Rome, get to Siena 9/20 - 22: Siena with a day trip to Florence and one other day trip 9/23: travel to Sorrento (train to Rome, train to Naples, train to Sorrento - possibly stopping at Pompeii on your way to Sorrento) 9/24 - 9/26: Sorrento with day trips 9/27: travel to Rome (train to Naples, train to Rome)
9/28 - 10/2: Rome

Lamar, First of all, congratulations on your anniversary! My first impression of your proposed Itinerary is that it's perhaps a bit too "ambitious" for the time you have available. For example, from 9/21 to 9/23, I don't think you're going to have time to see Siena as well as Pisa, Lucca, San Gimignano and Florence (although one day to Florence by Bus would be possible). Keep in mind you'll be somewhat jet-lagged for the first few days, so won't get as much touring done as you might anticipate. I agree with the others that it would be a good idea to head straight for Siena, rather than spending one night in Rome. However, as this is your first trip to Italy, you'll find yourselves in a "world of chaos" that you probably haven't seen before, especially with the transportation systems. You can buy your rail tickets to Siena at the airport station. A few points to mention.... > If you take the Leonardo Express into Roma Termini, it's VERY important that you validate your ticket in the yellow machine prior to boarding the train. Failure to do so could result in EXPENSIVE fines. Fines can also result for not having reservations on trains where these are compulsory OR not validating tickets on the Buses. > Travel by train from Rome to Siena would be the easiest option (IMO) as the Buses don't run as frequently and you'd likely have to take those from Roma Tiburtina. There will likely be one change on the train ride, so you'll need to be "sharp" to do that while being tired and jet-lagged. I'd suggest a Taxi from the station to your Hotel. > Be sure you're both wearing Money Belts, and be especially vigilant in crowd situations (especially on the infamous #64 Bus in Rome or on the Metro). continued....

Lamar - Part 2.... It is possible to take a Bus from Rome to Sorrento, but travel by train is a bit easier (IMO). You'll travel from Roma Termini to Napoli Centrale via one of the Freccia (fast) trains - reservations compulsory. When you arrive in Naples, go downstairs and buy tickets for the Circumvesuviana train for the trip to Sorrento. Note that they have several lines, so be sure to board the correct train. Sorrento is the "end of the line" on that route. Be VERY vigilant on the Circumvesuviana, as it has a bit of a "reputation" for pickpockets. When you arrive in Sorrento, I would again suggest getting a Taxi to your Hotel as you'll be hauling luggage. With only a very short three days, I'm not sure you're going to have time for "Pompeii/Capri/Amalfi Coast". You can easily tour Pompeii and Herculaneum in one day. I'd suggest hiring one of the local Guides at Pompeii, as the site is quite extensive. A trip to Capri will take one day so that doesn't leave much time for the "Amalfi Coast", which covers a considerable area. One huge concern that comes to mind is that it could be difficult to find Hotel reservations in all the places you plan to visit, given the short time until departure. I often start making Hotel reservations in about March or April for travel in September. To answer your last question, YES, air conditioning is important in September. That's been my experience on numerous occasions. Good luck with your planning and happy travels!

We took slow train Rome to Naples to save money as did not realize if we bought tickets earlier we could have saved money. Anyway, I think it took little more than two hours and fast train about hour and half. Train from Naples, an hour to Sorrento. If you go to Pompeii, suggest first thing in morning, it is about half hour via train from Sorrento. Take water, sun screen, comfortable shoes as it is hot, hot, hot, like DC in August. Be sure you get off at the correct Pompeii stop. As other poster said, be sure to validate your tickets as fine is on the spot and hefty. In a day, you can take a bus down the Amalfi Coast. Bus leaves from train station, be sure to sit on side of bus away from driver for best view. You can get off at say Positano and then later continue on to Amalfi or Ravello. If you do decide to get off at Positano, be sure to get off the second stop or will have to take a local bus to town where the second stop you just walk down the hill to town. It is a hike going up but is lovely town, as is Ravello. You might even be able to get boat back from Amalfi to Sorrento as view from boat is great too. Enjoy.

Thanks for all the expert advice. We decided to spend the night in rome on 9/19 because we don't arrive at the airport until 6 pm. This should give us an opportunity to rest and get our bearings. We may cut back on the day trips while in Siena. I'm doing some logistical planning in that regard now. Regarding the hotels, I have been able to acquire reservations at all three locations (Siena; Rome; Sorrento) at rates between $80 and $110. We are now coordinating transportation from Rome to Siena and return and from Rome to Sorrento and return. We are considering driving for the Rome to Siena leg (will allow us flexibility while in Tuscany) and public transportation for the Rome to Sorrento leg. Any wisdom you would like to share in this regard would appreciated.

Lamar, If you're thinking of renting a car, be sure that you're aware of the usual potentially expensive "caveats" regarding driving in Italy. If you want further information, post another note.