Italy itinerary help

HI Cindy. do you have rick steves italy book? if not, definitely get it at bookstore or library. Enjoy your trip!

I am most definitely a car person and have driven both CT a few times and also the Amalfi Coast, and have to say it is not something I care to do again. Parking, etc. in CT was difficult, so now I take the train from Allesandria or La Spezia. I also drove the Amalfi during the off season thinking it would not be bad, but it really was not too enjoyable. Again, parking here was a nightmare. I love driving the countryside, but if I go to Amalfi again I would take a train. I travel lots without reservations, however in CT and Amalfi Coast Sept is still prime time. I have had to stay out a bit.

We too are car people; but on our recent trip (July) to both CT and the Amalfi Coast (Positano), we opted not to have a car. It's just not practical in those places. If you were going to the Amalfi Coast in November (as I did once), you could then drive and park without problem. In CT, if the sea is calm, you can take boats from town to town and on the Amalfi Coast, you can take the SITA busses up and down the coast.

First and foremost,do what Bob stated, get a CURRENT Italy RS guidebook and take it with you. Good luck on going without reservations, but you might consider maybe one or two stops along the way WITH reservations, might help the trip AND save a marriage! LOL Although RS discourages driving in CT and Rome, my hard-headed Son-in-law took us to CT, wasn't as bad as I expected but we had a late start and arrived during the night. Parking there didn't seem to be a problem as previous poster stated, however, you'll have to bring luggage some distance. I think the car route to CT would be enjoyable for the Passenger, the driver would need to stay focused on all the many hairpin turns, and should be done before sundown for safety and scenery sake. Just curious, if you are in Milan, have you considered going to Lake Como region for a day or so?? Upon leaving CT,presumably with a GPS, give the tower of Pisa a quick visit, I think it's worth it. Vernazza is my personal favorite CT village. There are two cliff top restaurants that have killer views,good wine and decent food. Rick does an excellent job of describing everything. The small cafes, Butcher type shop, allow you to make a picnic meal. Also, it MAY be grape picking time?? Good Luck!!

The ZTLs in Italy are costly traps. I just read an article I think in Republica reporting that Pisa's ZTLs might be rigged, so much so that a legal challenge has been brought by some EU regulatory agency. If I were revisiting the Tower, I would park on the outskirts and use the bus system to get in/out. Others with more experience probably employ better strategies. Apart from visiting Paestum, the rest of the major sites around the Bay of Naples and along the Amalfi Coast are easily reached by train or bus, plus seasonal ferries. For me, having the car would have been an expensive time consuming nuisance, so I returned it right after Paestum.

We have our flight tix and actually fly into Florence on Wed the 14th. We do have RS book and recommendations. We plan to now have a hotel for 1st night so we don't spend any time looking and can enjoy the town. We are not museum people but will spend the next day seeing a few things and heading to Cinque Terre by train. Have not decided if we will get a hotel there in advance or not. Any recommendations welcome. Thinking 3 nights and Sunday heading to wine country of Tuscany. No plans or reservations for there. We really want to eat and drink wine and see the people and country. Thinking a couple nights at each place we stay as we move around. My husband says we should get a car after Cirque to get around in countryside. Saturday we plan to go to Sorrento, currently no reservations or plans but will the car. On Tues we go to Positano for 4 nights with reservations at Casa Albertina great reviews and personal recommendations). Any recommendations for Amalfi Coast or Tuscani appreciated. We fly back out of Naples but spend Sat night in Belgium. Need a hotel that night but plant visit local places, drink Belgium beer and buy Belgium Chocolate. So more plans than before but still lots to tie down. Any and all recommendations helpful.
Cindy

Cindy September in Italy is high season. This makes it difficult to have a spontaneous trip when finding a hotel can be an arduous and time consuming process. Many previous threads have mentioned that there are very few hotels now available in the CT for Sept. Check out RS Cinque Terre suggestions about just showing up at the train station and seeing if someone will be offering rooms. Get there early in the day. Outside of Florence and Sienna, the towns are small and the hotel options variable. It really is easy to pick a place or places you would like to stay, check availability and make a reservation. From almost any of the towns, you can make day trips to other Tuscany sights. Not perhaps what you originally had in mind, but makes for a longer marriage. Italian cars are way too small to spend the night. Bobbie Good luck.

In the CT, a lot of rooms are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. The trick is to get there as early as possible in the day.