My sister and I are taking our mother to Italy for her 70 bday this summer. We have been to Venice and Rome, our mother hasn't been outside NorthAmerica. We have a whirlwind trip that takes us from Venice to Palermo where we are renting a car and driving from Sicily to Sorrento in 3 days. We plan to drop the car in Sorrento and stay for 4 days and then get a day rental and drive to Rome. After 4 days in Rome we are renting another car and driving to Cinque Terre, Lucca and finally Florence. I will be the driver for the entire trip. Any tips? Where is a good place to park in Amalfi so we can get out and tour for a bit?
Thanks.
Stacey:
I've been a car traveler in my past, however expensive car rentals, fuel, parking and tolls in Italy have made me a proponent of traveling slower. Now, our trips are no longer one big blur.
Italy has so much culture, history, art and architecture that you don't want to overdose your Mom and it's virtually impossible to see it all in one trip. And don't forget that Summer travel in Italy is very hot and muggy--and often air conditioning is less available than in other countries.
Most people travel from city to city in Italy via inexpensive trains--many of which are fast trains. Very few travelers on the Amalfi Coast use rental cars because of the lack of parking and terrible roads. Most use buses and take the train from Sorrento to Naples and on to Rome.
It's nice to be adventurous, but you really need to consider simplifying your itinerary and cutting your trip down to a manageable size. (Note: I was in Rome this past Easter weekend.)
I hope you don't mean that you are arriving in Palermo (flying from Venice? Nothing wrong with that idea) and immediately picking up a car and starting to drive up to Sorrento. That would be a strange way to spend 3 days, given the glories of Italy. Sicily is fabulous, but it deserves as close to 2 weeks as you can get (if not longer) not a one-day drive-by.
Many years ago I took a one-day bus trip along the Amalfi Drive. Even then (pre the big boom in European tourism), I was very, very happy not to be sitting behind the wheel.
Consider flying from Catania or Palermo to Napoli, then take the Circumvesuviana to Sorrento.