Please sign in to post.

Italy Trip with Teen

I'm trying to nail down a good itinerary for Italy with my nephew in June. He's just started college and likes things like history, hiking and cars.

Here's what I have so far:
3 nights Venice (we will arrive late that first day)
2 nights Cinque Terre
1 night Parma (nephew wants to go to car museums in Modena)
3 nights Florence (with a short stop in Pisa on the way there)
3 nights Rome
2 nights Pompeii/Sorrento
4 nights Puglia (with 2 nights Matera and likely 2 nights elsewhere -- this might get cut to 3 nights if we have to fly home out of Rome)

Does this seem do-able? Any tweaks you would suggest? (I really loved the CT last time I was there and hiking between the towns and think he will enjoy that, but is it worth it to go that far off the path? Better to do some hiking elsewhere?)

We will do it all by train, except for Puglia. We'll either take a train to Bari and rent a car there or rent a car in Naples or the outskirts of Rome and drive there. So we will have a car for that. In Florence, we'll have at least one day trip, probably to the Tuscany area and likely a cooking class, something we both like to do. We want to stay closer to Pompeii to make it easier to hit Pompeii earlier and the stuff there and then possibly hit the history museum in Naples the next day or something else.

PS: I should note that I have been to Venice, CT and Florence, but he has not. But I've never been to Rome or further south.

Posted by
3023 posts

You may want to take a day trip to Siena from Florence and remove Puglia and tour the Amalfi Coast instead.

Posted by
897 posts

The trails along the CT have been iffy over the past few years so you may find that you will not have access to that feature. A hectic and ambitious schedule to be sure, but doable. I agree with the other poster that Siena certainly merits a day trip.

Posted by
27348 posts

Three nights strikes me as short for Rome, and I probably wouldn't press on from Matera to Puglia if I had just one night there. Even two would be marginal for me; I'd rather add those nights to other stops, like Rome. I like Puglia a lot, but it's an area, not a town, so it needs time.

Posted by
2136 posts

When were you in CT? If is has been a while, it may not be like you remember it, now that it has become a cruise ship stop.

I suggest you take a map and plot out your trip. Include travel times. To me, I see a lot of moving with no indication of how much time you'll spend just getting from one place to another. I would extend the trip or cut out some stops.

Posted by
3 posts

I was last in CT seven years ago. It’s sad to hear it’s like a cruise ship stop now. :( I was there right after massive flooding. They’d just gotten cleaned up. On the upper trail through the vineyards, I literally saw maybe two people. And it was June. (May have been the flooding scared people off.)

Posted by
897 posts

As DougMac stated, the train stations at each town in CT are like mosh pits now. The only way to get around and not feel like you are getting on a subway in Tokyo is via the water taxis. Personally, I can no longer recommend CT as a destination due to the crowding. Lovely views spoiled by their success. Go further north and west to the Italian Riviera.

Posted by
16894 posts

Instead of staying one night in Parma to visit Modena, why not stay that night in Modena, within walking distance of the train station and newer Museo Enzo Ferrari? Also, if taking the Ferrari shuttle bus to Maranello for the main musuem, you might want the first 9:40 departure from outside Modena train station, since they're not very frequent.

Posted by
4535 posts

Look closely at travel times. I think you lose a lot of time in transit in this plan--for example Venice to CT, and it might not make the Parma day trip feasible.
Maybe instead of trying to fit in Puglia, add some time to the other stops. I'd choose either Cinque Terre OR the Amalfi coast/Sorrentine coast for hiking.

Posted by
325 posts

If you're visiting the Naples/Amalfi area, I suggest making time to take a bus up to Mt. Vesuvius. Our kids/teens liked the adventure of driving up the mountain, and the easy hike up to the top. What a view! It was thrilling after the tour in Pompeii. All done in one day.

Posted by
4105 posts

I too would skip the Cinque Terre on this trip especially since you are planning on the Amalfi Coast. Try this path to maximize your time.

Day 1. Arrive Venice. Bus to city. Vaporetto to dock closest to your lodging.

Day 2. Venice.

Day 3. Venice.

Day 4. Train... 2Hr11min. Venice-Modena.
Here's some info on the car factories. Ferrari,
Maserati, Pagani and Lamborghini. You might be able to fit one in the afternoon.

https://www.familyadventureproject.org/supercar-road-trip-motor-valley-italy/

Day 5. Modena. More car tours.

Day 6. Train... 58 min. Modena-Florence

Day 7. Florence. Day trip to Tuscany. 6-10 hours.

Day 8. Florence. Day trip to Pisa or cooking class.

Day 9. Train...2hr54min. Florence-Naples.
Circumvesuvian train located downstairs of Napoli Centrale. Either head directly to Sorrento
Or go directly to Pompeii Scavi 36 min. Luggage storage at either the station or at the site. Then continue to Sorrento 39 min. after visiting the site. If you decide on the latter, you'll need 2 seperate tickets.

Day 10. Sorrento. Day trip Amalfi Coast by Ferry/Bus.

Day 11. Pick up rental car in Sorrento travel to Matera. Heading to Salerno then Potenza, better roads. Around 3-3hr30min.

Day 12. Matera.

Day 13. Matera-Alberobello 1Hr15m. Alberobello-Polignano a Mare 35min. Then drive to Bari 40 min. Drop car. 1 N Bari.

Day 14. Train... 4hr06 min. Bari-Rome.

Day 15, 16, 17 Rome.

Day 18. Travel.

This is a fast pace trip with 3 two nite stops.
But as long as you don't try to fit anything else in
It's very doable.

Edited to add.

Posted by
3 posts

Gerri, thanks so much for the info! I'm going to mark your message in my email so I can access it again closer to when we go. It's funny that you dropped CT and Parma because as I've fine-tuned my plan, that's what I ended up doing. (I've even considered whether it'll be easier to just park it in Florence and do a day trip to the cars from there.) With regards to CT, I will tell my nephew that we've got to leave some stuff for him to be able to make a return trip to see.

Amanda, the Mt. Vesuvius idea is great! If we have time, I will keep that in mind because it is something we would both enjoy.

I appreciate all of the tips and opinions everyone has left here. I'm sure they'll also help other people planning future trips.

Posted by
7809 posts

CT is a bit out of your way. Save it for anther trip and add more days to Rome.

A week in Rome is not enough.