Itenirary advice - Italy

Thanks for the suggestions. In response to Andrea's questions. It is not necessary for us to spend the night in Assisi -- I read on other posts that many people wished they had more time there but we could certainly just spend the day there instead. We are a little flexible but 10 nights in Italy is probably our limit.

If you just want to hit those major sights, you do not need a car in Tuscany (this coming from a guy who always rents a car).

Also, I would save Sorrento for another time. With only two nights there, you will be miss a lot. Take those two nights and add them to Siena and Assisi so you can avoid one-nighters and have a more leisurely travel experience.

Yes you are probably right about skipping Sorrento -- I would really like to see either Cinque Terre or the Sorrento area -- would a stopover in CT be feasible -- possibly a day trip?

Debbie,

In the same circumstances, I'd probably structure the trip something like this....

Pisa to Florence: train (very easy trip)

Florence to Siena: SITA Bus. Have a look at Their Website and click on the link for Linea Firenze-Siena for schedules.

Siena to Assisi: Bus, train or rental car (driving time about 2.5H?). I'd suggest picking up the car in Siena and drop in Assisi as soon as you arrive. Note that for driving in Italy, each driver will require the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which must be used in conjunction with your home D.L. A GPS and/or a good Map are highly advisable.

Assisi to Sorrento: I'd drop the Orvieto/Civita section, as it will detract from your time in Sorrento (I don't think you have time for this). It's important to allow for adequate travel times! From Assisi take the train to Rome (2H:24M if direct), then to Napoli Centrale where you'll transfer to the Circumvesuvina to Sorrento. Try to maximise your time in Sorrento as it's a great "home base" for exploring Pompeii, Capri or other spots in that area.

Sorrento to Rome: Reverse of the previous journey. Circumvesuviana to Naples, train to Roma Termini.

At the conclusion of your trip, take the Leonardo Express to FCO for your flight home.

Happy travels!

If you are wanting to go to CT, you should go from Pisa. From CT you could go to Florence - Siena - Assisi - Rome. Sorrento is too far from the other places you want to see for the time you have. I try to avoid one night stands. How many nights total do you have? How important is Assisi? Could you stop there for the day traveling from Siena to Rome and not spend a night?

If you are willing to skip spending the night in Assisi I would suggest spending 2 nights in CT, 2 in Florence, 3 in Siena (allowing for a day trip or two to other hill towns) and 3 in Rome. You could stay in Siena and use buses to do day trips or you could stay just outside of Siena and rent a car.

If you would be willing to visit Cinque Terre instead of Sorrento (since it would involve much less travel on this trip) and have only 10 nights, then I would suggest the following:

Fly into Pisa, visit the Leaning Tower, etc., then a short train ride to CT

2 nights in CT, then an easy train ride to..

3 nights in Florence (include a full day trip to Siena), then another easy train ride to...

2 nights in either Assisi or Cortona (Why Cortona? You can visit another nice hilltown in Cortona, plus from Cortona to Assisi and to Orvieto takes an hour to get to each via train, but from Assisi to Orvieto it takes about 2 hr. and 40 min., so it would save time.) Whichever town you stay in, you can visit and explore Assisi on that full day you have. Then, on your way to Rome from either town, you can stop by Orvieto; again, this will be more traveling time coming from Assisi. But either way, it's an easy train ride to Orvieto, then to...

3 nights in Rome.

Hope this helps! If you really want to do Sorrento you could manage to squeeze it in (substituting for another place of course), but it would be more travel time, and you'd at least need to spend 3 nights down there to make it worth it. But enjoy your travels!

Thanks everyone -- I have decided to substitute Sorrento for CT. good suggestions