Please sign in to post.

Itinerary Help - Cinque Terre vs. Amalfi Coast

Posted by on

Hello! Family of four is traveling for 14 nights in Italy, end of May/beginning of June. This would be our first (and for the parents, most likely the last) time in Italy, and would like to hit all of the must-sees. We are wanting to fit both Cinque Terre and Amalfi Coast, and this is what it would look like:

Day 1 - 5 pm flight to Rome
Day 2 - 9 am arrival in Rome - half day in Rome (4 nights)
Day 3 - Rome
Day 4 - Rome
Day 5 - Rome
Day 6 - Rome to Sorrento via Naples and Pompeii (3 nights)
Day 7 - Capri
Day 8 - Amalfi Coast, Positano, Ravello
Day 9 - Rent a car, Sorrento to Siena [5 hours drive] via Orvieto (2 nights)
Day 10 - Tuscan Hill Towns
Day 11 - Siena to Florence [1 hr drive] (3 nights)
Day 12 - Florence
Day 13 - Day trip to Cinque Terre
Day 14 - Florence to Venice [2 hr train] (2)
Day 15 - Venice
Day 16 - Depart Venice @ 3 pm

The three-day leg in Sorrento that allows us to see Pompeii, Capri, and Amalfi Coast seems very appealing to us, but we also don't want to lose out on seeing Cinque Terre, which it seems like we can only do as a day trip. Would you advise trying to fit both of these? If not, which would you go for? Thank you very much!

Posted by
28417 posts

Where and when do you plan to drop the car?

I'm not clear on your plans for Day 6. It seems unlikely you'll have much time to see Naples itself; perhaps you just mean you'll be passing through the city to change trains there.

Your time in Orvieto, Siena and Florence looks quite rushed to me. Orvieto is worth more than an hour or two. And when are you actually going to see much of Siena if you spend Day 10 driving around hill towns? If you wait until late on Day 11 to drive to Florence to allow time for some sightseeing in Siena, you'll only have about one full day for Florence. The problem cascades to Venice: If you opt for a late departure from Florence, you'll have only one real day in Venice. People who rush through Venice often dislike it, because they spend all their time in throngs of other visitors at the most popular spots like Piazza San Marco and the Rialto Bridge. You need time in Venice to wander the small canals.

It does feel rushed to me once you head out of Rome.

Posted by
616 posts

Florence and day trips to varions trips in Tuscany - 6 days (of which 1 full day in Siena and another day - 2 days un CT, to make the mots of it, do either dome trekking or sailing, renting a sail boat.
Rome: 4 days - 1 day trip to Orvieto
Venice: 2 days
Amalfi coast and Pompei: 4 days

Posted by
872 posts

Suggest you limit trip to four stops. Driving between cities very ill-advised due to ZTL and other issues. Best use of a car would be out in the countryside [i.e. Tuscany for say 3-4 nights]; probably scrapping Sorrento or the AC.

http://driventoit.blogspot.com/

On a Cinque Terre day trip from Florence, spending 5.5 hours in one or more of the villages will require about 7.5 hours on trains and going to and from stations.

This topic has been automatically closed due to a period of inactivity.