Hello, I am looking for help/suggestions on our first trip to Italy in October. We will be there for 13 days, flying in and out of Rome. Here is what I was thinking: 3-4 days in Sorrento 1-2 days in Amalfi 4-5 days in Rome (we want to end our trip in Rome) We would still have a couple days to play with. We love food and wine and would love to be able to visit some of the small towns in Tuscany/Umbria. Is this doable/reasonable? Which towns are recommended (closer to Rome than Florence)? What sequence would you follow for our entire itinerary? Are their trains available for most routes? Though we realize we'll need to travel around a bit, we want it to be relaxed and not too rushed. Given this, would you skip the small towns north of Rome and focus on our southern itinerary?
Thank you very much for your help!!!!
Posted by
Dunwoody, Georgia
338 posts
You can do all of that by train without much trouble. I may have these times a bit off, but you should expect about 4 hours to get from Naples to Rome and a 2 or 3 hours to get from Rome to Tuscany by train. Depending on how relaxed you want to be you may want to consolidate and reduce your Sorrento and Amalfi stays. Those two towns are close to each other along the Amalfi coast and give you access to pretty much the same sites. Depending on what you want to do, in 4 full days you could comfortably see Naples, Pompeii, Capri, and the towns along the coast (e.g.Positano). Sorrento is better positioned for siteseeing, but does not have the beaches that some of the other towns along the coast have. 4-5 days allows plenty of time for a first visit to Rome. If you want to add Tuscany you could always head to Siena. It's a city a bit closer to Rome compared to Florence. You could spend two easy days in Siena and rent a car or use the bus system to visit a couple of the smaller hill towns nearby. Have fun.
Posted by
Park Ridge, IL
524 posts
Brigid What Ron said! There is a fast train from Rome to Naples which takes 1 1/2 hours but then you have to switch to a local train to Sorrento. But you can also take a Coach bus from Rome directly to Sorrento in about 3 1/2 to 4 hours. No stops. 2 different companies but limited times per day. October is a great time to visit! You are off to a good start!
Posted by
Haslett, MI, United States
26 posts
We did a similar trip in September 2009, so hopefully I can give you a few ideas. Like Rob said, unless you really plan on relaxing heavily, 3-4 days in the Amalfi Coast area is going to be plenty. With it being October, you might still have a few beach-ready days, but likely not. I'd go with basing yourself in Sorrento and hitting Amalfi, Positano, Capri, and Pompeii as day trips. 4 nights would probably be perfect. On our trip, we headed to Venice after Sorrento; we took a cheap flight from Naples to Venice. If you're skipping Venice this time, you could take a train to Naples and then onto Florence (although that's going to be a 5+ hour trip). Still, that's not bad. Like Rob, I'd recommend basing yourself in Siena; that would be a good location for hitting up some of the nearby hill towns like San Gimignano and day-tripping to Florence. If you figure 4 nights in Siena, that leaves you with 4-5 nights in Rome. If you want a few other ideas, you can check out the write-ups I created on our trip here: http://schalkhome.blogspot.com/2009/10/italy.html. The rest of the site is painfully out of date, but that piece might help.