Last minute Trip- Need input!

To confirm we fly into Rome midday on a Weds and leave mid morning on Monday! Weds night accommodations at Locanda Costa Diva in Priano which came highly recommended. I'm wide open after that!

You have 5 days, but the first would be in transit, not allowing much time for either location.
Transit to/from Praiano to Naples from Rome would be too time consuming.

Spend your time in Rome, there's more than enough to keep you busy there. If you are tired of monuments and museums, go to Ostica Antica as a substitute for Pompeii or do a bike ride on the Appian Way. A day trip to Orvieto or Villa d'Este in Tivoli might be appealing.

Edit: cancel the Praiano reservation, or use it as a learning experience.

I don't know anything about Priano or the Amalfi Coast, but the answer to your last question is a big NO! A week in Rome left me satisfied enough, but still a lot remained unvisited. If you look for Rome under "Explore Europe" on this website you'll find our host's recommended sightseeing priorities for different amounts of time. Your priorities may differ but it's a good starting point.

Unless your question is about just literally "seeing" the city, in which case the answer is "Yes, get a window seat and hope the plane flies over the city either coming or going." ;-)

thank you Gerri. Our heart is set on seeing one or two towns on the coast which is why I thought car even with its headaches would provide storage for luggage so we could stop along the way. 2 days rome 2 days priano, positano, amalfi, 1 day driving back and forth with stop for pizza in naples? I'll check out your awesome suggestions!

A big no to the car. A second big no to wasting all the time getting between Rome and the Amalfi Coast. You don't have enough time.

Unless you and your sons have been to Rome so many times for so long, you are all just sick of it and have seen it all to the point of boredom, stick in (or at least close to) Rome for your whole time. It's a shorter trip than you think it is, and it takes longer to get somewhere else than you think.

How exciting!! We are going to Europe in late May.

I second the suggestions of others. Doing a lot of driving seems crazy.

If you do want to drive, why not hire a private driver? It sounds expensive, but if you add in car rental, aggravation, the traffic tickets, and your confusion, it would be cheaper to do that.

Kiirsten, I'm thinking the same as Gerri and David. Do you HAVE to be in Praiano for some reason? It not, I'd spend all of your time in Rome. You don't have 5 days: you have 4 and part of another which would be consumed getting to Praiano...jet lagged, no less, and not in great shape to deal with your first crack at driving in Italy. Praiano is time-consuming to get to so if you HAD to see the coast, I'd at least choose a more convenient location. Still, I wouldn't recommend it with just 4 full days.

...thought car even with its headaches would provide storage for
luggage so we could stop along the way.

IMHO, not a great idea either. Personally, we'd never leave our luggage in an unattended car, even stowed completely out of sight. Public parking can present its own issues, traffic in Naples is nuts, and then there's ZTLs.... Anyway, some reading up is required before renting a car. :O)

You will need to be back in Rome no later than Friday night to have just 2 FULL days of sightseeing there. This only leaves you Thursday and part of Friday for the coast: not very much at all for an area that takes time to get around.

Can I see Rome in 2 full days or a day and a half?
No.

2 nights equals just 1 day for sightseeing
3 nights equals 2 days, etc

You need to be back in Rome Sun night for your flight on Mon am.
I believe driving would be a disaster. You also take a huge chance leaving luggage in a car.

Praiano is simply too far from Rome to make this trip enjoyable.
If you must go to Praiano then go there and spend 4 nights there. It will take all day to get there so if you don't land til "mid day" what time is that? Figure you are not in Praiano til pretty close to bed time.
Spend night #5 in Rome but know that you will not and can not "see" Rome on this very short trip.

To confirm we fly into Rome midday on a Weds and leave mid morning on Monday!

So after an overnight flight you plan to rent a car at FCO and drive to Priano. Really BAD idea.

If you insist on going to Priano, the train to Naples and driver is the reasonable solution. By the time you get to Priano it will be dinner and bed time.

To have two days in Rome you need to be back there Friday PM, giving you Sat and Sun to 'tour'. Monday you leave .

What you really have is all day Thurs and part of Friday in Priano/Amalfi Coast.

You really should just focus on Rome.

YOU GUYS ROCK! And just took a huge amount of stress off of my shoulders for the upcoming week. ROME it is! We will save the coast for another marvelous time. Many thanks, truly.

Whew!!

You made the right decision

If the teens get their fill of Churches and museums, an easy day trip is Ostia Antica. Small but interesting museum there and a 'fast food' eaterie/snack shop, to go with the excavated ancient Roman town.

Once you do take a trip to AC you will see you made an excellent decision to just do Rome this trip.

Christine - LOL and no stress is key Joe- Gerri also recommended Ostica Antica and to do a bike ride on the Appian Way. all noted and excited. THX! Any other fave gelato-ries or restaurants, street vendors- i'm a huge foodie so bring it on. Many blessings and thx again. If you ever need recommendations on the Outer Banks of NC, look me up.

Eating Europe has fantastic food walking tours

www.eatingeurope.com

You made the smart choice. You will have a much better trip because of it. Have fun, eat gelato.

So glad you decided to focus on Rome only. There was more than enough to do there for 7 full days, and we never made it to Ostia Antica once we saw how much we loved Rom itself. The Amalfi Coast is a great trip for another time: I recommend at least 4 nights, 5 would be better if you want to take the boat to Capri.

Well done, Kiirsten! There's a TON of things to see and do in Rome, and Ostia Antica is an easy option if you think you need a hop out of town. Honestly, you'll have a much less hectic and enjoyable trip than trying to cram both Rome and the A.C. into 4.5 days. And no need for a car! :O)

kiirsten,

It sounds like the great replies you've received here have clarified your trip plans. I agree with the others that a rental car would not have been a good idea. For future reference, note that you'll need to obtain the compulsory International Driver's Permit for driving in Italy (hefty fines if you're caught without it). Also do some research on ZTL (limited traffic) areas before your next trip (again, hefty fines).

If you want to take a day trip while you're in Rome, Orvieto (Umbria) is only a short train ride from Rome, so it's an easy trip. Some of the attractions there include great scenery, St. Patrick's Well, the Underground tour and the Duomo, especially the incredible Signorelli Frescoes in the Chapel of Saint Brizio. Be sure to have a fine meal in Orvieto before you return to Rome.

If you have a Library or larger book store nearby, have a look at the Rick Steves Italy guidebook, as there's a lot of good information there on sightseeing, avoiding ticket queues, etc. That will help you to maximize your touring time and minimize wasting any of your very short ~four days.

If you haven't travelled by train in Italy before, there are a few potentially expensive caveats to be aware of. If you need more information, post another note.

Buon Viaggio!

We are here in Rome now and lucked out with a fantastic local guide. I highly recommend her—not sure she can still get you advanced tickets in such a short amount of time but worth a try. I hired her for a 2.5 hour tour of Vatican/St Peters basilica which turned into 3.5 enthralling hours and then next day tour of Colosseum and Forum—she knew so much! “We” = my 69 year old dad who has been here three times before and learned more from her than all three visits before and my 12 year old daughter who loved all her stories.

Livinia Collodol [email protected]

kathryn, ken, everyone many thanks again! soooo since you're being so helpful, if you have an accommodation spot you adore, please share. close to deciding on an air bnb unless a hotel would be better.

I'll check out the private guide, Livinia!

Walks of Italy is a tour company started by an American and they have lots of tours that maybe of interest. Two favorites here are “Pristine Sistine” which gets you into the Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums, early, before it opens to the general public, and the Special Access tours of the Colosseum. Www.walksofitaly.com.

If you really want a beach, there is one in Ostia. Same metro ride as to Ostia Antica, get off at the ruins, visit there for awhile, hop back on and go to the beach. About a 1/2 hour from Rome center.
https://www.spotahome.com/blog/romes-hidden-beach-town-ostia