Hello,
US-NH based family of four is trying to plan a last-minute vacation to Rome - Sorrento, with a 2-day stop-over in London.
Kids (15,18) and I would fly out of Boston to London on 6/14 or 6/15. Hubby will join us on 6/16.
6/16 or 6/17 - fly to Naples or Rome
6/27 fly back to London
6/27 return to Boston
We have not many any reservations yet. Looking for any suggestions with regard to how best structure the time in Italy.
Many thanks!
Claudia
Having just been in Rome and Sorrento in April - first see if you can even get any accommodations there in June on this short notice.
Keep in mind, getting from Rome to Sorrento can take anywhere from 3 hours to more than 5. Getting from Naples to Sorrento could be quick - or not (our recent experience was that a 1.5 hour Sorrento-to-Naples Airport shuttle took 3 hours). So it depends of how much of your 9 days you want to spend on a train/bus/etc.
Very difficult to book Sorrento on such short notice. It may also be a mistake to mix London and the Continent on a short trip. (I think there is a typo on your return flight itinerary line?) Sorrento is the least remote city in this area, but it is still a hike. That warning about an often-recommended-here bus to Sorrento is a ... caution. I'd want air conditioning at this time of year.
I will say that the availability of discount air (have you much luggage? ... ) Naples-London is a plus. But you are trying to do too much on too little notice. Use the Search box for vast amounts of information here. This is a FAQ.
Depending on the flights available to Rome vs. Naples (considering hours and rates), my first thought is fly to London, wait for your husband there, then after two days, all fly to Rome. After however long you want to visit Rome, go by train to Sorrento. Stay there, and visit Naples, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Capri, etc. from Sorrento. Fly back from London on 6/27 - hopefully not a super early flight in the morning from Rome, or you might need to go back to Rome on 6/26 before doing your Rome>London>Boston flights. Certainly all doable, though.
Is a round trip to London your only flight choice? Can you not have multi-city tickets into London and out of Rome or Naples? (Rome might be a lot cheaper/more available than Naples.)
I had the same question as acraven. Wouldn't it make more sense to have a multicity ticket into London and back from Rome or Naples? Then a separate one way ticket from London to Rome or Naples. But it all depends on accommodation availability at this late date. And if your flight back is in the morning, remember that you need to be in the departure city the night before.
Separate itineraries with such a short time period during a period of strikes and social unrest?
Right now a friend is sitting in Amsterdam after her train to Berlin was cancelled. Only problem is that her flight home originates in Berlin.
My flight home to my city in France was cancelled last month, so I had to fly to a different city and find a four-hour ride home.
If these flights are all separate itineraries, you may want to build in some buffer and buy insurance.
I guess i'll ask why London? Is it because you want to see some of the city or because of the cost of the airfare? With so little time set aside for it plus all the potential snags Bets brought up, I think I'd skip it entirely and go directly to Italy, either Rome or Naples, whichever flights worked best for you.
Helpful to know before suggesting structure of time:
What are your family's interests?
What do you think you want to see/do in Rome? Do you have a guidebook?
Same for Sorrento: what do you think you want to see/do there?
Do expect last-minute accommodations to be scarce and/or prices to be very high, especially in Sorrento. By all reports, there are epic levels of tourists "revenge traveling" all of the popular locations this year.
Having just been in Rome and Sorrento in April - first see if you can
even get any accommodations there in June on this short notice.
I had the same thought. We spent 2 weeks in Sorrento and it's already busy.
Hi All,
Thanks so much for input. We had to cancel our trip to Rome due the pandemic and just decided to possibly give it a shot, rather than joining my husband on his b-trip to Tel Aviv. Kids love to see London, I am more interested in Rome and Sorrento. V
Very good point about having the separate tickets and dealing with delays and cancellations. I will try to see how far I get tonight with respect to accommodations in Rome/ Naples/ Sorrento, and decide from there ... or come up with Plan B, maybe combine London with another destination ...
