Logistics for Florence and Sorrento

Duomo climb-I would guess the advice to do this early is due to heat?
In November that won’t matter
No experience with it

You can book a timed entry to Uffizi in their official website

AC tour
Viator is a reseller they don’t actually run any tours
You might look for the actual tour provider or consider doing yourself by bus

November is not the best time for AC towns (Sorrento is not on the AC)
So expect closures, I’d guess there are few restaurants and shops open

Why are you going to Sorrento? it will have more places open than AC towns but still off season
If it’s to visit Pompeii I’d stay in Naples at that time of year
Because of the time it takes to get to/from Sorrento it should get 3 or 4 nights and I don’t think you have that much time?
Florence should get a minimum of 3 nights, Rome deserves at least 4 nights—that is a week already
How many nights do you actually have in Italy?

I’ve been to Florence and Sorrento. I have not climbed the Duomo in Florence or taken a tour in the Amalfi Coast like you show in your link. My thoughts:

Climbing the Duomo - if this is a must do for you, then do it if your schedule permits. I’m sure the view will be great no matter what time of day. However, it might be a bit much to do it the same day you’re doing “all the museums”.

Uffizi - if you haven’t already, book timed tickets NOW, otherwise you will be in a long line to get tickets the day of your visit. The Uffizi is very big and can easily take up half a day just to see most of it. Not sure how many other museums you are trying to do in a day.

Sorrento - I hesitate to tell anyone not to visit Sorrento because it’s beautiful, but I just don’t think you’ll have time to do it justice, especially since you’re also visiting Rome during this week-long trip. The trip on Viator seems very rushed and gives you very little time at each spot.

Personally, I would just stick with Rome and Florence for this trip. Have fun whatever you decide!

We spent 2 weeks in Sorrento last year and loved it, but be warned you'll waste a good chunk of a short trip getting there and back. Traffic to the Amalfi Coast from Sorrento and also along the AC will be better in the winter, but likely not quick. We did a 9 hour tour from Sorrento and 4.5 hours was in the car, so I wouldn't worry to much about things being closed, you'll just have enough time to see the main sites anyway.

Welcome to this newsboard with your first two posts. You will find that these three topics are FAQ here, so use the Search box top left (blue box, maybe) to immediately find many discussions.

You did not give your actual itinerary (days and places), which makes it harder to give good answers. For example, Sorrento is quite far away from, say, Florence. And you can't really wake up there and fly home from Rome the same day.

This board tends to denigrate Viator as a reseller of actual local businesses. The taxi companies in Sorrento (in high season, anyway) assemble group tours themselves, but you can't expect a cheap deal in this relatively expensive-transport area. We hired a private car and driver for 8 hours, through our luxury Sorrento hotel. That might be up around 300 Euros or more today, and in fairness, our driver was not a certified-kind-of guide. But we covered a lot of ground on the AC that day.

Your concern about "closures" may be misplaced. This is not like Florence, where there are valuable pieces of art indoors. Much of what you will see is outdoors, and in public churches. However, some restaurants and lemon-related places may indeed be closed for the season.

It is VERY LATE to book Thanksgiving week for this year. Sorrento tends to book up six to 9 months in advance. Make a long list of hotel choices.

Here is the official link to buy tickets for the Uffizi https://www.uffizi.it/en
We were there late October and I bought tickets a couple of days ahead. If interested in the Accademia, tickets were less available but still had times for days we were there. The Galileo Museum is great and near the Uffizi.

Climb the Duomo when it works in your schedule.

Ostia Antica is an easy metro trip from Rome and worth going to.

Squeezing in the Amalfi Coast and 2 cities in a week sounds very hectic to me.

I liked climbing the duomo first thing (and it was in November), because there was nobody ahead of us, and nobody coming back down, so it wasn't too crowded. Note that there is a lot to see and experience during the climb, besides the view once you reach the top. I did it because my husband wanted to, but I really enjoyed it. The art one can see is fascinating, and there was also chanting going on that echoed up through the dome, which was really cool. I think 3 pm would be all right, too, though, if that's the only time you have.

Sorrento in winter? Hmm. We went there for a late lunch after our visit to Pompeii. This was part of the tour we took. There wasn't a lot to do other than shop and eat, although there were some pretty views. I'm sure you could find some pretty seaside views much closer to Florence, if you want. I probably wouldn't have chosen it for November if it hadn't been part of our Pompeii visit.

We had tickets in advance to Uffizi, but we still had to wait in line. Mind you, this was in November of 2021, when entries to places were more restricted and timed (and it was STILL really crowded). I don't know what it's like now.

My post disappeared for some reason, here goes again.
RE: AC in winter: I'd go if the weather is nice (it's all about views), and there will be at least one restaurant open in each village. Late November should be more promising than the depths of Jan/Feb. Others seem to know more about your overall plans, but I am assuming you are going to Sorrento for other reasons too.
I can't speak to that tour, you might be off just as well by asking your hotel about a private driver recommendation.

Thank you SO MUCH everyone -- this has been extremely helpful already. I really appreciate it :)

Just to give some more context, we are going a little longer than a week --for 10 full days! See below for our tentative plan. Based on the responses, I now realize that Sorrento is not the best place to be at this time of year... I haven't been to Italy at all so I'm happy with wherever we go, but my travel buddy wanted to go to southern Italy since he has already been to Florence and Rome. Given that we have already booked our hotels, I think what we will do is minimize our time in Sorrento -- take a later train from Florence --> Sorrento (alternatively get off at Naples and wander around there on the way) and take an earlier train from Sorrento --> Rome!

Any other recommendations in general would be so helpful as this is will be my first trip to Italy! GRAZIE!

Day 1: fly into Rome, Florence
Day 2: Florence (museum day)
Day 3: Florence (Tuscany day trip)
Day 4: Florence --> Sorrento
Day 5: Sorrento (Pompeii day trip)
Day 6: Sorrento (Amalfi day trip, weather depending)
Day 7: Sorrento --> Rome
Day 8: Rome
Day 9: Rome
Day 10: Rome
Day 11: fly out

We have climbed the Duomo, and the campanile (clock tower). Loved both of them, highly recommend - although we did both in one day and not sure I would recommend THAT (but we did splurge on a Florentine steak for dinner that night, so...). Early morning start for the Duomo is usually recommended to avoid heat of the day, and lines. But you can go anytime, just be aware you might have to wait a bit to go up. I don't recall that being an issue with the campanile. And I think you can get a combo ticket that includes the cathedral, the museum (excellent), the Duomo and the campanile.

We stayed in Sorrento in April of 2023, and really enjoyed it. Among other things, we did a food tour (recommended in Rick Steves guidebook) and a van tour of the Amalfi that went to the same towns as your Viator tour (https://www.sharedtours.com/). It was VERY crowded, Easter week I think, so traffic and crowds were... a lot. Honestly, if you need to do a tour, I would recommend a boat tour, it's really about the coastal views, IMO. The towns were basically tons of tourist shops, nothing very unique or different from Sorrento. And no idea what would be open/closed/unavailable in November.

Pompeii is amazing if you can get to that.

It’s Ok but short changes Florence-you have just 1 full day there ( hopefully not a Monday!)

Honestly as much as I like Sorrento I would skip it
Add a night to Florence ( skip the day trip) and maybe take a look at Orvieto instead
You can stop there for 2 nights on your way to Rome
It’s a beautiful Umbrian hill town that will give you a hill town experience similar to Tuscany

From Rome you can day trip to Ostia Antica in place of Pompeii-it’s just outside of Rome

https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy/orvieto
https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles/ostia-antica-near-rome

Hi there and welcome to the Forum! Great that you've looked closer at your itinerary & made it a bit easier on yourselves. Since you've narrowed it down & want to see a few museums, Tuscan day trip & Pompeii, maybe look at RS videos to see what works for you. https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy. There are numerous videos.

A few general ideas you asked about - First, do use the search tool bar as others suggested to check on trains, meals, getting around, look at Google & save favorite places and your hotels so you can travel easier. The more research you can do on trains, (there's a direct train from FCO to Florence but I don't recall the details), where to EAT, you can look in RS guides or here in the forum, reading about places you're going, watch YouTube videos on specific places, maybe research some on Renaissance art which is mostly what you will see in Florence, this website has some great YouTube videos on it. (Again, the more you plan ahead, looking at trains etc, the easier your trip will be, and since it's November, you can change your plans!) As for Rome, there is just SO MUCH to see and do!

Stopping off in Naples en route to Sorrento may or may not work well. Leaving your baggage at train station? Naples is gritty, personally I like it but lets say you don't like big cities or are exhausted after travel day, then skip it. BTW, how are you getting from Naples to Sorrento? I use the toolbar above, lots of threads on specifics. Best of luck, sounds like a great trip!

Saki, it remains clear that you have some basic research still to conduct. It is NOT POSSIBLE to take a train from Florence to Sorrento. There are no such trains. Ideally, you want to buy a (premium priced, but very fast) Frecciarossa train service from Florence to Naples. Then in Naples, you go downstairs and take the gritty, stuffy, jammed-to-the-gills Circumvesuviana commuter train just over an hour more, to Sorrento. (No reservations, just a few Euros. People with the bucks hire a car service, say 150 Euros.) Then, if you have a bargain hotel that is FAR from the station, you take a 25 Euro or more taxi ride to the hotel.

It is in fact possible to use free luggage storage at Pompeii to visit there on the way, but I don't personally prefer that. I only mention it because you may not know about the option. I don't think you have time to see Naples.

You should spend as much money as possible for the Tuscany day out from Florence, because it is difficult to see very much in one daylight day at this time of year. (Go to a climate or weather site and read sunrise and sunset. Then check the related daily hours at Pompeii, BTW.)

The one direct train ( no changes) from FCO to Florence is at 1:53 pm

Use the Italian station names
Firenze SM Novella
Roma Termini
Napoli Centrale

Trenitalia
https://www.trenitalia.com/content/tcom/en.html
Also has an easy to use app

Circumvesuviana (Naples to Sorrento)
https://www.positano.com/en/naples-to-sorrento-train-schedule?timetable_route=sorrento_napoli

Looks lovely to me--you don't have to see everything in Florence. If the weather is bad, go to Naples. Easy peasy.

Thanks again everyone ☺️

Hey there Saki, hoping you come back to this thread once you're home from your trip and please let us know how it went! Hope you had a brilliant trip!