My husband and I are leaving for Rome on May 9th and coming back flying from Naples on May 23th. We visited Rome once long time ago, but not enough. Any suggestions how many days to spend in Rome and how to spend the rest of our 13 days trip in South.
We don't like to change our base too often. Can we make just three stops (two even better) and take any public transportation from our bases?
What guidebooks you can suggest?
Thank you,
At least four nights in Roma, then Napoli and Sorrento (plan on some daytrips from Sorrento), maybe an island (Capri or Ischia) as a fourth base? Or two nights in Salerno or Paestum?
So you have 13 nights, May 10-22. I would do 6 in Rome, 6 in Sorrento and 1 in Naples. How wise of you to not try to see the whole country and spend only 2 nights each here-and-there!
Rome as a base gives you the opportunity to see a lot in this great city, plus consider a daytrip to Tivoli (Villa d'Esteis fabulous) and Orvieto. Rick Steves' Rome Guide will tell you all you need to know.
Sorrento gives you a nice base to see the Amalfi Coast (day trip on bus) as well as Pompeii and Herculaneum. Allow some time to just enjoy Sorrento, or maybe day trip to an island such as Capri or Ischia.
Your last day, transfer to Naples and see the amazing Archeological museum there and take Rick Steves' Naples self-guided walk. You'll want the R.S. Italy guide to help you in Sorrento and Naples.
All of this is doable by public transportation, well-explained in the referenced guidebooks. Have a great trip!
Here's my itinerary after spending a lot of time reading on travel forums, reading guidebooks and speaking to travel agents:
Sorrento (4 nights) - visit Naples, Pompeii, Capri and Sorrento
Ravelli (3 nights) - visit Positano, Amalfi and Sorrento
Florence (5 nights)
Volterra (2 nights)
Venice (4 nights)
If you are staying in the south, you'd skip from Florence on. But you can spend more time along the Amalfi Coast, and you can also visit the agreed ruins at Paestum.
Craig
I think Laurel's itinerary is ideal for your trip. If you can fly into Rome and out of Naples, that would make it even easier. 6 nights in Rome will give you plenty of time to do all the things you wanted to see last night but didn't have the time. You could even do a day trip to Orvieto or Ostia Antica. Sorrento is a good base for the Amalfi Coast and there's a train that will take you from Sorrento to Pompeii.
