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Part Numero Due! Thoughts/advice on this itinerary Rome, Amalfi Coast, Venice? Grazie!

I received so many wonderful tips, thank you very much, from my original post that it raised more questions! We would so appreciate your thoughts!

Here is what we've planned and what is still TBD.

We have 17 total nights. Leaving in late September.

We will land in Rome where we plan to spend 4 nights. Then we will travel via train to Naples and take a car service to Sorrento for 4 nights. Then we are thinking Positano for 2 nights. OK, there are 10 nights, with 7 left to spend. We know we want to spend the last three nights in Venice (from where we fly back to the US). So we have 4 nights to play with. We are wondering how to best spend them. We loved Cinque Terra, but do we want to add another travel day and go there for a couple nights? Hmm. Do we extend our stay along the Amalfi Coast? Drop down into Sicily? What would you do?

Posted by
6883 posts

How about Florence? Have you been there before?
If you have been, then you could head further north: 3 nights in Bologna, and an extra night in Venice for instance. Or 4 nights in Bologna, with a day trip to Ravenna. There are so many options...

Posted by
4326 posts

I would definitely spend more than one day in Positano. Perhaps share what you have planned for Sorrento and we can better evaluate use of time. I would at least see Naples and certainly the archaeology museum if going to Pompeii.
How are you intending to go to Venice? If taking the train, then I would look for the best stop to break up the trip. I would want to be sure to have at least three full days in Venice, so take arrival and departure times into account.
Rome could use more time--if fact, I think just adding more time to all of your stays without introducing a new stop would be the best option, good luck!

Posted by
3961 posts

I am inclined to suggest to add more days to your current stays. 5 nights Rome, 4 nights Sorrento, 3 nights Positano and 5 nights Venice. Plenty of room for day trips. We were in Venice for 7 nights in 2018 and we had a leisurely stay visiting both the major sites & walking “off the beaten path.” I wouldn’t rush Venice, especially if it’s a first visit plus an early flight home. As much as I love Sicily, it merits more time.

Posted by
6015 posts

Add a day to Positano

Any interest in Paestum?
Ferry to Salerno and spend 2 nights there
Easy train to Paestum, which is amazing
We enjoyed our 2 nights there very much
Less touristy, Less expensive, some very good restaurants, a nice waterfront /views and a really fun passiegiatta

The cathedral was worth a look as well

Direct train to Venice about 5.5 hours, we took a picnic and enjoyed the rest

Posted by
24 posts

Excellent, excellent. I have been to Florence. Still working out what we want to do in Sorrento beyond Pompeii. We'd like to visit Capri, and really just hit beaches, walk, eat great food, take a boat trip or two, hit some historic sites, and drink great wine. Positano I suppose is mostly for leisure, perhaps some shopping, and more eating/drinking and sight seeing! Thinking of flying from Naples to Venice but I was afraid that 3 nights in Venice would be too much. Now I am hearing that maybe we should add a fourth night. My buddy stayed at Hotel Stern in Venice and said it was wonderful, but spendy.

Posted by
4326 posts

I think you'll have better proximity to good beaches on the Positano side, but even over there the beaches are nothing to write home about--it's more about the scenery. South of Salerno/Paestum, there are some very nice beaches. I would continue to focus on what you want to see in each place to decide if more time is warranted. I think if you take the train to Venice, you could hop off at Bologna, but there is just so much to see in the Naples-AC area and in Rome of course.