Rome and Sorrento with young teens

Posted by rckimmo (Rancho Cucamonga, California, USA) on 02/22/16 07:29 PM

A few years ago, my husband and I started the fun tradition of taking each grandchild on a special trip for their 13th birthday. In 2013, we took our oldest grandson to Ireland and then to England to visit our son and daughter-in-law. This year, in early June, we're taking the next two grandsons, who will be 14 and almost 13. The boys deliberated between Greece and Rome, but they ultimately settled on Rome. They're dying to see ancient ruins! They're also keen to visit Pompeii and enjoy some time on the coast. It will be our first time in Italy (and the boys' first trip abroad).

We will spend Week 1 in the UK and introduce the boys to the wonders of London and the surrounding area. I've already booked our round-trip tickets from LAX>London. (We'll hop over to Italy and back separately; it was just a whole lot cheaper to do it that way.) While in Rome, we plan on staying at Olive Tree Hill B&B in Zagarolo, which has come highly recommended by friends and reviewers alike. It's 25-30 minutes by train (3 euros/person) from Roma Termini.

Our plan is to fly to Rome on Friday, June 3 and return to London Friday, June 10. After a few days in Rome, we'll take a train to Naples and catch the Circumvesuviana to Sorrento. It's the return that I'm deliberating about; the travel options can boggle the mind! I'm trying to figure out the best plan of action.

Option 1: Fly back to England from Rome (first taking the train from Naples to Rome-FCO). The round-trip flight (London>Rome>London) is $112/person, as of today. We'd also need factor in the cost of train tickets from Naples>FCO.
Option 2: Fly back to England from Naples (taking the Curreri Viaggi bus from Sorrento-Sant'Agnello to Naples Airport). If we go this route, airfare will cost more (London>Rome/Naples>London open jaw is about $190/person). However, the bus fare from Sorrento to the Naples airport is cheap: only 10 euros apiece.

Here's a tentative itinerary:

June 3: Travel day | London>Rome (Arrive FCO 6:55p)
June 4: Rome
June 5: Rome
June 6: Rome
June 7: Travel day | Rome>Sorrento; depending on train, arrive in Naples at either noon or 2:00p and catch the Circumvesuviana. This would give us several hours in the afternoon/evening to traipse around Sorrento.
June 8: Pompeii and/or Herculaneum
June 9: Amalfi Coast/Capri? Positano? Other?
June 10: Travel day | Return to London via either Rome (Option 1; departing at 12:35p or 6:35p) or Naples (Option 2, departing 11:05a). If we take the 6:35p flight out of Rome, we could spend the morning in Naples.

We want to look at this from both an economic and logistical point of view. And honestly, logistics trumps cost. Is one option more direct, practical, desirable, or easier than the other?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Kim

Posted by rckimmo OP

Rancho Cucamonga, California, USA

02/24/16 12:32 AM

27 posts

What airline are you using to go from London to Rome? I need to check
out this option. (we are now considering Italy in October vs July to
have less crowds and less heat)

lforsmann: I'm jealous! I'd love to go in October instead of June, but the boys' school schedule is dictating our travel dates. Their last day of school is May 26, and we fly to England on the 27th. We haven't booked our Rome airline tickets yet, as I was hoping to have more input on whether to fly back to London from Rome or Naples.

I usually use kayak.com to compare flight costs. I fly a lot both for work and for leisure, and I like that Kayak gives me the ability to search flexible dates and multi-city (open jaw) options. EasyJet shows up in Kayak as one of the London>Rome options, but that's one you might want to book directly through easyJet.com, as it's easier to see at a glance the various prices and times on a flexi-chart. We flew easyJet to Munich last summer, and it was ... well, easy! We've also flown on Ryanair. Just be aware that low-cost airlines such as these (and others like Norwegian Air) charge for every single amenity, so factor that into the cost of the ticket if you need to, say, check a bag or buy food or water in flight.

It's also important to note which airports the various airlines use. For example, Ryanair to Rome flies out of London's Stansted Airport. That's fine if you're staying in London, but for us, who will be using our son's home in Reading as a base, Stansted won't work because there's no direct way for us to get there. We need to fly out of Gatwick or Heathrow. Currently, it looks like easyJet from Gatwick to Rome has the best prices.

Best of luck planning your journey! We're so excited to see a bit of Italy.

Kim