First trip to Italy for active seniors in October to see Rome, Orvieto, Sorrento area and Sicily, Our primary interests are history and landscapes. This forum has been so helpful in my previous post, so we decided to forego a hired driver and travel by train, with a few exceptions, such as Sicily where I will hire a driver. Depending on plane flights from NYC I am leaning towards beginning about Oct 6.
Rough Itinerary is below, and I would appreciate suggestions.
Questions:
* Considering the Sorrento coastal area winds down in Oct, would I be better off beginning the trip in Sorrento, then Rome, Orvieto day trip, and lastly, Sicily? If so, I assume I will go from JFK to Naples, train to Rome, and fly to Palermo.
Sicily: Visiting my ancestral towns in the Province of Agrigento, and possibly staying in Menfi one or two nights. I plan on using a driver. I thought after Agrigento, we would go to the east coast. Upon looking at my itinerary and travel distances, would I be better off staying in the Agrigento area? Are there places to go to or stay that would be similar to Sicily's east coast?
Suggestions for how or which area to use my flexible days. Days 12-13 aren't necessarily at that time in the trip. I just have 2 extra days I can plug in anywhere. Do I need another day in Sorrento for Pompeii or a trip to a local town? Should I add one or 2 days to Sicily and go to the east coast? I understand that is a personal choice question, but is there someplace to use it that would make sense logistically or a site to visit that I have not considered?
Day 1 Rome Arrival Day
Day 2 Vatican City
Day 3 Orvieto day trip from Rome by train
Day 4 Ancient Rome (Colosseum)
Day 5 Train to Sorrento Naples area from Rome
Day 6 Herculaneum
Day 7 Blue Grotto or boat tour
Day 8 Fly to Sicily
Day 9 Agrigento (ancestral towns)
Day 10 Sicily East coast to be determined
Day 11 Sicily East coast to be determined
Day 12-13 Flexible
Day 14 Fly to US.