Rome to Sorrento before Flor, Ven?

It's actually pretty easy if you have the time. It'll take just over an hour to get to Naples then you change to the circumvesuviana line to get to Sorrento. That'll take about an hour. If you don't have a ton of luggage you can do it very easily.

You already know you'll have to backtrack to get to Florence and Venice but it's an easy trip. Just watch how much luggage you take as there are no porters to help with bags at any of the train stations. You must lift your own bags onto and off of the train.

Donna

It is not hard to train to Sorrento, but you did not indicate how many days you will be in Italy. We need more info to provide you with a really accurate response.

Buon viaggio,

RB

Thanks posters. Sorry, I was not very clear in my last post. I'm wondering if 10 - 14 days would be enough time to travel by train from Rome to Sorrento and then back north to Florence and Venice, then fly home out of Venice? I'm trying to introduce something new in the itinerary for my wife, who has seen RM, FL, and VEN previously. I thought Sorrento would be a good choice, but don't want to wear us both out. Do you think this is doable? (We are sr. citizens)

I think it's very doable with 14 days. I would limit my time in Florence and Rome if you've been there before and stay longer in Sorrento. This will make the pace more relaxed. It might even be better to skip Florence, spend more time in Sorrento and tour that area since you've seen Florence before. It would also mean less changing hotels.

Donna

Thanks Donna. The "problem" is that I have not been to Italy yet and thus have not been to Florence, but my wife has. The question comes down to: should we skip Florence and go to Sorrrento instead, so my wife does not have a repeat of her previous trip, or not go to Sorrento? My feeling is, sure, I'd like to see Florence and the museums, but I'm willing to give this up so my wife can see something new. Do you think this is stupid for me to miss Florence? Is Sorrento a good "equal" tradeoff? (Sorrento seems like it would be a nice break in ambience from the cities of Rome and Venice, which we intend to visit.)

I'd skip Florence and go to Sorrento. It's such a different experience than Rome and Venice, and there's so much to do -- you can take day trips to Capri, Pompeii, the Amalfi coast. I think your wife would enjoy it much more than a repeat visit to Florence, and I think you'd enjoy it too.

Pele

You need to decide what the two of you want. Renaissance art? Medieval city? Florence.

Amalfi coast, Bay of Naples, lemoncello, Vesuvius, maybe Pompeii, and beautiful scenery? Sorrento.

They are apples and oranges; people here will have their opinions, your mileage may vary.

We love them all.

Don't shortchange Venice. Get away from the crowds, not as difficult as it sounds, and pace yourselves. Give it time to properly get under your skin.

If both of you really want to go to Sorrento then that's what you should do but I have the feeling that your wife would gladly give up Sorrento if she thought you really wanted to see Florence. For me it would be a hard choice. I think if you really want to take a break from the hectic schedule of museums and monuments, then go to Sorrento. If you really want to see the incredible artwork that Florence has to offer, go there. Either way, you'll be very happy with your choice and so will your wife. I'm sure she'll love going back to Florence and it'lll save you several hours on the train.

Donna

Pele -

Really, no one can decide for you if you should go to both Sorrento and Florence except you and your wife. How mobile are you both? How much luggage are we talking about? Fourteen days (NOT ten! That would be tight!).

That said, I would do both. A two day 'rest' in Sorrento to see Pompeii and Herculeanium seems reasonable. It only takes about two hours by train down to Naples and another hour on the Circumvesuviana down to Sorrento. Then leaving by train straight to Florence from Naples might take a half day to complete, so mostly we are talking about the time needed. You should buy an Italian Rail Pass from the States prior to going, of course, which will save some time and money.

My wife and I have done this type of itinerary before - more then once - and it was not that hard, though we are still a bit shy of being 'seniors'. The key is to travel light, but being on a RS web-page, I don't have to tell you that.

Thank you for the suggestions. It sounds like this is a doable trip. We don't mind train travel - and indeed we look forward to that part of traveling - so this should be easy. Thanks again.

We took slow train from rome to naples cost one fourth of fast one and only half to hour longer depending on time of day and it was nicer train then train to sorrento from same train station once in sorrento stay there and can take train back to pompei but be aware if you are senior citizens lots of walking some up hill and very uneven walking