Senior Trip

Why bypass Rome on the way to Naples and backtrack to Rome?

I agree with Carol. You already have an aggressive itinerary and are wasting valuable sightseeing time by backtracking. It makes much more sense to go Florence - Rome - Naples. Then fly from Naples to Greece. Have you considered travel time between places? Regardless of which airport you fly into, you will spend most of a whole day getting to Kalabaka; giving you only one day sightseeing there. And remember that every time you change locations, you lose at minimum a half day of sightseeing time.

Trains between Florence, Rome, and Naples can be on either the private Italo or the government run Trenitalia high speed trains. For valuable information about trains in Europe, spend some time on the Man in Seat 61 website. https://www.seat61.com/european-train-travel.htm

I highly recommend buying and reading a few guidebooks on the places you will visit. Have a look at YouTube videos. And use the Search feature on this site for hotel recommendations.

I would add a day or two to Rome, subtract a day from Delphi. I feel one day is plenty of time to explore the sites and museum.
We’ve stayed at Hotel Museum several times. Perfect location for the Vatican area and nearby subway stations. We’ve also stayed at 2 different convents. One was near the train station (sorry I can’t remember the name)
We’ve been to Pompeii several times and have never done an official tour. You get a map when you enter so just look at the things that interest you. There are acres and acres of sites. There’s a little museum as well.
Don’t be afraid to take a taxi in Rome now and then, especially going to and from the train station.
Also, make sure you take an afternoon aperativo break to recharge your batteries and have enough energy to continue the day. Italians eat dinner after 7 or even later

Lots of moving around! Actually, TOO much moving around. First, have you looked into flights? How are you getting to Florence (its airport is very small)? What with packing/unpacking, checking in/out, getting to/from hotel to train/airport you lose around 1/2 day each time you move. 3N in Florence is 2 days, when you haven't really got over jetlag. Don't underestimate how long it takes you to get oriented with each new city. Check the carry-on luggage limits on your flights. For many European flights it's very limited, both in size and weight. You will lose even more time if you have to wait for baggage collection in Italy and Greece.

Naples would not be on my list for a first visit to Italy, let alone to Europe. If Pompeii is a must-see, consider a full-day tour from Rome.

Have you decided what you want to see/do at each of your destinations? Is the time allotted sufficient when factoring the travel time between each stop?

These are the 2 train companies-- https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html and https://www.italotreno.com/en

Take whichever one has the timing you need.

On select days there are direct Naples -Athens flights, which could cut down a little travel time by doing Florence-Rome Naples in that order.

Looking at your proposed travels, I would like to be a fly on the wall when you get home to hear if your comment is: a) "that was fun and enjoyable" or b) "sure glad we survived that"

Accommodation preference- Mid range- Budget friendly

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Happy travels

You skipped Venice? It is amazing.

Also, 3 nights in Rome is not enough. I suggest 5.

We stayed in Sorrento and did it and Capri as well as Pompeii. Pompeii has guided tours.
You plan to visit Greece, a wonderful country, but I suggest you do that on a separate trip to spend more time there.
You only need one day in Delphi, I did it on a day trip from Athens. Kalabaka sounds interesting, but not sure it is a top site in Greece, does it need three nights?

Suggest taking a cruise of the Greek Islands that include Crete, Santorini, Mykonos and Rhodes.

Hello Mylanta,
If at all possible, I would skip Greece this time and spend all your time in Italy. 15 nights may seem like a lot of time, but in fact, you are moving around too much, as others have noted to really enjoy the different locations.
Would you consider this?
Assuming you are flying from North America:
Fly into Venice......relax and get over your jet lag with a wonderful few day there.
On to Florence, then Rome, then Naples, all by train. Fly home from Naples. Check "open jaw" or "multi city" tickets when searching for your flights.

For hotels, you might check booking.com, and plug in your criteria. Lots of choices will come up. In Rome, we have stayed at Hotel Genio, Hotel Bolivar. Recently, we stayed in an apartment in Monti neighborhood.

Thank you for all the feedback, this is so helpful. We are flying into Florence and home from Athens.

I loved the idea for just taking a one day tour from Rome to Pompeii. For those who have done this, did you get enough time seeing Pompeii, or was it too rushed?

I know this is a lot moving around. But I imagine it will be a once in a lifetime trip. We have made a list of all that our son wants to see in each town and have looked at the estimated times to do the activities. We will be exhausted when we get home, but memories will have been made.

Hello,

You and your son have chosen some wonderful places to visit. I have been to each of them with my daughter (although on 3 separate trips), so yes, memories will be made! :)

I do have one idea, if you haven't already made, or can change, your flight between Rome and Athens. It will mean skipping Pompeii, but adding many other memorable sights. And most importantly, it will be easier!

Visit Florence as planned. Eliminate Naples and either visit Pompeii as a day trip OR visit Ostia Antica. So, add 1 day to Rome and 1 day to Greece. Fly to Athens and take a 4 Day/3 night Classical Tour with C.H.A.T. tours. Finish your trip with any remaining days in Athens. Fly home.

So, something like this:

Florence - 3 nights

Rome - 4 nights

Greece - 8 nights, with 3 of them on the tour

Advantages to this itinerary:

Pompeii will be very hot and crowded in June, but Ostia Antica is an easy 1/2 day visit, just 30 minutes from Rome. Take a look at City Wonders tour for Ostia Antica. We just took this tour in October and highly recommend it. https://citywonders.com/rome-tours/ostia-antica-tour-from-rome
You will have the afternoon and evening to either fly to Athens or enjoy more Rome sights.

The CHAT tour will take you to Meteora and Delphi but will also include Olympia, Corinth Canal, Epidaurus and Mycenae. If your son loves Greek Mythology, he won't want to miss these. The advantage to the tour is they do all the driving! It is a BIG Loop, but you will be able to sit back and enjoy the scenery between stops and it is a very affordable tour.
https://chat-tours.com/tour/4-days-classical-tour-tour-9/

With the added night in Greece and the 3 day tour instead of your original plan, you will probably have time for a day trip out to Cape Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon.

I am happy to answer any questions. Whatever you decide, I am sure you will have a wonderful time. Enjoy!

My husband and I took a private tour of Pompeii from Rome with Through Eternity Tours. We took the high speed train to Naples where a driver picked us up and drove us to Pompeii (the reverse on the way back). I chose this tour because it was the fastest way to get from Rome to Pompeii. It was expensive, more than I would usually be willing to pay. For four of you, it would be more reasonable because the expense of the drivers and private tour would be split four ways. Of course you will each need a train ticket. The company was great and provided the train tickets and instructions.

We had two and a half hours in Pompeii. I could have spent way more time there, but my husband did not want to. He thought it was plenty, and for me, it was adequate. I filled a lifelong dream to see Pompeii, and I felt like I saw the major sites there and enjoyed everything I saw. It really is amazing. The train trip and drive were relaxing, and we enjoyed talking with the driver. So for me, it was a relaxing day. We got back to Rome around 2:30, and I had time to do more sightseeing in Rome.

Many people will tell you not to do this, but it worked for me. It was easy and enjoyable, but unfortunately not cheap.

We visited Naples and Pompeii 13 years ago while staying in Sorrento (also stayed for several nights in Rome, same trip), but on our latest trip just in the past month, stayed in Naples. Being in Naples for longer than just a daytrip allows access to Pompeii, as well as the National Archaeological Museum that has all the actual artifacts and treasures that were recovered from Pompeii. If you have the time and interest, there’s also Herculaneum, another (smaller) town buried during the same Vesuvius eruption, but left in a better condition, with more surviving.

We stayed at the Hotel Piazza Bellini, by the way, which is just down the street from the Archeological Museum in Naples.

That first trip, we were in our own, with the Rick Steves guidebook. This latest trip, we hired Rick’s recommended guide, Pina Esposito, for a walking tour of both Naples and the Archeological Museum one day, and for Pompeii and Herculaneum the next. We saw a lot on our own, but with Pina, we saw and understood so much more, and more efficiently. For the four of you, I can’t recommend Pina more highly. You can e-mail Dr. Anna Maria (Pina) Esposito at
[email protected]

As for Rome, on several trips since that one in 2012, we’ve stayed at a 2-bedroom Airbnb apartment (with a kitchen for breakfast, plus a washing machine for laundry) in the Testaccio neighborhood, on the southern part of central Rome. Looking at Airbnb just now, it doesn’t look like Carmela and Davide are renting it out anymore, but Testaccio, kind-of the foodie neighborhood of Rome, is well-located and has lots of dining and sightseeing opportunities.

There’s also the Trastevere neighborhood, on the opposite (west) side of the Tiber River from Central Rome - close to sights without being at “Ground Zero.”

Just 2 blocks west of the Roma Termini main Rome train station, my husband stayed 3 years ago at the UNA Hotel Decò Roma, at Via Giovanni Amendola 57 - clean, comfortable business hotel with very convenient, central location.