We are planning to spend a month in Italy and trying to decide where for a home base.
We have been to Rome, Florence, Venice and Milan. We want to go south. Sorrento or Sicily??
Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11845 posts
Time of year may factor in. When do you plan on going?
Posted by
OP
3 posts
May of next year.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16221 posts
One month is a long time to spend in one base only, at least for my taste. I'd get bored.
Sicily for two weeks would be ideal, given the enormous amount of important sights, however the island is very large (more than Massachusetts and Rhode Island combined) and some areas are not well served by fast freeways, therefore it cannot be visited from one base only, and a minimum of two or three bases are necessary. If you don't plan to rent a car, it would be even harder, and you would need several bases.
Sorrento is a great base for the Gulf of Naples and the Amalfi Coast area. A car isn't necessary here. To visit that area thoroughly I'd recommend a very bare minimum of 5-6 nights, but anything over 10-12 days might be a bit overkill in May, as it may not yet be ideal beach weather. In summer, if you are a beach fan, I can see spending a couple of weeks or even more, without getting bored. Lots of water activities are available in summer.
Posted by
Virginia, USA
792 posts
I differ with Roberto. My upcoming trip is two months Sept-Nov....in one place. 15 miles south of Florence. I have a car and the train station is 15 minutes away. I rented a private apartment owned by a fantastic Italian family (been there before) . The car gives me freedom to drive anywhere ...particularly Tuscany and Umbria. The train station does not limit me to anywhere in Europe. Different strokes
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Even though we plan on the " base" we are thinking of a couple of 3-4 day trips via train to other locations. I just want to find a nice apartment for the month.
Do you use a specific rental company ?
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11845 posts
A month in Sicily would be great for me, but I would want two or three bases: Trapani, Siracusa, and Taormina. As Roberto said, it is a big island. And it is not fast getting around whether by car or bus or train.
Sorrento is lovely but you can only do so much from there. We spent a week one time and that was fine.
You could base in Puglia for a couple of weeks here-and-there. It's a great and less-explored area (for Americans) but it is big and you cannot day trip everywhere. But if you got an apartment you liked not too far from a train station, you could take some overnights to expand your reach.
I like to use VRBO.com and Booking.com for my apartment rentals.