Hi,
We'll be in Italy for 16 days in July. We have to visit family in Calabria for a couple of days. We arrive and depart from Rome, thinking to go to Naples from there to visit Amalfi Coast and Pompeii. Go to Calabria from there then Sicily. We really want to go to Venice from there. There are 5 of us, a senior, two adults, two children: 16 and 10. My husband was originally thinking about renting a car but I'm not so sure that's the best idea. I was thinking maybe train and take a flight from Sicily to Venice then train again to Rome. Car seems cheaper but I keep reading about how difficult it is to drive there. Looking for ideas or suggestions. The only must place is Reggio di Calabria.
Posted by
Chicago
8243 posts
Take the train. Rent the car if you can not take the train to the places you want to go, Take the flight from Sicily to Venice sounds logical. Never heard that renting a car to travel to places in Italy that are accessible by train s cheaper than going by train. I have seen trains traveling faster than cars in Italy.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16232 posts
That's a lot to chew for 16 days.
Sicily alone will need at least 4 or 5 nights just to cover the Eastern side. Double that for the whole island. Naples area needs at least 4 nights. Rome needs 3 or 4 nights. Venice at least 2 nights, but 3 are better.
I presume you need a few days with your family in Calabria too.
You might have to scale down your expectations.
If you need to absolutely add Venice to the fray, the most efficient way is to fly there, because driving there from Calabria, or worse from Sicily, will take at least a whole day, dawn to dusk, with just pit stops to pee (more if you need no. 2). It's 1200 km (750 miles) from Calabria to Venice.
Volotea Airlines, a Spanish low cost airline, flies to Venice from both Lamezia Terme (Calabria) and Catania (Sicily) and they are cheaper than average.
Venice back to Rome is 3h45min by train. About 7 hours by car.
Leave your Rome stay for last. Always leave the departure city as your last visit destination. You can go to Naples area on the same day as you arrive after landing. Naples is only a couple hours away from Rome airport by train.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
Can you fly into Venezia and out of Sicilia? See Venezia, fly to Napoli, drive to the Amalfi Coast and Calabria, turn in the car and take the train to Catania, visit Sicilia and fly out of Palermo or Catania. You can rent another car if you prefer to drive in Sicilia, which will save you some travel time on the island.