Travel at Easter Sorrento and Florence

You don’t really have enough time to travel to Sorrento
First day jet lag
Then 2 full days
Next day travel

You’d only have time for 2 of your wish list

Train thru Naples is not complicated
You can search schedules by using same day of week now-schedules don’t change much
I doubt they will sell out and Circumvesuviana will definitely never sell out
Use the official train site or the easy to use app

https://www.trenitalia.com/content/tcom/en.html

There are many many threads here about travel to and around Sorrento
A search will bring them up

Consider heading to Orvieto for the weekend instead
It’s an easy short train ride from Rome and Florence

yes, i'm concerned about jet lag and distance. will look at orvieto. i appreciate the suggestion. thank you

i know its similarly as far, but any opinion on salerno? better high speed train options (direct from rome?0 trade pompeii for paestum, and ferry for day to somewhere on coast before return to florence?

christine, oh, and no...not the same trip as santorini post -- my private transfer research is what led me to change plan. its just not realistic my trip

Yes Salerno is a good possible alternative, it’s a lovely town
Paestum is fantastic

Just not sure it’s worth the time and travel -you only have 2 days to work with and then all the way to Florence
The person coming from Florence to join you will be spending a heck of a lot of time on trains

I’d say just save the AC/Sorrento for another trip
We spent 9 nights in the area

We spent 2 nights in Orvieto and loved it
It might be busy in the day time but the evenings will be quiet

Yes. I’m working with some weird factors. One child will have been in Florence for 12 weeks Trying to make sure wherever we go Easter weekend wont have been covered already. They will have extensively visited both Rome and Venice by the time we arrive.

The other child has heart set on positano, amalfi or Capri — I’m a victim of what’s Insta-famous.

Anyway, I was given some errant information initially about the “simplicity” of Sorrento and am paying the price. Salerno seems much more reasonable, Paestum would definitely be a hit but getting back and forth from Florence a huge drag - your feedback is exactly my concern. On the flip side I doubt she will have visited on her own.

That said, Orvieto is a great suggestion now that I’m looking at it. THANK YOU. Seems we might even be able to take in side trip from there? Viterbo worthwhile? Maybe a winery tour?

Lastly, we will have five full days in Florence - plenty of time for the city I think. Older daughter will be available to travel with us on the Friday. Was planning Chianti. However that won’t make sense if we do winery from Orvieto? Maybe Siena? Cinque terre crazy long for day trips from Florence?

I’m a victim of what’s Insta-famous.

The Duomo in Orvieto is highly instagrammable- would be something her followers have never seen ;)

Hi there, yep you have a lot going on with 2 kids with different priorities. There is a LOT to see just between Rome & Florence that they won't have seen. @ChristineH's idea about Orvieto (and how cool it will be to post on Instagram, HA!) is a good one! NO matter what negative things you may have heard about train travel (probably not many on the Forum have been negative.) it is infinitely better than trying to navigate these areas by driving. Changing trains is easy, seriously.

Easter Sunday is a church-going day for some Italians, always a mass nearby and it doesn't have to be a cathedral, if you wanted to experience it?? It's a family day, little going on so I'd look at what else you might like to do that day. Easter Monday is also a national holiday, actually Easter would be a good day to travel, fewer people traveling, but look at holiday schedule. Have you researched trains in Italy? You might feel better about it after doing some research. This site is popular, just don't use the schedule, check trains directly. https://www.seat61.com/

People do book day trips to Pompeii from Rome, lots on the Forum about it, but I won't do it. 13 hours, mostly in a bus, to spend part of a day in a famous ruin, when instead you could take a 30-min train outside Rome to Ostia Antica & mostly have one of the most famous cities in antiquity almost to yourself! Keep that Bucket List of Amalfi Coast for another trip, you don't have enough time to enjoy it. I've spent 2 one-week trips in the area, and would love to go back, it's not a day trip!

Lastly, we will have five full days in Florence - plenty of time for the city I think. Older daughter will be available to travel with us on the Friday. Was planning Chianti. However that won’t make sense if we do winery from Orvieto? Maybe Siena? CTcrazy long for day trips from Florence?

You have plenty to do on day trips from Florence. Siena, Luca, Pisa, Bologna for a food tour... No need to worry about filling 5 days! What if you told them, "We're only able to go to Rome, Orvietto & Florence with day trips", maybe involve them in where they'd like to go?? I hear good things about Pisa. Yes, skip a day trip to CT, not worth it. We hated the crowds 15 years ago, walked the high paths & saw little of the towns until after dark when everyone left.

LOOK at all the Day Trips from Florence! https://search.ricksteves.com/?button=&date_range=2y&filter=Travel+Forum&query=Florence+day+trips&utf8=%E2%9C%93

We were in Italy this year from before Good Friday until after Easter week, three weeks total. We went Bologna - Florence - Positano - Rome - back south to Pasteum - Naples - back to Rome. (We had some family with us who only stayed two weeks, then hubby and I stayed another week, so we did some backtracking.) Overall, it was busy with Italians enjoying their holidays, but otherwise we'd never have known it was a holiday. Spent Easter Sunday in the Archeology Museum in Naples.

There were five of us transiting from Florence to Positano, and given the difficulty of getting to Positano, we splurged on a private transfer from the Naples train station. So we took the high speed train (direct) from Florence to Naples, then were picked up by Joe Banana in a nice minivan and deposited at the top of a steep set of stairs leading to our apartment in Positano. It was worth every penny. They then picked us up at the top of those stairs, arranged for a private tour of Pompeii (with a really excellent guide), stopped for a pizza in Naples and deposited us back at the train station where we took the high speed (direct) train to Rome.
Joe Banana will also provide your excursion around the coast and pretty much anything else you may need. They were great, very easy to work with and given everything you're trying to do, sometimes you just have to trade money for time.

Thank you for all the great tips. Based upon this feedback I think 2 will likely head straight to orvieto upon landing in rome/one train from florence to orvieto. I've been sweating doing too much and struggling with a feasible itinerary. She actually doesn't post, but inst-famous tends to influence the priorities. That said, a cursory look at Orvieto images has been met with approval.

We will stay there for the holiday weekend - 3 nights before we head to florence for 5 nights. Will look into one side itinerary from Orivieto.

With this feedback I've rules out amalfi coast, pompeii and cinque terre at any point in the trip.

Regarding a side trip from Florence - I've actually heard mixed things about pisa? but good things about siena? and san gigmignao ( i know i spelled this wrong) as well as Lucca? We will see a lot of art in florence so side trip agenda is more natural beauty/culture/food/active/not museum driven

if only we had three weeks...your trip sounds great. splurging on those private transfers is not realistic at the moment. if we were traveling in higher style i wouldn't have shifted gears. hopefully we can get back and do amalfi another time.

i will try to lock in one side trip from orvieto and florence each... viatour has been recommended. any others?

one last question - how far out can i actually purchase rome/orvieto and orvieto/florence train tickets. 6 weeks? 12 weeks? i should do this in advance? yes?

thank you

Viator is a third-party broker. Book directly with the tour companies.
Also- we found wineries closed Easter weekend, a few years back.
Have a great trip!

yes...i'm running into easter closures. thanks for heads up on winery. thinking Civita di Bagnorgerio as our side trip from Orvieto. Will hit Chianti for wine after easter from florence.

There's an ebike thing, that i'm open to in good weather (if only we could control). otherwise, it looks like spotty public transport?

how far out can i actually purchase rome/orvieto and orvieto/florence
train tickets. 6 weeks? 12 weeks? i should do this in advance? yes?

Not to worry!
These are regional trains that cannot sellout and the price never changes. You will not have an assigned seat, just get on and find one.
There are a few IC runs on that route which do include a seat assignment but they are not necessarily much faster- just more $$.

The Trenitalia site will update schedule on Dec 10-11? although not all routes will be loaded right away. I'd wait and check much closer to your trip.

Regional train tickets can be used for any same train route up to 4 hours past the time you booked. You can wait til you are at Termini and purchase tix then - at kiosk, window or on the app. Be sure to validate tix if you have paper tickets.
I believe you are flying in to FCO same day? If so- I would wait til thru passport control then buy your tix- again on app or at kiosk. You can book the trip all together- Leonardo Express to Termini then regional to Orvieto.
Play around on Trenitalia website to familiarize yourself- it is very easy.
https://www.trenitalia.com/content/tcom/en.html

When you get to Orvieto you will then take the funicular up to top of town, from there you can hop a bus (included with funicular ticket- just a few euros) that'll drop you right in front of Duomo. Or you can take bus all the way from station to top- but funicular is fun and different- another instagrammable opportunity.
You will see 2 station names for Orvieto on the Trenitalia site- - Orvieto and Orvieto Centro- the train does not go to the Centro- that ticket simply includes your bus ticket up to town.

Must use Italian station names
Roma Termini
Orvieto
Firenze SM Novella

ETA- My sister spent a week in Orvieto last fall and never ran out of things to do. I know their airbnb host sent them to a winery nearby (they did not have a car). Not sure what sort of lodging you will book but always check with the host/desk for day trip suggestions. As you mentioned- I'd save winery tour for Chianti area.

thank you for the detailed train instructions (as well as the other information) . super helpful booked hotel near duomo in orvieto -- reaching out re side trips and to inquire about potential easter closures. likely planning to save winery for chianti day trip from florence

On regional trains you can't buy a seat, but you also may not find a vacant seat during busy times. I haven't taken your route, but on the regional train from Varenna to Milan Central, I have always had to stand, and it hasn't been on holidays.It helps if you can prepare yourself mentally. Hopefully someone can chime in here regarding how crowded these regional trains can get around Easter.
Have a great trip!