After an organized tour of Italy ending in Rome, my sister and I have planned the following itinerary on
our own. We plan to go to Passeum from Rome via Salerno on the train and visit the Greek ruins. Later that day, we
want to take the train or ferry from there to Sorrento, but are not sure how to do that. We will spend two
nights in Sorrento. Then we will go to Herculaneum for one night. After that; we go to Sienna for two
nights. Then to Lucca for one night. Then to La Spezia for two nights for touring Cinque terre. Then go to
Milan to spend one night before flying back to the U.S the next day. We plan on taking trains most of the way
unless there are areas where a bus or ferry would be better. Any advice is appreciated. We start on May 3rd.
Posted by
6522 posts
I doubt you could get to Sorrento from Salerno on the same day without a pricey private transfer. Why not just stay in Salerno or in one of the villages close to Salerno? You could also visit Herculaneum from there and eliminate another hotel change. We need to know what month as ferry routes are seasonal.
When you plan your itinerary, include travel time, as that will give you a better sense of what you can do in a given day. The journey to a Siena will be very long, so I think I would pick just one place in Tuscany to visit on your journey north. Or, eliminate Cinque Terre and get your coastal fix on the Amalfi coast.
Posted by
OP
West Des Moines, Iowa
9 posts
This trip begins May 3rd. Thank you for your advice!
Posted by
6522 posts
The Amalfi coast ferries will be running, so you can check connections between Sorrento and Salerno, but I don’t believe there is any direct one, and you’d have change lines, ditto on commuter trains. After a very long day of coming from Rome and also visiting Paestum, I still don’t think it is likely to do that journey that day, unless you pay a private driver. Do you need to get to Sorrento or are you open to making changes?
I’d consider Paestum worth any effort, Sorrento less so.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
17870 posts
Pam, I'll agree with valadelphia's idea to skip Sorrento entirely. The time it would take going from Rome to Paestum, touring the ruins, and then onward to Sorrento in one day is too much, IMHO. For train, you'd have to go back to Naples and switch to commuter Circumvesuviana to Sorrento. Seasonal ferries take 2+ hours for Salerno>Sorrento.
With the limited amount of time you have, I'd just make Salerno your base and visit Herculaneum from there.
Just curious, are you sure you didn't mean Pompeii and not Herculaneum? Have you been to Pompeii before? I don't know as I've ever run across anyone staying overnight in Ercolano (the town when the ruins are) thus the question. Anyway, grouping your 3 nights in Salerno will eliminate a time-consuming move and allow you more flexibility. 3 nights = two fULL sightseeing days plus whatever hours you spend on the Paestum trip. You could spend one on a more leisurely ferry-day exploration of the coast, and another for Herculaneum (or Pompeii) + some R&R.
I'll also agree that moving from Salerno to Siena will be time-consuming: roughly 6 hours via rail.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
8853 posts
Hi Pam
Agree with above- your are trying to cover a lot of ground- 9 nights and 6 locations is just incredibly fast paced and you will be spending so much time in transit.
Can you share what your tour itinerary covers and how many stops it makes? You might be looking to slow down after that tour as most of those are fast paced as well.
A 2 night stay gives you just 1 full day in that location.
First day- I don’t see this happening-
We plan to go to Passeum from Rome via Salerno on the train and visit
the Greek ruins. Later that day, we
> want to take the train or ferry from there to Sorrento, but are not
sure how to do that. We will spend two
> nights in Sorrento.
What will you do with your luggage while at Paestum? realize you will be lugging it with you all day today. UGH.
Not sure if they have baggage storage at Paestum and if so that process takes time on each end.
Rome to Paestum is a 3 + hour journey IF the trains line up. There is a mid day gap on that regional line from Salerno to Paestum.
Then an hour back to Salerno- then ferry to Sorrento is 2 hours or more- depending on how the ferry times line up. That’s at minimum another 3.5+ hours in transit. If you spent just 2 hours at Paestum which is just barely enough your whole day is gone with most spent on trains/ferries.
I would just stay in Salerno- has better transportation links south and north. Sorrento is a pain to get to and to get from.
The area will be very crowded then as well, making all travel unreliable and chaotic.
Then we will go to Herculaneum for one night.
I also question why Herculaneum? Can’t see any reason to stay the night there.
Stay in Salerno for all 3 nights OR skip Paestum (which I would not do!) and stay in Sorrento all 3 nights.
After that; we go to Sienna for two nights.
From Salerno to Siena is a fast direct train to Florence 3+hr- then bus or train to Siena- another 1 hour plus change time.
2 nights in Siena is fine
Sorrento to Siena is 1 hour to Naples on local train then as above to Florence then on to Siena. Most of your day on a train, and not necessarily a pleasant trip (Circumvesuviana)
Then to Lucca for one night.
From Siena you have to go back to Florence- 1 hour train or bus then change to regional to Lucca- at least 3 hours for the whole trip.
Lucca is OK but I wouldn’t bother for just 1/2 day.
Then to La Spezia for two nights for touring Cinque terre.
Lucca to La Spezia 1.5-2 hours with change in Viareggio
If you want to see CT then spend 2 nights in CT. La Spezia is not all that attractive.
Then go to Milan to spend one night before flying back to the U.S the
next day.
Good- you must be in Milan or near the airport night before your flight
La Spezia to Milan 3-4+hours with 1 or 2 changes
What time is your flight? Are flights changeable?
My suggestion- drop a few locations and enjoy the ones you do choose.
Changing hotels and transiting somewhere new almost every other day is tiresome and eats up so much of your time. Each location change takes at least a half day- in your case, even more.
Rome to Salerno OR Sorrento- 3 nights-
Visit Paestum and AC towns from Salerno OR Visit Herculaneum from Sorrento (also have option of AC towns)
Train to Siena via Florence
Siena 3 nights- maybe day trip to another Tuscan hilltown
(If Lucca appeals more to you then stay 2 nights in Lucca instead and give that extra night to the AC area. That area needs all the nights you can give it- make the travel hassle worth it)
Train to a CT town- 2 nights
Train to Milan 1
If it were me I would pick Amalfi area OR CT- but not both.
Both areas are overrun with tourists and both give you the water views, etc I guess you are looking for.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
8853 posts
Use Trenitalia website or app to figure out your transportation
https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html
Station names:
Roma Termini
Salerno
Napoli Centrale
Firenze SM Novella
Siena
Lucca
La Spezia
Milano Centrale
Here is ferry and bus and Circumvesuviana information for AC area. Note May schedules not up yet although will be similar to current. Ferry schedule won’t be up til closer to April when they begin service
Ferries can be and are cancelled for bad weather and water conditions.
Both ferries and buses will be very very crowded.
The Circumvesuviana is always crowded as well
https://www.positano.com/en/ferry-schedule
https://www.positano.com/en/bus-schedule
https://www.positano.com/en/naples-to-sorrento-train-schedule?timetable_route=sorrento_napoli