I will be spending 3 nights in Rome in October of this year. From Rome we plan on heading down towards Naples. We are undecided as to if we should spend the night in Naples or perhaps Sorrento. From there, we plan on a day trip to visit the towns where my girlfriends grandparents lived
Volturara Irpina Avellino and Sant'Agata di Puglia. We plan on heading from there up Florence over the course of 3-4 days. I would like to keep driving to a max of between 2-3 hrs per day. Some of the towns I have considered overnights in include Roccarasso, Termoli, Orvieto, and Sienna. If you have any suggestions or thoughts I would appreciate it. We have left 4 days also to explore Florence and make our way to Venice where we will be flying out of... any suggestions would be great! p.s. we love good food and wine, so that should be considered! Thanks!!!
Posted by
Farmingville, New York, USA
381 posts
We made the trip between Florence and the Naples areas and it is very doable in a day. Just plan on spending 4-5 hours in the car, not the 2-3 hours. My own observation is that you are covering a very large area in a short amount of time. Rome to Naples to Florence to Venice with a bunch of towns in between is really too much for the time you have laid out. I would prioritize where you want to really go and focus in on those areas and save the rest for the next trip. That is what we did and we don't regret it. Our first trip we went to Rome, Florence and the Amalfi Coast. Our second trip we visited Lake Cuomo, Cinque Terre and Venice. You really need to stay in a place a few days to relax and appreciate it. You really can't see Italy in one trip. Prioritize and see some more on the next trip.
Posted by
St Louis
411 posts
A couple of caveats- keep in mind the adage that every time you change your lodgings you lose half a day. Another thing to keep in mind is that having a car in certain areas (Siena and Florence in particular) presents a number of challanges in terms of areas where you are not premitted to drive and parking the car somewhere. You might want to consider a stay at an agritourismo outside of Siena for several days and using that as a base to explore the small towns an wineries nearby. Spend a day in Siena (there are parking lots outside of the historic center). You could do Florence as a day trip from Siena either via train or bus and leave the car parked in Siena. How many days are you alloting for Venice?
Posted by
OP
New York, NY, USA
2 posts
We've only allotted 2 days for Venice... My girlfriend has been there before and thinks thats enough time ... we tend to enjoy the remote and out of the way places a bit more than the real touristy things. I've never been, so I'd love to see as much as possible. I realize that we may be trying to squeeze a bit too much in. I've heard great things about Florence but didn't realize that driving and parking there would be such an issue... Any suggestions? Would we be better off returning the car in Rome or Naples and taking the train up to Florence? I'm assuming we could find some Tuscany wine/food tours out of Florence? Thanks again for all your help!