Tuscany & Sorrento 10 days

katie, you haven't told us enough about yourself, your travel budget, or your specific interests. For example, you have concealed your home city in your visible profile - if you were from, say, coastal California, it would be possible to say something useful about Capri and Sorrento. I mean this in a nice way, but your OP sounds ... .... er ... uninformed about Italy.

For a first trip to Italy, especially one only 10 days (again, you didn't say precisely if you have 9 nights or fewer in Italy.) should not involve all the travel time you are proposing. If Florence and Tuscany are important to you, fine. Then add VENICE, not Capri. If you have to fly through Rome for price or convenience, DON'T SLIGHT one of the major cities of the world, filled with history and art.

My opinion is not widely shared here, but I consider Sorrento barely one step above Provincetown, Massachusetts. That's why I was willing to risk sounding discourteous (I didn't mean to be) when I chose the word uninformed. Have you gone to the library to read our travel-writer host Rick Steves "Italy"? If not, go today. Or use your phone to order your own copy.

When do you plan to rent a car, I hope not to stay in Rome or Florence.
Your trip is too ambitious for your short stay. You need at least 12 nights to make it work.

If this were my trip:
Arrive Rome (or if you can find a flight to Florence).
If you arrive in Rome, take the train to Florence upon landing (about 2+ hours from the airport). There are trains every 20-30 min from Rome Tiburtina station. From the airport to Rome Tiburtina you take a regional train.

Arrive in Florence, stay whatever number of nights (minimum 2-3 nights).
Rent a car to get out to Tuscany. Find accommodations outside Siena. If you prefer Siena make sure the hotel is outside the limited traffic zone (ZTL) where cars aren't allowed (pedestrianized area).
Visit Tuscan towns from that location (3 nights)

Drive to Sorrento. You can return the car here.
3 nights in Sorrento (visit Capri from there).

Train to Rome (via Naples)
3-4 nights in Rome.

If you have less than 12 nights, then you need to cut out something.

Narrow your time to 2 areas only. Travel time is almost lost time from A to B and back.
So if you land in Rome Robertos sugg to train out upon arrival is excellent.
See Florence min 2 days , car to tuscany but not from central Florence, perhaps airport. Seeing Tuscany could take many days depends on your interests.
Etruscan sights, hilltop towns etc. realize October could be rainy so plan for it.
If are thrilled at what u read, it pales to what u will see in this gorgeous area.
Consider staying in an tuscan agriturismo espec if u have a car. The ambiance will be xtra nice espec if u are traveling solo.
When you return to Italy someday u can get to the Pompeii, Capri and Sorrento and south areas which also are incredibly beautiful but warrant min a wk.
Have fun researching and planning that is part of the journey.

Tim, you are right. I should've told you a bit about myself, but was afraid, I'd get to wordy. I'll be flying from JFK in NY. Would really like a direct flight, hence Rome because I really don't like flying. I tend to lean toward smaller towns, less crowds, off the beaten path, eclectic areas. I will be traveling with my husband, this is actually going to be our honeymoon as we had an upstate NY wedding that we turned into a week, so no more time for travel. It would be 9 or 10 nights max. I have a $3000 budget. I do not have Rick's book YET, lol Going to purchase it, just found him, was using Frommer's & lonely planet.

Roberto, I love your ideas. Maybe I could squeak in a few more night. But I think you & JS are right, I need to cut it down & save Capri & Pompeii for another trip. I need to give up the south & just focus on Florence, Rome & Tuscany. Sigh.

This is fun! Thank you all for your suggestions. You have all been very helpful & informative.

Tim, for those of us in the land locked midwest, provincetown is coastal AND exotic :)

Thanks Doric-In fact I lived in Cleveland for two years, but that does have Lake Erie. That was exactly my point - if Katie has never seen the ocean, that puts a different complexion on it. But Sorrento itself has exceptionally poor beach access. Even more important, the trip being a honeymoon relives it of some of the education and culture imperative.

I have sometimes said that Sorrento is like Provincetown without the fudge, but I think I saw fudge in Sorrento last year. (Cruise ship stop, not a deliberate "Return to Sorrento.")

Just want to weigh in on the Sorrento debate. We are planning our second trip to Italy in September. Our first was 7 years ago. Sorrento was one of our favorite spots. We stayed in a hotel up the hill (they had a daily shuttle down to the town an back) and we were able to walk up to Sant'Agata to some very nice restaurants. We did a day trip to Capri from there as well as a guided/driver trip to the Amalfi coast.
It is with much sadness that we will not be including Sorrento on our itinerary this trip. But my husband has a mini visit to Switzerland on his bucket list and we are having to stay farther north to include that. But otherwise we would go "back to Sorrento" in a heartbeat!

Keep it simple.

Day
1. Arrive Rome. Train to Florence (3N)
2. Florence
3. Day to Siena
4. Train via Naples to Sorrento (3N)
5. Day to Capri
6. Day to Pompeii
7. Train via Naples to Rome (3N)
8. Rome
9. St Peters & Vatican
10. Depart Rome

Thank goodness I am planning this so far in advance. It is so overwhelming. I wish I had a month to hit everything I want to see. I need to stop reading other areas of the guidebooks, lol. Thank you all for your suggestions.

It's a bit like getting a burger made with one of those huge buns, and you know you should cut it in half, but instead you open your mouth wide, and try and stuff as much in as possible.

Well said djp_syd!!! But now guess what! I totally have to re-plan EVERYTHING! I just booked a direct flight from JFK to Milan 10/2/17 to 10/12/17 on Emeriates. It was $490.46 pp roundtrip. I just couldn't pass that up!

Awesome and scary at the same time!

Since you have to check in for the flight home at 12:30PM, you should start thinking about trip. Most likely, you'll spend the last night in Milan. If you WANT to go to see The Last Supper, you should order tickets immediately, for a late time on the day before the flight. (Maybe you don't care - I only mentioned it because it sells out well in advance.) There are other things to do in Milan.

Start investigating the Trenitalia website, so you'll be comfortable with it. Most long distance tickets can be much cheaper bought in advance. Did you start reading Rick Steves yet? He's really good on trains.

That's a fabulous price. It's too bad we can't all buy extra flights when they're cheap and store them up for future years!

That is very smart Tim. Thank you for the suggestion about the day before leaving in Milan, I would love to see the last supper & wouldn't have known they sell fast. I do have Rick's book, but haven't looked at the Milan section at all. I will have to pour into that section to once my adrenaline settles down.

Acraven it is a fabulous price & yes, I totally agree, I'd go once a year on that price! lol

In Milano, you can go to the roof of the Duomo for some time with the gargoyles and spires, and views of the city. The Castello Sforzesco has nice grounds and a very good museum.

Day
1. Arrive Milan. Train to Florence (3N)
2. Florence
3. Day to Siena
4. Train to Rome (3N)
5. Rome
6. St Peters & Vatican
7. Train to Cinque Terre (2N)
8. CT
9. Train to Milan (1N)
10. Depart Milan

Katie, I think there's a lot of sense in the itinerary David has suggested above. With the limited amount of time you have, Sorrento/Capri is just too far away, and especially so if having to backtrack to Milan, so I'd substitute the Cinque Terre if you want to spend a little time near the sea.

It's personally more moving around than I would like to do but it'll give you a nice sample of some places you might want to return to someday. You can also do it - and should do it - without a car; a plus, I think, for your first time in Italy as that'll be a few less pitfalls to have to worry about! Take the bus to Siena from Florence; we can fill you in on the details once you get your itinerary nailed down.

Did your $3000 budget have to include airfare (you got a great price on that, BTW!)?

Flying into Milan, I would think about saving Rome and Sorrento/Capri for another trip. Personally, there's also nothing that draws me to CT, too many crowds by the sounds of it...not into hiking with crowds...and just views (Hold Harmless, I have never been to CT, but sounds horrible to me). I would see Florence/Tuscany and Venice on this trip, with hopefully one full day in Milan. That would be a nice relaxed honeymoon as far as transportation is concerned and it would give you, cities, countryside and water and romantic backdrops. There are some lovely towns between Florence and Venice as well; i.e., Bologna, Verona... Views abound, but with interesting things amidst the views. (I have been to Florence/Tuscany, Venice, Rome and Sorrento as it relates to this discussion; Florence being one of my favorite cities, period. If you go to more distant places, you will actually see less, IMO.

Personally, there's also nothing that draws me to CT, too many crowds
by the sounds of it...not into hiking with crowds...and just views
(Hold Harmless, I have never been to CT, but sounds horrible to me).

True, the CT is overrun during high season but not ALL the trails (there are many) are a conga line; just whatever segments are open on the Sentiero Azzurro (Blue Trail). We even found the upper reaches of the towns where the cemeteries (great views), some of the churches and whatnot are to be fairly empty. Most of the day-trippers off the ships don't want to put in that sort of effort. Shoot, Convento dei Frati Cappuccini/Chiesa di San Francesco just above Monterosso - with a Van Dyke painting - was completely deserted when we were there.

Also, some of the accommodations are off the tourist tramp; good for the folks who just want to get some R&R and take in the view. The villages quiet down at night when the day-trippers leave, and are lovely in sunny, early mornings before they arrive. I'm not a beach person but we watched families and tourists swimming off the rocks in a couple of villages and it looked like great fun; may pack my suit and water shoes next time! The sea is all those impossible shades of Maxfield Parrish blues.... Not sure if October is swimming weather but it's darn pretty to look at all the same.

Just another perspective, I guess?

Katie,
I have been to Rome, Venice, Milan, Florence, Pisa, Siena, and the general Tuscany region. I'm excited for you and your husband being able to go on this honeymoon! First of all, best wishes on your marriage!

I totally understand the urge to want to see it all. Italy has so much to offer. The sad fact is that you have a very limited time in country. You will now have to make some hard choices, both on what you want to see and what kind of trip you want to have.

First of all, since you are flying into Milan, you need to save Rome and environs for another trip. You just don't have enough time.

That leaves us with Milan, Venice, Florence and Siena (Tuscany). This is doable, but I really think you should consider dropping Venice. It's in an entirely different direction from Florence and Tuscany (due east from Milan).

While visiting Florence and Siena are core to a visit to Tuscany, to me the true charm of the region is the countryside and the small towns, especially the hilltop towns. You need to devote two full days minimum to Florence and at least a full day and evening to Siena. The ideal would be to rent a car and drive from Florence to Siena via SR222. From Siena, you need to devote a day to travel to San Gimignano and Volterra. Between those days in the country and Florence and Siena, you will get a great overview of Tuscany.

You have all given me much to think about. I am glad I have 9 months to plan this. When I originally posted this, Milan was not even in my radar. From the quick responses, I scratched Sorrento & Capri. To be honest, I'd like to scratch Rome and save all three for another trip. Being Irish, everyone is perplexed why I chose Italy. Something has always drawn me. The more I read, the happier I am with the decision. The Tuscany region has always been on my bucket list. So I'd like it to stay Milan-Florence-Tuscany (if I can convince the hubby to skip Rome). CT was also not on my radar, since I was originally thinking above. Now it is back to the drawing board. I'd like to see as much as I can without feeling like I'm racing. I want this to be as relaxing, seeing as much as I can.

Kathy the $3000 was air & rooms. I ending up adding another night because of the great deal (or should I say STEAL) I got. Thank you for your suggestions.

djp_syd Thank you for your itinerary. Which I may show my husband if I can't convince him to nix Rome.

DougMac Thank you for your wishes. I am excited for us too. This will actually be our Anniversary/Honeymoon. But we needed a week off for the wedding so that left no time for the honeymoon. I really like you ideas & totally agree. It is what I am thinking/leaning toward. While I like art/museums, I really enjoy, people, small town charm, wine & food. I should've been Italian! Btw, Venice doesn't do it for me (which is silly because I've never been there) but I am more drawn to Tuscany area & all the towns you listed, plus Pienza, Montaicino & Montepuiciano. I think renting a car leaving Florence may be a good idea. I have so much research to do I feel like I could bust.

All of you have been so great, just a wealth of information. Honestly, I would've never booked a flight this early if it wasn't for this site.

So grateful to you all. Katie

Hi Katie. My family and I visited many of the places you are going a couple of summer's ago. There is a lot to see in Rome. I would very strongly suggest getting a guide book and deciding what you want to see in each place before you determine how much time you need there. You don't want to miss tings because you didn't plan ahead. Its so worth it to do the leg work. Also, if you want to see popular sites/museums, the Academia in Florence for example, you really want to purchase tickets in advance as lines can be extremely long. Having tickets helps you get in much quicker, but you may still have lines. Tuscany was my favorite part of the trip. It is beautiful nd scenic. There are two parts the Val d' Orcia area, which is what you normally see on postcards, and then there is the Chianti region, which is more like wine country. Google images for a better idea. Siena is a very cool place. Be careful in Naples if you ride the local train (Circumvesuviana, I think it is called) as it is FILLED with pickpockets. You will be fine if you take the necessary precautions. I would suggest researching this. Capri is a short boat trip from Sorrento and you can see most of it in a day. There is a great restaurant we ate lunch at called Da Gelsomina on Capri. They will send a car to pick you up. Ask them to show you the view. It was beautiful. If you go to Pompeii, PREPARE with sunscreen. We were there in July and it was HOT!!! It was the closest I've ever come to a heat stroke. I'm totally serious. TAKE A HAT AND WATER! I can't encourage you enough to plan, plan, plan. It will make all the difference.