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Tuscany vs Amalfi

So, as always, my planning is very fluid right now. We will be in Italy early Sept and Venice and Rome are on the visit list. (3 nights Venice, 6 Rome). I can change a few things in my itinerary - we will be in London for 3 nights to meet up with my mom (before flying with her to Italy), who will be visiting with my sister in Portsmouth for 3 weeks before we fly over. We had planned on visiting sis for 2 nights, but that may not be happening, so I most likely have 2 extra nights to play with. I would take a night from Rome giving me 3 extra nights. (For the record, Rome is a second visit after a hectic 5 nights in 2008 and Venice will be visit #4 - this is for my mom - she wants to see it...and I love Venice).

So I was debating 3 nights in Tuscany (we spent 2 nights in Florence in 2012, so we'd either base there and visit smaller towns, or stay ?? Siena? Thoughts?) vs 3 nights in Amalfi area (haven't been there yet). I love the country and the coast, and my mom really doesn't care - it's all good. Hubby doesn't really want to go back to Florence, but I could prob convince him to travel to the towns. I am going to go watch my RS Amalfi coast video and probably fall in love with that place to.

So just curious what others think of the two areas and why you may choose one over the other? Would it be cooler on the coast the 2nd week of Sept? (We were in Florence 3rd week of Sept and it was very hot).

If we did Tuscany, the sequence would be London-Rome-Tuscany-Venice-London. If Amalfi, we'd do London-Venice-Rome-Amalfi (back to Rome for flight)-London. (We have to catch a connecting anyways to fly home...if we fly home from Italy, we either connect thru London with about a 2.5 hr window, or have to make 2 connections thru various places (Zurich or Frankfurt then Montreal or Toronto). I rather just fly back to London the day before our flight home and get a direct flight to Halifax instead of messing with connections. It isn't any more expensive, and my mom - and I - wouldn't be freaking out about missing connections)

Posted by
3696 posts

Nicole, Well, I adore both Tuscany and the coast... so I would have a hard time, but I always feel a little cheated if I can't watch a sunrise or sunset over the Sea, so I would probably go to the water. I can't imagine that it would not be lovely weather in Sept. I was on the Med. last mid Oct. and the weather was still beautiful. Have a great trip:)

Posted by
3940 posts

Yes...sigh...I just watched the RS amalfi coast video and of course it looks amazing. Will watch the Tuscany show and make my decision even harder...lol.

...and by cooler on the coast, I mean not roasting like a chicken like we will in Rome...

Posted by
127 posts

There are few places in the world that are as beautiful as the Amalfi area. I would certainly rather be there in September than in Tuscany, which can be very dry in the fall. Where ever you go, I am sure that you will have a wonderful trip.

Posted by
11613 posts

I've been to both many times and love them both. Go to the Amalfi Coast if you feel like that's calling you. It's a beautiful place.

Posted by
155 posts

I think you would really enjoy the Amalfi Coast! ... I was there last February and I loved it, even though it was cold and cloudy! I can imagine how beautiful and pleasant must be it in September. Happy travels!

Posted by
3940 posts

You know...that RS video of Amalfi just made me yearn to go there (just like when we did Cinque Terre - because the show made me want to go so bad). I going to see if I can persuade my mom to add one more day onto her vacation (and I'm pretty persuasive) so we could have 4 nights in Amalfi instead of 3.

Any thought for a base (I hear Sorrento is good)?

What could we squeeze into those 2.5-3 days without a car?

Best/fastest way to get there from Rome that doesn't involve a car? Train, bus, ferry?

Posted by
3 posts

Your best bet to get to the Amalfi Coast which we did from Rome is take the train to Naples, Then a local train to Sorrento then a bus along the Amalfi coast. Must see towns are Positano, Amalfi, and the small bus to the town of Ravello above Amalfi. You can rent rooms in any of the towns along the coast but you would need to plan well ahead. While I was there I walked up to the Path of the Gods above Praiano for terrific views of the coast. However it is a difficult hike and takes a half a day to do.

Posted by
1501 posts

Early September is going to be HOT! Unless the weather is very unusual. You've been to Florence, and have your memories. Go to the SEA! Amalfi has my vote!

Posted by
3940 posts

My brain actually started working and I realized we could fly from London to Naples direct, bypassing the going to Rome and taking a train...the lightbulb came on!. And that's a good thing, because if we did venice first, we'd actually be hitting the end of the film festival for a few days, so I imagine it would be even more insane with people. So the plan now is London(3)...Naples/amalfi coast (3 nights) and a stop for Pompeii...Rome(5)...venice(3)...back to London before home. I decided only 3 nights for amalfi to give my mom an extra visit day with my sister...like 3 weeks isn't enough...sigh, but she wants her 3 weeks in.

I am a little concerned about the heat since we always go mid sept thru early oct when we travel, but I guess if we can handle our hot humid days here in July, and even the heat in Italy mid sept, we'll do ok. We will just plan for museums during the hot afternoons, or return to our room for a brief respite. And eat lots of gelato, of course.

Posted by
625 posts

If you wanna stay in Sorrento (the biggest "town"), just take the circumvesuviana from Napoli Centrale, and there's your base.....best for visiting Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Naples

If you want to stay in Positano or Amalfi (the transportation "hub" on the Amalfi Coast), take the train to Salerno and either take a bus or ferry to either one.....Amalfi is my favorite! Its smaller than Positano, so you might want to take that into account, but I feel its easier to get around from there, seeing that Ravello is just a bus ride up the mountain from it. GORGEOUS

Posted by
4105 posts

From Naples airport, take the curreriviaggi.it bus to Sorrento. Don't take the bus to the train station.

Sorrento is a good base for transportation. The Circumvesuvian and the Sita bus are right there.

Hotel Il Nido would be my choice.

Sita bus schedule http://www.sitasudtrasporti.it/public/tpl/campania/5070.pdf

Circumvesuvian http://www.eavcampania.it/web/content/orario-ferroviario

Ferry http://www.coopsantandrea.com/en/servizidilinea/servizi.asp

Posted by
11613 posts

Remember that Sorrento is not on the Amalfi Coast. I would consider spending one night in Sorrento and taking an early morning bus along the Amalfi Coast. Be sure to get a seat on the right-hand side of the bus.

Posted by
3940 posts

OK...two more things.

We are going to be there on a weekend, and I can't really tweak the schedule as I have it in a nice mostly straight line with no backtracking (and my memories of Cinque Terre on a weekend in 2012 vs thru the week in 2008 are not happy memories). So, first - might Positano or Amalfi (or even Ravello) be a little quieter then Sorrento on a weekend (haha, I know, crazy!).

And second, I love taking photos and have sold a few - I'm sure all the villages/towns are nice, but I love to get pics during the 'golden hour' in the early morning - is one town more picturesque then the others? I know, I know, they are probably all gorgeous...I guess I'll check out what other people have for pics...

I don't mind smaller as someone mentioned about staying in Amalfi. I am one of those crazy people who stayed in Corniglia (CT) - the smallest and least accessible of the 5 villages - both times we went to CT. I tend to like a little smaller, quieter village over crazy loud busy...

Posted by
4105 posts

If you're interested in photography, I think the best town would be Amalfi.

The Duomo is stunning and around virtually every corner is another photo opportunity.
Great passage ways wind through out the lower town, flowers spill out of pots and window boxes.
I was hooked on stairways and doors on my last trip.
Amalfi is also the town you switch busses for Ravello and Vietri sul Mare. Both of these are also great for photos.
Sorrento is beautiful and a great transportation for first time exploration. But part of the Sorrentine peninsula.
We have been to the coast 8 times in the past 10 years, so I must love it.

Posted by
977 posts

Amalfi Coast, one of the seven wonders of the modern world. We stayed in Amalfi and caught the SITA bus to other towns on the coast - Positano, Ravello, Sorrento, Salerno etc. If you stay in Amalfi try to go to Atrani for dinner (the smallest village in southern Italy). It's a short distance from Amalfi. It was a truly memorable experience sitting having dinner in one of the many restaurants adjoining in the ancient piazza with it's marble fountain and 10th century church.
If taking photos is your thing this is the place to be. Ravello is a MUST see.

Posted by
3940 posts

Judy...I just booked our stay in Atrani! A nice place thru airbnb...and the reviews all say it is only a 10 min walk to Amalfi, and she has great reviews. I thought it was going to be $560, but it came up as $495 for the reservation (in $, not euros) for 3 people for 3 nights - I think I did good :)

If anyone is curious, this is the place (I'll def do a review after we stay)
https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/326177

Now, to work on Rome and Venice...