Rome can fill your 7-8 days and I think it would be a perfect first trip. I suggest you stay in Rome and play it by ear to do a day trip to a nearby beach accessible by train, and only if the weather is perfect and you feel like it.

Both May and late Sept/early Oct are great times to visit.

Consider staying in an apartment. I like apartments because they offer more space and the option of eating "at home" on the nights you don't feel like going out. There are lots of great apartments available these days. Do a search on this forum using the "Search the Forums" tool to find some recomendations.

There is plenty of wine in Rome- no need to travel to Tuscany for wine.

It's easy to walk all over Rome. I rarely use the bus (but it's easy). Make sure you have very comfortable shoes- the cobblestones can really get to you!

There are lots of great guidebooks and online guides for Rome. Go to a book store and see which ones "speak" to you. Some are more historical, some include shopping suggestions, some breakdown the city into sections while others list things by attractions. Find the guidebook (or two) that seems to work for you. Most libraries also have some choices.

You can always plan a future trip and enjoy Tuscany or the Amalfi Coast then. And I highly recommend you do!

I think you can best overcome your nervousness by investing in a good basic travel guide and
Reviewing the sections on train travel and other transportation as well as the historic sites.

One idea is to spend three days in Rome at the beginning and end of the trip and spending time
In Sorrento in the middle of the trip. From Sorrento, you can visit the ancient city of Pompeii and
Take a public bus or ferry to beautiful towns on the Amalfi coast for day trips or take a ferry to
April for a day. We did this a few years ago and it worked ou well. Beaches in the area tend to be
Rocky and the experience is different from beaches in the US. The beauty of the Amalfi coast is the scenery.

Whatever you do, be sure to notify your credit card company before you go as we'll as your ATM
Card company. Enjoy! Pat

Hi Stephy,
I agree with Zoecat. Rome is a large city, and has many, many, interesting sights to see, and not just the famous ones. There is much info on the internet, so do your homework.

Last time we visited Rome we stayed in an apartment in Trastevere, and used SleepInItaly. We walked everywhere, and stayed 7 days. We took a day trip to Bracciano to see the castle, but there are many short day trips you can make. Check out Ostia Antica, it's an easy train ride, and wonderful ruins to explore.


Have a wonderful time!

We've been to Roma 4 times now, just last year we stayed 6 days! We stay at a B&B called Arco dei Tolomei in the Trastevere district (working class). Marco and his wife Giana are wonderful hosts and the B&B is the house Marco was raised in! He has breakfast with his guests every morning giving them suggestions and advice. Another thing we do each time is spend a day in a cooking class "Cooking in Rome", my husband hates being in the kitchen but thoroughly enjoyed doing this, lots of fun, meeting other people from around the world and eating the best meal you will EVER have in Rome! And it's just a 5 minute walk from the B&B!!! Just my 2 cents!

OK, here is a different idea. Fly into Naples, take a drive to Positano, spend 3 days (including arrival day) relaxing on the beach or on the terrace of your hotel (use www.venere.com to find hotels). Then on day 4, get an early start and get to Pompeii, where you can stash your luggage and see the site for a couple of hours. Then train to Naples and fast train to Rome. Spend the rest of your time seeing the sights in Rome and fly home from Rome.

Booking an "open-jaw" or "multi-city" ticket won't cost you that much more and will save invaluable time in transit. We were on the Amalfi Coast the first week of October and the weather was beautiful. Maybe not warm enough to go swimming (but possibly) but definitely sunny and terrace weather!

Thank you for your responses! Looks like I have homework to do! Also, do a lot of Italians speak English? I'm assuming it would be polite to learn a few phrases in Italian no?

Si, signora.

If you do decide that a day or two at the beach would make your vacation complete, perhaps consider the small coastal resort of Sperlonga - a very popular place with Romans themselves, especially at weekends!

You'd have a hour's cheap journey by local train to the Fondi-Sperlonga station, and then a bus trip of maybe 15 minutes, but once there could be a world away...

Photos, including some taken in the ruins of Tiberius' seaside villa, only a short walk out of town, here:

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/slides_sperlonga

... with these other interesting spots within easy reach by bus:
http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/lazio_more

As for Rome, take your pick...
http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/lazio

Having a few words of Italian will serve you well, but many of the people you're likely to deal with in the ordinary course of events will have reasonable - or even good - English. We've lived in the country for all but a decade now, and I'm still being surprised by just who turns out to know some of the language.... years after I'd decided that they didn't - so take care what you say in front of whom!

Peter

Well, I differ with eke about driving to Positano after a very long flight into Naples. the drive
Includes Ann extremely curvy road with motorcycles passing other vehicles constantly. You
Could, however, take the small Circumvensia train to Sorrento from Naples and then take a
Public bus to Positano. That leaves the tricky driving to an experienced native. You might
Be able to find a shuttle service from Naples airport, also. I think you hotel would have information about that type of service. Positano is beautiful, so don't skip it, just don't drive to it after the long flight.

I do think the idea of a B&B in Testevere that has a gracious host is a good one for first timers. There is so much to see and the host may be able to help you with advance reservations to places like the Borghese museum.

Pat

Starting to do some research! Rick Steves has been on TV so getting some tips! I think we are going to stick with Rome and Amafi (also seeing Pompeii). Not sure if we are adventurous enough for an apt in Rome but we have heard from an aunt that the Hotel Teatro Di Pompeo is a good location? Anyone heard of this one? Also Got a few recs from friends that in Amafi Villa Franca is nice and someplace called Pegasus?