Feroza

Hi, I am from South Africa, and will be visiting Italy. I will be spending 4 days in Rome, and then flying down to Sicily. I'm not sure whether I should hire a vehicle in Rome and then Palermo.
when visitng Visit Rome, I would like to visit Pompei, Vezuv, Napoli, is 4 days enough, and would i require a hired car? What would be the best mode of transport, and would u suggest I take a tour?

Palermo - I'd like to see the following places, • Cefalù (• Monreale • Segesta and selinunte (Greeks temples) and Obviously Palermo, Erice
Would you suggest a car hire, as we have 4 days here as well or a tour?
Would really appreciate any advice

ira

Hi F,

>when visitng Visit Rome, I would like to visit Pompei, Vezuv, Napoli, is 4 days enough,<

4 days is enough, but when will you visit Rome?

If P, Vesuvius and N are musts, have you considered flying into Naples and skipping Rome this trip?

You can take the train from Rome to Naples (www.trenitalia.com) and then the Circumvesuviana commuter train from the basement of Naples Centrale to "Pompei Scavi". You won't need to hire a car.

Zerlina

You can do Pompeii and (a little of) Naples in a day or you can do Pompeii and Vesuvius (there are buses from Pompeii) in a day, but you cannot do all three in a day. Use the trains and don't hire a car.

For Sicily, fly into Palermo, hire a car at the airport and drive to Erice, Segesta and Selinunte. Return the car at the airport and take the bus into Palermo. From Palermo, take a local bus to Monreale and a train to Cefalu. You do *not* want to drive in Palermo.

nytraveler

Having a car IN Rome is close to madness. There is no place to park it and driving in raffic is not for the faint hearted. And most of the major sights are within wlking distance of the historic center - which is where you should stay.

Naples and Pompeii are not really day trips rom Rome - they can be done under pressure (not the same day ) if you leave at 7 am and return late at night. But agree that you need at least 3 days to see the major sights of Rome itself.

Michael

Agreed that you do not want to drive in Palermo. However, you could see Monreale before turning in your car. In any case you would reach the road that goes around Palermo before getting into city traffic proper, although within the city limits that road can raise anxiety levels somewhat depending on your experience.

You might want to take a look at my trip report. Just click on my name to find it.

charnees

>when visitng Visit Rome, I would like to visit Pompei, Vezuv, Napoli, is 4 days enough,<

4 days is enough, but when will you visit Rome?

I'm with Ira on this!! We will be in Rome for 4 1/2 days in September, plus an additional day in Ostia Antica before flying home. I am just beginning to realize that even without going to the Vatican, the Forum, and the Colosseum (was there 2 years ago), there's no way I'm going to see everything I want to see. Drat!

Feroza

Hi all
Thank you so much for this great advice so far, so answer some of the questions, I am flying to Rome on the 30th Sept, will spend 4 days in Rome, hopefully touring, and will then fly to Sicily for another 4 days, and fly back home on the 8th October. So in Total will have 8days. From the various responses, are you advising me not to go to Palermo at all?

ira

Hi F,

>will spend 4 days in Rome, hopefully touring, and will then fly to Sicily for another 4 days,<

What draws you to Sicily?

A very nice visit for a first timer would be:
Fly into Venice - 3 nights, train to Florence - 2 nights, train to Rome - 3 nights.