I recommend the extra day in Rome over Florence, even with a day trip to Siena. We (with most on this board) find the Piazza Navona/Pantheon area the best area to stay. The Minerva and the Raphael are the best hotels in this area I know of.

We were in Positano in early November 2001. We loved Le Sirenuse and were very thankful to have a car; we used it every day to visit area towns. While the AC roads are challenging, most of the horror stories take place during peak tourist season. Traffic is not congested in November.

Positano is a bit sleepy in November. Most restaurants were open but few were very busy. The weather was imperfect; it rained about 1/3 of the time we were there. We still had a great time.

I also like the recommendation above to end your trip in your departure city. It doesn't seem a good use of time to return to Rome for the night in order to catch an am flight.

Have a great trip,
j.

Zee123, great hotel near the Pantheon is Hotel Nazionale a Montecitorio on Piazza Montecitorio. We had a very nice double room for 230 euros in high season, in June. Nice breakfast buffet. Walk right around to the corner, pass Giolitti's gelato place, and walk a little further and there's the Pantheon. also u can walk to Trevi fountain, piazza navona, Spanish steps. We even walked to the colosseum and the roman forum, then took the bus back, a short ride, because we were tired.

Josh -
It's so good to hear from someone who was in Positano in early November! We are planning on going and keeping our fingers crossed for decent weather. May I ask what kind of room you had at Le Sirenuse? They have a jr. suite available, so we're leaning towards that.

As far as Rome goes, I believe we're going to book the Minerva and spend our extra night there. We still don't know where we're staying in Florence, hoping to figure it out this week.

Josh -
Forgot to mention a comment about ending our trip in our departure city...we wanted to end our trip in Positano since it will be more laid-back than Rome. What we have planned for our departure day is a 7am flight from Naples to Rome (1 hour flight) and then depart Rome at 10:15am. Is that absolutely crazy?

You will LOVE Locanda Orseolo.Just got back in June say hi to Barbara for me!!! The chocolate crepes for breakfast are wonderful!! Their map is a little funny. Someone posted here awhile ago and gave specific instructions which we used and was VERY helpful.Their suggestions for dinner were the only thing I wasnt so crazy about. One was a very close by little place, we could have missed that one!. The other in the piazza where the Vivaldi concert was we did like that.
It is a wonderful place to start a vacation!
We never went but I did get a kick out of the restaurant just over the bridge with the lounge singer singing 'feelings' The rain was coming down and you could hear with the windows open,very fun.

Huntington, I think you are cutting it very fine! I would be afraid that if your Naples-Rome flight is delayed, all the laid-back feeling of Positano will disappear very quickly.

Huntington,
Oddly, we stayed in 2 rooms at Le Sirenuse. We were on our honeymoon and I had booked a deluxe room. The hotel offered to give us a suite for the same price per availability. So, our first night was a deluxe room, the remainder of our stay (3 more nights) was in a suite.
The deluxe room was beautiful. Large french doors opening to a small balcony overlooking the sea, ceramic tiles, white walls, sitting area, entertainment system w/ various cds and dvds, large marble bathroom w/ large whirlpool tub, fruit basket, fresh flowers, etc.
The suite was the largest hotel room I've ever stayed in with multiple sitting areas, antique furnishings, marble, glass, jacuzzi, etc.
The one room type I didn''t see was the jr. suite; I'm sure they're beautiful.

On a recent trip to Rome (we stayed at the Raphael) I did go into the Minerva to get a brochure & check it out for a later trip. It looks fabulous. I think it was completely restored in the last 4-5 years. It's located directly behind the Pantheon, which is a premier location for seeing the sites. I hope to stay there on my next Rome trip.
Are you planning on staying your final night in Positano? If so, it will be a very early morning to make the 7am flight out of Naples. As I said above, I would prefer to end my trip in my departure city, but each have their own agenda. An alternative would be to consider spending the last night in Naples. If not, I would guess that you would have to leave Positano around 4-4:30am to get to the airport. That said, I agree that Positano is certainly more laid back than Rome.
Either way, it sounds like a great trip.
Fellow DTW flyer.

We booked our flight from Naples to Rome before we knew enough information -- bad move. We didn't realize how far Positano was from Naples. Now, thanks to everyone's wonderful advice, we're thinking of moving our trip around a bit and doing Rome last -- IF we can cancel our flight from Naples to Rome. We're also considering staying in Positano for only 2 nights now, adding that extra night to Florence and spending more time in the hill towns. This is stressful!!! But I'm sure it will all work out for the best.

kmoncrief - Thanks for the info on Locanda Orseolo! I'll be sure to research restaurants prior to arriving in Venice ;-)

Melissajoy - That restaurant in Rome sounds fabulous! We'll definitely check it out.

I'm very jealous of your trip; it sounds wonderful. I just wanted to comment on the weather in Positano. We were there in early September, so it was warm enough. But it rained (and often poured) our entire time there. So to the comment about poor views and slippery steps, we certainly experienced nothing like that. Everything was definitely wet, but not slippery. The views were still magnificent! I would not let the potential weather or off-season issues stop you. It will be more laid back than prime season, but that can also be a plus. You will experience a view different, but still beautiful, version of Positano.

Enjoy!

THE TRAIN CLOSEST TO THE TOWN OF AMALFI GOES TO SALERNO. THERE YOU CAN TAKE A FERRY OR THE LOCAL BUS TO AMALFI.THE TRAIN LEAVES FROM ROME OR NAPLES. IN ROME, YOU MIGHT WANT TO CHECK OUT THE AREA CALLED "TRASTEVERE" AND THE "HOTEL SANTA MARIA" ALL THE PLACES YOU'RE GOING TO ARE GREAT, JUST DONT SPREAD YOURSELF OUT TO THIN, YOU WANT TO ENJOY EACH PLACE FULLY!! YOU CAN ALWAYS GO BACK!

So we have moved our trip around a bit. We are now ending in Rome at the Minerve. We had to cancel our reservations at Le Sirenuse b/c they did not have the room we wanted for the new travel dates and we tried to book Palazzo Sasso. I am VERY disappointed with their staff. They quoted me a price over email and when I called to book it they told me that it was going to be more than I was quoted - giving no regard to the quote I had in writing. So I responded to the email they had sent with the quote and they came back with the higher price again (of course, they didn't say anything about the original quote). Needless to say, if I'm going to get that kind of run-around before I'm even there, it's not worth staying there.

Anyone else have bad experiences with hotel staff in that region? Any advice on the Palazzo Murat? We need to find somewhere to stay in Positano!

Try Il San Pietro. It's on the outskirts of Positano and gets great reviews.

http://www.ilsanpietro.it/introenglish.htm

We have 3 nights in Florence but would like input on where to base that part of our trip. We would like to spend a day in Florence, a day in Sienna and a day in the Chianti area. Is it better to base ourselves in Florence or in Siena?

Hi hunting,

Will you have a car?

If so, you might prefer Sienna.

Without one, I suggest Florence.

Hello Huntington,

For your first visit to Europe your itinerary is 'aggressive'. Venice, Florence, Amalfi Coast and Rome is somewhat like Miami, Washington D.C., Boston and New York; with side trips from Boston to Cape Cod and New Hampshire. A fairly large bite.

Having said that, irrespective of whether you can cancel your flight from Naples to Rome, ending your trip in your departure city is MUCH, MUCH less stressful.

Even though unstated it appears that you are going to use public transportation throughout your visit. (A good choice, as a car in Venice/Rome/Florence is like bringing your own elephant to the zoo). Given you will not rent a car, Florence is the better base in that area.

Two other thoughts, shortening your destination cities to three might improve the quality of a first time visit. It also provides a reason to return . . . and most folks find they want to return. If you chose to scale down you might want to save Amalfi for another visit. After all you will not have enough time to visit the Amalfi Coast, Capri, Pompeii, Naples museums, Herculaneum, Paestum, Caserta and Sorrento in two days.

Lastly, the time of year you are visiting Italy is a 'luck-of-the-draw' weather wise. Be prepared for cool, damp weather. Kind of like Detroit that time of year - it could be 70 or 50, rainy or sunny, cloudy or clear. The weather genie is unpredictable - and preparation helpful.

It is not my intention to be negative, but first time travellers to foreign countries tend to plan to their mental pictures rather than the realities of the place/time destination.

Italy is a great country with wonderful cities, people, food, culture, scenery etc. Take your time, enjoy it, bring back great memories . . . and always remember your unexpected experiences will make the trip fuller and richer.

Have a great trip.

huntington,

I got back from Florence a few weeks ago, and just wanted to let you know that the Lungarno was an amazing hotel! We had a beautiful room facing the river with a nice-sized terrace. The location couldn't have been better. Most of the major tourist sites were within minutes of the hotel.

If you will have a car,and are staying for more than a night, I'd recommend Relais Fattoria Vignale in Radda. It's a beautiful country inn set among acres of picturesque vineyards and olive trees. It's very easy to day trip from Radda to Siena, Castellini, Greve, and other areas for wine tastings, etc. I've also heard good things about VignaMaggio, which is just outside Greve.

One last recommendation. If I'm not too late ( I'm guessing I am), I would definitely recommend The Poseidon for your stay in Positano. It's one of our favorite all-time hotels, and only "up the street" from Le Sirenuse. A jr. suite at The Poseidon comes with a lovely terrace overlooking town. And the food there is heaven on Earth!

Good luck, and have a great trip!

I forgot to add that I would NOT recommend Il San Pietro. We did not stay there, but visited friends who did, and found it extremely stuffy. Also the food was very disappointing for Italy.

Ira/Weadles - Both of you mention staying in Florence if we are not renting a car. If we stay outside of Florence, we had planned on renting a car. We're just wondering what the "ideal" location would be -- we're quite torn between being inside Florence vs. the countryside.

Also, I probably should have mentioned our updated itinerary. Our plan is:

- 3 nights in Venice at Locanda Orseolo
- 3 nights in Florence (in Florence or Siena - willing to rent a car)
- then we're going to Positano and staying 3 nights at the Albergo Miramare (famous room 210)
- and then we are ending our trip with 4 nights in Rome at the Minerve.

jheim - I appreciate your input. We realize that we are biting off a lot for our first trip - trust me, planning it alone has been insane! But knowing that we may not make it back for a long time makes it worthwhile. We want a little taste of different parts of Italy so that when we do return, we know where to spend a majority of our time. Our philosophy is "do it while you're young"

huntington,

With only 3 nights to spend, I would advise either basing in Florence or Siena, but not both. It just doesn't seem worth it to me to lug suitcases and unpack for 1 night.

You certainly won't regret staying at any of the hotels you mention in Florence. I don't know much about hotels in Siena, since we based in Radda ( 45 min. outside Siena), but I'm sure you can check previous posts for great information.

Sounds like a wonderful trip!