2 weeks in Italy
 

I will be traveling to Italy for 2 weeks--first trip to Europe. Most likely traveling end of May. I would really like to see the Amalfi Coast but don't know how to plan the rest of the trip.
Not interested in wine country or vineyards at all...
Should we do Rome and Venice? Florence? Tuscany?
I've seen posts that say Positano is a good place to "stay" to do trips to the Amalfi Coast. Is that accurate? Any suggestions helping me plan this would be great
Thank you!

You've said you're not interested in wine country or vineyards, which is fine. What would you like to do and see? Do you have any particular interests?

Lee Ann

Your question is too broad. There are thousands of options. I suggest you grab both some guidebooks and some photographic books of Italy and see what takes your fancy. Be warned though, you will inevitably end up with more places than you have time for. The general recommendation is to allow at least two full days in each place, but obviously that's a personal decision.

btw Florence is in Tuscany. And Positano is on the Amalfi Coast. From Positano you can catch buses or ferries to other locations along the coast or to Capri. Buses are typically very busy but we found them to be okay in May although we did have a couple of trips standing the whole journey. Amalfi has better transport links than Positano, depending upon where you want to visit.

Enjoy your planning.

That's why I was asking here. I've been reading guidebooks and TripAdvisor, etc for weeks. Some people seem to suggest 5 places, others suggest 2! We don't want or expect to see dozens of spots but would like to see, perhaps, 3 during our 2 week stay.
I definitely want to see the Amalfi Coast--that I know and from my reading, I see that this seems to be able to be done in 2-3 days--maybe doing a private tour to some of the little towns or a boat ride. We need a "resting" spot so that's why I was asking if Positano was a good place to stay while in AC. Or if there is one better.
We like great food, we enjoy history and shops and just taking photographs, etc. We don't intend to hit every museum and church but would like to see the main ones and love to see some non -touristy spots--beautiful little towns to photograph and poke around in, scenery to enjoy. We are not into bus tours and not interested in the Vatican. Does that help? From what I have been reading, it seems like our choices are Rome, Venice, Florence and Tuscany as main areas but I don't know which 2 to consider along with the AC and how many days in each seems reasonable for a 14 day visit. I know we will return to see what we miss. I do know that I'd like to not spend a week in Rome so that we have time to see at least one other major area. I just don't know what makes sense

2 weeks may be 14 nights or 10?

generally a min of 3 nights is great but you can do 2 at a push works for many people and trying to avoid railway stations.

I'd look at Bologna/Ravenna as well

Hi,

You wrote:

"We like great food, we enjoy history and shops and just taking photographs, etc. We don't intend to hit every museum and church but would like to see the main ones and love to see some non -touristy spots--beautiful little towns to photograph and poke around in, scenery to enjoy."

I am not clear whether you are willing to rent a car, but if you are, I suggest you spend one week or a little less on the Amalfi coast, but then rent car and do a little tour of the scenic Sabine hills in Lazio (which is the province north of the Amalfi, of which Rome is the capital), and where you will find lots of pretty, untouristy towns and delicious food, but then drive to Rome's Ciampino airport, drop off the car and spend the remainder of your time in Rome.

I would caution you that if you are not making famous cultural sightseeing your biggest priority for this trip, that you choose carefully what you want to see in Rome and think twice about whether you really want to be in a crush of tourists -- really a crush -- for some of the most famous sights. Rome is overflowing with jaw-dropping churches, ruins, neighborhoods, and on a short visit, it is sometimes better to take in the "other" gems that fewer tourists get around to seeing and really enjoy them, rather than wait on line to cram into the Sistine Chapel with the hordes.

Anyway, that's my suggestion and here are some links to info about the Sabine hills:

http://www.italymagazine.com/feature...an-countryside

http://www.visitsabina.com

https://www.tripadvisor.co.za/ShowUs...eti_Lazio.html

http://www.romecountryside.com

http://www.casacapena.com/days-out/sabine-hills/

If you really don't want to rent a car, then after the Amalfi consider taking a train to Perugia, and visit Assisi from there, and Arezzo. You could finish up in Florence. Along the way, even without a car, you could find some relatively untouristy experiences and towns by bus and train.

Or without a car, leave the Amalfi but go by boat to Salerno and proceed on to Paestum for a mini stay to visit the temples in Paestrum, but also the mozzerella producers, tour Salerno and Pompei. Then take the train to Rome to finish up.

If the idea of the Sabine hills appeals to you, but you don't want a long-ish highway drive to get there from the coast, then take trains from the coast to the town of Orte and rent the car there -- which makes it a short drive into the Sabine hills, mainly on country roads.

Finally want to add: You can skip Rome entirely. Many people do, even on a first visit to Italy. Even ones who fly in or out of Rome. Some people will be aghast and judge you harshly, smirking that "IMHO, that is a crime." But part of the fun of travel is running far away from exactly such folks, to places you're sure not to bump into them!

Rome, Florence and Venice are the most visited places in Italy and for good reason. However all those tourists place a huge pressure on those cities. If you don't have places in them that you are busting to see then I would take Sandra's advice and try somewhere else.

You could head south or alternatively smaller towns in Tuscany, Umbria, Lombardy, Le Marche, etc all offer wonderful places to explore.

We had a week in Positano and did something different every day. It's ver heavily visited but also lovely.

Italy has good train and bus networks with timetables available online.

A few years ago we spent 5 nights in Spello and explored the area by bus - but would have seen more with a car.

I like Lucca as well, both as a destination and also as a base to see other places.

Loved montepulciano, where we did some hiking and tasted wine.

For a more relaxing holiday I suggest you pick no more than three towns to use as a base to explore, making them all quite different but without spending a whole day to get between them. Perhaps a coastal location (Amalfi), an inland location, and a lakeside location. There really are endless choices. If I were going again I'd like to visit Puglia or Sicily or Urbino.

I also concur that if you don't like the Vatican, that's already a black dot on vsiting Rome.
As a first timer, not visiting Rome for me would be a crime but it seems you're not that much into it.
Not exactly a little town, however it is into history and photographs.

Tuscany might be more your turf.

Finally want to add: You can skip Rome entirely. Many people do, even on a first visit to Italy. Even ones who fly in or out of Rome. Some people will be aghast and judge you harshly, smirking that "IMHO, that is a crime.">>

I think I'd visited Italy at least half a dozen times before I went to Rome, so if you don't feel drawn to it, there's no compulsion to go there - there are loads of other wonderful places to go. And well done for being prepared not to try to see the whole of Italy in one go - IMO 2-3 places in 2 weeks is just about perfect.

One of the things that might help to shape your trip is where you can say fly into to from your home airport/s - on a first trip to Europe, you might want to make the inward and homeward journeys as simple as possible. Also, do you want to do a round trip flight [into and out of the same airport] or an open jaw one? [click on the multi-city button on the airline's website - it should cost about the same as as a round trip ticket - it's not the same as two one-way flights which can work out very expensive]

For example - to follow Sandralist's suggestion, you could fly into Rome, travel immediately to the Amalfi, then to the Sabine Hills, and end up in Rome for a few days before your flight home.

OTOH, Were you to want to do the classic Venice- Florence-Rome combination, flying into Venice and out of Rome would make a more efficient trip.

Thank you all so much for these suggestions! I will research them all. I do have the "not seeing Rome guilt" because everyone looks at me like I'm crazy. I would like to see a few things there but definitely not more than a couple of days. I'd like to get a good taste of Italy without being overwhelmed. I have some physical limitations which precludes bike riding and being on my feet all day without being able to rest here and there. Not looking for a trip in the country-side, mind you, but looking to feel we've gotten a good starting taste of Italy. One last question? Is Positano near Amalfi? Is that the "base" I should be staying in to take day trips around the coast? I know I should be looking at a map but it is all very confusing for me because there is just SO MUCH

The coastline roughly south of Sorrento to the city of Salerno is called the Amalfi coast, and just at the midpoint there is also a town called Amalfi.

If you have walking and rest issues, be aware that Positano is VERY vertical, and the main way of getting around is by staircase. If you want to take day trips around the coast, it is much easier to stay in the town of Amalfi, which has flatter areas, plus it is a good hub for ferries that make stops at coastal towns, and buses that will take you to various towns.

Italy is not great for sidewalk benches and seats inside museums, or places to sit down waiting or a train. Letting you know so you pace yourself. Italy is great, however, for piazze with relaxing cafes. In the most famous tourist piazze they will charge you quite a pretty penny to sit down outdoors within view of famous sights or scenery, and you might think it is well worth it. In the neighborhood cafes, where the locals hang out in plastic chairs facing walls and parked cars, they will still charge you a bit more for occupying a table instead of having your beverage standing at the bar, but despite the lack of smashing photo-op vistas, it can actually be alot of fun to sit at the Italian cheapo bars, and the owners are most often incredibly solicitous and generous, and you can sit there as long as you like.

another good [and free] place to sit is inside a church. particularly in Rome but in other places as well there are many wonderful things to see inside churches, they are mainly free [ apart from in Venice] and you can sit in the cool and quiet and get your breath back.

Many also have nativity scenes or "presepi" which are on show all year round and often depict life in the area in the 18th Century.

no-one will mind if you sit and think or have a wander round to see what there is.

I don't know how limited you are but the Amalfi coast is vertiginous so you'll need to plan carefully if that's a problem (the shortest distance from A to B in Positano is usually stairs). Also many Italian towns are on the top of hills (often there a bus to get to the top but even then streets can be steep). And in Venice, there are a million small bridges. However, if it's just a case of taking it easy, then you are in the perfect place, with a cafe/bar on every corner and heaps of churches to rest in when you're hot and tired.

Positano is fine for those with mobility issues as long as you can walk a little and choose where you stay wisely. If you stay somewhere like Hotel Palazzo Murat then the only stairs you will encounter are those either side of Santa Maria Assunta (the large church near the beach) if you use the ferries to get around. If you wish to explore past Piazza Mulini then there are benches along Via Cristofer Colombo to stop and rest and enjoy the perfect views. This road leads to the Sponda bus stop if you wish to take a bus to Amalfi or to Sorrento. No stairs.

Positano is not *all* stairs, precariously placed on a vertical hillside suitable for only for Nepalese trekkers and mountain goats.

Amalfi is half an hour on the ferry from Positano. It costs 8 euro one way.

Did anyone say that Positano was "all" stairs? These straw man exaggerations and sarcasms intneded to discredit accurate of helpful information that people post is puzzling.

The rest of us are not working for the Positano economic development office and we hope you aren't either. The original poster has not offered many details about the "physical limitations", but downplaying the prevalence of stairs in Positano to someone who has not been and is making no bones at all about how much they are in the dark and how much information they hope to glean is really selfish on your part.

I hope the original poster doesn't have to think twice about how much they will enjoy being in a place that is not easily explored or enjoyed unless you are very comfortable with climbing steep stairs. But if steep stairs for days in a row are a problem, and the traveler would like to have a rewarding stay on the very expensive Amalfi coast, I am glad some of us have not been so annoyed by your behavior in many posts toward new people asking questions that we have given up on posting in Amalfi threads. It's unpleasant, but seems necessary. Because the truth about Positano is what dreamon and I described -- don't know what your problem is trying to poo-poo it, or why you can't let go of the idea that not everybody needs to stay in Positano or your pet places if they might enjoy the town next door more.

Sandralist - I don't know what your problem is.

I am not downplaying the presence of stairs in Positano. I am simply saying it is possible to avoid them with careful planning. Again, you go in for the personal attack which is completely unnecessary and vengeful. How about you let go this absurd idea of 'pet posts' - it appears to infuriate you somewhat.

<I am glad some of us have not been so annoyed by your behavior in many posts toward new people asking questions that we have given up on posting in Amalfi threads.>

Pot kettle black. For all Italy threads.