3-4 nights to spend after Rome and Naples -- where to go??
 

I'd really like some ideas about our trip itinerary. My wife and I are going to Italy in October. This will be our 2nd trip. The first time we saw Venice, Florence, and Siena. This time we're going to Rome, Naples, and Pompeii.

We'll have 3-4 nights after seeing Naples before we need to head back to Rome for our flight home. It seems like we could go further south, towards Sorrento, the Amalfi Coast, and that area. Or, head north towards Umbria and see Orvieto and hill towns around there.

This definitely isn't our last trip to Italy -- at some point we'll come back to see Sicily, so we'll be back in the south to see more stuff. But, I'm not sure how to how to fill the free days we have this time.

Thanks so much for the advice and suggestions.

Amalfi is just a 40min drive from Naples and Pompeii. Think about staying in Amalfi for a couple of days and visiting Naples and Pompeii from there. Amalfi itsself is a beautiful town and you can make some more daytrips, e.g. to Positano, Capri by boat, car or bus.

I suggest Positano as its very scenic and less touristy than Amalfi.

Will

I spent a few nights in Sorrento and a couple nights in Positano and I find myself occasionally daydreaming about...Positano! The ocean views are stunning, and my biggest WOW-moment was seeing the view from my room at Il San Pietro...so - my vote would be for Positano!

My first suggestion is to stay on Procida, one of the islands in the Bay of Naples. If you're looking for authentic Italy, without a Rick Steves book in sight, this is it. Most of the people there still make their living from the sea. The island is small enough to walk across in a morning. There's not much to do but walk, sit in small cafes, watch the fishermen, eat beautiful fish fresh from the nets, etc. http://jmstudio.fotopic.net/p38265198.html Here's a photo of Corricella, with its brightly colored houses crowding the cliff and tumbling down to the small port: http://jmstudio.fotopic.net/p29493142.html And here's another" http://jmstudio.fotopic.net/p48541519.html

My second suggestion would be to stay a couple of nights on Capri. This is such a lovely island, with interesting walks to take you away from the hordes of daytrippers that crowd the narrow shopping streets and the port during the day. And after the last ferry leaves in the late afternoon, it will be just you and the Capriots and a few others left. You can visit Villa San Michele, in Anacapri, certainly one of the most beautiful places on earth, with a 3500-year-old red granite sphinx set on a promontory overlooking Vesuvius and the Bay. Here's a photo: http://jmstudio.fotopic.net/p29502872.html Axel Munthe was born in Sweden in 1857 but spent much of his adult life working as a physician in southern Italy. As a young man he volunteered tirelessly during typhoid and cholera epidemics and earthquake disasters. High up on the rocky ledges of Anacapri, at the foot of Monte Barbarossa, he built a white villa surrounded by a garden in which art, architecture and nature combine in beautiful harmony. He wrote 'I built it on my knees, like a temple to the Sun, where I would seek knowledge and light from the radiant God whom I had worshipped all my life.' In a tragic twist of fate, he was later forced to leave San Michele by the sunlight he so loved. There are comfortable places to stay in Capri town itself that aren't horrendously expensive.

My third suggestion is Sorrento, from which you can easily do daytrips to the islands and to the Amalfi coast. Here's Amalfi: http://jmstudio.fotopic.net/p48541420.html There are also wonderful walks through vineyards and olive and citrus groves above Sorrento.

Thanks for all the good advice!

I'm a little surprised nobody's advocating heading north instead of further south; any particular reason why?

I would also say Amalfi for 3 reasons

1) your in the area

2) why head north when you have indicated your return to Rome at a later date? stick with easier option on this occasion

3) Amalfi is totally different to the areas you have already visited.

HI a,

> nobody's advocating heading north instead of further south; any particular reason why?

It's much easier.

You can visit Pompei and Paestum from Naples, if you wish, or from Sorrento, Positano and Amalfi.

Julia has a good suggestion.

A couple of nights on Capri or Ischia is also a good idea.

We very much liked our stay at www.lesirene.com in Praiano.

You might find my trip report helpful:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34451044

Enjoy your visit.