Advice on Italy Itinerary?
 

My husband and I are planning a trip to Italy for May 2006. I have gotten lots of good tips on this website so far, and would appreciate any additional advice before we start to book flight/hotels. Thank you in advance! Here is a possible itinerary:

1) Fly from Kansas City to Venice, 3 nights in Venice

2) Train to Florence, Rent a car in Florence, drive to Siena, stay 2-3 nights with day trips around Tuscany (San G, Volterra, Montepulciano, possibly Assisi) (or possibly stay last night in Assisi, then go directly to Rome from there)

3) Drive to Rome-drop car off, stay 4 nights in Rome (with possible day trip to Pompeii-or may take away a night in Rome and add to Amalfi coast, and day trip to Pompeii from there)

4) Train/Bus to Praiano, 3 nights in Praiano-day trips to Capri, Positano.

5) Back to Rome-leave from Rome( would rather leave from Naples, so as not to back track to Rome, but all of the flights I have found from so far from Naples go into London, and add several hours to the trip. Thoughts on that?)

Others may disagree but we were glad to have a car on the Amalfi coast. I'd personally head there after Tuscany, then drive to Rome and turn in the car, ending the trip there.

The train and bus combinations to get to Praino and get around, then back again are not very appealing to me. I'd much rather just drive it and then drive to Rome.

You are right about the difficulty to fly out of Naples.

By the way, I might not be so quick to suggest that in July or August, but in May -- much less traffic on the Amalfi coast.

Hi EM,

I agree with Patrick, drive to the AC from Tuscany.

This saves you training from/to Rome.

Check with your hotel re parking.

You might want to drop the car in Sorrento and take the bus to Praiano.

((I))

Patrick-
We had seriously considered doing just that, (Praiano after Tuscany and keeping the car for the coast) but had read from so many posters (and other guidebooks) about how "treacherous" the driving on the coast was, we changed our minds. My husband (who will be the sole driver, I the navigator) was wondering if it could be any worse than the some of the tiny mountains roads in Colorado, or the insanity of Phoenix or L.A. during rush hour(insanity being the key word here)?

Sure, it's a narrrow winding road, but the word "treacherous" is an exaggeration.

Ira-
We are thinking of staying at the Le Sirene (checked out the website from your trip report, it looks wonderful!) Do you know if there is parking convenient? What about in the other coastal towns? Does anyone know if it is a lot of trouble to find parking? As I understand it, May is not horribly crowded, but is still busy.

Hi EM,

>We are thinking of staying at the Le Sirene ...Do you know if there is parking convenient? <

I would contact the hotel and ask if they could arrange for parking for you. Praiano is a small town without much in the way of on-street parking.

The AC road is not "treacherous". It is narrow and winding and easily clogged by tour buses because the drivers don't know where to stop to let traffic go by.

The other problem with driving the road is that the driver misses the scenery.

You might want to drop the car in Sorrento and either take a bus or hire a driver to take you to Praiano or wherever else you might be staying.

((I))

I think that sounds like pretty good advice...I would hate for my husband to miss out on the beautiful scenery!

>from Ira: You might want to drop the car in Sorrento

You'd be missing the 'best' part of the drive - over the mountains & along the south coast is where all the fun is. Most hotels can come up with a parking option. We parked the car & used the Sita bus & water taxis while there - except for our hop out to Pompeii where parking was very easy. Just don't get off the Autostrade through Naples or you will be lost for hours in traffic mayhem.

Ian

ttt

Are you spending NO time at all in Florence, between training there and picking up a car?

The most we might spend in Florence is 1 night. Since we only had 2 weeks we had to leave out something, and Rome & Venice were must sees. We also wanted to have some relaxing time outside of the cities-therefore the choice for Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast. I would love to see Florence, too, but I just think that would be too much to do in 2 weeks.

If you want to keep Amalfi coast check United Airlines/Lufthansa Star Alliance. They have a routing like this:

Naples-Munich-Chicago-Kansas City in total 16:35 hours including transit times

but I strongly discourage you to drive through the city of Naples !! The "give way" rule simply does not exists, and traffic lights are just ignored at all !!