mbw220

We have 6 nights booked in Sorrento at the end of our trip next June 2017, The best airfare is flying in and out of Rome. Have been to Rome and Florence many times and I'm looking for another city that might be near where we could spend about five days? Any suggestions?

inspiredexplorer

Have you been to Umbria yet? Perugia, or if you fancy something smaller, Orvieto might work for 5 days ahead of flying out of Rome.

annw

I was thinking the same - Perugia as a hub for Umbria - and seeing Orvieto.

AJPeabody

Fly either into or out of Naples, since the airfare savings using Rome instead is not worth the time and expense of then going to Sorrento. Naples could be the not Rome city, or choose any other city in Italy and fly into naples and out of that other city. Flying into and out of Rome when you don't want to be there is an unappealing use of time.

greg

Have you looked at the feasibility of staying on the last night away from Rome in terms of when you have to arrive at the FCO (?) for your flight home? If the departure is early, you would need to stay at least one last night in Rome.

Are you driving or using a train? If your flight home is in the afternoon, Orvieto is close enough that even if there is a train strike on the return home day, you can still take a taxi to FCO(?). It is still quite expensive, but at least you don't miss your flight home.

Rome is a gateway city where for many people, they have to stay the last night in order to catch a morning flight home. Many people go heavy on Rome on their earlier trips and get into this situation: been to Rome/Paris/London/Munic/etc. many time before, where else can I stay at the end of trip to catch a flight home? If you realized that you would be staying at these gateway cities many times, whether you intended or not, you can go easy on each trip and spend time elsewhere. Gateway cities like Rome/Paris, etc. are automatically forced to be in your itinerary for early morning flight home.

MaryCAnderson

Umbria is a wonderful spot for four-five days. Perugia and Orvieto already noted, but Todi is lovely too.

indyhiker

I, too, love Umbria, although I prefer the area between Spello, Bevagna and Montefalco. I think the region is much easier to enjoy with a car, but if won't have a car, then put yourself in one of the towns on the train line: Spoleto, Spello, Perugia, Assisi (although the train station is in a town just outside Assisi). Stay the last night in Rome if necessary to catch your flight.

mbw220

Thanks for the suggestions. Especially for the cities on the train route. Would we be able to catch a train out of Rome to one of these cities and use it as a hub to some of the other cities? We won't be renting a car.

Appreciate it!

Blueeyedcod

Naples - more history than Rome - 3000 years of it and as its off the tourist track it's cheap and museums are in crowded.

Waldo

I have three suggestions- Naples, Naples and Naples!!

frencharmoire

Maybe its just me but I coudn't spend 5 days in Perugia and find enough to interest me. The town has a very beautiful museum, but it is not huge, and the other sights only take a day to see. If I wanted to visit Umbria, which has many interesting small towns, I would rent a car, and I would not want to have a car in Perugia. With a car, I would go stay in the countryside or one of the Umbrian small towns.

With the fast trains in Italy you can go to just about any city in Italy fairly quickly. Bologna might be a better choice if you like to have a "hub" for 5 days. Three are at least half a dozen towns & cities that are a cinch to get to by train from Bologna, and Bologna itself has nice attractions.

HappyTrvlr

If not renting a car, it will be hard to venture out from Perugia into beautiful Umbria. I recommend Naples. And it has a very nice airport too, user friendly.

eastenderusvi

I'm with the Umbrians! Stay in Bevagna (or your choice of a small town)and travel around by car.

yestravel

So many wonderful choices -- I have enjoyed both of our stays in Naples. It seems to be a much underrated city in Italy. It's really wonderful and less expensive than some of the more popular destinations like Rome & Florence etc. I will say I had perhaps my most chaotic airport experiences departing form the Naples airport. It was horrible, but never any problems arriving in Naples. If you want to go north, Bologna is great and so many nice day trips from there. RAvenna is fabulous.
While I really like Umbria, I agree that you need a car to really explore it.

Leely2

Naples.

rbciao47

Here is another vote for Perugia. From here you could visit Orvieto, Assisi, and Gubbio, all easily reached by bus or train.

Gubbio, IMHO, is especially nice and not on the main tourist route. You can reach the top of Mt. Ingino to the Abbey of San' Ubaldo in a most unique funicular called Funivia Colle Eletto. The funicular is comprised of round cars resembling birdcages big enough for two people and you must HOP on while standing in designated spots.

The Abbey contains the body of Saint Ubaldo in a glass coffin. You can clearly see his mummified body. This freaked my Baptist wife and she ran out of the Abbey.

Buon viaggio.

PalenQ

Why not Venice if you've never been.... the world's most surrealistically beautiful city IMO - about 3.5 hours from Rome I think on train and about 2 hours from Florence.

As for trains booking early can save a ton of money on high-speed trains but those discounted ducats are train-specific and cannot changed - see www.trenitalia.com for fares and booking yourself. For lots of great stuff on Italian trains also check www.seat61.com- great info on discounted ticket nuances; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Discounted tickets also come in first class at times not much more than the lowest available 2nd class ones and IME first class has significant benefits - especially for folks with lots of baggage.