Petalz

My husband and I want very much to see the beauty of the Amalfi coastline. We have already booked the final leg of our trip to Italy in Rome and those dates cannot be modified. I have found two possible ways to build it into our itinerary.
1. A 13 hour amalfi coast, pompeii day trip at $250 per person from Rome with Viator tours.
2. Cut one day out of our 2 day stay in Orvieto, (arrive in Orvieto early and tour the town that day and take a train directly to Naples the next day, take the hydrofoil to the town of Sorrento. Enjoy the view from our hotel balcony of the coast and rest of the day in the coastal town. The next day we would take the famous drive along the coastline or visit Pompeii and Vesuvius before going to Rome the next day.
I would like input from the right-on fordorites.

The final itinerary (with option 2) would be arrive in Venice - 3 nights, Florence 3 nights (day trip to Pisa and Lucca while in Florence) Orvieto 1night, Sorrento -1 night, Rome - 7 nights (can't change those - locked in dates) and airport hotel near Rome - 1 night, depart early the next morning (7:30)

greg

Here is an upper limit example of what you can do in one day

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...i-in-1-day.cfm

Petalz

Silly man, however, I understand her passion. I don't intend to go to Capri and I AM staying overnight. c'mon, pick 1 or 2 or NONE. I'm waiting on pins and needles for input from a REALIST. Could that be you?

By taking the hydrofoil instead of the train from Naples to Sorrento, I thought we could get a great view of the coastline, also staying in a hotel with a view and balcony would build in a bit of a quiet relaxing evening. I don't want to do museums - Capri- or race around the next day, but a train ride back to Rome can't take THAT long or be too taxing, right?

zeppole

Why don't you do Orvieto as a day trip from Rome? Most people find it satisfactory, since the cathedral is the main show and is quite easily seen in an hour. You can have a nice lunch and walk about the town before returning to Rome. The train ride is 60 minutes.

So that would give you 2 nights in Sorrento, or perhaps you would rather be in the town or Amalfi or Positano, or Capri. If you opt for Capri, you could return via the Amalfi drive.

I am a huge fan of Pompeii, but since you are so keen to enjoy the Amalfi, I suggest that instead of using that time to see Pompeii, that you include a trip to Ostia Antica. My suggestion would be that you do it your final day, as part of your transfer to the airport hotel. Go early enough to include seeing Ostia Antica, which is not far from the airport.

zeppole

PS: Our posts crossed.

You won't get a view of the Amalfi coast from the hydrofoil between Naples and Sorrento. The famous Amalfi coast is further south, around the peninsula.

Petalz

Zeppole, thanks for sparing me that mistake! Is it better to see the coastline from a boat or from the highway?
My husband is interested in Pompeii. Since a day trip to Orvieto from Rome would be a LOT easier (from what you said) than a day trip from Rome to Pompeii, your suggestion of staying 2 nights on the Amalfi coast makes a lot of sense, perhaps arising early on the second day and visiting Pompeii/ Vesuvius prior to traveling on to Rome. What do you think?
I love your idea about visiting Ostia Antica on our final day in Rome. I just finished reading 'I, Claudius' and would love to see that old old port city! Do you have suggestions regarding transportation and an airport hotel that might have early am shuttle service to the airport?

zeppole

Easy question first:

I'm not a big fan of airport shuttles at Italian hotels. If you book one, double check to make sure the shuttle starts early enough in the morning to make your flight and ask how long it takes to get to your terminal. Sometimes the shuttles are (a) unreliable and (b) make milk runs at several hotels, so you have to leave enough time for that -- sort of cancelling out the advantage of staying at the airport hotel.

Personally, I just spring for the taxi. I can recommend the Courtyard Marriott in Fiumicino from personal experience. I would take a taxi there from Rome, since you'll be hauling luggage. It might be simple to take a bus from there to Ostia Antica, If not, another taxi. Ask the hotel for help.

Day trip to Orvieto from Rome is easy. It's a one-hour ride on the train from Termini Station, and trains leave frequently.

If your husband very much wants to see Pompeii, it is better that you stay in Sorrento than on the Amalfi coast, because once you get on the coast, it gets a lot harder to get to Pompeii. It is best to get a start on touring Pompeii early in the morning, since it is shadeless and heats up as the day goes on.

So you would be going directly from Florence to Sorrento. Then the next day, I would visit the Amalfi coast. You can take a ferry from Sorrento to the town of Amalfi and see the coastline from the water. Have lunch in Amalfi. Then take a bus back from Amalfi to Sorrento. I would get off the bus in Positano and enjoy the views from some cafe terrace. Then return to the bus the rest of the way to Sorrento.

Next morning, take your bags to Pompei, stow them in the luggage lockers, tour the site, pick them up, head to Rome. If Vesuvius is a big deal, maybe you could fit it in the day you arrive in Sorrento. I'm not sure.

Others may have different ideas. Before you lock that in, if others haven't responded, you might start a different thread asking for help arranging the Sorrento part of your stay. I've only been to that area once, and I didn't stay in Sorrento, so maybe there are better ferry and bus arrangements.

Steve_James

'Is it better to see the coastline from a boat or from the highway? '

Hi Petalz - You can't go wrong either way - both are spectacular

If you choose to base in Sorrento, you could visit Pompeii en route from Rome (- there is a left-luggage store at the entrance to Pompeii).

You could then spend the next day seeing the Amalfi Coast by boat, bus - or both. If you're staying 2 nights, you could also visit Capri before returning to Rome -

- by train from Naples, or
- by bus from Sorrento (Fri-Sun. dep. 17.00;
operator - Marozzi).

Hope this helps ...

Steve

zeppole

My problem visiting Pompei en route from Florence (via Rome) is that you end up touring Pompeii during the hottest part of the day.

I don't know how you could fit in Capri, but maybe Steve can elaborate. But if Capri is not a must-see for you, I think you'd probably more enjoy trying to take this at a leisurely pace than squeeze too much in.

Steve_James

In July 'hot' might be an issue, Zeppole - I agree. If it's an April visit I doubt if it'll be above 20-25C.

With 2 nights in the area, Petalz has time for both the Amalfi Coast and Capri, I think - returning to Rome in the evening. They can see the villages of the Amalfi Coast over one day (- or two) - depending on their priorities.

Steve

zeppole

Ah-- I didn't recall "April" from the headline. Still, they are coming from Florence by train, not Rome, which means not a lot of time to see Pompeii, I think, if they do it on the way in rather than the way out.

If they came in from Florence to Sorrento, dropped their bags -- would they have time to see Vesuvius before returning to Sorrento to enjoy a relaxed evening?

Petalz

Trip update on our Amalfi Coast visit:
We modified our agenda. Because of the burden on the train systm due to the volcano ash / airline problems, we booked a later train to Sorrento that we originally planned. After relaxing the evening at the Hotel Minerva (absolutley lovely and classy) with stupendous views, we spent the following day with Mariano (driver) who gave us a great tour of the Sorrento area, visiting some of his friends in the area, and a gorgeous drive down the amalfi coast with stops at lovely towns along the way. Had a great lunch in Rivilla (sp?) and stopped to visit his family and his little farm on the way home. The family was warm and made us feel right at home. The next day we took our time via the Circumvesusiana Line (enjoyed a cheerful performing trio on the train) and a IC train and arrived in Rome by 4 pm. On the following Wednesday, we took the trains again to visit Pompeii. It was an all day adventure, but it was so worth it. the weather was sunny and warm (hot).