Central Italy Road Trip
 

Hello! I am planning a much-needed trip with my husband to Italy in October. We will be in Rome for one week (this will be our fifth visit to Rome) and have a second week to play with. One thought is to rent a car and drive from Rome (picking up the car at the airport - this is not the first time we have rented a car in Rome) to points north and/or east. We thought it would be fun to have some destinations in mind but also to leave room for discoveries. We have spent quite a bit of time in Florence and Siena and rented a place in Chianti a few years back. We dipped our toes into Umbria - Spoleto, Assisi, Orvieto. We stopped in Arezzo for lunch on the way from Chianti to Spoleto. Looking at the map, I am wondering about Perugia, Urbino, Sansepolcro, Ascoli Piceno, small Umbrian towns (though I am unsure about the state of the various options after the horrible earthquake a few years ago), Lazio, perhaps a drive to Lucca and back (or train back). We love art, beautiful landscapes, and good food and wine. We accept that there will be some crowded spots, but seek to avoid the hordes. Our second thought is to go south by train and ferry - Naples, Pompeii, Capri, Amalfi/Positano. I would be grateful for all thoughts and advice on dream road trips in Central Italy or experiences with the Bay of Naples area in October. Thank you!

We were in the Naples/Amalfi area in October of 2012 and enjoyed it very much. We had a few nights in Naples first ( I was already in Tuscany doing a cooking course with friends so took the fast train Florence to Naples, you could do the same from Rome) and husband flew in to Naples to join me.
Then we spent a week on the Amalfi coast in Minori on a lemon farm agristurismo and the last week we spent in Sorrento. We had a car for the Amalfi/Sorrento portion which we picked up in Sorrento. The traffic wasn't bad in October and my husband is a confident driver so he got used to the narrow corniche roads pretty quickly. We did all sorts of day trips from both locations, one of the best ones was our visit to the Greek Temples at Paestum.
The weather was pleasant although not beach weather, the food was delicous, especially anything made with those amazing Amalfi lemons, there weren't hordes of people, gorgeous scenery, it was just a beautiful trip.

In Naples we really enjoyed the Archeological museum (all the treasures from Pompei are there) and we did an all day walking tour with a local woman who took us to all kinds of fascinating churches, crypts, a doll hospital, a place where they make nativity scenes etc etc in the historic centre and much more, she was a wealth of knowledge about her city.
Sorrento is a very pleasant place to stay, we took the commuter train from there to Pompei one day, plus the ferry to Capri, there are nice restaurants, shops, it's easy to walk around, beautiful views.
Whatever you choose I hope you have a lovely trip!

From the airport, Tarquinia is an obvious first stop with its museum of Etruscan antiquities and its Etruscan tombs:

https://flic.kr/p/7pewtK https://flic.kr/p/7pip8o
Going toward Orvieto, there is the Bormarzo garden of monsters:

https://flic.kr/p/7pirfU

All your options are good. From which airport are you departing?

A few years ago I was in Rome and friends joined me later. I met them at FCO, where we picked up a car and drove to Orvieto (visited a few hours). Onward to Spello for several days of Umbrian journeys. From Spello we drove to Ascoli Piceno via the Piano Grande, stopping in Norcia and Castelluccio. We then stayed several nights in gorgeous Ascoli, taking daytrips from there. This was a longer trip than you have time for, but we then roadtripped through parts of Lazio and down through Abruzzo and the Gran Sasso on our way to Naples. After Naples we went to the Amalfi Coast, which was of course wonderful too.

You are spoilt for choice, really.

Leely2 what a wonderful adventure! I wonder if anyone has recent information about Norcia and the Piano Grande. I read in the New York Times about a year ago that the area was still quite damaged from the tragic earthquake event in 2016. Where did you visit in Lazio and Abruzzo? That is another thought that I have had. I have not visited those provinces at all, save Rome. Many thanks!

raincitygirl thank you! It is so helpful to have a real-world perspective on the Amalfi coast in October. I have wondered about crowds, especially, as that is the factor that has kept me from visiting that area until now.

Michael thank you! i have actually visited the Garden of Monsters on the way to Orvieto. So unusual! And I will put Tarquinia on the list!