cbutler32

My wife and I are celebrating our 5 year anniversary with a 10 day trip to Italy in late September. We know we want to go to Rome and Florence and we are trying to pick a third destination.

Rough plan is to spend 3 nights in Rome, 3 nights in Florence and 2-3 nights in either Cinque Terre, Amalfi or Tuscany. We would likely be flying out of Rome or Florence.

Any advice you can give would be helpful. We love food, wine and are fairly laid back people (i.e. no 10 mile hikes necessary).

Thanks

rhkkmk

my vote is for amalfi.....no car is necessary for one thing... i personally found CT to rank about 5.1

Andrew

The Cinque Terre is amazing - it was my favorite place in Italy (granted, I did not get to Amalfi, which I hear is itself amazing). You do not need a car up there either - the five villages are linked by an old, quaint train system.

The villages are very touristed now, but I did not find that to spoil them. They are very laid back, like a trip back in time, not overly developed.

However, hiking is a highlight of a visit to the CT. The main attraction is hiking between villages, through the olive groves and people's back yards, with a stunning view of the sea below. The hike between the three northern-most villages - Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso al Mare, are modestly challenging but far from impossible, and you need not do all of them. I do not consider myself a hiker at all (don't even own hiking boots), but I had no trouble with any of the hikes, and the views were amazing - not just of the sea but of the countryside you are walking through. It was quite an experience.

macanimals

We've been to both the Amalfi coast and the Cinque Terre twice and enjoyed them both. That being said, we continue to return to Tuscany-to date, eight trips. Rent a car and head to any of the great towns of southern tuscany--Montalcino, Pienza, San Querico, Montepulciano and don't forget San Gimignano and Siena. Late September will be a delightful time to visit with the grape harvests in full swing and weather likely to be great.

Seriously consider your logistics. Amalfi and CT would both be a bit of a reach. Fly into Rome, train to Florence, visit southern Tuscany and fly out of either Florence or Rome. You could also reverse this order-you have great options. Enjoy--Paul

KayF

We've visited all these places and I would suggest the Amalfii coast. There is a lot to see and do and lovely scenery. You can get the train from Rome to Naples, then a local train to Sorrento. From there you catch a bus to wherever you are staying. We have stayed in Sorrento twice and liked it, it's bigger than the other small towns along the coast and we did day trips to Positano, Amalfi, Ravello etc.

The Cinque Terre is beautiful but apart from poking around the tiny villages and walking the trails, there is not much else there. It's nice if you have good weather. When we were there one of the trails was closed due to landslide but you can catch the train between all the villages.

It might help to look in a few guide books (at the library or a big book store) and read about the different areas. Try the Lonely Planet or Rough Guides.

Kay

luvtotravel

You're trying to do a lot in ten days. Southern Tuscany makes the most sense logistically. You'll have more time to enjoy and spend less time moving from place to place.

cbutler32

Thanks for the great initial comments. While Cinque Terre and Amalfi appear to not need a personal car because you can get around via train or hiking, I would imagine that Tuscany requires a rental car?

We are big fans of wine and would love some recommendations on where to set up a home base to search Tuscany for a few days.

Also, Amalfi has gotten some great reviews but the logistics do seem difficult. How long would it take to get there from Rome?

Steve_James

Hi CB - Rome-Salerno takes approx. 2hrs 30' by fast train.
Salerno-Amalfi takes 35 mins by boat (- or 1hr 10' by bus).

For train times see:
http://trenitalia.com/homepage_en.html

Ferries from Salerno leave from Piazza della Concordia jetty
(- 5 mins walk from Salerno station).

For ferry times see:
http://www.salernocity.com/comune/tr.../travelmar.asp

The 07.37 IC from Roma Termini should allow you to catch the 10.40 ferry from Salerno (- arr. Amalfi 11.15)

Hope this helps ...

Steve

Mimar

Well, given that you are wine-lovers, go for Tuscany, southern Tuscany. Yes, you will need a car for a few days (book ahead) but the driving is not difficult.

I'm not a great wine aficionado, don't know much about visiting the wineries, but Montepulciano, Brunello di Montalcino and Chianti wines ought to keep you busy.

Montalcino has a wine tasting "office" in the fortress at the top of town. And we had a memorable dinner at a winery near Montalcino (Barbi?). But we couldn't overdo the wine, needing to drive back from the country location in the dark.

nomadic09

We're doing something similiar except we'll be arriving at the beginning on Sept 30. Rome, Sorrento, and then to Florence. If you love wine, I'd vote for spending time in Tuscany. We decided against CT this time since my husband is a mountain climber and he wants to go to the coast.

rbnwdln

Locanda di San Francesco in Montepulciano would be fabulous. You could hop skip and jump to Pinza and even Montalcino. You will thank me!!!!

kfusto

We enjoy Tuscany and use Florence as a base for day trips. We do not care to rent a car.

We opt for a driver to take us to the smaller wineries for a full day and have always enjoyed it. Another day we may head to Sienna, or Lucca or Bologna, all easy options via train from Florence.

I thought the CT was completely overrated and would not go back. I went there on my 14th trip to Italy in 2004. Nothing but Americans carrying Rick Steeve's guide books. We left after an hour and went back to Le Spezia and then back to Rapallo. What a disappointment the CT was!

I did really enjoy Rapallo in late September and found it a wonderful spot for a short stay.

Andrew

kfusto: <i>I thought the CT was completely overrated and would not go back. I went there on my 14th trip to Italy in 2004. Nothing but Americans carrying Rick Steeve's guide books.</i>

Apparently you missed the Germans who had been enjoying the Cinque Terre for decades before Rick Steves discovered it. And I'm not quite sure what you could have possibly seen of the CT in just an hour given that the area's highlight is hiking through the olive groves and vineyards between villages, and that's not something one can do in a short time. It's like saying you left Florence after an hour because all you saw in line at the Accademia were Americans with Rick Steves guidebooks, so probably not worth a look inside...

Mimar

nomad09, the Cinque Terre is on the coast, with other hikes in the vicinity in addition to the walk between the towns. Nothing technical of course. (For that, try to Dolomites.)

Whereas most of Tuscany, the parts we tourists usually go to, are inland.

jetsetj

I have been to Amalfi 2 times and to CT once.
Personally I would go back to CT before I would Amalfi again.
There is just something "wild" about the place that really appeals to me. We were there at the end of Sept and didnt see all the Rick Steves backpackers. We had no problem whatsoever getting on the trains or boats to the other villages. Our apt. had views out over the Gulf of Poets that was heavenly.
We stayed in Corniglia.

The food and wines of the region are magnifico.
Sciacchetrà, anchovies, and pesto like never before.

kfusto

"And I'm not quite sure what you could have possibly seen of the CT in just an hour"

What I saw were filthy bathrooms, hordes of tourists speaking English and overpriced cafes. I do not hike and was there to simply take in the scenery for a day as I had read so much about it over the years.

I am not in Italy long enough to waste a day somewhere that I find immediately unappealing. There are too many other places that merit my time.

jetsetj

I saw no filthy bathroom, hordes or overpriced cafes in CT.
I did in Sorrento though.

colduphere

We just got back from Sorrento. Bathrooms were clean. But we didn't visit all of them despite my wife's best efforts.

Gina817

I'm not sure I can offer you a ton of help as I have only been to the CT (going to Amalfi coast in a few weeks!). We both loved the CT. We were worried we'd get bored as we live in a big city and prefer urban vacations, but we did not. We enjoyed hiking, walking around the villages, taking the boat along the coast and just interacting with the locals. My husband got a haircut and I enjoyed just waiting there...listening to everyone go on in Italian (everyone knew everyone at various establishments).

It's been 5 years since we went, but at the time there were not chain hotels and it's not taken with shopping.
We'd go back in an instant.

cbutler32

Wow, lots of great info. Since someone was nice enough to tell us how long it takes to get to Amalfi, can anyone do the same for CT? Is it a straight shot on a train from Florence and long would it be?

Thanks very much. This is all incredibly helpful.