Baby_Milos

I am doing my final countdown to my Italy trip starting this week-end. Would appreciate if any fodorite has any comments to fine-tune the itinerary. Most information is based on review of trip reports on Fodors and Slow Traveler:

24 Jul Arrive to FCO airport in a.m., rent a car to drive to Montalcino for 2 nights at il Giglio. Explore the town and St Antimo Abbey.
Any recommendation for lunch en-route?
How long is the drive from the airport to Montalcino?

25 Jul Siena in a.m., have lunch, then drive to Le Crete and San Gimi in late afternoon. Dinner there. Drive back to Montalcino

26 Jul San Quirico, Pienza in the morning, lunch and dinner in Montelpuciano, then drive to Orvieto for 2 nights at Locanda Rosati.

27 Jul Cortona in a.m., Orvieto in p.m. Lunch in Cortona/ Orvieto?

28 Jul Drive to FCO by noon, take Windjet to Catania in p.m. Rent a Smart4 to drive to Taormina for 2 nights at Villa Schuler.

29 Jul Isola Bella in a.m., Greek Theater and Castelmola in p.m.
Recommendation for lunch/ dinner?

30 Jul Drive to Siracusa for 1 night, Ortigya Island and Archaeological Park in late p.m. Stay at Limoneto for night. Lunch or dinner in Don Camillo.

31 Jul Drive to Palermo, via Agrigento for Valley of the Temples. How long is the drive from Siracusa to Agrigento and then to Palermo? Stay at Hotel Letizia in Palermo for 2 nights

1 Aug Cefalu in a.m., Montreale in p.m. Try to squeeze some time to have lunch or dinner in il Mulinazzo.

2 Aug Explore Palermo, take evening ferry to Naples

3 Aug Naples. Archaelogical Museum, Santa Lucia, Castel Nuovo etc. stay at Pinto Storey

4 Aug Take the ferry to Capri from Naples. Blue Grotto, Capri Town, Anacapri. Take the ferry to Sorrento for 2 nights in il Nido.

5 Aug Take the bus to Ravello. Have lunch in Cumpa Cosimo. Positano for p.m. Dinner at il Ritrovo

6 Aug Train from Sorrento to Rome. Arrival by noon. Lunch in Abruzzi, hang around Piazza Navona and Spanish Steps in p.m. Dinner in Al 34. Stay at il Piccolo di Piazza del Spagna for 2 nights.

7 Aug Collosseo, Forum in a.m., St Peter Basilica in p.m. Some shopping.

8 Aug Have a look at Trevi Fountain in early a.m., then head for FCO airport for the flight at noon.

As I have been to Rome 12 years ago, I put less emphasis on the capital this time.

motor_city_girl

Jul 27, eat lunch in Orvieto at I Sette Consoli. Wonderful food, relaxing environment, excellent service!

ira

Hi BM,

>How long is the drive from the airport to Montalcino?

At www.mappy.com Enter "airport" for street and "Fiumicino" for place.

It will give you time and directions.

donco

Am drooling about your trip Baby Milos! Found a note in our Sicily "book" about eating lunch in Montreale at Taverna del Pavone - Trattoria: "Had the same meal as last night's dinner but twice as good!" The meal was described as "Bueadina on sarda-spaghetti with sardines, pine nuts, raisins, green things and gratin". Have a wonderful time!

Dayle

Hi Baby Milos,

Your trip looks great. Only one comment. I think Cortona would be better visited from Montalcino rather than Orvieto (if you have time). It's a longer way from Orvieto.

I would recommend skipping Cortona and visiting Civita di Bagnoreggio as a 1/2 day trip from Orvieto.

Also, please do post a trip report when you return! I'm staying at Il Gigilo in Montalcino and Pinto Storey in Naples in Sept. and would love to hear your experiences.

Buon viaggio!

ritaly

What are GREAT trip. Sounds like you've got everything down well. You will be VERY pleased with Locanda Rosati. They are wonderful! I hope you are planning to have dinner with them. It was a trip highlight for us, you'll meet fellow trazvelers and get great on the spot recommendations. Enjoy

bobthenavigator

I do admire what you are hoping to do here but I think you are grossly underestimating the travel logistics. This is really 2 trips combined into one. The AC and Sicily is one trip and Tuscany/Rome is another. How can you have dinner in Montepulciano and then drive to Locanda Rosati--you will never find it in the dark. Your itinerary is filled with travel logistics that are borderline feasible. It looks doable on paper but you will be exposed if anything goes wrong. As you know, I have done all of these locations and I am afraid you are cramming too much into too little time. I would drop Sicily from this trip and spend more time in Tuscany. This reads like an expedition not a vacation. Be sure to run the viamichelin program for your driving times and routings. Cortona is a long way from Orvieto, and your drive day to Palermo will be tough. I do like your hotel choices and have stayed at 4 of them. Sorry to be so brutally frank, but you did ask for comments.

Presocia

I have to agree with bob a bit about the time it will take to do all that you have planned. I had a similarly ambitious plan for part of my recent jaunt to Sicily, and soon realized once I hit Palermo that things were simply going to take a more leisurely pace -- which I didn't mind at all.

As for travel time from Agrigento to Palermo, I cannot comment on the total time necessary as I stopped in Trapani. However, the drive north along the coast will be slow going until you reach the autostrada as much of it is a single lane in each direction.

I hope you like the Hotel Letizia. I enjoyed my stay there, and there is an abundance of restaurants and other food choices in the area.