WarpedTourist

Hi! I am looking for advice on an upcoming trip in April. We will arrive on the Thursday before Easter. This is our loose Itinerary:

Thursday: Arrive in Rome- take Train to Venice
Friday - Venice
Saturday-Venice-Travel back to Rome
Sunday- Rome
Monday-Rome
Tuesday- Pompeii
Wednesday-Amalfi Coast
Thursday-Depart Rome

Will our trip be affected by the Easter holiday? Should we keep Venice first or move it to the middle of the trip? Should we do 2 days in Amalfi Coast?

We have two Seventeen Year Old's and this will kind of be their "Senior Trip" with the family. I know this limits our time in each city but, we are the type of family that hits the ground and runs to all the adventures. Thank you for your advice.

janisj

Welcome to Fodors. Have you booked the flights already? If no it would be a lot easier and more efficient to do open jaw (multi-city) like In to Venice and home from Naples or in to Rome and home from Venice - something like that.

As it is you have 6 full days free on the ground and will be spending almost 3 full days traveling from place to place (not count you 'repositioning' train on arrival you will be traveling from Venice to Rome, Rome to Pompeii / the AC and back to Rome whic will eat up almost 3 days). Also -- if you are flying out of Rome you will want to be IN Rome on Wednesday night.

If you can fly in to Venice you could do Venice/stay two nights, fly to Naples/stay 2 nights for Pompeii et al, then train to Rome for the last 3 nights/fly home.

Jean

Good Friday in Venice... If you hoped to see the interior of the basilica that day, you need to research if that's possible and what hours it will be accessible outside of masses. For anything else on your sightseeing list, check hours for that holiday weekend. Reserve entry tickets where possible.

Easter Sunday and Easter Monday in Rome... Rome will be crowded. Many sights will be open, and they will be very crowded. Reserve entry tickets where possible. Some restaurants and shops will be closed on Monday. It's a national holiday.

Personally #1, I think you're trying to cover too much ground in a week. I would skip Venice. FCO to Venice is 5 hours. Venice to Pompeii is 7 hours. (You can check your luggage at the main entrance.) If you're staying on the Amalfi Coast, add about 45 minutes to reach Sorrento (train) from Pompeii and then about 50 minutes to reach, say, Positano (bus)... or taxi from Pompeii to your AC hotel. Personally #2, I wouldn't fly Venice to Naples. Not enough time saved (IMO), airports will be crowded that week, potential for delay, yada yada yada.

Pompeii seems to be a priority, in which case you should also visit the archeology museum in Naples where most of the artifacts from Pompeii are housed. It's a great museum even without the Pompeii stuff. Closed on Tuesdays.

If you limited this trip to Rome and the Naples/Pompeii/Amalfi Coast area, I think it would be a much more enjoyable week. You'd have some time cushions to allow for crowded situations and for potential rain. (I definitely wouldn't visit Pompeii in the rain.) There are some trains FCO to Naples that take just 2 hours.

Sassafrass

If you really want Venice, then try to change flights to arrive there and not have added hours of travel.

If you are departing from Rome, then put all time in Rome at the end so you are not doing two hotels there with extra time getting to and from the train stations and extra time checking in and out.

Trying to see a lot is understandable, but no matter how you slice it, you have seven days max and you will be using nearly two full days to travel such distances, per your plan. I am sure you don’t want to go so fast that you remember little and do not have moments to savor Italy. Too much time on the train will become a drive by movie. It is also good to allow for issues like a torrential rain that may require altering plans. Yes, that time will be very, very crowded.

If you cannot change tickets to fly into Venice, and are arriving in Rome, go directly on to Naples or someplace like Sorrento on the Bay of Naples. Spend a day taking a ferry or tour down the coast to Positano and another seeing the museum in Naples and visiting Pompeii. Return to Rome for the rest of your time.
If you find you really want another day someplace outside of Rome, visit Orvieto (a hill town), about an hour away, or even Florence, if you get up early and have a full day there.

If Venice is more important to you than Pompeii, then do Venice with a stop in Florence on the way back to Rome.

Thursday, arrive Rome, go directly on to Naples or Sorrento.
Friday, tour Amalfi Coast
Saturday, Pompeii and museum or even Herculaneum.
The teens might enjoy touring underground Naples.
Sunday, Return to Rome, do some sightseeing.
Mon, Tue, Wed, Rome
If you are “Done” with Rome by Wed, you can take a day trip last minute to Orvieto or Florence.
Thur, depart for home.
This is really all you have time for.

mike1728

Enjoy your holiday. People don’t realize how big Italy is. In 7 days Rome, Venice and Amalfi is just too much travel. Doable? Yes. Enjoyable? No.

janisj

Meant to add -- IF you've already booked flights and can't change them -- then you really will need to eliminate Venice.

As mentioned above, on arrival in Rome head immediately south to Naples or the A/C stay 3 nights, then head back to Rome for the last 4 nights.

WarpedTourist

Wow! Thank you all so much for the advice. My flights are really locked and really determined our landing point because we used miles for the tickets. This is all great information and I really think we will revamp the trip and considering removing Venice all together.