FIRST TRIP TO PARIS/ITALY
 

My husband and i are planning at trip to Paris and italy from April 30, 2015 through May 16 2015. As we are both working, we are limited on time. The planned itinerary is
Paris 4 nights
Florence/Tuscany 4 nights
Rome 3 nights
Sorrento 3 nights
Naples ( near ariport) 1 night.
We plan to rent a car in Florence to drive to our B and B which is located outside of Greve in Chianti, and to use to tour the countryside.Would it be feasible to take a day trip to Venice?
We plan to take the train to Rome, then rent a car as we leave Rome to drive to Caserta ( to see his family's home), and then on to Sorrento.
i would like some opinions on the feasibility of this , and if we would be better off on the train. Thanks so much!~!

"Would it be feasible to take a day trip to Venice?"

I would not opt to do that with all your moving around.

thank you for the reply. We are trying not to move around too much, but hope to get at least a good flavor of the areas we are staying in.

I don't think you have enough time for side trips and Venice is several hours out of your way. You have to remember that 3 nights somewhere only gives you two sightseeing days and you have barely allowed enough time to scratch the surface in major cities.

I would fly my longest distance on Day 1 (US/Naples? US/Rome?). You can take the Curreri shuttle bus from the Naples airport to Sorrento (10€).

As for Caserta, there are train stations there so a car for that part might not be necessary, but you could do a one day rental from Sorrento. Using the train, would depend on where his family home is, but you could probably grab a taxi from the Caserta train station if you have an address (the palace there is worth a visit also).

Visit Rome next, then head to Tuscany. Look at flights from Florence or Pisa to Paris (Paris Orly if possible). Fly home from Paris.

I would skip Sorrento entirely this time and add on time to the other areas---you are moving too much (IMO). I think if you cut out one area you would see more and enjoy your trip much more.

Echoing the other responses. Less is more. If this is your first trip to France and Italy, I'd do Paris + Florence/Tuscany + Rome. If you're flying out of Naples, then visit Pompeii, Herculaenum, and the Archeological Museum in Naples your last day, spend the night in Naples, and fly out the next morning.

The last place I would cut from your itinerary is a trip to your husband's ancestral home. It is likely to add a dimension to your experience of Europe that money cannot buy and perhaps other travelers can't really understand.

I don't know if you have already bought your transatlantic air tickets, but if you end up flying out of Naples, then I recommend spending your last night in Naples rather than at the airport simply because the quality of hotels in Naples in so much better than what you will get at the airport. If the weather is nice, you can take a late day ferry from Sorrento to Naples and stay near the water. Taxis to the airport are a flat rate (I think about 35 euros). If you can afford it and your flight is not too early, you can also pay for a taxi transfer from Sorrento to Naples (I think about 100e). But an airport hotel is the least favorable choice.

Unfortunately, there really is no way that I can see to include Venice in this trip. But otherwise, I don't have a huge problem with your itinerary so long as you understand that you can't see the Full Monty of Top 20 Tourist sights in your chosen locations, especially since you have already said you don't want to be sightseeing maniacs at the expense of getting the flavor of where you are. You can practice "less is more" without sacrificing destinations. If you feel comfortable eliminating something, great. If not, I think you can accomplish this itinerary.

Sorry, I forgot to type the word "airport" where it was needed. I meant to write:

"you can also pay for a taxi transfer from Sorrento to Naples airport (I think about 100e)."

That way, you wouldn't have to relocate from Sorrento at all, but that depends on when your flight leaves.

Also, I had meant to say that if you were planning to see Pompei, etc, from Sorrento, that is doable, but if you had not been planning to see it because you don't have any interest in it or feel it would be too much given other things to do in the area, skip it in favor doing other things you would personally enjoy more.

Another thought would be eliminate Sorrento from this trip and add a day to Rome and Paris and perhaps stop in Venice. Just depends on which you want to see more. I visited Venice, Florence and Rome in May and would go back to Venice if I could. Fly into Rome, train to Florence, drive through Tuscany and then drive or train to Venice. It's easy to fly to Paris from Venice or you could take an overnight train and not use up a day traveling.

Venice to Paris fly easyjet. The train gets bad reviews. Train tickets up to 120 day is in advance on the trenitalia website.

Florence/Tuscany 4 nights

- This is doable but it will be very busy and very tiring.
Day 1 in Florence, MUST see: Uffizi and David's(make sure you reserve in advance as the lines are VERY long). Add to this anything else that interests you. Day 2 can be a daytrip to San Gimignano & Siena. Id have dinner in Siena at the Il Campo square(MUST!!!). If you can, spare an overnight and leave the next day for Chianti. You would definitely need a car and a good GPS driving through the towns there. (We stayed in a villa in Chianti for 5 days and used it as a base to explore Tuscany/Umbria). On the last day you can go to Assisi as well(worth the drive in my opinion, one of my favorite hill towns).

Rome 3 nights
- You can do Rome in a day, if only you'd want to see the highlights and have a lot of energy:) You can do the Vatican & Sistine Chapel in the morning,late lunch at Piazza Navona ,shop afterwards in Via Condotti, rest at the Spanish steps and have dinner in the area. Day 2 you can do a daytrip to Capri(worth it!), Day 3 you can do a day trip to the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii( the coast is jaw dropping!). This itinerary is tiring, but doable.

Sorrento 3 nights
- Id skip this

Naples ( near ariport) 1 night.
- You can fly out of Rome. Naples isn't exactly a 'safe' and nice area...if you do a daytrip to Capri, you will see it.

We plan to rent a car in Florence to drive to our B and B which is located outside of Greve in Chianti, and to use to tour the countryside.Would it be feasible to take a day trip to Venice?
- Yayks...too far if you need todo a return trip

Hope it helps!

My vote would be to keep Sorrento as part of your trip. So many beautiful things to see/do with Sorrento as a base... Capri, Amalfi, Positano, Pompeii. And such a different vibe compared to Rome or Northern Italy.

Agree with Sandralist, you'll have just enough time to scratch the surface of a place, then move on. But, not everyone likes to linger!

Transport tip: driving in Italy is not for the faint of heart. We used trains between major cities, and bus/metro etc in the city, and had a fantastic time. You can find great deals if you book in advance. We got a €9 one way fare from Venice-Rome (not a typo, it was 90% off the regular €90 fare on the super fast train!)

I don't consider the Uffizi, or a trip to Siena or San Gimignano a "must" for anybody. I didn't enjoy day trips to Siena or San Gimignano (except for the paintings inside the churches of San Gimignano). Millions of people --literally millions -- really disliked visiting the Uffizi and were glad to escape to do something else.

You can "do Rome in a day" --- ????? For most people, including me, the itinerary outlined by jing7600 would be vomitous and the worst possible experience of Rome.

Naples is just as safe as Rome and many people love visiting (and I think Capri is trashed by tourists and an unpleasant place to be).

As for driving in Italy? I drive all over Italy, although not inside large cities. So do millions of other tourists from all over the world, and they are not scared.

So whose advice should you follow?

You have gotten the opinions of 9 people in the world, all of whom disagree. Bear in mind that some 46 million people visited Italy last year, and the year before that, etc. and almost all of them sliced the salami some different way, and probably most of them were thrilled with their trip to Italy.

You will probably enjoy your trip to your husband's ancestral roots, however you do it.

While in Florence/Tuscany, we are actually staying at a B and B in Greve,Chianti. It is about 20K from Florence, and they will arrange tours and drivers, etc., I so appreciate everyone's input. I think this trip we will skip Venice, and stick to what we've got after reading all these posts- we are both very anxious to see the Amalfi Coast,so that's on our must-do list!