My husband and I have just decided to go to Italy this December. We had originally planned to go to Italy in September, but life got in the way. Our new trip will be a quick visit (Dec. 27 - Jan. 2), and we are looking for advice on our itinerary now that we’ll be there a few months later than planned.

I have been to Italy before (Venice, Florence and the Cinque Terra), but my husband has not. We were originally planning to visit Rome, Sorrento, Lake Como and Venice. (It was a longer trip then.)

For our new trip, we know that we want to spend a little time in Rome (3 days?), but are looking for advice on a second, smaller town or city that we would go to for the second half of our trip. (And for New Year’s Eve).

We love small towns, and we’d like it to be a reasonable distance from Rome so that we’re not spending a too much time en route. We liked the sound of Sorrento for September, and are not sure whether it’s still a good destination in December. Does anyone have any thoughts, or would you recommend any other places we should consider?

Thank you!

Wow, that is tough that time of year. You could easily stay in Rome the entire time but day trip to Orvieto by train. Or, spend an overnite--only about 1:15 by train. I would skip any resort destination.
The other option is Siena---best accessed by bus from Tiburtina station. It is a college town--night be fun for New Years.

well, you could still squeeze in florence, no?

although I agree with Bob - you could absolutly spend the entire trip in Roma! it's amazing...!

Thanks! Do you think that Sorento would be "closed for the season", or just not a lot to do without good weather?

Sienna and Orvieto are intriguing. I will do some more research on them.

I'm less keen on staying in Rome for the full time, as we don't love big cities as a rule (even though we live in Chicago!).

Thank you.

I have to admit, I'm not a huge Florence fan. (Sacrilege, I know.)

We're not very big art buffs, and I found it to be very busy compared to Venice and the Cinque Terra. With Rome being our city portion of our trip, I think we'll need some quiet for the other parts.

Hi Jen - Sorrento is never closed - it's a commuter town with a large resident population.

You can do the same sightseeing there - Amalfi Coast, Pompeii/Ercolano, Capri, Naples, etc. - as you would in summer ... but without the crowds

Steve

A "real italian" opinion: go to a small town to spend some days (including end of the year..) Siena is OK but also Orvieto ....

Avoid to go noether (it's cold..) than Siena.

Ciao.
Gianni (Milan, Italy)

Thank you! I've done more reading on the Sienna and the Hill Towns and they seem really interesting, but Sorrento sounds like it could be a good option too. Which would you recommend?

Well, as Steve has indicated, Sorrento is not a small village, more of a medium-sized town. Since it's sited on the cliffside overlooking the bay of Naples, the scenery shouldn't be too bad -- unless the weather fails you.

That's the problem with smaller towns. Less to do in bad weather.

Have you already bought your air tickets? You could do an open-jaws, into Rome and out of Venice. Better yet, into Venice and out of Rome.

You had originally wanted to go Venice but dropped it. It's not a big city, but it is urban, not countryside. Lots to see and do. But the experience of staying in a city without cars (or buses or trucks) is so different, so pleasant.

Siena would be good also. Easy to get to, several things to do. We stayed in a hotel in the middle of the historic center and could see the Tuscan countryside from our room. And Siena is very dark and medieval at night. Another place (like Venice) where staying there overnight adds a lot to the experience.

My choice would be to remain in Rome. But if you want to add a destiination, I would choose either Sorrento or Venice.

I would not choose to spend time in a Tuscan or Umbrian hill town (Orvieto, etc) during that time of year. Remember hill towns are just that--on hills--and therefore if you get a bad spell of weather, might be windy and not pleasant..

We spent a week in Rome during January a couple of years ago. Rome was shirtsleeve/light jacket weather and Orvieto on the same day, was freezing, cloudy and windy.

I've not been to Sorrento in December but I imagine that it would be lovely with all the holiday decorations and bustle.. So if you want to see a new city...

Hi Jen,
My husband and I were in Rome in October. If you stay in the old part, by the Pantheon, you will definitely not get a city feel. There is plenty to do and see and it's just a beautiful place to wander around. We rented an apartment right by the Pantheon and it was the perfect location. I wish I could go back right now! Good luck planning your trip!

Jen - It depends what you want - but personally I'd probably choose the Bay of Naples over a Tuscan hilltown in December.

Steve

Thanks everyone -- you're giving us a lot to think about. We're going to drop the hill towns as an option. However, we saw a post from someone else who's going in December and will be spending time in Amalfi. It's a little further from Rome, but sounds like it might be a good fit for us instead of Sorrento.

Has anyone spent time there in late December?

Amalfi or Sorrento?

Amalfi for scenery and setting. Sorrento for convenience of public transport - and ease of access to Capri, Pompeii, Ercolano, Naples ...

Sorrento is bigger and would probably be livelier at that time of year. Again it depends what you want ...

Steve

Personally I can't imagine having much fun in Amalfi in December. For me, Amalfi (and the other coastal beauty spots in Campania) are all about enjoying being outdoors -- eating outdoors, swimming, boat rides. Even if it isn't raining, it's going to be too cold to sit outdoors a lot. The only thing that would appeal to me in that area in December is Ischia, with its thermal baths, or doing intensive sightseeing in Pompeii and Napoli.

Although Sorrento is a big town, it is utterly organized around the seasonal tourist trade.

Staying in Roma makes sense, but I'm sorry people have been so discouraging about visiting small towns, since you say you love them. Oriveto and Spoleto are easy train rides from Roma. (I would stay in Spoleto and visit Orvieto). The 90 minute train to Firenze makes it possible to think of a connection on to Lucca or even Ferrara or Parma for something different. They're no further in terms of travel time than Sorrento (and Amalfi is quite time consuming to get to).

Finally, it can even be cost effective to take a train to Orvieto or Chiusi and arrange for a car service to take you to a lovely small Tuscan town of your dreams, since accommodation rates drop so precipitously once you are out of Roma. Sure it might be cold. You might even get snow. But pick some place with a fireplace and some fantastically warming comfort food.

Just be aware that no matter where you go (except Sorrento) you will be competing with no end of Italians who like to go touristing over the Christmas holidays. Places like Siena and Lucca can be packed, so book early.

Ciao,
still a difficult choice also for an italian...
Personally I feel a little bit sad in going to a beautiful place near the sea in winter...
It is different for a history & art location, I still vote for Tuscany or other destination in center Italy (Umbria, Marche, Lazio...).

Gianni

We spent that same time frame in Venice and Bologna one year and had a great trip. We like city trips in the winter. Bologna was great in terms of food, beauty, and atmosphere and the covered sidewalks made it ideal when it snowed. Venice was just gorgeous in the winter with swaths of fog making everything look magical.

Thank you all for your input. You've given us a lot to think about. After much debate, I THINK we've decided to spend 2 nights in Rome, then 3 nights in Sorrento, then back to Rome for 1 night before flying home.

We decided that we'll save Sienna and Hill Towns for our next visit, hopefully in the spring or fall.

Thanks for everyone's help!