I am trying to figure best use of my day before departure. I will be in Sorrento on a Wednesday. My plane departs Rome at noon on Friday. My itinerary is 5 days in Rome, 3 days in Siena, 5 days in the Campania area, 2 days in Sorrento, and then I have Thursday free (?), I depart from Rome on Friday at noon.

Looking for suggestions on how to use that Thursday. Should I train back to Rome for one night? Since I have already been to Rome would there be an alternative place to stay outside of Rome that will be easy to make the plane connection at noon? Or is it best to spend one more night in Rome?

Do you already have all of your accommodations, etc., booked? because otherwise I would suggest departing Rome immediately upon arrival and them placing all of your Rome time together at the end--but not sure if this is a possibility for you.

The answer seems so obvious. As yorkshire says, do all of the Rome time at the end. This is a common thing to do as it also insures you are at your departure point in plenty of time rather than having to work out whether you need to be there the night before etc.

If you are stuck with your plan due to pre-booking of hotels then yes, back to Rome or nearby the day before departure. But this really is not a good use of time at all. Far better to eliminate the move by ending in Rome for 6 days.

It is best to be in the city you depart the night before even for a noon departure to account for transportation snafus. Tt is easier to deal with you have more than 24hrs cushion.

Like the previous poster, I would not have configured the trip this way. Unless one has set reservations forcing staying in Rome twice, it is best to bundle Rome stay + last evening in one. Do the time and money computation. The bundling is a rare tactic with little drawbacks that saves money and time at the same time, yet many first timers after another do <few days in Rome> + <go somewhere else> + <do I need to stay last night in Rome?> itineraries.

Yes, unfortuantely I do have reservations made for the trip. I now see the error of not bundling those days together. On my only other trip to Italy, I departed from Naples and that turned out to be a nightmare as there was a missed connection in France, so I thought I was being more careful by booking a direct flight from Rome. I guess now I got to figure how to make the best of it.

I do have another itinerary question which I will post separately.

Well, no biggie--another day in Rome is not terrible
Maybe someone will know of a town that provides easy access to the airport.

I don't seen any problem with staying one night in Rome. We do it often. Use a hotel near Termini so you can easily catch the L Express in the AM. You can spend a pleasant evening in Rome relaxing, catch that one last meal, and an easy trip to the airport in the morning.

We stayed at Hotel Giuliana near Termini, and it was a fantastic establishment. It was under $100 a night and had a phenomenal staff. I highly recommend it. Just a few minutes from Termini.

Thanks for the suggestions. I plan on having a cab take us to the aiport since I am traveling with a senior.

I am looking to spend no more than 150 euro's for the night. If I stay near the Termini would it be difficult for a senior to get to the city center or somewhere that we can enjoy the surroundings? Or should I just look for something near the center or Trastevere?

You can easily catch one of the buses in front of the Termini to other sites on interest in Rome. The buses can be crowded though, depending on the time of the day.

I can't tell you whether this is typical but using a sample of one journey from Rome, I would arrive in plenty of time at the airport. We arrived at Rome airport nearly three hours prior to departure to Australia and nearly missed our flight due to very slow checkin processing.

If you are catching the train to the airport I would stay close to Termini as you'll have luggage with you. Easy to catch a bus or metro to other parts of Rome without your luggage. If you're catching a taxi to the airport, there's no point is staying near Termini - you can stay wherever you like. You can check this out when you first stay in Rome. Personally, I'd take the train as it's quick and easy, but then I've never taken a taxi so can't compare.

Last time I arrived in Rome (May) we caught a shuttle bus from the airport directly to our hotel. Cost was the same as the train. However, can't remember the name of the organisation.

What about staying in Trastevere in Rome for the last night if you are taking a car or taxi? That way you aren't dealing with the city center. You could explore this neighborhood as your last hurrah before departure. I remember it from last trip as nicely walkable.

I can understand using a car/cab when a senior, though as mentioned the express train from Termini is quite fast and easy.

Glad to hear the suggestion of Trastevere as I was considering that as an alternative to staying again in town. Found a B&B on Piazza Sidney Sonnino for the date. Looks like a good location.

I was trying to find a location in Rome that would be less hectic than the center. If anyone has any other suggestions for a area that would offer more of a wind down atmosphere let me know.

For now Trastevere looks like a good option. If my plan leaves at noon what time should I be looking at heading to the airport?

<<The transfer time from Rome Trastevere (hotel Or Private Address) to Rome Fiumicino Airport is about 50 minutes. Please note that this is an estimated transfer time and does not take into account traffic and road conditions. >>

http://www.airport-transfers-direct....o-airport.html

Depends on how early you want to get there -- isn't recommendation still 3 hours ahead for international? In Rome using Terminal 5, carry on on, and going business class we've easily done it with two hours ahead.