franvarga

My husband and I are flying into Rome May 25th and want to stay in Rome a couple of days we fly back from Rome on June 3rd in afternoon. We would like to go to Florence/Siena and stay for 3 days and see some of the Tuscan countryside and also go to Amalfi Coast Area for 3 days and possibly see Capri and Pompeii. Is this all feasible. We unfortunately cannot get more time off from work and want to try to squeeze these thing in if possible because don't know when we'll get back.
We don't mind being on the go but don't want it to be stressful and ridiculous. Is it
possible to hit these places and still enjoy. Can this be done by train or bus...we are also willing to rent car if needed. Thanks in advance to all you Italy travel experts, we really appreciate your opinions and help.

bobthenavigator

With only 9 nites to sleep in Italy, I would pick 3 destinations. I see Florence and Tuscany as seperate destinations. Your call !

LoveItaly

Hello franvarga, and welcome to Fodor's!

Where will you be flying from? I ask as if you are flying from the US, especially the westcoast, you will no doubt have jetlag when you arrive in Rome so the first day, once you depart the airport, get to your hotel, get checked in and orientated will take some time and you no doubt will want to freshen up etc. It would be a good day to walk around Rome as at least for me fresh air and excersize helps with the jet lag. So if you are just going to stay in Rome a couple of days (did you mean two days or three days?) you will not have a lot of time to enjoy the sites and sights of Rome but perhaps Rome is not on the top of your list interest wise.

Anyway, you will have 8 nights in Italy. The day of June 3rd will not give you much time once you pack up for your flight, check out of your hotel, get to the airport for your flight.

We all travel differently and I am sure you will receive different thoughts from other Fodorite's but if this was my trip I would spend time in Tuscany or the Amalfi area. You will have 9 days including the arrival day and departure day so personally I can't imagine trying to visit Rome plus Florence, Siena and the countryside of Tuscany plus the Amalfi area. I would chose one or the other. Hard to do I know as both areas are so inviting. But no doubt like most everyone else you will return to Italy. And may I add that most people like to take a bit of down time while enjoying a drink or a snack in a few outside cafes while people watching and just soaking in the atmosphere.

If you do not have a map of Italy or any Guide books you might want to buy a map and check out a few Guide books from your library. That will help you organize your trip. And have fun planning your time in Italy, you will be there at a beautiful time weather wise!

greg

It can be done if you set priorities.

One obvious rationalization is NOT to stay in Rome when you arrive, but go immediately to Amalfi Coast or to Florence. It eliminates usually unproductive last night stay in Rome before flying home by visiting Rome last.

The more time efficient route would have been to play with NAP, FCO, PSA, and FLR airport combinations to see if you could have minimized backtracking of any kind without adding more cost than you cared to incur.

Napoli to Florence is a 3hr trip by an ES train.

SusanP

I agree that it's a good idea to continue on to your furthest destination upon arrival and leave Rome for the end. I'm afraid I don't agree with LoveItaly (which is unusual) that you have eight nights, as I count nine.

While you could probably do all three, it would be so rushed, and after travel time between places you'd have so little time in each, I would recommend choosing either Florence or Amalfi. Do you want great art, museums, churches? Or are you more interested in water and scenic beauty (not that the Amalfi doesn't have any art or churches...)? If the first, choose Florence; if the second, choose Amalfi.

At any rate, upon arrival in Rome, go directly to Florence for five nights with a daytrip or two to Tuscan towns, or go directly to Amalfi for four nights. In either case, spend the remaining nights in Rome.

franvarga

Thank you all so much for your sugguestions...I wish we had more time in Italy. I am so torn between Tuscany and Amalfi Coast area, I've always dreamed of going to both! I'm sure no matter which one we pick we'll love. Still don't know what to do but from your posts I guess I was being too ambitious and hopeful.

franvarga

Still don't know what to do. Should we do 4 nights in Rome and 5 at Amalfi Coast, is there enought to do there and maybe stop somewhere else. Still very upset won't be able to see any of the Tuscan hill region. Could we extend our nights in Rome and do day trips to the Tuscan countryside? Or could we do 4 nights Rome 5 nights Sienna or Florence and do day trips from Rome to Amalfi area? I guess doing 3 nights of each would be too rushed?

ellenem

This is your first trip. You are excited. It is YOUR trip. Do all three. (I would prefer to relocate rather than do the lengthy daytrip from Rome to the Amalfi area.)

Arrive in Rome and head immediately to Florence (or your Tuscany location). Then do Amalfi coast. Then do Rome. If you stay in Florence, you can join a day tour or hire a guide for a day in the countryside. If you choose a Tuscan countryside location, you might go to Florence for one day if it is important for you to see Florence.

May 25: arrival; Florence/Tuscany
May 26: Florence/Tuscany
May 27: Florence/Tuscany
May 28: travel to Amalfi Coast location; Amalfi Coast area
May 29: Amalfi Coast area
May 30: Amalfi Coast area
May 31: travel to Rome
June 1: Rome
June 2: Rome
June 3: depart Rome

Keep in mind that you will use up a good portion of your travel days checking in and out of hotels, getting to an from train stations, and actually traveling--at least half a day each time.

At the end of the trip, only you will know if this speed of travel is too fast or too slow for YOU. You'll know what you will prefer for the next trip.

franvarga

Thank you, you made me hopeful. I am so excited and know realistically we can't do it all but we are also not the types to sit around for too long and think we could handle the travel days...I hope.

franvarga

Sorry for the mispelling of Itinerary...was in a hurry.

franvarga

Would someone please review and add suggestions to my itinerary:
May 25 Arrive Rome in am stay overnight
May 26 Travel to Siena
May 27 Siena/maybe visit Lucca
May 28 Siena/day trip to Florence
May 29 Travel to Positano
May 30 Positano
May 31 Positano/visit pompeii
Jun 01 Travel back to Rome am
Jun 02 Rome all day
Jun 03 Leave Rome at noon

Does this look like it can be done or should I still
cut it back to just Rome/Tuscany or Rome/Amalfi
We don't mind sampling different areas for short periods of time to get the flavor. I wish I had unlimited time off to do another week. Is there a quick route to get from Sienna to Positano, I wouldn't mind paying a little more to make it less stressful. This is our first European vacation so I guess we can splurge a little. Thanks for all your help out there.

ellenem

I would travel to Siena on your arrival day rather than break up your stay in Rome.

franvarga

Thanks, I just thought we would be exhausted and need a break from traveling but if you think it would be better that way do we take a train or car and how long would the trip be?

SUMMAGOLD

not to confuse you more, but i would stay in florence and take a day trip out to sienna. theres so much more to see in florence and the restaurants and shopping are so good there. Sienna is a very pretty medieval town, but its small, and not much to do. i suggest you do a combination day tour of wine tasting and visits to sienna, san gimignano and other smaller towns in one day. your hotel can help you arrange it. And i would definitely do more days in Rome. There is so much to do in Rome. But i guess it all depends on your interests. you are going in end of May so expect lots and lots of tourists and long lines at most attractions. here's my opinion 3 nights in Florence, 2 nights in Positano, and 4 nights in Rome.

May 25 Arrive Rome, travel to Florence
May 26 Florence
May 27 Florence, Day trip to Siena/maybe visit Lucca
May 28 Travel to Positano
May 29 Positano/visit pompeii
May 30 Travel to Rome
May 31 Rome
Jun 01 Rome
Jun 02 Rome
Jun 03 Leave Rome at noon

SUMMAGOLD

fran, definitley head straight to tuscany when you get to rome. no sense in wasting a night in rome. plus the train to tuscany is actually really nice. you can grab some sandwhiches and a bottle or two of wine and drink it on the train! be sure to get 1st class train tickets!

ellenem

From FCO airport, you can train to Roma Centrale train station and then take another train from there to Siena. There is also a bus from Rome to Siena that I think is quicker, but it leaves from a different train station. If you really want to splurge, you might want to splurge for a driver to pick you up at the airport and drive you directly to Siena.

SusanP

Summagold gives a good suggestion if you still want to do all three. Definitely go right to Florence on arrival. This saves an extra hotel change.

greg

Traveling straight to Florence after arrival, for example, is not whether you have stamina or not, but if you think about it, it makes sense for many people.

I am not where you are coming from. For folks from North America, the arrival in Rome is usually early in the morning.

So if we postulate that you arrive in Rome in the morning, then what are you going to do? The hotel or wherever you are staying is unlikely to be ready to check you in. You will have to kill time while you are tired.

Instead of this, why not continue traveling. By the time you get to Florence, etc, you would be checking into the hotel around the same time you would have checked into Rome, but instead, you have productively used the time to move to the next destination.

franvarga

You are correct. I didn't even think about not having anywhere to go with our luggage. Thanks I will definitely go straight to somewhere in Tuscany. I feel like such a novice. We do travel quite a bit but it's always been in the USA,

ellenem

"I didn't even think about not having anywhere to go with our luggage."

Not exactly the case--most hotels would hold your luggage, even if your room wasn't ready yet. But I have had the experience of arriving in Rome from the overnight flight and the room would not be ready until after noon, a good three hours later. So I'm ready to spend that time on another train.