Hello,

We have our preliminary itinerary. Any suggestions/recommendations would be appreciated in transportation, hotels, etc. For Sorrento, Amalfi town, we'd like a room with sea views. And for all the locations, we would like a place that's quiet enough so we can sleep. If possible, would prefer not to spend more than 200 Euros a night.

Leave Aug. 23 Toronto

Arrive Aug. 24 Prague (any hotel recommendations please) Would like to be near the sites and good restaurants.

Aug. 27 Leave Prague. Fly with SkyEurope to go to Rome. Stay about 4 nights in Rome. If you had a choice...would you stay one night more in Rome or in Prague?

Sept. 1 Leave Rome. Take train? to Salerno. Ferry to Amalfi town where we'll stay 5 nights. Based in Amalfi, we'll see Positano and Ravello as well as the smaller towns around that area.

Sept. 6 From Amalfi town, take bus/ferry? to Sorrento. Stay 4 nights. See Capri/Ischia.

Sept. 10 Train to Rome via Naples. Spend night.

Fly back Sept. 11.

Thank you again for any help.

Hi there,
Just a heads up regarding Sky Europe. Not sure if you have booked with them or not, but a recent post on this board mentioned their financial difficulties...their fleet has been reduced from 15 to 4 planes but they are still using planes from other airlines. You might want to re-think booking with them if you haven't already...they are still flying, but, to me at least, it looks dicey for them.
We are also going to Prague for the first time this summer...we just booked a room at Hotel Josef based on some feedback from this board which is a very modern hotel but seemed to be well located and priced..they have some nice offers on 3 night stays. I would definitely allow yourself a minimum of 4 nights of Rome and no less.
cheers,
CC

Thanks for the heads up, CaptCanuck.

No, we haven't booked SkyEurope yet.

Is there another option for getting from Prague to Rome?

Thanks.

We booked with Brussels Airlines as we are flying from Florence to Prague..but they also fly out to/from Rome-Prague as well. I believe Malev and Wizz Air are also options that are well priced. After what I read about SE's difficulties through some additional articles on line, I didn't want to arrive there in the summer and discover my flight no longer existed!
cheers,
CC

Thanks CaptCanuck.

We'll look into Brussels Airlines. We did see fares from Malev and Wizz Air and they were about 3x the price of Sky Europe. But if Sky Europe's having financial troubles, then it'll be worth it to pay the extra money for peace of mind.

I looked at the train route but looks like it's more of a hassle: more time, more money, more transfers. Did you get the same info?

Thanks again.

Yep, Brussels made the most sense for us...especially with peace of mind as well.

By the way, in Rome, we stayed at the Locarno and enjoyed it. We actually spent 6 nights there.

Now, can someone answer Maria's questions about the Amalfi Coast? Have never been there so no advice to offer

cheers,
CC

I've been to Prague several times and love it. For a hotel suggestion, I really liked the Hotel Pariz which is right near Powder Gate in the Old Town area and extremely convenient. YOu can walk from there to a lot of things, but it is near metro/tram/bus stops if you want them.

Even though it is a beatiful Art Deco 5* hotel, they have lower rates in July/August, which is when I went and you can get very good prices. Now I see they have doubles for only about 160 euro for summer discount through 8/27, actually. So that is perfect for your dates (the rates go back up on 8/27, and then are around 250 euro).

This is their website www.hotel-pariz.cz but sometimes the booking section acts funny on there, I'm warning you.

The hotel is off on a small side street and is pretty quiet, also, and near lots of good restaurants.

Hi, Maria_T -

> If you had a choice...would you stay one night more in Rome or in Prague?

It depends on what you want to see and experience, but you might consider adding at least one day to Prague (at least 3 full days) AND at least one to Rome (at least 5 full days).

Also, have you checked into flying out of Naples instead of back-tracking to Rome?

Hope that helps!

Thanks for all your replies.

kja, we were going to fly out of Naples on the return but turns out it's a couple hundred dollars more and flights seem to leave at 6 a.m. (which means we have to be at the airport at 3 a.m. - yikes!)

Another question re: Prague to Rome.

CaptCanuck pointed out the issues with SkyEurope. It's too bad because SkyEurope was so cheap.

I've checked Malev and Brussels Air as alternatives, and the flights will cost about $500 Cdn.

Would it make sense to try to take the train from Prague to Rome? I think there's a train we can take to Vienna and from there take the overnighter to Rome. Bear with me. Can't tell how much the train tickets are but I hear they're about $200 each in total. Yes, it'll take longer but if we do the overnighter on the train, won't it save us the hotel cost for our last night in Prague?

Thanks for letting me think out loud.

For a great meal and a beautiful view of Prague, go to the Restaurant Bellavista. Salmon was incredible as were most of our dishes. Try the Urquell dark beer.

For Prague I would recommend Savic Hotel. We stayed there in June and thought it was an excellent location in Old Town. Breakfast was quite good and we found the staff to be extremely nice and helpful. There were 6 of us, so we had 3 different rooms. They were all of varying shapes and sizes (some quite large) but all were a nice size and had excellent bathrooms and amenities.

I agree with the other poster about adding a day to both Prague and Rome. I have not been to the Amalfi Coast but spending a total of 9 days in that region seems like a lot, especially at the expense of the other two cities.

A second recommendation for the Savic Hotel in Prague.

I think the Prague v. Rome question can only be answered by you. Both cities have more than you can see in 3-4 days, so what are the most important attractions to you in each place? What are you willing to miss?

I think 9-10 days in the Naples/Amalfi Coast area sounds dreamy, but I also think you could take away a day or two and add them elsewhere.

The idea of being on a train for 18-19 hours (Prague to Rome) gives me the heebie-jeebies. I'd be climbing the walls... Just how important is Prague to you? This 18-day itinerary would be much more manageable (and apparently cheaper) if you stuck to Italy.

Hi Maria, for Prague I can recommend you an agency Best Tour my friend told me about them and they made me a complete programme for my Prague visit and it worked. I was really satisfied. Let´s try them. Good luck and nice trip...

Mirek, you naughty boy! You were busted on Trip Advisor for touting and now you are over here! Shame shame!

I am an American living and providing daily excursions as well as a 6 day 7 night tour on the Amalfi Coast. Please visit my website at www.amalfivacations.com and let me know if you need any assistance or would like to book any trips.