After reviewing guide book and speaking to as many travelers as I can … getting closer to at least areas to visit but still have lots of questions..

Would be my husband and possibly my sister and her hubby. Late 60-70 years old. All in good shape. Love nature, food, hiking, biking .. most if all immersing in local culture. My husband snd I did a biking trip in Tuscany about 10 years ago ..staying at local farms etc best trip ever!!

-Deciding whether to visit in May or October.. leaning toward October..thoughts on experiences in either month.

- Rough thoughts..

Fly from Miami to Rome direct flight …

Stay a night or 2 in Rome.

Would love to stay in agriturism dont think I spelled correctly). Farm house type or smaller hotels b&b … would love to hear experiences

Not crazy about big tour groups but heard City Wonder and Viator are smaller ? …any other tour groups recommended ..

Thinking of at least 2 weeks with base locations of 3 night …avoiding changing accommodations too often..

Rough itinerary:

After a few days in Rome…
Train to ..
Florence .. them to Sorrento..
Amalfi Coast … do you think 4 -5 days enough ..to visit Ravello, Priano, Poisitani, Ischia …
Base out of Sorrento… or Miniori?

Then maybe night or two in Naples. Open to any other ideas.

finish up back in Rome…

Interested in unique experiences maybe biking somewhere along the way, visit a lemon farm, cooking class, hike ( ie. path of Gods), ..

As I am writing this realize I still need to do alot more research… any help / advice greatly appreciated …

Have you seen your other thread? Seems to me you got some good ideas there....
Help with early stage of Italy trip plan

Why are you planning to fly into and out of Rome? Means one unnecessary change of hotels.

I like traveling in May better than October because (a) I like wildflowers and (b) people in the tourism industry are, IME, more eager to start a season then (rather than being exhausted at the end of it).

Are you sure you have enough time in Rome? Two nights at the start of your trip means one jet-lagged day. A stay of 4 or 5 days is not unusual for a first visit. What about Florence? I wanted 4 full and very busy days there; YMMV. And Naples? Again, I wanted far more than one day. IMO, 4 or 5 days can work for the Amalfi coast (excluding Ischia), but it really depends on what YOU want to see and experience and the pace at which you are willing to travel.

No reason to take ANY tours unless you want to. I don’t know anything about City Wonder, but Viator is just a tour consolidator. Some big, some small, some well done, some not so much….

Basically, it seems to me that you are trying to fit far too much into the time you have. I urge you to get a calendar and mark it up -- time to get from place to place; time to check in / out of hotels; time to pack / unpack; time to eat and sleep; time to get lost and oriented; time to actually see and do things (including time in lines); etc.

agriturismo.it is a good place to stay, you will not find them in cities

May is nicer than October as kja explains

I have no idea how long you are coming for but I'm going to hope it is 2 weeks. This gives you say 12 nights with 11 full days.

I would do Rome, honestly you need 2 whole days which takes up 3 nights. (9)
Choose an area, just one

For the purposes of the discussion I've chosen Puglia for you but you could do Tuscany, The Po, Sicily etc etc

Train to Puglia or flight. If train you could visit Naples on the way for one night. seat61.com for train info
https://viaggiareinpuglia.it/it/homepage
https://viaggiareinpuglia.it/it/even...ita?mezzi=BICI for bike routes, lots of business doing bike hire, tour hire, normally agriturismi have bike hire or they and hotels can arrange stuff like this, or hiking or yoga, or cooking, or olive oil tasting, sailing etc etc

Flights from Rome go into Bari or Brindisi. You can hire cars Auto Europe or you can catch the local long distant bus or the local train to many other towns. Taxis are relatively cheap. English is not spoken everywhere, but there is always someone around to at least try.

I'd stay in one or two places for the 9 nights before flying back to Rome.

Interesting! Honestly, I can't imagine Rome in less than 4 days (5 nights) just for a few highlights, but to each his/her own.

Thank you all for your input .

The more I learn the more excited I am trying to narrow down the best experience for us.

we are looking at a least 14 days. Can be flexible.

Going back and forth about what airport. ( to see Amalfi coast and Naples.

Do not

Well Naples airport is a slam dunk for Naples (virtually in town) and Amalfi. But one of the Roman airports is sort of ok if you take the train. I would not take a car into Rome (Romans can drive better there than anyone) or Naples. In another life I visited Naples (not the tourist zone) and my Italian contractors had me in some sort of armoured truck, my calmer Italian friends call Naples a "casino" which is not as much fun as it sounds. But the tourist areas are fine.

Spelling Italian words is really important. The concept of the "spelling bee" does not exist in the language, what you pronounce is what you spell. You will find that on Italian websites and if booking trains etc. Correct - or go home ;-)

If Amalfi is your chosen target then have you considered the Paestum? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...Sites_in_Italy ?

Sorrento is a good base. Has a lot of public transport options. You can get down at Naples. Go down on the lower level and change to a narrow guage train to Sorento. Has buses to everywhere. It is on a high plateau and doesn't have a beach. The ferry terminal is at the sea level.

Try visiting "The officers club" restaurant. Has great views of the sea, good atmosphere and retro music n dance, you will meet many English speaking like minded tourists there.
Positano was great but can be crowded.
we didn't like Amalfi much. The drive or bus trip, both are stunning.

We did one day trip to Capri island
One day by public bus to Amalfi and Positano. Frequent connections are available.
One day lazing around and walking in Sorrento.

You can visit Naples and Pompeii if you want.

My daughter went to Puglia from there last spetember by car. Its well connected by bus.
Many small places to visit there.

I find it fascinating that people have such different reactions to various places! For me, Amalfi and it's stunning cathedral were highlights of my time along the Amalfi Coast ... along with Ravello (a personal all-time favorite) and Anacapri. And Salerno was another personal favorite along that coast line.

I think Amalfi suffers from too much tourism. If you go early or late it can be very pleasant, I would think the 2nd of August must be a nightmare

Thank you for your input … after more research .. I have decided to focus on more local culture quiet.. relaxed.

Looking at early October… was also considering May

1. Fly into Naples… looking for early flight…take ferry to Ischia. Stay there for night for 2 nights to explore the island.. the gardens, old castle, fishing ports

Day 3. Take ferry back to Naples/ arrange private transport to Prianio ( use as base for 8 nights)

Day 4. Prianio relax. marina di Praia

Day 5. Poisitano by boat ( short visit)

Day6. Fishing charter (Cetera or Maiori)

Day 7. Cooking class ( villa or farmhouse)

Day 8. Ferry day to Cetarz or Maiori)

Day 9. Private boat tour along coast

Day 10. Brief visit to Amalfi

Day 11. Free day .. beach, massage, lemon groved

Day 22 Depart Naples


This is rough outline.. I know there is much more to do and see..but I am attracted to not have to pack unpack often… and found Prianio to be charming… found Ischia less crowded and commercial vs Capri.. my husband and I love to fish.. thought a fishing charter would be fun..,

Lots of blanks to fill in but would love thoughts and advice.

Much better, IMO!
Just a few thoughts:

• Since you are trying to have a relaxing trip, you might shift one night from Praiano to Ischia because your current plan gives you only a day and some bits of two others for Ischia and you will have jet lag while there.
• Are you planning to stay in Praiano the night before your flight? If the flight home is late enough, that could work, but I always prefer to be near my departure airport the night before a flight.
• Don't skip Ravello!

May no doubt with what's on your list.

October weather can be iffy. Worse some things will have started closing down for the season.

Mid May you'll likely have great weather. Everything should be running .

way better, May would be better