DRoch

I have the flights now just need to find a place or two to stay.
Flying in to Rome 22nd of August
Leaving 6 September

Would like some suggestions on places to go and see/stay for a southern italy or coast tour.

Only Places I have been are Rome, Naples, Florence, Milan Venice

Not looking to tour all over but really just fine a couple places to spend a few days, relax in the Sun and enjoy the culture. Prefer the smaller towns but any suggestions would be great.

I also have the opportunity to fly into london and do a side trip before or after but I think 15 days would be great to see places. Do not want a tour and really only want to move 3-4 times at most.

tuscanlifeedit

I guess the obvious choices would be to head to the Amalfi Coast.

I would (and did, my first time) choose Positano, Capri, and some third place.

For me, another option would be to head north to the Golfo di Tigullio and maybe the Cinque Terre. I personally would not do the Cinque Terre, but everyone seems to like it a lot.

My choices would be Santa Margherita Ligure, Portofino, (too close to change locations) and one other place.

stevewith

If you really want to relax, I suggest you go to coastal areas that are not inundated with foreign tourists as well as native Italians on vacation. In some very famous coastal places that want to encourage repeat Italian summer tourism during the August holiday, foreign visitors can sometimes be at a loss as to how to negotiate a good spot on the beach or get the best in a restaurant.

You will also find moving around the famous coastal areas in the last week of August rather difficult, because almost every Italian has headed to the sea for vacation. It will be very busy and traffic-clogged.

Some lovely relaxing islands with small towns and beautiful food as well as scenery are Ponza and Ischia. Consider the beach town of Sperlonga south of Rome, or go south of Salerno to the area between Castellabate and Sapri.

North of Rome, the island of Elba could be lovely, and I wouldn't rule out Sardinia, especially if you can fly into London and catch a flight to Sardinia. After a few days there, you could catch a ferry or flight to Rome and head further south. But I wouldn't wade into the thick crowds of the Amalfi.

Reserving lodgings by June would be wise.

stevewith

PS: If you want to go to the Italian Riviera, pick places less crowded and expensive than Santa Margherita Ligure and Portofino. A town like Moneglia or Sestri Levante would be far less crowded (and you can visit the more famous Riviera towns from there by train) , and both are full of local charm. Even in these barely known towns, you will find securing a spot on the beach a competition in the height of the afternoon.

tuscanlifeedit

Of course stevewith makes excellent points. I neglected to take your time frame into serious consideration.

And you did say you liked small towns. His suggestions would probably suit more than mine. The famous places have their attractions (that's why their famous, I guess) but smaller and lesser towns are a great idea at the end of August. Not that they'll be empty.

I tend to go for the more well known places on a first visit to an area, but I'm a bit of a later in life traveler and have lots of hankerings for famous spots as well as a desire to see lesser known places on return trips.

A_Brit_In_Ischia

If intending to have some time in Rome, perhaps better to do most of that on arrival - some very good hotel deals to be enjoyed in August, which disappear once September starts.... plus the capital's likely to be much quieter!

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/romeaug08

I see a mention of Ischia above, where a particularly enjoyable time to visit is during the weekend of the first Sunday in September, when we've the festa for our local patron saint - San Giovan Giuseppe della Croce (who, somehow or another, gets celebrated twice, but with the other falling in March)...

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/ischfest

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/pics_sept

Come for that and you'd be travelling against the general flow, with most Italians ending their vacations and making their way northwards, back to the cities, by then - with many hotels here reducing their prices as August ends.

Try to avoid doing it the other way round, or you're likely to encounter peak prices and "busy-ness" almost everywhere:

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/image/147824249

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/image/122604639

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/image/130860386

Peter
http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde

DRoch

Thanks for all the suggestions. I had to pick my vacation days back in November and then there was First Class points availability that just popped up so I jumped on it. I would have like to do it all in September but I took what I could get. I have been to the bigger cities so this time its just to enjoy the culture. Beaches are nice but I will take a nice pool and an area with a lot of culture and I know that is most of Italy.

Also if I can get trains to most of the locations instead of renting a car I would be fine with it.