marketridge

Buongiorno from down-under in sunny Australia....

By good fortune, we have been able to coordinate a holiday (for a HUGE 2 weeks! - hey, we'll take it!) landing in Rome on 15th April and heading out on 29th April.

The time between those dates right now is completely blank and understanding Easter also falls during this period, I attempted to draw up a "draft" itinerary.

15th - 18th Rome (3 nights)
18th - Travel Rome - La Spezia (trains)
18th - 21st Cinque Terre (4 nights)
21st - Travel La Spezia - Florence (trains)
21st - 25th Florence (4 nights)
25th - Travel Florence - Sorrento (trains)
25th - 27th Sorrento (2 nights)
27th - Travel Sorrento - Rome (trains)
27th-29th Rome (2 nights)

The family of 4, me, wife, Son(15) and daughter(13) will make the journey, a few obvious questions I can see for further investigation are
1. Is 4 nights at La Spezia too much?
2. Travel from Florence to Sorrento on 25th (Easter Mon) feasible?
3. Is there too much trying to be seen in too short a time?

Any advice from the natives of Fodors, very much appreciated.

cheers!

sarge56

I think five cities in 14 days is a lot. And would recommend you don't split up Rome. Just spend all your time in Rome at either beginning or end of trip. You want to have a vacation, not spend all your time travelling.

If you are flying into Rome, just make it your last stop. Head to your first destination as soon as you land in Rome. This way, on your last day, you don't have to be worrying about train strikes or weather issues, etc. Much more relaxing to just put Rome at the end of the trip. IMHO.

Have a wonderful time! (I'll be leaving Italy the day you get there!)

see_the_world7

You also don't say if your flights are already booked. If not, you could consider flying in to Rome, and out of either Florence or Pisa so that you don't have to travel back to Rome at the end. I only mention Pisa since we didn't find many options in/out of Florence. If you were able to do this I'd try to get to Sorrento first, then work your way back north.

marketridge

Thank you both for your advice...

The flights are booked (locked in) and we will arrive and depart from Rome...

Certainly take your points on board in relation to leaving Rome til the end and perhaps going South first....

cheers

romelimousineplus

I think that 4 nights in the Cinqueterre is too much.
That's a good place for spending your time in relaxing walking around. The landscapes are wonderful there.
I think that the area of La Spezia-Cinqueterre and Sorrento-Positano are somewhat similar.

greg

I also recommend consolidating all your Rome stay in one piece. Of the destinations you listed, Florence is the easiest one to travel to on the arrival day, then Sorrento, then La Spezia. Doing so also avoids traveling on the Easter and allows you to shift one or more days from Rome to Sorrento.

I personally under-stay in the gateway cities like Rome because pretty much any trip to middle or southern Italy involves landing or leaving from Rome so I can easily add Rome to any subsequent trips. That is not the case for Sorrento.

love_travel_Aus

As you have a very long haul flight and are only staying away fourteen nights I suggest you consider not too much rushing from place to place - it takes up more time than just the rail journey (or the drive).

So: agree that you should consolidate your Rome stay until the end, suggest you land and head directly to Florence (or somewhere else north) and spend your 4 nights there.
Then you need to decide if you really want to head to Cinque Terre, and then head back down south and do the Sorrento part of your journey.
Will you and your teenagers prefer hiking and scenic walking, or are you keen to spend some time at Pompei?

I realize that Venice is not everyone's favorite - but I might be tempted to include it and then drop CT but still include Sorrento.
Our young adult daughter loved Venice - but that is something you might discuss over this weekend and whilst the offspring are still on summer holidays.
You could go straight to Venice - not too demanding to arrive in with jet lag, then Florence, then Sorrento then Rome.
This is getting busy though and moving from place to place always eats into your time..

Some posters here will get annoyed that I have suggested a place you haven't got on your list - so only a thought!

We were in Rome for Easter about four years ago and things were not all shut down until the Sunday and then we managed to find plenty of places to eat and we spent a beautiful and sunny Easter day morning walking around Rome and watching all the families head off to lunch.

With a family of four have a look at the possibility of some places using apartments - if they allow shorter stays - helps for personal space and the like!
Also check carefully if you are tempted to get hotel rooms for four - they are often much smaller than you really want - even for a few days.
We are fairly frequent travelling Aussies - and that includes with three children at varying ages so if you have any other questions ask away.

Happy planning for a wonderful April holiday.

cathies

Hi marketridge, we were in Italy in 2008 and went to both Sorrento and to Cinque Terre. We live in Sydney and not that far from the gorgeous beaches. To be honest, we were a bit sorry that we chose two seaside places to visit. If I were planning your trip I would drop either Sorrento or Cinque Terre and add Venice instead.

I know another poster suggested going straight to your first stop, which is fine as long as it is an easy trip. But when we arrived in Rome from Sydney we were in desperate need of a shower and a walk (in that order). So, I would possibly suggest that you have one night in Rome to get yourselves rested etc. Or, you could go straight from Rome to Florence as that's a much shorter trip.

Anyway, I hope you have a great trip, just make sure you don't spend too much time travelling from one place to another. Remember that you will lose at least 1/2 a day each time you move cities.

marketridge

Hey, thanks again for the advice!

A couple of things I should have added...
1. We have previously visited Italy (in 2007) and stayed at Venice for a few days (so we have sort of ticked that box - though we will return on another opportunity).
2. We did get to Cinque Terre, but the planning was atrocious and we werent able to stay longer than a couple of hours, which is why we were wanting to go stay there for some time this trip.
3. Totally agree with Cathies regarding the shower/walk, so may stay in Rome for that first day/night...

A lot of the feedback getting getting discussed at this end...I think the latest model is now to consider the following...

15th Rome
16th Travel Rome to Sorrento
16-19th Sorrento
19th Travel Sorrento to CT
19th - 21st CT
21st Travel CT - Florence
21st-25th Florence
25th Travel Florence - Rome
25th-29th Rome

Based on the advice of keeping Rome at the end of the trip and heading South first....
In regards to the fair comments on the Sorrento and CT being beachside locations, understood - though I have Sorrento as my num 1 location and the wife has CT as hers....

cheers!

cathies

That sounds good. Rome to Sorrento is fairly easy and there's lots to see in that part of Italy. We loved Pompeii and spent the best part of a day there. My husband teaches Ancient History so I was lucky to have my own personal tour guide! Maybe you could consider catching a fast train straight to Naples and spend the first night there? It's not too far and you would then only be a little way from Sorrento.

love_travel_Aus

Hi marketridge - sounds like you are making great progress with a workable plan.

If you are traveling straight through from Sydney you might be better off with a shower and rest - and some yummy food and lots of fresh air before the train rides.

Have fun making all your decisions - it is always interesting when you only have two weeks - as we often do - having to pick places and not feel the urge to do too much.
To make things complicated for us I always feel I haven't been to Europe if I haven't had a visit to some Alps somewhere - and that can get tricky!

Not sure how many ancient sites your teenagers can cope with but I think Ostia Antica is well worth the effort when you are in Rome.
I have shown photos and described parts of it to similar age students here at home and they were really interested and impressed.

Cheers and happy planning.

greg

Suppose you are staying in Rome on the first day, are you arriving in Rome late enough that you can check-in to your hotel/apt on arrival?

The hotels will allow you to leave the luggage until the room is ready, but you cannot take shower or rest. In this type of case, I am even more motivated to travel onto the first destination.

sarge56

I'm with greg and highly, highly recommend you just keep on to your first destination upon arrival. You can catch the Leonardo Express train from the airport to Termini station in Rome. They leave every half hour. And it takes about 1/2 hour to get to Termini.

Just turn right around and get on that train to Naples or Sorrento. The problem is that if you stop in Rome, you will not be inclined to get up early in morning and head to your destination. You will lose another day to travel.

And remember, the trains are very comfortable and you can easily nap on your way to Naples/Sorrento.

Experience leads us seasoned travelers to push that agenda.

Have a great time!

ellenem

I think its easier to continue on to Florence as a first destination on arrival--fewer transfers from one mode of transport to another than heading to Sorrento . . .

For Florence first: FCO to Roma Termini to Florence to hotel
For Sorrento first: FCO to Roma Termini to Naples to Sorrento to hotel

There is a bus that goes directly to Sorrento from Rome, but it may not align well with your schedule.

Your itinerary might look like this:

15th - 19th arrive Rome; train immediately to Florence (4 nights)
19th - Train Florence to La Spezia
19th - 22nd Cinque Terre (3 nights)
22nd - Train La Spezia to Sorrento
22nd - 25th Sorrento (3 nights)
25th - Train to Sorrento to Rome
25th-29th Rome (4 nights)

cathies

Hi ellenem, my suggestion was to go to Naples, rather than travel on to Sorrento. However, your suggestions are good too. Florence is an easy train ride from Rome.

love_travel_Aus

I think ellenem has a really good itinerary suggestion there.

We have often just kept going after similar long haul flights if you cannot get straight into a hotel so do give it some thought. I had assumed that you might be arriving late enough to do this so maybe re think that.
This is a simpler itinerary and works well - at least I think so!

Cheers...

sarge56

True. It is only 90 minutes from Termini to Florence on the high speed train. Good itinerary, ellenem.

JCSydney

My vote is also to go straight to Florence from Rome, you want minimum transfers. It is exhausting after the long haul flight, keep it simple.

Cathies - out of interest, did you prefer CT or Sorrento, if you had to choose one of these two? I have just begun planning a trip to Paris and Italy in Sep/Oct, from Sydney and am having 2nd thoughts about two seaside places.

Dayle

marketridge,

On my last trip, I did land in Rome and go directly to Praiano (Amalfi Coast). I was sorry, as it was just too much for me. Even though I actually slept a whole 4 hours on the flight (first time ever), I was exhausted and it took way longer than I had planned. Crowded SITA buses caused an additional hour wait before getting to Praiano, so it ended up be nearly a whole day of travel.

I would recommend at least 3 days in Sorrento. Even that it much too short for all the area offers. Personally, I would never choose Sorrento. If you want the real Amalfi Coast feel, stay ON the coast in one of the smaller towns.

Have fun!

marketridge

Some more great advice - thank you.

Just a few points to throw in with the advice...
1. We arrive at 6am on the 15th (so we wont be able to head straight to the hotel to check in)
2. Friday the 22nd is Easter Friday and I am assuming that (similar to here in West Aust) that the trains (and nearly everything else will be closed for business or on very limited supply (hence the desire not to travel on this day)
3. very good point about considering the "easist" location to go from Rome as soon as we land (be it Florence or Naples)

Looks like the itinerary is getting ready for a third iteration!