BNE801

I am taking my wife to Italy in October (8-22) for a "special" birthday. This will be our first trip there, so we'd appreciate some advice and assistance as to our itinerary.

I had planned the following:

Rome - 3 nights

Capri - 2 nights

Positano - 4 nights

Venice - 5 nights

However, we have decided to drop Capri, due to the logistics of getting there from Rome and then to Positano for what would be less than thirty six hours on the island.

The thought now is to spend four nights in Rome, then hire a car and drive to Positano, stopping to visit Pompeii on the way.

Is five nights in Venice too many? Would we be better to spend an additional night in Rome (total 5) and only four in Venice?

We'll be using Starwood points to stay in Venice. Are currently confirmed at Westin Europa & Regina, but have read VERY mixed reviews on the property, so are now considering Hotel Danieli and Hotel Gritti Palace.

Any and all advice, recommendations, and suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks!

fmpden

Venice at best is two or three nights and I would recommend two. Rome deserves five. Dropping Capri is a good idea. What about Florence ?? -- especially for a birthday.

navgator

Not sure if day trips were of interest to you, but you should be able to do a day trip to Capri from Sorrento ( not sure about Positano), if it is a place you'd really like to see. I did a three day tour last year incorporating a day trip to Capri and it was very enjoyable.

NorCal_Jo

How fun!

My husband and I took our first trip to Italy in Oct 2004 as follows:
3 nights Venice - Regina w/ Starwood points
3 nights Florence - Excelsior w/ Starwood points
2 nights Siena - non- Starwood
4 nights Rome - non-Starwood - Albergo del Senato

We loved Venice but we only really had 2 full days as day 1 was flying in and day 3 we left by noon on a train to Florence. One more day/night would have been perfect but as it was, we certainly felt we had the chance to explore the place. Conversely, I felt that 4 nights (but we only had 3 full days as we arrived at night and left on morning of 5th day) in Rome wasn't nearly enough. So, I'd recommend that you steal a day from Venice for Rome depending on how your travel days work out. There is so much to see and experience in Rome and it does take a bit to get oriented. Out of every museum in Italy (and we saw a lot), I loved the Galleria Borghese (and the Park) and Vatican museums in Rome by far the best.

In terms of the Regina, we were a little bit mixed on our stay. Our room was actually very nice (looked sideways out the balcony at the Grand Canal)and well appointed. However, I didn't feel all that well treated by the staff including the restaurant recommendations by the concierge were not good (found out the concienge was getting a kick-back from a restaurant he sent us to that was marginal which really irritated me!). So, although the location was great, I'm not sure we would stay there again and I also realized that being ON the Grand Canal was nice but not really a big deal. However, with that said, it will always be absolutely critical for me in the future to be very close to St. Mark's square as we closed each evening in Venice having a late nightcap at one of the various orchestra spots. The Regina was great from that respect as it was very close yet was nicely tucked away from the busier streets (you actually walk down a small empty street where we first thought we were lost but then it opened onto the Regina courtyard) Late at night St. Marks square is so wonderful as the big day crowds have gone home but there is still just the right level of activity to let you "sink into" the scene, people watch, enjoy the music, and feel transported into the wonder of Italy!

If you stay at the Regina you'll be fine I'm sure but get restaurant recs on Fodors! We also considered the Gritti palace and I can't remember why we ended up at Regina (perhaps number of points for the equal room).

capkirk1

As someone who has visited Rome many times and even lived there for awhile, I believe that you cannot spend enough time there. I would definately vote for spending less time in Venice and more in Rome. A lifetime, or more, would be needed to see the many treasures that Rome has to offer. However you decide to break the time up, have a wonderful trip!

ira

Hi B,

>Is five nights in Venice too many?

Absolutely not, especially for a special birthday.

Over the years, we have spent about 3 weeks in Venice and are still working through the "must see" list.

I think that you have a good idea in adding one night to Rome.

I suggest adding a night to Positano and using it for a daytrip to Capri.

>...hire a car and drive to Positano, stopping to visit Pompeii on the way.<

And what will you do with your car when you get to Positano?

May I suggest taking the train to Naples Centrale and hiring a limo (about 100E) to take you to Positano via Pompeii (you'll pay extra for the stop)?

You can visit Pompeii from Positano: take the ferry to Sorrento and the Circumvesuviana train to Pompei Scavi, return to Sorrento and take the SITA bus back.

Paestum is a very nice daytrip from Positano.

Take the ferry to Salerno. It docks about 3 blks from the train station. Train to Paestum. Return to Salerno and take the SITA bus back via Amalfi.

For Ferry schedules Positano – Amalfi - Salerno (P.zza della Concordia):
See http://tinyurl.com/j4ufa

Enjoy your visit.