Judy_Rosa,

Have you checked out whether you can fly out of Napoli using FF miles?

If flying out of Venice is really the cheapest option, consider kissing son + GF goodbye in Florence and going to the Amalfi first. Shorter trip down. Take a fast train from Florence to Napoli and -- if you can afford it -- get a taxi to take you to the Amalfi coast. More than 100 euros for the taxi I would guess, but double check, and the taxi ride is about an hour.

If you can't afford the taxi, then you've got maybe as much as another 3 hours of travel by commuter train and bus from Napoli Centrale to the Amalfi coast. (I don't think you can get a ferry from Salerno in March/April, but I could be wrong, double check).

When you leave the Amalfi, unless you can afford a taxi to Napoli Centrale, you will have a long bus + train journey to get to Venice: Perhaps as long as 3 hours to from the coast to catch a train in Napoli, and 5 hours on the train to Venice.

If you can fly out of Napoli for Venice prices, then obviously go to Venice first from Florence. Then, of course, you would have the long train ride the other way, and even if you take public transportation from Napoli Centrale to the coast to save the cost of a taxi, I don't think there is any avoiding taking a taxi from the coast to fly out of Napoli airport.

So up to you to decide if you want to do all that train travel back and forth across Italy.

Andrew,

I wrote in my first post in this thead: "I think Andrew can only speak for himself -- and he shoud." Other people have arrived to contradict your narrow view of Pisa. The thread isn't about you. I think the decision to go to Pisa has already been made. I think it is unfair to keep up this sniping in her thread. Basta.

<Take a fast train from Florence to Napoli and -- if you can afford it -- get a taxi to take you to the Amalfi coast. More than 100 euros for the taxi I would guess, but double check, and the taxi ride is about an hour. >

Be very careful with this advice. It is completely wrong. If you get off the train in Naples, jump in a taxi and say 'take me to the Amalfi Coast' you will end up with a metered journey. If a taxi is your choice, then Naples' taxis have fixed fares. There is a fixed fare of 120 euro to Positano, a fixed fare of 130 euro to Amalfi and 135 euro to Ravello. They are the only towns with fixed fares - all else is metered.

You can't hop into a taxi and expect the driver will give you the fixed fare either. You need to ask for it. There are laminated tariff cards in the front passenger's seat pocket with these fare structures on them - they will be there as this is required by law. Ask for this fare - known as 'tariffe predeterminate" - Ask to see the card and point them out to the driver before the cab leaves the station and ensure he understands this is your fare.

Sorry if this sounds overly laborious but if you don't do this, then the consequences will be very expensive.

It takes 1.5 hours to get from Naples to Positano by road, more if there are roadworks.

There are also many car service companies who run between Naples and the Amalfi Coast. Their pricing is equivalent to taxis.

B-e-cd,

It's not "completely wrong." (Really blueyedcod, get another hobby than trying to constantly refute me.) And please let's not insult the traveler's intelligence. Only in movies from the 50s do people jump into Italian taxis with their luggage and say things like "Take me to the Amalfi coast!" I think Judy_Rosa does know that if she and her husband decide to go, they will need to know the name of which town on the coast and how much it costs to get there before they speak to the taxi driver. And yes, be aware of shady dealers.

But silly me, I thought we might first wait to see if the travelers are even going to the Amalfi, and if so, what their budget is, before getting into details for taxis vs arranging a car service pick up, and the pros and cons of each.

But hey, whatever happened to your "it's so easy to get to Positano" broken record -- ? Suddenly even taking a taxi is "laborious"?

Judy_Rosa,

I had another idea for you while cooking pasta, which is that since you originally planned a whole week in Rome, how about proposing to your son + GF that they take the morning train up to Pisa and you'll catch them later in Florence?

If you and your husband really want to go to Pisa too, then by all means go, and skip reading the rest of this. But I was just thinking that maybe you would enjoy the extra morning in Rome, and the son + GF (who won't have but a week's worth of luggage) might enjoy the excursion on their own. Since you've already been to Florence, you could dawdle in Rome until after lunch and still probably beat the younger couple to wherever you're staying in Florence. Or if Florence is your favorite place on earth, you might enjoy getting there early and doing a few things on your own.

Just one possibility.

Also, when this trip was all about a week in Rome with your husband, you were looking to rent an apartment. You can find apartments for short-stays in both Rome and Florence, but if possible I would suggest seeing if you can find one with 2 baths. Sometimes another excellent option is a b&b rather than a hotel for affordability and charm.

The Easter holiday is also school break time in Europe. So yes, it would be wise to book in advance tickets to the Vatican, and other sites in Rome. and then when you settle on your other stops with or without DS and GF, look into booking for other places in Pisa, Florence Venice or wherever you may be where you can expect crowds.

Thanks everyone for your feedback!

Sandralist - can you recommend a B&B and a apartment rental service you might have used? I'd also enjoy Pisa if it fits into the itinerary. Since I'll stay an additional week there's a lot of wiggle room in my plans - DS and GF are more limited with their time.

Jean -- thanks for the link, will check it out! I'll be sure to buy tickets in advance, especially since we'll visit Pisa for just a few hours.

I believe American Airlines can fly me home via Naples through one of its partners, I'll check that out too. Great idea!

irishface - Cinque Terre is also on my bucket list - not sure I'll be able to fit everything into this trip, but CT is certainly an option if we decide against AC.

Andrew - thanks for the train schedules link, will look into all those options.

I would be happy to return to Florence and that might be exactly what we do....when DS and GF return home, we'll stay an additional week. Right now I'm just trying to figure out the logistics for the first half of the trip.

maxima - point well taken. As soon as our flights are booked, I'll start making reservations for places to stay, as well as the major sights in Rome and our other destinations.

EYWandBTV - so glad you enjoyed my Spain TR! I still dream about Barcelona and Seville and all the beautiful places and things we saw. And the Jamon Iberico.....sigh.....
Which cities in Spain did you travel to? Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

I didn't realize there was so much hiking in the Amalfi Coast - sounds fantastic!

Since I'm just starting to research for this trip, the possibilities are endless and the more feedback I receive the more ideas keep popping into my head.

I'll look for your Amalfi Coast TR - am sure to find some great ideas!

Blueeyedcod and Sandralist --

I've read that there is car service (my brother and sister in law have been to AC) at a reasonable cost and it's a much more comfortable ride instead of taking a train or bus.

I'm still figuring out the geographical logistics (Rome to 'somewhere' including a pit stop in Pisa to 'somewhere else' then back home, hahaha)....but I do appreciate all the information you both as well as the other contributors to this thread have given me.

I like Pisa, but find the Campo a little dull though it gets better after 8pm and before 8am. Pisa has turned its back on its river in many ways, however it is still possible to trace the old walls and towers that defended them to the north, while a number of little chapels spot the town in the oddest of place.

If it were me I'd either go for 24 hours or not go at all, but you have to make your own minds up.

If using trains out of Rome there are a number of interesting places you can visit which offer you both international tourism and a certain view of Italy. The obvious are Venice and the trio of Lucca/Pisa/Florence I suggest you focus on those first along with Rome during your Son GF visit.

Once they are out of the way you can do more of what you two like, there is lots including Como, Bologna, CT, Dolomites and indeed staying in Tuscany. Grab a book, I suggest Rough Guide which at >1000 pages is especially good value per page and make some decisions.

Good advice, thank you for the feedback.

<<I've read that there is car service (my brother and sister in law have been to AC) at a reasonable cost and it's a much more comfortable ride instead of taking a train or bus.>>

That is (partially) correct (only partially correct because you cannot reach the AC via train). The driver I always hire to take me from the Naples airport to Positano charges a flat 100 euro. Once I had to take a taxi from the Naples airport to Positano (miscommunication with my driver on my end) and I simply went up to the taxi rank, told them where I wanted to go, asked how much it was and they told me $120, so I got it and had a crazy ride to Positano!

Ferries on the AC usually do not start running until after April 1, so keep that in mind if you are planning alot of sightseeing.

If you are at all interested in Greek temples, Paestum is a wonderful sight just south of the AC, reachable via train or bus from Salerno.

and I simply went up to the taxi rank, told them where I wanted to go, asked how much it was and they told me $120, so I got it and had a crazy ride to Positano!>>

eck - this reminds me of the crazy ride we had from Naples to Sorrento with our italian class - the Sunday afternoon traffic was horrendous [i think it was the end of Carneval week in Naples] and our driver was getting very frustrated with the route taken by the other driver for our party, so much so that he was on the mobile phone to him almost constantly, arguing and even with my limited knowledge of Italian, and more limited knowledge of neapolitan dialect, obviously giving him a good tongue lashing.

At some point we had to stop at a petrol station, and the driver of the other van ill-advisedly came back to talk to ours, and got another blast for his pains, which was followed by the neapolitan equivalent of a challenge to a punch-up! Eventually our driver was persuaded to calm down and we made it to Sorrento in more or less good order.

when it came to the journey back to Naples at the end of the week, I was interested to see that though the driver of the other car was the same as the week before, our car had a different driver!

So...there are no ferries from the AC to Capri until after April 1? Or am I misunderstanding this?

Before I get all caught up in the smaller details, I am still figuring out dates and basic locations we'll fly into/out of.

But will keep this in mind....thank you!

Hi Judy Rosa:

I thought your dates for flying into Rome on Easter -- March 27 -- were seT, and that if you first spend a week with your family, you would be going to the Amalfi (if you go) after April 1? Other people would know better than I do, but one post indicated that the ferries "usually" start running after April 1, but perhaps this year thay would also be running on Easter weekend (which is a popular time for many to visit the Amafli, including Italians).

Often it makes more sense for people to first figure out exactly where they want to go in Italy and then figure out the best airports/best air tickets. But your interest FF miles is very understandable, which will dictate your airports. All I can say is that once you make the best air deal, I can assure that wherever the departure airports are, you can find fantastic, fabulous, beautiful, jawdropping nearby places to visit and even hike wherever those airports are located.

Hi sandralist!

Thank you for your continued feedback.

Yes, dates are 'almost' set (March 24-25 with DS and GF returning April 1 or 2).....

I've given DS and GF all the city options for their return. We will most likely start our trip in Rome. GF is researching what they'd like to see beyond Rome (either with or without Pisa).

Since DH and I are staying an extra week, I've given them the freedom to choose where they want to visit after staying a few days in Rome. That will determine which airport they fly home from.

DH and I can fly home from basically anywhere we visit after they leave. So, for now, my goal is to establish firm timelines and airport departure for DS and GF.

Does that make sense?