Itinerary help again! Trip to Italy for 2 weeks
 

I came to this forum a few months ago and you guys helped narrow down my itinerary tremendously, but now I am considering adding in another element or two as we could now add a couple more nights to our itinerary.

Here is what I have so far, but I am thinking about adding 1 or 2 nights (I can't exceed 13 nights)
Venice - 3 nights (arriving from North America)
Florence - 4 nights
Rome - 4 nights (Plan was to depart here on our last day)
Pompeii - ? (day trip on our way to Capri, but then where do I leave the luggage?)
Isle of Capri - ?
Amalfi Coast - ?

I know there are a lot more facinating things to see in Italy besides beaches, but my husband and I LOVE going to the beach. I was wondering if it is worth checking out a beach? Also, my husband wants to see Pompeii and I want to see the Isle of Capri or the Amalfi Coast. Do you think I could add any of these places into my trip? If so, I am now confused on the departure of our trip...I guess we'd have to go back to Rome for our flight?

More info: we are in our late 20s, planning a "once in a lifetime trip" for either July or Sept of this year. Our only source of transportation while in Italy is by train.

Any ideas/help would be greatly appreciated!

First of al, you need to understand that most beaches in eurpe ar enot like the US. Most are either rocks or pebbles, they are often narrow and in the center of a town and in places they are private and you have ot pay the hotel or ? to sue them.

Nothing like the broad pure white sand beaches and pounding surf you are used to in the US - or even the Carib. There are some plces that have better beaches - but not always the easiest to reach - or near major sights.

You can spend a couple of night in Sorrento - or Capri if you prefer - and see Pompeii on the way down (but do leave at least 4 hours for it).

<i>First of al, you need to understand that most beaches in eurpe ar enot like the US. Most are either rocks or pebbles, they are often narrow and in the center of a town and in places they are private and you have ot pay the hotel or ? to sue them.</i>

A generalization to take with a grain of salt.

Go see Pompeii and Capri if you want and have the time, but do it before Rome---end in Rome.

Thanks - actually that's exactly what I wanted to hear to see if it is worth seeing a beach in Italy. Ok, now I could cross the beach idea off my list.

Is the Isle of Capri spectacular and worth seeing and spending about (2) nights there? I'm kind of nervous about going from Florence to Isle of Capri with our heavy luggage because we'd probably have to take 2 trains and 1 boat, correct?

So, here is the new itinerary...am I nuts?

6/30 - depart US (overnight flight)
7/1, 7/2, 7/3 Venice - 3 nights
7/4 take train to Florence
7/4, 7/5, 7/6, 7/7 Florence - 4 nights
7/8 take trains/boat to Isle of Capri
7/8, 7/9 Isle of Capri - 2 nights
7/10 Spend day in Pompeii, then travel to Rome
7/10, 7/11, 7/12, 7/13 Rome - 4 nights
7/14 Depart to US

Not bad!
Or, stay in Sorrento and day trip to both Capri and Pompeii.

bobthenavigator - thanks I haven't thought about that! I like your idea because I won't have to worry about our luggage! Thanks!

I just have to add that you are far too young to make a pronouncement that this wil be your "once in a lifetime trip". Once the Italian travel bug bites, it's hard not to scratch it - you'll be back, trust me.

hazel1 - haha thanks! I know there is definitely much to see! My husband and I are planning on starting a family next year...so lets just say this might be our last "big" trip for a little while :)

Just a note: You will not need heavy luggage for this trip. You will not need nearly as many things as you might think. Also, you are going at a hot time of year, so you won't need sweaters, jackets, etc. Three pairs of light weight pants/shorts or skirts, four or five light weight shirts, good shoes, under things and you are set. Honestly, you could do this trip with a carryon size piece of luggage if you wanted to.

I do agree with BTN, and think for your purposes, Sorrento would be a good base, easy to get everywhere else.

For me, four days in Florence is just too much. I would suggest a day (all day) trip to Siena, about 1 1/2 hours away by train or bus.

Check it out in your guidebook on Fodors or any other reputable book. Go there and you will understand why it's so highly recommended.

I was wondering about your time in Florence. Were you allowing 4 days so that you could take daytrips? If so, fine. If not, perhaps shave a day from Florence and add it to the South.

I've been to Capri both as a day trip and as a place to stay for three nights, and much preferred staying there. What we enjoyed most was exploring the island, and doing some longer hikes, or combining boat and bus trips with longer walks.

Now let me add this: I would not have done that type of hiking in July. No way.

So a nice hotel with a pool in Sorrento, or on Capri, or in Positano, would be very nice. You could combine a little bit of day tripping by boat with a little relaxing.

Sassafrass is so right about packing light. It will hot so you won't need heavy clothing, and really, if you pack light, you can rinse and go.

I would do this trip with carry on, but then, I do every trip with carry on.

It sounds like a great trip.

Last fall we were in Amalfi for four nights and went to Capri/Anacapri for the day. That is about as much as I wanted. I had heard about Capri for some time, but personally was not as fascinated as I expected to be.

In any event, we had our hotel arrange a driver to take us to Naples for the rest of our trip, and had him drop us off at Pompeii and wait. We engaged a guide while there and spend about 2.5 hours and then went on our way.

To be honest, we had been to Pompeii once before off a cruise ship and perhaps that is why 2.5 hours was enough. You might hear from other Fordorites that you need more time.

We loved Capri - actually preferred it to the Amalfi Coast. If you decide to visit Capri only as a day trip, I would skip it. We were there for 3 nights and loved the evenings and early mornings best of all. The day trippers and cruise ships made Capri town a bit hectic so we escaped to the countryside and to Anacapri for the mid day.

As for Florence, 4 days would not be enough for us. As you see, you will get many points of view from Fodorites. Take each piece of advice as a suggestion only and do your own research. After 8 trips to Italy, we are finally learning what we like best.

I agree with Rastaguytoday and tuscanlifeedit. It looks like you have planned too many days in Florence.
The main sites in Florence are fairly close together and you can walk between all of them. Piazza Michelangelo is a great site to visit, and it is possible to walk there from the Basilica. We had originally planned 3 full days in Florence, but instead spent only one and day tripped the rest, and felt that was enough.
If you want a laid back trip 4 days might work well for you, but if you want an active trip, you can plan on doing day trips for the extra days, or you could remove a night or two from Florence and add them to Venice or Rome. This depends on your interests, and your trip type.

Lessen one day in Florence or Venice, and stay 3 nts on the Sorrento coast or Amalfi Coast - the boat trip to Capri is right in the Sorrento Harbour. I would not stay in Capri.

Taking train rides from Florence to Sorrento Coast, and then a boat to Capri is too much in one day. I would take a day trip to Capri where you can have a nice swim in clear waters, and on another day do a trip to Pompei, you might also squeeze in a short trip to Positano or take a bus tour around the coast of Amalfi - the scenary is breathtaking, try not to miss these last two places by staying in Capri all the time.

Would you consider staying in Vico Equense - it is only a few kilometres away from Sorrento, and it has a train station with good connections to all places you want to visit, like Pompeii etc. It is conveniently situated north of Sorrento, so it is nearer to Pompeii. We stayed there at the Cubo Aparments, which are very close to the train station, they are brand new, very high tech apartments with a lovely view to the Vesuvius and Gulf of Naples. Ask for an apartment with best sea views. They also offer you for free a light breakfast each morning, either in their own cafeteria below the apartments or served to the apartments. The world famous Pizza al Metro is only a few steps away.

Wow lots of interesting points here. The only reason why I decided to stay in Venice (3) nights was the sole purpose of unwinding after an overnight flight.

As for the (4) nights in Florence, I was hoping to do (1-2) days checking out the Florence/museums, (1) day in Siena Village, (1) day in Pisa/Lucca. But, I feel like I'd almost rather spend more time in Capri, so I'm definitely considering cutting it down.

Now, I'm confused as to stay on the Isle of Capri or somewhere on the coast.

Also, I have (2) options - travel in July or Sept...any ideas of which would be better? I am not good with crowds, so I was thinking Sept would be better?

AllyG3,
As you are learning, there is a lot of passion about how much time to spend in Florence. I could not resist weighing in. IMHO you could spend the entire 4 days in Florence and have a wonderful experience. Accademia, Uffizzi, Bargelo and the Duomo museum for your art and sculpture fix. Santa Croce, the Duomo, Santa Maria Novella for your "church" fix. The other side of the Arno has THe Pitti Palace, and Brancahi Chapel. If you start feeling renaissance fatigue, FLorence has a very good archeological museum and there is always shopping shopping shopping at the central market, the gold stores near Santa Croce, the LEather SChool behind Santa Croce. I guess you get it. I love Florence. Regardless of what you finally settle on you will have the "trip of a lifetime" Good Luck

My last trip to the Amalfi Coast and Capri (stayed 2 nts) was mid-Sept and it was far too crowded for me! SITA buses were jam packed, late, and no-show. Capri was full of day tripping tour groups and huge carts of piled luggage wheeling throug the tiny streets. Had to move quickly to avoid being run over.

The part I liked about Capri most was the 2 hour boat tour I took around the island with the wind in my hair and silence!

My first trip to the Amalfi Coast was in mid-March - wow what a difference. Easy, half-empty buses. Great time to visit Pompeii.

After these two different experiences, I swore if I ever when to the AC again, I would go during the warm season - but park my B*** in a lovely villa with a pool and not go anywhere....

September is better than July - tho there are still significant numbers of tourists, there are fewer, and the weather is not so unberably hot.