Itinerary Help - Completely open to suggestions
 

I would really appreciate some help fine tuning our itinerary for a trip this October. This will be our first trip to Italy. I'm not looking for perfection and realize we can't possibly see everything. I'd like advice on catching the "highlights" ( recognizing this means different things to different people, but we're always open to opinions) . Our airfare and lodging are booked. My goal is to get a feel for each location and determine which areas to revisit in the future. I know we can't do justice to every city, but I always value your thoughts. Btw - it's only the Hubby and I - kids staying home with Grammy - yahoo !

Monday at noon - arrive in Venice
Tuesday - Venice
Wednesday - train to Florence in morning
Thursday - Florence
Friday - train to Rome
Saturday - Rome
Sunday - Rome
Monday - train to Sorrento in afternoon
Tuesday - Sorrento area
Wednesday - Sorrento area
Thursday - Sorrento area
Friday- Sorrento area
Saturday - to Naples, plane leaves at 1pm

I know the first week is smushed ( that's an official traveling term, isn't it ? ) and the second week is designed to be less scheduled with day trips to Pompeii, Capri and the Almafi Coast areas as we feel inclined. Any must-see advice is appreciated.

Re: Rome - Having a bit of a problem now finding the underground Colliseum tour info. I tried and can't get into Scavi tour. Any help on Vatican tour info. ? Has anyone done an evening tour ? I think I read those are only Friday nights, so it may already be booked.

Florence - Uffuzi and Accademia are on the agenda, still need to book

Thank you !

Not much on detail, but i LOVE your decision to finish the trip with 5 mights in Sorrento. You won't regret it.

Scavi tour...if you HAPPEN to be there anyway that day to see the Vatican, it doesnt hurt to go to the Scavi Tour office and just ask if they happen,possibly, plese, etc to have a space for two more that day. When we went, an entire family of 6 did just that!! (That was in 2005, dont know if things are diff now.)
Hope you dont mind me asking...what lodging in Sorrento? We were quite disappointed with the place we stayed at, and want suggestions for next time!

If your goal is to get a feel for the places you visit, in order to decide if you'd like to return and spend longer, do you really want to spend all that time doing heavy-duty museum and monument touring?

I'm a culture-vulture-museum-hound, so I'll understand perfectly if you say that's exactly how you want to spend your time. But you'll not get much of a feel for Rome or Florence from inside its warehouse museums or marching around the remnants of the ruins amid the tourist crowds.

The Uffizi, the Scavi tours, the Vatican -- they aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Even though I love touring the sights of antiqutiy and the churches in Rome, the "highlight" of being in Rome for me is the piazze, the fountains, the evening passeggiata. For Florence, I like to go into the smaller, little known museums. You might enjoy a walk in the hills near there.

Just tossing that out there.

For a few of the places that are within reach of Sorrento, you might try these....

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

Almost all can be done in a fairly simple daytrip, with magnificent Paestum perhaps the most tiring!

And as well as the year-round services in and out of Naples, and from Capri to Sorrento, there should still be several seasonal lines open - although it would be wiser to firm up on those (a lot) nearer the time....

Peter

Consider staying in Naples the night before your flight. So often things go wrong in Italy: there's a strike, a breakdown, an auto accident that blocks the road. You don't want to chance missing that flight.

You're taking a bit of a chance with the weather in October, having the bulk of your time in Sorrento. Most of the sightseeing around there is much better in good weather. Well, you could always take the Circumvesuviana back to Naples and go to a museum. Plus I expect you're looking for relaxation on this leg. Being holed up in your hotel would be very relaxing.

We're in our ninth year of living only 20 miles or so from Sorrento, and I'm lost for words.... which is probably just as well?

Peter

forget Capri, spend the time on the Amalfi coast, from Positano all the way to Paestum

Sorrento

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Positano

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>My goal is to get a feel for each location and determine which areas to revisit in the future.<

Which is why you are spending half of your visit in Sorrento?

((I))

The Colisseum underground tour is so far not scheduled to be open after September 30th. I've been checking weekly and recently read that a private company has funded a large restoration project in the Colisseum and it sounds like it may be starting in October, so I wouldn't count on the underground tour.

Since you mentioned revisiting Italy in the future, here is another angle you can look at your itinerary.

If you look at the itinerary based on current interest alone, then the itinerary allocation might be appropriate for you.

However, think about returning to Italy several times. Would you look at the current itinerary the same way? Looks like you are from the U.S., so you will likely to be landing in Milan, Venice, or Rome and to much lesser degree Florence, Pisa, Genoa, or Napoli. What it means is that you will visit these airport cities whether it is your primary interest for your trip or not -- it will be automatically added to your itinerary. For this reason, I don't purposely allocate much time in Rome on any one trip because over many Italian trips, I tend to land or depart from Rome anyway.

Florence, Rome...of course in Italy! But Sorrento...nice place to be. I'd say yes to Capri and of course Positano and Amalfi Coast and surely Naples...yes might indeed stay overnight there just be be sure on air connection. But you are booked? No mention of Pompeii?

Bill in Boston