Laurie11

Hi,

I will be traveling to Italy for the first time in March/April and will have approximately 8 days. My flight will be in and out of Rome. How easy is to get to Florence and Amalfi and are there suggestions for places to stay that are centrally located? If there is a place that offers cooking lessons all the better. Any suggestions for # of days in each area? Is the train the best way to get to each of these? I won't be renting a car!

Lorac1127

Since this is your first trip, I would suggest that you consider limiting your trip to two locations--either Rome and Florence or Rome and Amalfi.

In March/April, the Amalfi Coast is relatively quiet with some of the hotels closed until April. The up side is that there are no crowds and very little traffic. We enjoyed it very much in March...quiet but nice.

Since I like balancing the countryside with cities, I would probably opt for Rome and Amalfi...

If you do go to Florence, this cooking school in Florence came very highly recommended to me and I will definitely try her the next time we are in Florence: http://www.divinacucina.com/

Laurie11

Thanks for your response. I was set to go to Tuscany till I started looking at the Amalfi Coast. I'm always drawn to the water. I'll have to check into those cooking classes. Thanks for the tip!

bobthenavigator

I agree with Lorac. Do Rome and the AC that time of year and pray for good weather.

HowardR

Another vote for the Rome/Amalfi Coast combine.

frostycp

A tough decision for sure. But only 8 days, you must decide if you want the water but with cooler temperature or if you would prefer sightseeing in perfect temperature with some cooking as well. I would take the Rome and Tuscany combo for this time of year.
www.travelworlddiscovery.com

ira

Hi Laurie,

I think that you will be too early for the AC.

I suggest Rome and Florence for this trip, especially since you are interested in cooking classes.

Diva (of http://www.divinacucina.com/) is a regular contributor to www.slowtrav.com.

You can search the site for her contributions.

fluffy

Laurie,
If you're interested in going to the beach or laying poolside the AC will be too cold in March, no crowds... there's a reason. Florence and Rome would be a good combo. You could alos do a day trip to Siena from Florence easily.
Best of luck
Fluffy