I have 21 days in italy. i want to start off in Venice, go to Rome, to Positano, to capri to reggio calabria, and then back up to spend 7 days in the Florence/Cinquterra area. I have to back track, because I am meeting my mom in Florence at the end of the trip. I'll be traveling with a family of 4

I really need advise on how to plan to get to these areas. When to take the trains, when to rent a car. You all seem way more knowlegable than my AAA travel agent. A sample itinerary would be great which includes train and car rentals. Anybody willing to take the time???

To breathe: It's very hard to tell someone how to do a trip, but if this is your first trip to Italy, I would spend 2 to 3 nights in Venice, train to Rome (EuroStar about 6 hours), train to Naples and depending on the time of year you can take the jet boat to Positano. Otherwise take the train to either Salerno or Sorrento and take a bus to Positano. Or better yet, from Naples take the jet boat to Capri first, then a jet boat to Positano. From Positano, take a bus to Salerno and take the train to Reggio Calabria. From Calabria I would rent a car and allow a few days to drive through all the small towns on the way back to Florence. Driving is very easy ouside the large cities. Get a good map. It would be a memorable trip.

Get Rick Steves books and others to read up on all the areas. You'll have a wonderful time.

The public transportation system is really great in Italy.

In Naples you just get a taxi with a meter and tell them to take you to Molo Beverello. That's the closest port to the Central station.

Taxis on the Amalfi Coast are extremely expensive, more so than in other parts of Italy.

Hi breathe,

You might want to start with "Helpful Information: Italy".

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34443340

Ann1 Wonderful info. I like the idea of taking trains buses,and boats all the way down, and saving the car for on the way back! I've never heard about the jet boats to capri and positano. Do you have a web site for that? ira, great web sites!! I can't wait to tackle them. Is there a particular web site which will help with figuring out how long it takes to get from one city to the next via train? Thank you both!

I forgot to mention that I will be traveling in July

Hi Breathe: I'm not at home right now to access my favorites, but do a search for Alilauro and Caremar aliscafo (jet boats). Naples has aliscafi (or singular aliscafo) that ferry people from Naples to the other islands and areas. Some are hydrofoil and some are just regular jet boats. They also have large ferries that take much longer and transport vehicles. They leave often so whatever time you get to the port another aliscafo will be leaving within the hour. In July you should be able to get a boat to Positano because they usually run in the summer months. Capri you can get a boat any time of the year.