Need advice on visiting Pompei
 

Would it be possible to visit Tuscany, Florence, Pompeii, and Rome if you have two weeks? These are areas my husband and I would like to visit but would like to spend most of our time in Tuscany area.

Sure. Base yourself in the Chianti region (anywhere from Florence to Monteriggioni) and you can even daytrip into Florence. (That's what we will do when we go back. We loved Tuscany.) Plan for 4 or 5 nights in Rome and you could do a day trip to Pompeii easily from there.

Pompeii is absolutely fantastic. You should not miss it. And Rome is pretty amazing as well. With two weeks you'll have plenty of time for a good dose of intense city time.

I think it is a doable schedule; however, I don't know if I'd want to try to do Pompeii as a day trip. Why not stay a night on the Amalfi coast. We did Pompeii in a day and were exhausted.

Definitely doable. We did it and enjoyed every minute. However, I could not go to Italy without seeing the Amalfi Coast so I gave up days in Tuscany for that experience but it was worth it for me.<BR><BR>However, whenever we return to Italy, we will definitely spend more time in Tuscany/Umbria. <BR><BR>And Rome certainly does require 4 or 5 days. It is a fabulous city.<BR>

Definitely doable. We did it and enjoyed every minute. Pompeii was one of the highlights of our trip. I would not miss it.<BR><BR>However, I could not go to Italy without seeing the Amalfi Coast so I gave up days in Tuscany for that experience but it was worth it for me.<BR><BR>However, whenever we return to Italy, we will definitely spend more time in Tuscany/Umbria. <BR><BR>And Rome certainly does require 4 or 5 days. It is a fabulous city.<BR>

Just so you know, Didi, Pompeii is about 3 hours by train from Rome.

Thank you everyone for your great advice on visiting Pompei! We definitely would love to spend a day or two on the Almalfi coast as well. What do you think of this itinerary:<BR><BR>Fly into Rome, (approx. 3-4 days)<BR>Rent car and drive down Almalfi coast, stay approx. (1-2 nights)<BR><BR>Drive back to Rome and take train to Florence, rent car<BR>Drive to Tuscany area, (approx 5-7 nights)<BR><BR>Take train to Milan, fly out of Milan <BR><BR>Any suggestions? I'm confused as to whether we should see Venice or not! I'm so confused, please help!!

Well Rome is closer to Florence than Milan is.. plus it's a 45 min bus/train ride from Milan Central to Malpensa. I'd save yourself the $$ of the open-jaws trip and just fly in/out of Rome.<BR><BR>I'd only fly out of Milan if you plan on going to Venice. Venice -&gt; Milan is about a 2.5 hour train ride, so not terrible. You can fit in Venice into your 2 week plan, it's the pretty classic Italian 2 week itinerary. 3 days Rome, 2 days Amalfi/Pompei, 5 days Tuscany, 3 days Venice, fly out on 14th day.<BR><BR>If you do decide to go that route, my advice is to not attempt to rush and see everything. See what you can at a leisurely pace, and make mental notes of what you miss so you can see them on your return trip. Any excuse to come back to Italy is a good one. Good luck.

In my experience, international open-jaw tickets rarely cost any more money, in fact some times it's cheaper. However, RAR is correct, Florence is closer to Rome than it is to Milan, albeit only by about 15 miles.<BR><BR>The part of the itinerary I would change would be the car rental. It makes little sense to rent a car in Rome to drive to the Amalfi coast and back, turn it in, train to Florence and then rent a car again for exploring Tuscany.<BR><BR>I would train down to the Amalfi coast from Rome and then either train all the way to Florence and get a car, or rent a car in Sorrento and drive to Tuscany. You could break the trip up over a day and spend the night in Orvieto or some other place of interest. Turn the car in at Malpensa airport (or FCO of flying out of Rome).<BR><BR>Trying to fit Venice in this trip would really be pushing it IMO. You'll be racing around so much you won't enjoy yourself.<BR><BR>How about:<BR>3 nights in Rome<BR>train to Amalfi, 3 nights in Amalfi<BR>rent car in Sorrento, drive to Orvieto for one night.<BR>5 or 6 nights visiting Tuscany / Florence<BR>last night in Rome or Milan for a wonderful going away dinner.<BR><BR>Have fun whatever you decide.