CMurphy88

Hi All! I am starting to get the hang of the site and have really appreciated all the help I have received on other posts. My husband and I along with another couple are heading to Italy in September. We have our itinerary but I am wondering if people could help us with restaurant ideas, sightseeing must see, and any other special things to do or see. We have a limited amount of time in each place due to work schedules and a wedding, but here is what we have booked.

Arrive to Rome and head to Ravello
3 nights in Ravello
2 nights Capri
3 nights Florence for wedding
2 nights Rome

So far we don't have much planned for Ravello. Probably will use the first day to relax and stroll around and start to get on Italy time.

In Capri we have booked an island tour & Blue Grotto along with dinner one night at Paolino.

We will head to Naples from Capri and were planning on having pizza for lunch there before taking the train to Florence. Where should we go for lunch?

We won't have too much time to really sightsee in Florence except for a few hours one day and one night because of the wedding festivities. What are some favorite things to do?

In Rome my husband and I have a tour guide/driver for about 7 hours to tour Rome. What are some must sees? I know we wont get to do and see everything, so what are a few places we should see and enjoy. We will definitely see the colosseum. (Forgot to mention when we land in Rome we are going to Vatican because it will not be open on Sunday when we are actually staying in Rome)

So yes, we have a few things planned, but would love some other recommendations, advice, ideas, and some of your favorite places and things to do. Thanks so much!

nytraveler

Do I understand that in one day you are coming in on an overnight flight, seeing the Vatican (museums? St Peters? other parts?) and then continuing to Ravello in the same day?

I must say this seems impossible in terms of time, dealing with luggage and exhaustion and then trekking a long distance to Amalfi Coast. Or are you spending a night in Rome and then heading for Ravello. Otherwise you will probably just fade out halfway through the day.

StCirq

Agree that if your plan is to arrive in Rome and go straight to the Vatican, that is a terrible idea. For one thing, the Vatican tour takes a few hours, and you'll be inside, instead of outdoors getting the Vitamin D you need to get over jetlag. And what will you do with your luggage? You'll be half dead before you get to the Etruscan halls.

The rest sounds awfully rushed too, but that first day is a non-starter.

mamcalice

I realize no one really wants to hear this after they have already planned the trip but your 10 days in Italy is impossibly rushed and you have so little time to enjoy Rome. See what you can do to slow down and see the really worthwhile things. I agree with the others that you simply can't follow your first day itinerary. I suggest going immediately to Ravello and seeing Rome at the end. When do you have to be in Florence and when is the wedding?

bobthenavigator

How do you get to Ravello?
That day one could be a classic.

Mimar

Yes, Ravello is not an easy place to get to or from. It's high in the hills above the Amalfi coast, great views but quite a small town with sparse bus service. Or do you plan to drive? Is there a particular reason you picked Ravello instead of Amalfi or Positano or Sorrento?

StCirq

Well, there's no way she's going to land in Rome, go to the Vatican, and get to Ravello on the same day anyway, no matter what form of transportation she uses - unless she hires a helicopter.

Dayle

I will just give one piece of key advice for the Ravello stay (if you decied to keep that location): since there are 4 of you, have your hotel call a taxi for your group to travel up and down to Amalfi each time.

The buses between Ravello and Amalfi (where you would connect to other buses/boats for travel along the coast on your sightseeing days) are a sweaty, unpredictable nightmare. A taxi shared by 4 will be a very worthwhile investment.

Buon viaggio!

Jean

CMurphy88, what time does your flight land at FCO? How willing are you to hire drivers? At a minimum, I would hire a driver to meet your train in Naples and deliver you to your hotel in Ravello.

I suppose you've already booked everything, but I would have put Florence at the beginning. After the wedding, head to Ravello and Capri and end in Rome on what I calculate to be Thursday and Friday nights.

adrienne

In Rome, other than what you have planned, I would just walk around. Have your driver take you around the city, pointing out the sights. Walk around the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain and stop for a drink in one of the famous piazzas - Piazza Navonna perhaps.

Prebook your Vatican tickets so you can just go right in when you get there.

In Florence just walk around the center and over the Ponte Vecchio. You can prebook tickets to the Accademia Museum to see David. Then look at the outside of the Duomo, Bapistry, Giotto's tower and wander to the Uffizi and have a drink in the square.

adrienne

Do you have a Plan B in case you can't go to the Blue Grotto on Capri?

Jean

adrienne's reading of your post is that you'll have a guide and driver at your disposal in Rome upon landing. If that's the case and you land at FCO very early (7/8 a.m. as I suspect), I think you can do at least the Vatican portion of your plan plus lunch before being dropped at the Termini station for your train to Naples. (Do get reservations as adrienne suggested.) What you see beyond the Vatican depends on the time you want to arrive at your Ravello hotel. FWIW, I would want to be driven along the Amalfi Coast before the sun goes down which would be about 7:15 p.m. in the middle of the September (although the route over the mountains would be faster). That would mean leaving Rome by 4:00 p.m. at the latest.

adrienne

<< adrienne's reading of your post is that you'll have a guide and driver at your disposal in Rome upon landing >>

<b>Jean - That is NOT correct</b>.

My reading is that they will have a driver when they return to Rome on Sunday. They have a driver for 7 hours but they do not have 7 hours in Rome on the day they arrive as they have to get to Rome from the airport and then get to Ravello. Why would they have a driver for 7 hours on arrival day when they're spending the day at the Vatican? Makes no sense. This is your interpretation.

I do not see any reference to taking a train from Rome to Naples.

matera2019

I'm not a huge fan of the Vatican museums and don't consider them a "must-see" for anybody but art studetns, and I don't recommend seeing the Vatican after a transatlantic flight.

However, healthy people, especially those under 40, can do it and still get to Ravello in the same day. In fact, 99 percent of people arriving in Rome walk around for most of the day after arriving, and don't nap.

Upon a arrival, take a train or taxi to Termini station, store your luggage, and from there take a subway or taxi to the entrance of the Vatican museums. (Taking the 64 bus will involve too long a hike around to the entrance.)

See the museums and, If you like pizza, have some pizza at Pizzarium near the entrance to the subway outside the Vatican museums. Take the subway back to Termini, pick up your luggage, head to Salerno by train. (3 hours) Have a driver take from Salerno to Ravello by taxi. (45 minutes).

Personally, I would just skip it since you'll be seeing plenty of over-the-top religious art in Florence and in your 7-hour tour of Rome.

adrienne

matera2019 - where do you get your facts from? How do you know that 99% of people arriving in Rome don't nap?

I'm not an art student nor an art major and I loved the Vatican Museums. I would not skip the Vatican Museums and St. Peters. Try to get a tour.

<< Personally, I would just skip it since you'll be seeing plenty of over-the-top religious art in Florence >>

They only have a few hours in Florence so they will not get plenty of art there.

CMurphy88

Thank you for your responses. I am well aware that this is not most people's ideal trip, however this is what we are able to do. My husband and I and the other couple are all in their early 30's. All of us have work schedules that we had to base this trip around and my husband will be missing his first two weeks of MBA classes so we need to make this as quick of a trip as we can.

We land in Rome at 7:45am on a Friday. After we exit customs we have a private driver who will take us to the Vatican. (The only reason we are doing this then is because after the wedding when we head back to Rome the Vatican will be closed on Sunday) Our plan as of now is not to spend hours and hours in the museums. We will then have lunch at Pier Luigi's. Around 2:30pm or so our driver will take us to Ravello.

We chose Ravello because friends of ours said they liked Ravello the best and highly recommended as a place to relax for a few days. We do want to sightsee a little, but are looking forward to having a few days to unwind and enjoy the views up there with a glass of wine in our hands. We do plan on heading to Positano for some sightseeing.

When we leave Ravello, we will take local transportation to get to Capri. We do not have a plan B if we can not do the Blue Grotto. As of now we are booked for a 9:30am tour.

When we leave Capri we will take the ferry to Naples and have lunch there. We would love a great recommendation for a pizza restaurant. We will then take the train from Naples to Florence. (I believe a train that gets us to Florence around 6ish)

Once in Florence we will arrive in time to check in our hotel, have dinner and meet up with the rest of our family and friends for the wedding. Thursday morning we have wedding rehearsal and then the rest of the day free to walk around and explore until dinner. Friday is the wedding.
My husband and I leave Florence on Saturday afternoon. (I know, not much time to enjoy, but again we are dealing with work schedules) I am a teacher and need to get back asap as I will be leaving for the trip on the 3rd day of school.

This leaves us with Saturday evening and all day Sunday in Rome before we leave Monday morning to head home.

I want to thank all of you who have given me suggestions on things to do. I know this trip is not what everyone would want to do, but we are trying to make the best out of it and hope to visit again one day for a longer period of time. So please, i am asking for advice on people's favorite things to do in these cities as well as places to eat. I would appreciate the comments just stay about that rather than telling me what a bad idea certain things are. Again, I know this isn't ideal, but with the time frame and dates this is what we are able to do. Thanks again!

Jean

CMurphy88, I think you've recognized the time constraints and made the best plans possible. I say, go for it! Do make reservations wherever possible. Besides the Vatican, hopefully you're not too late to reserve at the Borghese Gallery and Scavi excavations in Rome and the Uffizi and Accademia in Florence.

There are always some fairly recent threads here about restaurants. I even saw a post in the last week or two about a restaurant in Ravello. So, go to the "Advanced search" function at the top of the page. FWIW, we always find good-to-great restaurants without doing any research, and our hotels have usually been very helpful. FWIW2, although Neapolitan pizza can be great, I'm not sure I'd seek it out in this trip when your time is tight.

Have a great time!

adrienne, no need to shout...

adrienne

I love Pier Luigi's! I stayed in an apartment steps away from there and ate at Pier Luigi's twice. How did you choose that place?

Do a search here on Naples. I know people have recommended pizzerias there.

I thought Ravello was really nice and it's a good place to chill.

Florence - I really like churches so Santa Croce and Santo Spirito are favorites. I also like frescoes so enjoyed the San Marco museum.

Take a really good look at the Bapistry doors and notice how tiny the sculpture is and how shallow the relief. Notice the perspective. Then go to the Bargello Museum and look at the 2 original entries for the competition. While you're there you can look at the bronze David and compare with Michelangelo's.

Walk around and savor the buildings and small streets.

If someone told me I could go to Florence but could only see one thing I would choose the frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel. But then I'm a fresco fanatic.

What do you like?

Many years ago I saw a floor tile advertisement in a magazine. This ad showed the floor in the San Michele church in Anacapri. I finally got there and was not disappointed. It's so beautiful.

In Rome, other than the walking around I suggested above, go to see a couple of churches. It's difficult to decide which Rome churches are the most beautiful. Definitely see Santa Maria Sopra Minerva which is near the Pantheon. See the Pantheon and Santa Maria Maggiore (near Termini station).

If you like sculpture book tickets to the Borghese Museum to see the Bernini and Canova works. Your mouth will drop open. You'll wonder how anyone could carve marble so thinly and not have it break. Take the docent led tour.

Enjoy your trip. I'm sure you'll be back one day for a longer visit.

annhig

re your first day in Rome, rather than go to the Vatican museums [one of the most exhausting places in the world, IMHO] why not go round St. Peter's? you'll be there early enough to avoid the crowds, you can climb the dome as soon as it opens [cafe at roof level for your first coffee and cornetti] and enjoy the wonderful view. then I would make for the piazza navona, exploring all the lovely little shops and areas en route.

then have your driver pick you up, have your lunch near the Vatican, and carry on with your plans.

BigRuss

I would not overthink restaurants - you will be in Italy and you have to look far harder to find a bad meal than you will to find a good one.