Nine days in Southern Italy
 

Hi. We're planning a trip in October to Southern Italy. Our hopes are to go to Rome, the Amalfi Coast and then Sicily. Is this do-able in about 9 days? Also, is it best to drive a car to head south, or take the train? <BR><BR>Any hotel recommendations and travel tips would be appreciated.<BR><BR>Thanks so much for your help. Happy travels!

I don't think you should do Sicily if you only have 9 days. You need at least 4-5 days in Rome, and 3-4 days in Positano. You can drive to Sicily, about 8 hrs. (we had a driver take us in May and it took 8 hrs. driving straight through, not stopping for lunch.) I think the train takes about 6.5 hours. I really loved Taormina and highly recommend Sicily, but you need at least 4 days there for it to be worth the trip to Sicily in my opinion. I would plan 5 days in Rome and 4 in Positano. You can visit many sites easily from Positano and it is incredibly beautiful. If you can add about 4-5 days to your trip, then definitely add Taormina to your itinerary. You can fly out of Catania. I highly recommend Le Sirenuse in Positano (luxury) and the Dei Mellini is a resonably priced hotel in Rome, 4 star. I go for it all at Le Sirenuse, but stay at a more modest hotel in Rome because there is so much to see you never want to be in your hotel. Have a great trip. Kay

Thanks, Kay. I've always wanted to go to Sicily so I think that's higher on my priority list than other areas. Did you prefer the Amalfi Coast over Sicily? We're also on a budget, sort of, and I know the Amalfi Coast can be expensive.

I think 9 days would be just right for a first visit to Sicily alone. You won't see everything, but you'll be able to see quite a bit and get a feel for it. Adding on Rome and the Amalfi coast would be much too much.

With only 9 days, that is perfect--if you forget Sicily. Search on this forum for tons of answers on hotels and transport to Amalfi coast. Good luck !

Cheryl,<BR>If you are not set on staying in Positano, I can recommend a great budget place to stay in Sorrento. We stayed at Palazzo Starace in March this year for 62 euro incl. breakfast. <BR>Email is [email protected]<BR><BR>Our room overlooked the main street which was great for people watching, not noisy at night with the shutters closed and 10 min walk to the train/bus station. We caught buses to Positano, Amalfi and Ravello on day trips, also caught the ferry to Capri one day. Pompeii is also an easy day trip. We much prefer Sorrento to Positano, but seem to be in the minority.<BR>Kay (a different Kay)

Go straight to Sicily. Nine days mean that you will be in a big hurry and will probably miss a lot of places (you might need one week alone for Palermo and Catania, I think that it is reasonable to plan at least 3 weeks for a full visit of Sicily), but you can still see some of the tresures of this island. You can reach Sicily by train, this will take you more or less as long as driving there but the travel will turn out cheaper and more comfortable, but once you are in Messina it is better to rent a car, for public transportations across the island are not what they should be. You might find it better to book sleepers or couchettes on a night train for both trips to and from Messina, you can do it as you arrive in Rome. First class couchettes for two people on the espersso train leaving from Roma Tiburtina at 21,11 and arriving at Messina Centrale at 5,45 cost 91 euro, While the same kind of accomodation on the more comfortable Intercity Notte Leaving from Roma Termini at 23,00 and arriving at Messina Centrale at 7.20 costs 166,50 euro (but in this cse you will have a two-bed compartment for yourself alone).

My vote either one or the other. Amalfi is doable, Sicily probably need more time.<BR>If you decide to stay in Positano, checkout casateresa.it great place and prices.

You have got to stay at Casa Teresa. It's wonderful...I have stayed there twice. Very reasonable B&B about $90 night. Sea view. Quaint. I reserved through email: [email protected] or you can call there the number is 089-875-803. Ciao, have fun. Katherine

Thanks to all of you for your input! -Cheryl

I just got back from Taormina and would highly recommend going. I have also gone to the Amalfi coast and Rome. It depends on what you are into. We only spent one day in Rome - but I know you need more - but we will do it another time We went to the places we found most important to us. We stayed in Ravello for 4 nights.<BR><BR>This time we just went to Sicily for 2 weeks. 10 days at my parents house and 2 nights in Cefalu and 2 nights in Taormina. Of course 4 nights in Taormina would be better, but if you only have 2, you could see pretty much everything but at a quicker pace. <BR><BR>You could see all three in 9 days - you just have to pick what things in those places are most important to see and just skip the rest for another time.

Sorry, also I would probably fly to Sicily instead of wasting time driving. Fly from either Rome or Naples - I know you can fly to Palermo from Naples so I'm sure you can fly to Catania from there also. I would spend valuable time driving.