TexasAggie

It is very easy to get from Rome to Sorrento. Take one of the express trains from Roma Termini to Napoli Centrale. About an hour and a half if my memory is correct. Check schedules at Trenitalia's website. Then follow the signs to the Circumvesuviana commuter train in Naples Centrale (station within the main station). It is 70 min to Sorrento roughly. Fares are super cheap. The Rick Steves guidebooks have a lot of detailed info on getting around and what to see in your areas. They are easy to read and a good "beginner course" for your trip planning. I also like Cadogan Southern Italy and The Blue Guide.

nytraveler

Um, you need to fly toget to Sicily - or possibly a ferry (but don;t know how they run that time of year - or how rought the trip would be).

julia1

nytraveler: it's also possible to travel to Sicily by train. It's a fun and scenic way to get there, about 11-12 hours on the fast IC from Rome to Palermo or Siracusa, less time to Taormina. The train boards a ship at the Straits of Messina. You can go up on deck during the crossing, which takes about a half-hour.

A_Brit_In_Ischia

Opinions on that train journey vary... we did it - just from Naples - and, while I enjoyed the chance to see places we'd not visited, my two companions were soon bored rigid... and slept for most of the way, waking only when the train was taken aboard the ferry for the short sea crossing:
http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/image/131510531

Certainly none of us regretted having chosen to fly home!

................

My "getting to Sorrento and Pompei" guide, with a few photos to help with the most awkward bits, is here:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-or-pompei.cfm

...................

If you do decide to come to this area, I'd advise downloading this handy publication from the tourist board...

http://www.inaples.it/public/quinapoli/quinapoli.pdf

... and trying the Campania website:
http://www.incampania.com/en/

Also, although it's well due for an update (so do crosscheck any times, prices etc), there's a useful 'Travel Directory' to the various towns and villages along the Sorrento Peninsula and Amalfi Coast - available from their local tourism people, here...

http://www.costiera.it/weben/index.htm

Peter

TexasAggie

Great information, Peter!

dscan99

I've been researching guided tours within Rome and Sicily.

Is it worthwhile to pay close to 400Euros for a day tour? Or is Rome pretty easily accesible that we can get there ourselves using the Metro system?
We might sign up for a food tour or a cooking class so I'd rather spend $$on that than a tour.. but not sure... what are your recommendations?

Secondly, what about getting around in Sicily? Is it easy to rent a car and then drive from Palermo to Catania or take a train? Again.. the guided tour with hotel and sighseeing fees is close to very expensive.

Thanks!

TDudette

For the amount of time you are talking about, travel to a second city isn't going to give you much time in either place. You will lose the first and most of the last days to travel; if you have a 3rd travel day, you'll lose at least 1/2 of another.

In Rome, the tram system is more user-friendly than the metro (my opinion only). Busses are easy also. 400 euros/day sounds like a lot unless it includes all tickets. A cooking class sounds like great fun. As I mentioned earlier, there are day trips from Pompeii to Rome that are much less expensive.

Driving in Sicily is not for the faint of heart but would be the fastest. We took a bus from Palermo to Siracusa. My notes don't say how long that took but we left very early in the a.m. and were in Siracusa in time for lunch and afternoon strolling.

Look on trenialia site ( http://www.trenitalia.com/ ) for train timetables but it looks like 4-5 hours from Palermo to Catania with a change (Messina? I didn't reconize the station name abbreviation). I think a tour would make more sense for you in Sicily than in Rome.

Please let everyone know what you end up doing and how it went.

dscan99

Thank you TDudette.

I am looking at guided tours but so far all the ones I've seen end by 1st week of November. So we might be on our own in Sicily as well. What do you all think of the idea of being stationed in Palermo and taking a couple of day trips to small towns nearby via train. I would love to take a trip to see Mt. Etna too. That way we can avoid too much travel all over the island for the limited time we do have.

Also are driving conditions worse in end November because of the rain/cold season?

Mimar

In Rome get a central hotel and walk. There are only 2 subway lines. The alternative is buses. But if you're central, you don't need either the subway or buses. And you see so much more as you walk: interesting shops, the odd Roman ruin, small churches. Whereas staying farther out you'd spend so much time getting back and forth to the center.

The problem with traveling in the winter is not only the weather. The days are shorter, and so are the opening hours at many sights.

I'd really consider one Florence or Venice for a second stop on your trip. There's lots to do in the winter (many indoor sights), and neither place is as crowded as in the summer. And these cities aren't as cold as all that in the winter. It's just a matter of a few degrees.

Look into open-jaws plane tickets, into Rome, out of Venice or Pisa (an easy train ride from Florence). Or vice versa. It would save some time in your very tight schedule.

dscan99

Mimar, after your comment and some from others, we are thinking about Rome and Florence instead of Sicily because we just don't want to travel so much around the island nor will we have the time for it in such a short stay. We will most likely do the open jaw trip of flying into Rome or Florence and flying out the other.

Boomerbloomer

My husband and I have traveled to Italy twice, both times in November, out of Boston. First time we went to Sicily on a tour, and stayed in Taoromina. Just beautiful. The weather was great that year, and only needed a light jacket at night. There is so much to see there, we were there for 8 days, could spend another week touring the southern part of Sicily. From there we went to Rome and departed the tour and spent 3 days there, which was not enough. The second time we traveled to Italy we went to Rome, then on to Florence, Tuscany, Venice, and so much in between, through the same travel agency in Boston. Great bargain, practically all inclusive, and still offering these fabulous tours. Their tours to Sicily go through Thanksgiving, last I checked. (Not sure if I can give travel agency name here.) We did not experience any bad weather, and frankly, prefer to sightsee when it's not 90 degrees. Mostly in the 60's. Rain happens no matter where you go, just can't predict it! We liked the security of having a tour guide, a bus to get us where we were going, and making friends with others on the tour. If it's warm weather you want in November I guess you need to go to the Carribean! Cathy

TDudette

mimar, don't forget the trams in Rome. Very user-friendly:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams_in_Rome

dscan99, I think you are wise to stick to Rome and make Sicily a nice trip of its own. Mt. Etna is closer to Taormina than Palermo. And the gorgeous Monreale is very close to Palermo. 2 days wouldn't be enough to do them all justice.

Please report back about your trip.

Mimar

Yes, Sicily requires at least a week and some amount of traveling.

Re: tours. If you travel independently, you can pick up individual walking tours and bus excursions as you wish. If you search this forum, you'll see lots of talk about guided walking tours in Rome. I think a guide at the Roman Forum is especially helpful; otherwise it looks like a field of broken marble. And from Rome there are excursions by bus to Pompeii and other places.

dwsnyder

dscan99:

We were in Rome 2 years ago and I bought tickets this morning for two weeks next April/May. I'm already excited about the planning!

If you like walking tours, I can really recommend Context Travel (http://www.contexttravel.com/city/Rome) enthusiastically. We've done several of their walking tours and have been very impressed every time.

We also took a Context Tours Cooking Class with Daniella de Balza. It was a lot of fun. Don't expect it to be a CIA level culinary experience but we'd do it again.

Hope this helps!
David

dscan99

Thank you guys!

We're no longer doing Sicliy.. Just Rome and Florence. 4 nights in Florence as soon as we land and 5 nights in Rome and then fly back.

I'm a bit nervous about the weather (we're coming from Dallas) and am not sure what amount of winter wear to pack. That and if the weather will keep us from walking outside much.