Rome to Sorrento advice
 

I need to travel from the US to a 4-day business meeting in Sorrento, Italy in mid-May, and I am planning to bring my wife. I am thinking about leaving 4-5 days early, stopping in Rome (this would be our first visit to Rome, though we have been to Milan and Venice before), then traveling down to Sorrento. Any advice on how long to stay in Rome, how to travel to Sorrento, and what to stop and see along the way? Thank you.

Hello,

Five days in Rome would be just enough time to see the major sites at a relaxed pace. From Rome to Sorrento, take the train. Trenitalia.com is where to go for prices or reserving tickets. You want to take the train to Naples if you are going to stop and see Pompeii and then take the circumvesuviana train to pompeii scavi stop. From there just take the train on to Sorrento. Pompeii from Rome is about 4.5 hours with a change of trains in Naples. You will be going this way anyway to get to sorrento.

Donna

Fastest Eurostar Alta Velocita train takes about 1:30 from Rome to Naples. Switch to Circumvesuviana train, which is short walk. Train for Sorrento departs every half an hour, takes about 30 minutes to Pompei, just over an hour to Sorrento.

One should be able to get from Rome to Sorrento in about 3.5 hours.

We drove from Rome (past it, actually) to the Amalfi Coast (Praiano) on the autostrada during an August trip. It may not have been a "piece of cake" - stay out of the left hand lanes unless you absolutely must pass - but if you're used to driving in major cities in the States, it's not much different. Driving could afford you the chance to stop in Caserta on the way, to enjoy the Royal Palace and Gardens. They were amazing when we were there; they've got to be stunning in May! wikipedia.com has a lot of links to more pictures of the palace.

The Royal Palace and Gardens are tempting -- I had never even heard about them. But I'm guessing I will probably take a train to keep things simple. Thank you for your help.