Round trip or open jaw? London>Rome>Naples
 

In June, we're taking two of our grandsons (ages 12 & 14) to Italy. On our way, we'll stay in London for a few days, where our son and family live. (We already have purchased our LAX>LON airfare.)

Our plan is to fly to Rome on Friday, June 3 and return to London Friday, June 10. Partway through the week, we'll travel south to Sorrento for several days. I'm trying to decide how best to travel to/from London as well as between Rome and Naples/Sorrento. (We're also trying to figure out how to see the Archaeology Museum in Naples, either on our way to or from Sorrento.)

Option 1: Round trip LON>ROME. From Naples, we could take the train from to Rome>FCO. The round-trip flight (London>Rome>London) is about $110/person, as of today. We'd also need consider the cost of train tickets from Naples>FCO.

Option 2: Fly back to England from Naples. If we do this, airfare will cost more (open jaw London>Rome/Naples>London is $185-ish/person). However, the bus fare from Sorrento to the Naples airport is cheap: only 10 euros per person.

Here's a tentative itinerary:
June 3: Travel | London>Rome (Arrive FCO 6:55p)

June 4: Rome
June 5: Rome
June 6: Rome

June 7: Travel | Rome>Sorrento. Depending on train, arrive in Naples at either 12 noon or 2:00p and catch the Circumvesuviana OR take a ferry to Sorrento (open to suggestions). And would this be a good day to visit the Archaeology Museum in Naples?

June 8: Pompeii (or Herculaneum) and Oplontis

June 9: Amalfi Coast/Capri? Positano? Other?

June 10: Travel | Return to London (With later departures, is it possible to see Naples Archaeology Museum en route to either airport?)
- via Rome (Option 1, departing 12:35p or 6:35p) OR
- via Naples (Option 2, departing 11:05a or 4:25p)

We want to look at this from both an economic and logistical point of view. And honestly, traveling with young teens, logistics trumps cost. Is one option more direct, practical, desirable, or easier than the other?

Also, since we're returning to London, not the US, how early should we arrive at the airport?

Thanks!
Kim

Unless you plan to spend some time in London on your return trip, you should add the cost of a hotel night to the RT, since chances are that you will not be able to fly to London and back to LAX on the same day. If cost is an issue, it might be best to go directly to Rome from LAX (same overnight flight) and spend your few days in London on the return leg.

Have you thought about staying in Naples itself? you could do a day trip to Pompeii/Herculanium, another to Capri or Positano on the boat, and have a half day to see the NAM on the day you arrive.

then fly back to London from there.

[Michael - I think that they have to return their GSs to London!]

<i>I think that they have to return their GSs to London!]</i>

No problem there. Arrive in London in the morning, have children bring the grandchildren to the airport for an afternoon flight to Rome. Return to London and spend a few days there before going home.

Michael: Sorry for not being clearer. The grandchildren we're taking to Italy live here in the US, near us. We'll start our vacation in London with our son and his family, whom we'll stay with for six days.

When we return to London, we'll spend a couple more days with family before flying back to the States.

Does that help?

annhig, I like your ideas of making Naples a home base. Honestly, I hadn't given any thought to staying in Naples. Sorrento just sounds so beautiful, and Naples doesn't seem as well reviewed. Can you convince me otherwise?

With London logistics happily settled, my questions boil down to these:

1. Should we fly London>Rome round-trip or do an open jaw London>Rome/Naples>London? Which scenario makes the most efficient use of both time and money, with time trumping money?

2. What is the best mode of ground/water transportation between Naples>Sorrento?

3. For our return to London, what is the best and/or most cost-effective mode of transportation from Sorrento, either to Naples Airport or Rome/FCO?

Many thanks!

I think annhig's suggestion to stay in Naples is a good one, except that it's June and you are with two young teen boys.

SO, I like the itinerary, with this change:

I think you should go no further than Sorrento. Get a pool.

June 7: go to Naples and on to Sorrento. I do believe there may be a better train than the Circumvesuviana, although I don't know that. Thought maybe I'd read it.

June 8: as is. Go to Pompeii or Herculaneum very early. It will probably be hot.

June 9: let those boys relax. Maybe take a ferry but is it totally necessary?

June 10: Naples to London by air. If you leave Sorrento early in the morning, you can go to the NAM that day, and fly to London late.

This seems easier on the boys.

have you looked at simple one way fares from London to Naples/Rome with budget airlines such as eayjet, Thomson, Vueling??

fly London to Naples then then fly Rome to London there'll be plenty of flights from Stansted, Luton, Gatwick

tuscanlifeedit: Thanks for reminding me to include some down days. When we brought their older brother to Europe in 2013, we found it important to do just that! We can play it by ear on June 9 and see how the boys are faring. If they want to take a ferry, we can. Otherwise, we could lay low by the pool, enjoy time in Serrano, etc.

ok - I got the bit about the GKids wrong, but in a good way.

rckimmo - IMO it comes down to a matter of time. Sorrento is indeed lovely but in all truth you won't be spending long there as you are intending to be out an about all the time. Nothing wrong with that, but you're going to end up spending significant amounts of time going backwards and forwards on the circumvesuviana.

Yes, Naples has got a rather "dodgy" reputation and the traffic is indeed terrible, but it probably has more appeal for your GSs than Sorrento which they might find a little staid. There are a number of threads here and on TA about where to stay - perhaps the area around the main station is not to be recommended but there are other areas which appear to be fine. [i should add that I've never managed to stay in Naples yet but I'd like to as there is so much to see there - We did do a trip [from Sorrento] to see the NAM but that's about it so far]

I don't want t put you off Sorrento but Naples seems the more practical choice.

sofarsogood: Thank you for the suggestion of looking at those low-cost airlines directly. I'm on the easyJet website and finding some great deals. Not to mention that there's apparently a new law that has abolished the UK Air Passenger Duty for children aged 2 to 16, for flights departing from UK airports (after March 1 of this year). So flights for the boys will cost even less.

Stansted and Luton are out because we'll be in Reading, and there's just no good or easy way to get from Reading to those particular London airports. Gatwick is really our best bet, as easyJet and Vueling both use that airport and it's only 45 minutes' drive for our son.

annhig: I appreciate your frankness! I've got some homework ahead of me, I see. :)

At least I can book the flights, though. Whether we stay in Naples or Sorrento, that part shouldn't change.

annhig: I appreciate your frankness! I've got some homework ahead of me, I see. >>

rckimmo - not point that telling you that Naples is a bowl of cherries because you wouldn't believe me. But it has some wonderful things to see - not just the NAM, but your GSs might like this:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=pr...w=1366&bih=592

Naples is famous for its nativity scenes and there is a whole street given over to shops selling things to put in them.

there are also other places that you might be interested in:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio..._Campania.html

If staying in Naples, consider http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev..._Campania.html

annhig and Michael: Great resources! I'll take a look. Fortunately, we still have time to plan details of lodging and activities. We have a place in Rome already, so it's just deciding whether it's better for us to stay in Naples or Sorrento and then choosing accommodations.

Meanwhile, we'll invite the grandsons over for a powwow and get their input!

You might want to take a look at my trip report that includes Rome and Naples; click on my name to find it.

I read your trip report, Michael. Sounds like you had an unfortunate first day, but from the photos, it looks like an incredible vacation.

Whenever we visit our kids in the UK, my husband and I try to take a side trip. So far, we have been to Ireland, Scotland, France, Belgium, and Germany. I can't wait to introduce the boys to international travel--and to see southern Italy for the first time.

Florence, Venice, and Tuscany are all on our bucket list for another visit. Meanwhile, we have five more grandkids waiting till they turn 13 and get to go on a trip with Grandma and Grandpa. One has already set her sights on Greece, but Paris is a close second for her. I wouldn't mind in the least returning to Paris!

Thanks again for your help. I truly appreciate this forum.
Kim