Tuscany/Florence vs. Almalfi Coast
 

Looking for suggestions to enhance my trip and to decide just where to go for the second part of my Italian Holiday!!???##!!

1)
I will be in Rome from Oct 16 to 19th with two friends. One friend & I will then go to Perugia to visit my daughter until the 21st. From the 19th-21st We?d like to do some day trips from Perugia and have been exploring just where to go - so many choices!!! Suggestions???
2)
My daughter is free from Thurs. afternoon of the 21st until the 25th. She and I are going back and forth on how to spend these 3 1/2 days. Originally we had planned to go to Florence and I'd like to see alittle of Tuscany. We like to hike, cook, socialize, sightsee & ????? As an alternative itinerary she has proposed the Almalfi Coast, Capri, Sorrento, & perhaps Pompei. I'm interested in that also but am concerned about the travel time taking up too much of my vacation, how to get there and planning that excursion on my own. If there is a short term tour from Perugia or maybe Rome to the Almafi Coast I might be more inclined to go. But then a short term tour in the Tuscan Hills involving hiking,cooking classes, hot air ballooning with a night in Florence sounds sooo good too!!!

I am interested in hearing everyone's response to this question, as I'm in the VERY begininng stages of planning my 2nd trip to Italy, but a couple that has never been will be with us, and I would like to see both these regions.

Our trip is looking like 12 nights in Italy, if I can stretch it to 14 I will do both.

I know I'm going to Tuscany, but responses to wulfwoman's question will determine if I go to Almalfi as well!

Travel time from there to Florence/Tuscany? Overnight train an option?

Happy choosing wulfwoman!

In my opinion, the Naples-Sorrento-Amalfi area offers more things to do and see in one place than just about any other. You can spend time in Naples, see the islands Capri, Procida, Ischia, hike Vesuvius, see the ruins at Pompeii and Ercolano, there are numerous hiking trails throughout the Sorrentine peninsula, see Positano, Ravello and other great little places on the Amalfi drive. Naples is a 2 hour train ride from Rome and about 4 hours from Florence.

Day trips from Perugia: Assisi, Spello (a tiny jewel of a medieval hill town, all built of the same rosy stone as Assisi), Spoleto.

Florence & Tuscany as opposed to Amalfi Coast: The Amalfi Coast is not at its best in late October; many places have closed for the season; hydrofoil services are sharply reduced and may be cancelled due to choppy seas. Weather would not greatly influence experiencing Florence and Siena and as many of the Tuscan hill towns as you can manage. My vote definitely goes to Florence & Tuscany.

The towns around Lago Trasimeno are close to Perugia and worthy of a day trip. Go to Castiglione del Lago and to Passignano sul Lago--eat at Del Pescatore for a marvelous meal--and walk the boardwalk along the lake and see young people, lovers and the elderly all enjoying their beautiful and undiscovered town. If you have enough time, take the ferry over to Isola Maggiore and see the tiny and misshapen residents who make the most incredible lace--feral cats and castles and convents unseen and uninhabited for decades--fascinating!

Thanks for the info, Donna.

I've been to both areas in late October and Tuscany wins hands down that time of the year.
They're both great destinations, but Eloise is correct about a lot of places being closed already by late October, and it's fairly quiet there. Tuscany, on the other hand, is alive and thriving.