We will be traveling to Rome in August with my husband's company. We will have 4 days before and are agonizing whether to spend the time in Venice or Naples. We can fly into either city which will make it easier. Recommendations please!

Two cities as different as night and day. Love them both. Venice is unique and romantic. Naples is a high energy, gritty city with fabulous food and way less expensive then Venice. Naples would likely be hotter in August.

Venice 3:45 on the train, Naples 1:10.

If we stayed in the Naples region, we could actually stay in Sorrento and go to Capri and and Pompei.

yestravel has given a great overview.

What are your interests?

Sorrento is not Napoli, is nothing like Napoli.

Your op is akin to writing, "My husband and I are agonizing over travelling to either New York or Boston. But, if we visit New York we will be staying in Philadelphia."

If you visit Venice will you be staying in Padova?

Venice will be packed with tourists in August--a tsunami of tourists.

However, I would prefer Venice over Sorrento anytime.

Good luck.


Thin

You can just as easily visit Pompeii and Herculaneum from Naples as Sorrento - there may be a slight advantage in train travel times from Sorrento but it's miniscule - like 10 minutes.

Sorrento in August will be packed with UK package holiday trippers and everyone else who is after a bland/sanitised version of what they think Italy may be. It is the major port of call for bus tours like Cosmos and Trafalgar - so your time there will be a busy one. Sorrento also has no beaches and recently, some very questionable issues with water pollution.

Venice is also packed - even more so - and can be insufferably humid in August.

Naples, on the other hand, has one third the tourists of Sorrento and Venice. You could stay in a hotel with a pool and views of the bay and not experience the crowds of Sorrento or Venice but have the cooling sea breezes and interesting presence of real locals rather than everyone from Manchester and Bristol.

Venice without a doubt. Otherwise I would stay in Positano or somewhere else along the Amalfi Coast.

These three cities provide very different experiences. Once you understand each, I don't think you have problem picking one.

Venice is unique in the way city is constructed. Except for a few other smaller cities along the Adriatic, there is no other canal city like it. Everything else is "Venice of this and that." The down side is except in the wee hours in the morning, what you see are tourist and tourists. When you see a parade of huge cruise ships coming in early each morning, you know the city will not stay tranquil too much longer.

Napoli is intense. You either like it or dislike it completely. There, you will see mostly natives going about their daily routines. If your experience with a gritty part of a city is wanting to pass through as quickly as possible, Napoli is not for you. In Napoli, you see chaotic narrow streets with cars parked every which way with garbage often left uncollected. You see groups of men just standing in streets talking to each other during the day. In Napoli, that is the normal street scene. You see people transparently weaving through chaotic traffic. Once you are familiar crossing Napoli streets, you will feel confident crossing streets in Rome even at Piazza Venezia. When I travel with American friends, they think we are nuts stepping into what seems like an impenetrable car traffic. They just freeze at side walk looking at us in awe. In Napoli, I feel the energy and the vitality. After Napoli, other northern cities feel wimpy. I also think fabulous food come from chaotic cities.

Sorrento feels like a resort town. There are tourists, but not the same extent as Venice. Sorrento makes a good base for exploring th e Amalfi Coast, Capri, Pompeii, and Herculaneum.

I'll just add one thing to what greg said: As one walks the narrow, twisting, chaotic lanes of Napoli, it is hard to look up and NOT see something magnificent. It isn't just a gritty city; it is a city of masterpieces. JMO.

Boy, in August I would personally aim for cooler northern climes or the lakes, but you asked about Naples vs. Venice.

I *love* Venice and have been there 6-7 times but avoid it in summer altogether for reasons described above. As mentioned, go there if you can be up early and up late, and rest mid-day.

Naples is pretty intense for me, though the museum full of antiquities is tempting. Amalfi Coast, though, is another matter. In your shoes I might head for Capri or Ravello.

If you go to Pompeii, get a guide and bring cold bottled water. Again, try early or late as the hours permit.

Just an aside: Orvieto is just up the train line from Rome and is a neat hill town. Have a great time, whatever you decide.

Anyone saying Naples is intense has probably not taken a walk along the 5km Lungomare, taken the funicular to Vomero or visited the little seafront 'village' of Mergellina. It is very peaceful and reminiscent - for me anyway - of the seafront in Cannes (without the traffic as most of this area is pedestrian)

Naples is not all traffic and the overused words 'gritty' or 'intense'. I would argue Rome's traffic is worse.

Both are great places.

Venice is one of my favorite places in the world It's one-of-a-kind, an amazing place to wander and explore, a city where every street is named "Water St." The biggest down-side of Venice, to me, is that it is the least Italian of any city in Italy. You have to really know your way around before you get to an area where English isn't seen on every menu and shop window.

Naples on the other hand is what Iatly is all about -- the history, the crazy traffic, the way of life that's like no other (for better or worse).

In short, either one is a great choice.

Of the two, given that it is August, I'd choose Naples. You can't beat being on the coast in the summer in Italy. Yes, it will be hot, so what? Stay in a hotel with a pool, visit the sites, and take a day trip to Capri, or Pompeii or another spot that suits you. You can take a ferry from Naples to various places, so you'll also be cruising on the water, a nice peaceful way to get around. FWIW, we were in Sorrento last summer (we're not Brits)and it was a busy place, but in a festive way, IMO.

I think Venice will be way too crowded, and while I have't been there in summer, I believe that it's quite humid, too.

August and these two cities.

Firstly I think Venice is wonderful, while I think "gritty" (as mentioned above) or "slabby" for the big pieces of basalt that make up the streets, describes Napoli pretty well. The sea air seems to keep the place reasonable at least but visiting the slopes of Vesuvius can be d@@n hot and you need water and an early start to make the best out of it.

But in August I'd rather go somewhere else. The Lakes is a nice idea, Padua/Padova is not so dumb, I've spent two holidays in the Euganian hills to the West of Padua and find them pretty nice in high summer. Down on the Po valley it gets hot and damp. Venice is basically a big shallow lagoon with a few islands in it so gest very hot and damp. I'd not recommend any of the PO valley cities to stay but to visit maybe.

Up in the mountains might be nicer, we've been chatting about the Dolomites recently.

I would also rather be in the mountains in August... the Dolomites (from Venice) or the Val d'Aosta (from Milan).

VERY different cities, as noted...

Sorrento--loads of tourists and didn't feel authentic to me.

I love Naples. Yes, it is gritty in places, but its vibrant with some spectacular churches , The Veiled Christ is beautiful, can't remember the church and the museum is first rate. You won't have nearly as many tourists as Venice.

Venice is unique, it's crowded for a reason. It can be enchanting, but you do have to deal with loads of crowds.

It will be hot in both places...maybe a bit cooler in Venice, but still hot and humid.

Venice and Napoli are as different as night and day. My pick would be Napoli, easy to get to Capri from there and I personally would stay Positano instead of Sorrento or maybe spend a night on top of Capri....breathtaking views...the Amalfi coast is spectacular with beautiful water where as Venice the water is rather dirty and not appealing for a dip in the water or sunbathing. If you do decide on Napoli and tour Pompeii be sure to visit the museum in Napoli that has the artifacts from Pompeii as we were not aware of it and had wished we would have done that before touring Pompeii. I strongly suggest a good guide for Pompeii.
Wherever you decide just enjoy...

Venice. And google Venissa.

"The Veiled Christ is beautiful, can't remember the church" -- San Severo, aka the Museo Cappella Sansevero.