Fly into Rome September 5
Fly out of Rome October 2.....booked and not negotiable.

Middle aged couple
Will be 5th trip to Italy- but have never visited these regions
Prefer using local transportation but not completely averse to car rental
Prefer characteristic accom over fancy hotels and happy to research this once we have an itinerary
Can speak a bit of Italian

Just wondered about the order of places to visit on our wish list and how long to spend in each place -
Initial thinking- Malta ( 4-7 days)
Sicily ( maybe 2 weeks) Sardinia??? Also could we/should we squeeze in Amalfi Coast?

All itinerary suggestions gratefully received. Thanks!

Anyone?

Bumping again just in case!!

Really just wanting to figure out what transport connections will make the most sense to connect between Rome, Sicily, Sardinia and Malta and then return to Rome to fly back to Australia- ferry/ train/fly?

Hi, we've been to all these places and my first thought was you should check airlines and what is actually possible. Getting to Sardinia might be hard, you could check on www.flycheapo.com for the budget airlines and also check Air Malta and Alitalia.

We had 7 days on Malta, staying in Valletta, then flew with Air Malta to Catania and had 2 weeks in Sicily. Then we flew back again and had 5 days on Gozo, then flew home to Australia. It was a wonderful trip, we loved Malta and enjoyed Sicily though Malta was the highlight.

On a separate trip, we flew from London to Sardinia and had about 10 days there. We enjoyed it but think that Malta and Sicily offer a lot more to do and see.

After you check the flight possibilities to Sardinia, then putting the places in order might be easier.

Hope this helps a bit, I'd probably leave the Amalfi Coast out but it might work to travel by train from Sicily to the AC, then on to Rome to fly home. I just think there is a lot to see both on Malta and also Sicily so why throw in another place?

Kay

Forgot to say that there is a ferry from Pozzallo in Sicily to Malta but it would take time to reach Pozzallo and the ferry takes a while. The flight we took was 25 mins from Malta to Catania and apart from the airline losing our luggage, it was a much better choice than the ferry.

There are no ferries from Malta to Sardinia that I've ever heard of.

Kay

Thank you Thank You KayF!!

Just the kind of info I was looking for to get the ball rolling in planning an itinerary-

Interested in your comments about Malta in particular. We really love Italy so are interested to see how Malta compares. Part of the reason to visit Malta is family history- husband's family comes from Malta originally ( several generations ago)- not that we know anyone there, just curious.

Our trips are always pretty full on-

thought that this time we might actually plan some "down" time before heading home, which place do you think would offer the most opportunity for say, 3 days of relaxation?

I find that getting started logistically is always the hardest part- after that accom and local excursions fall into place.

Anyone else done a similar trip with advice?

You have 24 days (26 but you need 2 of them to get in and out of Rome). 14 days on Sicily, 7 on Malta, and 3 days of down time some place. I would not add Sardinia as you don't have any time to get there and look around.

What do you mean by down time? Lying on a beach? Walking around a city without sightseeing - just looking around? Without knowing your definition of down time it's hard to advise where to go. My recommendation would be Rome, walking around, taking photos, stopping in cafes.

I'm afraid I can't help with the logistics, but I do have to say that I found Malta to be wonderfully relaxing; it's something about the light and the timelessness and, well, the fact that I stayed in Valletta, which pretty much rolls up the sidewalks at night. (I liked that.) I was there in the October weather, and it was perfect.

Just in case you haven't seen this, here's a Malta list:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...s-100-best.cfm

And (even though it's quite out of date) a Malta trip report:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...all-report.cfm

And pictures to go with it: http://travel.webshots.com/album/115461380RQqCst

Thanks for more food for thought.

adreienne "down time " for us would be a day without covering a lot of distance, pretty much as you described- could be relaxing on a beach or just taking our time wandering, no heavy duting sightseeing

I have been to Rome on 4 other occasions including a 2 week stay so as much as we love Rome, on this trip we are simply overnighting on way in and out because of using frequent flyer points.

If the consensus is that Sicily needs 2 weeks then we may need to reconsider including Sardinia as well.

Hi lavender, I did a trip report after our Malta and Sicily trip, if you click on my name you should find it.

Some general impressions from that trip, which was quite a few years ago now, we found the Maltese to be very friendly, especially once they found out we were Australian. I think there are lots of Maltese in Sydney and Melbourne and they often said things like, do you know my brother? Which was very funny. Plus they all speak English which was a bit of a bonus as we always struggle with the language in Europe.

The history on Malta was really something, from the Knights of St John to the second world war where the island was cut off and they nearly all starved, it was fascinating. We loved staying in Valletta and had an amazing view from our tiny balcony of the Grand Harbour, which is one of my 3 best views in the world (with Santorini and Venice).

On Sicily we were deliberately short changed a few times which we weren't that surprised about, having come across similar things in Italy before and as soon as we said, no, you need to give us another 10 euro change, it was promptly handed over. It was almost like they were trying it on.

We didn't have a car at all on Malta or Sicily (had a jeep on Gozo) and travelled from Catania by bus to Siracusa, staying in Ortigia. Then north to Lipari, one of the Aeolian islands and back south to Taormina and back to Catania to fly to Malta. So we didn't see a lot of the island. The mosaics at the Piazza Armerina were fabulous but we didn't like Agrigento much. We did these two places on a bus day trip from our hotel in Taormina. We loved Lipari and really liked Taormina.

For some relaxation at the end of your trip, Gozo immediately springs to mind. It's smaller and quieter than Malta, though we were there in the off season which makes a difference. We still found things to do, there was an amazing cathedral there I remember. So maybe visit Gozo last, then ferry back to Malta and fly Malta to Rome.

Kay

Hi Lavender -- Have not been to Sardinia, but we did a trip to Sicily and Malta (you can click on my name for the trip report). I really enjoyed the history on Malta (especially the Hypogeum), but for me, nothing beats the friendliness, antiquity, and food on Sicily!

I would start with 2 weeks on Sicily (overnight ferry from Naples is nice) and then a week on Malta -- Gozo is a great place to unwind. Then from Malta, you can fly to an Italian city and go home from there.

BTW, we did our whole trip without renting a car -- all public transportation.

I would fly from Rome to Palermo and start your trip there. Three or four days in Palermo (you may consider a trip to Mondello (beach) by bus or take the train to Cefalu which is about an hour outside Palermo. Nice small seaside town.

Rent a car when leaving Palermo and travel counter clockwise around Sicily seeing Trapani, Erice, Agrigento, the Baroque towns, Siracuse, Ortygia, Taormina and then end up in Catania where you can catch a flight to Malta.

You don't need a car on Malta - the buses go everywhere. Click on my name to read my trip report on Malta and Gozo.

Fly from Valletta to Rome or Florence, rent a car for 3 days and leisurely explore some smaller towns in Tuscany or Umbria.

Have only just been able to access computer after a short vacation so a belated thanks to everyone for great input which I will investigate further, very much appreciated

I'm from Sardinia . Rome, Florence and Venice , the famous tourist attractions are worth seeing, but there is so much more also in Sardinia, a wonderful place , especially in September. If you have any questions about Sardinia, please do not hesitate to contact me.