timetogoitaly

Hi everyone –

I’d love your help and feedback on a trip we’re planning for early April. I've been using this Forum as a resource to help pull together this initial plan but this is my first time posting!

We’re heading to Rome and Amalfi Coast from Mar 31 (so land Apr 1) leaving Apr 8. It’s my husband, myself, and our 2 kids (14- boy, 12-girl). This will be the first time our family will have traveled to Europe so we’re all really excited. I don’t expect we’re going to be a huge museum/church-visiting family so I’m trying to give us a mix of museums and outdoor activities. I’ also trying to make sure we have time in our schedule to people watch, eat lots of gelato and just roam.

We have the basic itinerary mapped but would love general feedback on must do things/restaurants. Any logistics suggestions on getting between destinations? Any suggestions on afternoon tours of Pompeii?



Apr 1 – 4: Staying in Trastevere at Santa Maria.



Sat, Apr 1 -
no planned activities, just adjusting to jet lag – prob wandering to Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, etc. Dinner - Roscioli Salumeria Con Cucina

Questions – is it difficult to get from airport to hotel?



Sun, Apr 2 –
Golf Cart tour of Rome with Liv tours in the morning (3 hrs) . We were thinking of renting bikes on the Appian Way, going to Campagna Amica Market and then a Roma football match that night



Mon, Apr 3 –
Underground Colosseum tour, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill (currently booked thru Get Your Guide but hoping to rebook through coop) – then wandering for the rest of the day. Might book a cooking class that afternoon (3:30-6:30) with Eat & Walk Italy. Has anyone tried it? Any thoughts on doing this the afternoon of the Colosseum tour?

Tues, Apr 4 –
Early morning Vatican tour booked with Liv Tours. Nothing booked for the rest of the day – just want to have our last afternoon open to explore how we want.

Wed, Apr 5 –
We’re heading down to Praiano (Amalfi Coast). We were planning to take train to Naples, train to Sorrento and then taxi to hotel (any recos / tips on this approach?). Do you know if ferries are running at this time? Can you point me to the ferry website?

We’ll be in AC for 2 nights so are hoping to hike the Path to the Gods (Bomerano to Nocelle), spend some time in Rovello (Villa Cimbrone’s gardens and Villa Rufulo). I’m also hoping to spend a little time in Positano. So much of this is weather dependent but are there any specific recommendations for this time of year, exploring with teens that you’d recommend?

Thurs, Apr 6 – Stay in Praiano

Fri, Apr 7 –
Train to Naples in the morning and drop off our bags at our hotel. Planning an afternoon trip/tour to Pompeii. Any recos on guided tour options? I believe that you can join a tour offered by Pompeii site directly but the last one is offered at 2. Do you know if you can pre-book these tours? We’ll probably be getting there close to 1 so am wondering if the best bet is to buy tickets through a tour company to make sure we have a spot (looks like we can book thru Viator – though I’m not sure what company is actually giving the tour). After Pompeii we’ll be heading back to Naples where we’re staying for our last night in Italy.

This Friday is Good Friday – any recommendations on special things that might be happening?

Sat, Apr 8 – flight home from Naples.

Thanks again for any suggestions. We can't wait!

alandavid

Replies in bold

dreamon

I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time.

If your focus on the Amalfi coast is hiking from Bomerano to Nocelle and visiting Ravello, then you may be better staying in Amalfi or Atrani instead of Praiano. Bus go to Bomerano from Amalfi. And there are buses between Amalfi and Ravello. Of course you can catch a bus from Praiano to Amalfi but it adds to your journey. At least when we visited the Amalfi coast there were no ferries stopping at Praiano. There are buses between Praiano and Amalfi to Positano (and ferries from Amalfi). For transport to the coast, you have the option of train to/from Salerno with bus or ferry connections. Or train to/from Sorrento with bus or ferry connections. Or car as you've suggested. Pompeii is on the train line between Naples and Sorrento. I've read that the site offers luggage storage but I've no personal experience of that but you could check it out.

If you go to the trenitalia website and put in the airport and Trastevere, you can see that this journey should be straightforward.

There is no way in hell my kids would have consented to a golf cart tour but if yours are up for it, then why not. But I do think you see more just walking.

I suggest you walk up the hill behind Trastevere before you leave Rome and you can all spot the places which you've visited during your stay. It can make a nice recap of your time there.

timetogoitaly

Thank you both for the great suggestions. AlanDavid - appreciate all the tips. Any chance you did a tour of Pompeii? Did you book in advance or jump in a tour when you got there?

Dreamon, love your tip to walk up the hill behind Trastevere to see all of Rome - great idea. And your AC logistics info is super helpful.. Will need to look into whether we can cancel our Praiano reservations and book somewhere a little more convenient (without breaking the bank ) .. And hilarious point about the golf cart - both kids have said it sounds good, but I might need to ask around and make sure it's a good idea.. My husband thinks it could be terrifying being on streets in Rome in a golf cart with all the crazy drivers

Thanks again.

alandavid

I've done Pompeii twice.
1st time when our kids were about the same age as yours.
No guide & we used Rick Steves audio tour. It worked OK, but the ruins are SO big that we missed some stuff, but we did hit the highlights.

2nd time we did a pre-booked tour with a small group. It included a walking tour of the ruins in the morning, pizza in Naples, then a tour of the archeological museum in Naples that holds most of the artifacts from Pompeii. Led by a local professor.
I thought it was the perfect Pompeii experience! But might be a little tough for kids.

When you get to the ruins entrance, there are lots of tour options, but there will be a little bit of a wait to get started, so a pre-booked tour would be more efficient. Most tours use a headset, so it does allow the kids (and you) to wander away from the group, but still listen to the guide.

dreamon

Even with an early departure from Rome, it sounds like you have only a day and a half on the Amalfi Coast. With your wishlist, I suggest you visit Ravello on your first afternoon and then walk down to Amalfi or Atrani (there are multiple paths). And on your full day, hike the Path of the Gods and visit Positano. We walked from Bomerano to Nocelle to Montepertuso, where we had lunch at a restaurant with an amazing view, then walked down the steps to Positano. The hardest part of the walk for me was walking down the steps from Montepertuso to Positano (probably because I was tired and we took them too fast). There is a bus that makes this part of the journey (if you can get on it). Buy tickets before boarding I believe. Note that we were staying in Positano.

From memory, the buses from Positano run until about 8pm or so, so a wander around and an aperitif before returning to Praiano (or further along the coast) would be possible. A long day and probably tiring but it's the only way you'd fit everything in. There are two bus stops in Positano for the coastal buses, one each end of town. Of course, things change but that was the case when we visited. Of course, this plan means that you wouldn't see much of where you are staying (could you consider travel to the Amalfi coast on the Tuesday afternoon?).

I believe that there is a trail from Praiano which joins the Path of the Gods but it looks as though it would be steep. You could check this out further.

If you wanted to do this plan, logistically the easiest journey would be to take the train from Rome to Salerno (probably changing in Napoli Centrale), then bus or ferry to Amalfi (stay in Amalfi or Atrani). If you prefer Praiano (which is of course possible to stay there), then take the train from Rome to Sorrento, then bus from Sorrento train station to Praiano (or a private transfer). Taking luggage which is small and light will make the journey easier. On the days you want to explore, take the bus from Praiano to Amalfi and onwards. Buses along the coast are busy, less so early and late in the day.

timetogoitaly

dreamon I followed your advice from a few months back- and we've decided to stay at the AC for an extra day! We'll be staying in Positano our first night and then to Praiano for 2 nights. We'll be arriving in the late afternoon from Rome into Positano. We'll plan to have dinner in Positano - any recommendations on where to eat? We're a family of four with two teens. I'm thinking the following morning we'll do the Path to the Gods. Come back, have lunch in Positano and a wander around, Maybe try and do a ferry in the afternoon to see the coast from the water? And then head to Praiano later that afternoon (sounds like we can catch the bus there). Dinner in Praiano and then head to Ravello the next day for a villa wander - lunch in Ravello, and then back to Praiano for our last night. Does that sound do-able? Is there a better way to do it?

tracilee

I’ve been to Rome many times and accompanied my sisters on their first trip there this past June. We had friends who had done the golf cart tour and highly recommended it. Funny, I had never noticed these tours in any of our previous visits, but we took one with Drivers Guide Service and really enjoyed it. The company owner was our driver and I don’t remember ever being worried about the traffic. It gives a nice overview of all the sites so doing it on your second day as you’ve planned is great as you can go back later in the trip to see things that looked interesting.

dreamon

timetogoitaly, fantastic that you can spend another day on the Amalfi coast. I'm not a fan of one night stops as they're not so relaxing and moving hotels always seems to take more time than I initially think it will. In this case, Positano and Praiano are only about 10km apart. However, if you prefer that and can stash your luggage in Positano, then why not. Alternatively, you could stay in Praiano or Positano for 3 nights, catching a bus to the other during the day or a taxi if later at night. Note that I don't have any experience of taxis in the area but imagine they must be available.

If things haven't changed since we visited, Positano and Amalfi offer both bus and boat for transport, whereas Praiano only had bus connections.

yorkshire

ferries: https://www.travelmar.it/en/index

TDudette

This is based on one Italy visit so I could be wrong, but we found the time around Easter to be busy with students and travelers taking trains and busses home for the holiday. Make your long-distance train reservations in advance. We actually bought our short hop tickets a little ahead also: we bought tickets p for "Town 3" when we arrived in "Town 2". I don't know about Good Friday, but Easter Monday was a holiday so schedules were different.

Can anyone add to this? When is Time change?

john183

Your plan sounds very do-able. In 2014 we had reasonably good meals at La Pergola and Buca di Bacco - both are near the water in Positano. We had our hotel order a taxi from Positano to Bomerano when we hiked the Path of the Gods and I would recommend doing that to save time and for the convenience. We had a nice lunch in Ravello at Ristorante Villa Maria. I posted a "way too long" trip report of our 2014 trip that you can read for more details. I think you have a good plan to make the best of your short time in the area.

timetogoitaly

thanks so much everyone! john183 i've read your trip report - i loved it! and thx for the taxi tip and restaurant recos.