faithonholiday

As some of you may have read, I am escorting my cousin to Italy for her first trip abroad.

We are skipping Venice due to water concerns, and the lakes are out too.

We are now going in March, so I think south will be the best idea. We are flying in and out of Rome (tickets purchased today) so I was thinking:

March 14 - 21 Rome
(day trips to Orvieto, Siena,
Gandolfo, Tivoli)
22 - 26 Sorrento
(day trips around the area, she
wants to see Pompeii, Mt. Ves.)
27 back to Rome to the Hilton to fly out on 28th.

I think we will settle into just two hotels besides the Hilton and this will be calmer. Is it too much to add Florence for a day trip? Shall we rent a van to get us to Sorrento?

Thanks for any ideas.

Grinisa

I don't mean to be mean or sarcastic but I really don't understand how a person who won't go to Venice because she fears falling into a canal will be all right renting a van and driving (near NAPLES!)to Sorrento. You also elimanted the entire lake region because of "water concerns." Isn't Sorrento on the water anymore? For that matter, doesn't the Tiber run through Rome and the Arno through Florence? I don't wish any harm to come to you on your trip but what if your fearful cousin falls into the Bay of Naples? Will her grieving parents say "at least she didn't drown in Venice?"

rex

It is not too much to add Florence as a day trip. 95 minutes each way by train.

Rent a van? for just the two of you? Why not an ordinary car?

And though you did not ask, I would not stay at the Hilton (that's the airport Hilton?) - - enjoy one final night in Rome.

I will not add any further sarcasm or satire over this fear of water thing. I wonder who else heard the author of the new Natalie Wood biography on NPR today. She was said to have paralyzing fear of water all her life, from a childhood incident (though she did swim in pools). And she died, drowned.

Best wishes,

Rex

ira

Hi faith,

I suggest that rather than spending the whole week in Rome and daytripping, that you take 2 nights from Rome and one from Sorrento and do 3 nights in Florence. This will give you a day trip to Siena and, perhaps, one to Pisa and Lucca.

You won't need a car in Sorrento. You can take the train to Naples and have a driver take you to your hotel.

Is your cousin subject to vertigo? If so see my trip report for how to get around the Amalfi Coast.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34451044

gualalalisa

Faith: I think you are being very nice to escort your childlike, 40-year-old cousin on her first trip abroad (! - at 40, from a family of means??) but I think you should know that Mt. Vesuvius is once again active.

I saw on TV last night that they are trying to get people who live on the side of the mountain to move. What would the parents say if, God forbid, you were hurt by an erupting volcano!

I would recommend Great Britian for a first trip abroad, especially for someone like your cousin. It's a good way to get your feet wet, so to speak!, with out as many language or cultural differences.

111op

Right before I went to Naples last year, a friend pointed out this article in the Times to me:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstrac...A10894DB404482

Basically it says that Vesuvius is a live volcano, but the government is having trouble getting people to pay attention. Unfortunately you can no longer access the article on the web, but you can see an abstract.

Of course the friend did this to make fun of me, while at the same time extoling the virtues of Lisbon. But I went to Naples anyway.

So I'm not sure if Venice is safer than Naples, actually. If not water, than fire.

Ryan

Please enlighten me, what exactly are "water concerns"? If it is a concern over being near water, both Rome and Florence are on rivers.

Marilyn

faith, I hope for your sake her "water concerns" don't extend to baths and showers.

Jocelyn_P

If anyone's confused/lost, see Faith's "Life Jackets in Venice..." thread.

dln

This is not meant with any sarcasm, but someone who is terrified of canals in Venice and won't go near lakes probably would NOT do well in Sorrento. The town is on a cliff overlooking the sea! What pleasure would she get out of being near the sea--such a big body of water--when she can't abide little bodies of water like canals? Sorrento would seem to me to be a disaster in the making for your Victorian era cousin.

suze

Isn't Rome which is a huge, hectic & fast-paced city a lot scarier than Venice, smaller, pedestrian-only with no traffic?

My advice to accommodate a timid first time traveler would be to move about a LOT less than what you mentioned! If the Rome tickets weren't already purchased I would suggest finding a couple smaller towns and exploring them. I'm not sure how you plan to manage all the day trips, but again I'd find all that running about scarier than sticking with just a couple carefully picked locations.

It is easier to give helpful suggestions before the ticket have been purchased ;-)

jenifer

Two things that some of you are assuming really make no sense:

1) That she is afraid of seeing water or being within sight distance of water. That's not the case, from what it sounds. She's afraid of water, and particularly afraid of Venice, in part because she doesn't know what Venice is really like. Sounds like if she knew, she'd probably be OK there. Sounds like she can be near water, just not right on the edge of it, where there is risk of falling in. It would be hard to fall off the cliff in Sorrento if you're just somewhere in the middle of town, no?

2) Being afraid of water does not equal being afraid of everything. Why would Rome be scary to someone who is afraid of water (other than perhaps crossing a bridge on foot, or some similar event)? Traffic and lots of people around are nothing like water to someone who is terrified of water.

They both think the idea of seeing Rome and the surrounding areas is a good one. No reason to discourage that idea completely!

I can't offer suggestions on Italy as I've never been, but it does seem like you'll hardly have any time in Rome, since there are so many day trips planned from there. Still, if you get to see the things that are most important to you, then that's all that counts.

rex

<<Isn't Rome which is a huge, hectic & fast-paced city a lot scarier than Venice, smaller, pedestrian-only with no traffic?>>

It's actually rather hard to disagree with this.

Jocelyn_P

Faith, are you and Bambi stuck on Italy? It may be a bit overwhelming for someone in her shoes.

What about Spain? There's a thread floating around here somewhere about 10 great reasons to go to Spain. Still a warm climate with perhaps less chaos.

It would be a little chilly in March, but I think Austria is great for a first-timer (sure was for me). Salzburg is such a charming little city, and Vienna, although large, is not nearly as daunting as Rome.

Maybe present her with some options and see what appeals to her. Good luck and keep us posted!

Jocelyn_P

Oops! Just saw that you already purchased your tickets.

faithonholiday

Hmmm, interesting about Mt. V. isn't it?

Since Uncle bought the tickets in and out of Rome this morning, we have to deal with that. England would have been better IMHO though.

She is concerned with the idea of the canal water overlapping and washing her away in Venice so I am not going to push that, being near a canal with a cousin clingling to me in fear is not exactly a good picture in my mind either.

I was choosing Sorrento for the weather, she isn't afraid of cliffs as far as I know, but there is a regular city part isn't there?

I think you have some good points, I will cut way down on day trips and just really concentrate on Rome. I was thinking of a van service to Sorrento, not driving. On second thought I don't think I want to navigate trains either so I will check into all of this more.

Am I right in thinking that the area between Sorrento and Pompeii and that area is just regular land and is not the Amalfi Drive? It is hard to tell from the maps if it is cliffs or not.

Thanks.

111op

There're others much more informed about this area -- but the area between Sorrento and Pompeii doesn't take you to the Amalfi Coast.

There's a SITA bus that runs on the coast, but I'm not sure what the schedules are like in March.

39Steps

Who would have thunk that the safety factor in Venice would be compared unfavorably with Rome and Naples. This type of Yogi Berra logic reminds me of one of my favorites Yogisms - "Nobody goes to that restaurant anymore, it's too crowded".

SeaUrchin

Have her parents look at:

http://travel.state.gov/dsr.html

which another Fodorite found.

There was only one US citizen death in Venice and that didn't seem to be by drowning.

I think if you have a driver to Sorrento it will be fine, there is alot of city that isn't on a cliff and even if she did fall off she would land on rocks not the ocean.

Well, maybe on the Amalfi Road she would fall into the ocean.....is she afraid of the ocean?

SeaUrchin

Faith, I sounded pretty flip about her phobia and I didn't mean for it to come out that way.

I think you and she will have a wonderful time in Rome and in Sorrento, just spend your time eating!