Comments on: Why You Might Want to Consider an Italy Travel Package

By: Jessica

Jessica — Mon, 10 May 2010 00:01:23 +0000

Thanks for the comment, I’m glad you’ve found the site helpful!

I think a day trip from Positano is fine, depending on where you’re planning to go. The easiest day trip options from Positano would be other Amalfi Coast towns, or maybe one or two of the islands nearby.

Have a great trip!
Jessica

By: hather reilly

hather reilly — Sat, 08 May 2010 04:10:11 +0000

Jessica,

I finally booked this trip and felt compelled to report back on the plans. Still going with a flight into Venice (2 nights), then to Florence (4x nights) with day trips to various towns, 4x nights in Rome, and the I’ve decided on Positano for the last 3 nights. We’ll do a stop in Pompei from Rome to Positano. We may do a day trip while in Positano… Any thoughts on that?

Your site has been SOOO helpful!

By: Jessica

Jessica — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:42:02 +0000

Hi, Heather:

That’s a lot to pack into three days, but here’s what I might suggest:

Day One – Early train from Rome to Naples. Look into booking a day-trip (usually a half-day or 3/4-day) to Pompeii from Naples. Not sure when they leave, so you might not be able to do this on your first day, but if you can it would be good. (A tour company I love is Context Travel, & they have a half-day Pompeii tour: http://contexttravel.com/naples/tours/half-day-pompeii/PTR3491/) Finish tour, return to Naples for pizza at Di Matteo (my favorite!) and overnight in a hotel in the historic center (“storico antico“).

Day Two – Morning boat to Sorrento. (Here’s how to get to Sorrento from Naples.) Be sure to stop at a pastry stop in Naples and get some “sfogliatelle” to eat later on. It can be as little as a 40-min trip over to Sorrento, so no rush necessary. Spend the day in Sorrento, lazily wandering the streets, and spend the night in Sorrento.

Day Three – Morning boat to Ischia. Spend the day/night in Ischia, and then take an early boat back to the Naples Airport (confirm in advance that you can get an early enough boat so you don’t miss your plane – if it sounds like this might be a problem, you can swap Sorrento and Ischia in the order of when you visit/stay there).

Now, this isn’t my ideal itinerary, in that you’re changing hotels every night, but if you absolutely have to visit each of these places in three days, it’s one way to do it!

Ciao,
Jessica

By: hather reilly

hather reilly — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 04:37:50 +0000

Jessica,

Thanks for all the help so far. Now I’m just trying to work out the last 3 days/nights of my trip and looking for some guidance. Our final day in Rome will also start the last 3 days of our trip. I’m looking at some combo of Naples/Pompei/Ischia/Sorrento and trying to figure out the most efficient way to accomplish this. I’d be happy just stopping in Naples quickly for lunch, but also know it could be a good home base to get to these other places. I am fairly certain I want to spend the last day and night in Ischia (then leaving early the next morning to catch a flight out of Naples). That leaves me the two previous nights to stay elsewhere. Would it make sense to stay in Sorrento? Any thoughts on how I can eat pizza in Naples, see Sorrento and Pompei and also spend a day and night in Ischia all during the last 3 days would be super helpful.

Thanks!!

Heather

By: Jessica

Jessica — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:51:09 +0000

If you’re using Florence as the home-base from which to make driving day-trips into the Tuscan countryside, consider that you’ll be driving a car into Florence in order to do that (and driving in Florence is a pain). Also, Siena and Orvieto both have train stations (and, from Florence, Siena is actually better reached by bus) so you wouldn’t need a car for those places. The only reason I’d suggest a car is if your home-base was something other than a city with access to public transportation, or if your day-trip itinerary included some secluded villa or vineyard with no train or bus station.

If you decide to get a car anyway, for a day or a few, here are some posts that might help you:
Driving in Italy: http://www.italylogue.com/featured-articles/driving-in-italy.html
Renting a Car in Italy: http://www.italylogue.com/car-rental

And also:
Getting from Florence to Siena: http://www.italylogue.com/featured-articles/getting-from-florence-to-siena.html
Day Trips from Florence: http://www.italylogue.com/planning-a-trip/day-trips-from-florence.html

By: Heather Reilly

Heather Reilly — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:16:06 +0000

Thanks, Jessica. I had one more question with regard to renting a car. I know we can get around Florence pretty easily, but in order to see the real Tuscan country-side (Siena, Orvieto, etc.), do you feel renting a car is necessary? Outside of that, I know Venice, Rome and the outlying areas are pretty easy to reach through other means, but wondering if we’ll be inhibited if we don’t rent a car for Tuscany. Same question for Sorrento.

Thanks for all your help!
-Heather

By: Jessica

Jessica — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 04:24:50 +0000

Hi, Heather:

Whoa, didn’t realize the comment box on that post wasn’t working – thanks for letting me know! Will try to get that one fixed – it’s a popular post for comments.

You can absolutely chop days off of my suggested itinerary (it’s just a suggestion!). I try to make suggestions like that based mostly on how I travel, which isn’t for everyone. For instance, I don’t like staying in a place for only one night, and if I can stay 3-4 all the better. With more places on your “must-see” list, however, you may not be able to do that. And if that’s okay with you, then that’s great!

Not to say they’re identical to one another, but the Sorrento/Amalfi area and the Cinque Terre are both coastal, so if it’s just Italian coast you’re craving then I’d say choose one and skip the other. And Pompeii is do-able as a long day trip from Rome, but it’s really easier to do with Naples as your base. If you stayed in Naples overnight, you could probably do a half-day trip to Pompeii and a half-day in Sorrento (it’s a long day), thereby squeezing both those places in and still getting a little bit of time in Naples.

I’m a big fan of open-jaw tickets, since they allow more time on the ground. And they’re often roughly the same price as regular round-trip tickets, so it’s definitely worth looking. You can read more about them here: http://www.italylogue.com/planning-a-trip/tips-for-flying-to-italy-open-jaw-tickets-flying-into-the-venice-airport.html

Whatever you choose for a start and end point, I’d just suggest you try not to backtrack if possible, as that’s where you’ll end up losing vacation time to transport time. Look at your stops geographically, and choose based on that. In your case, I’d start with flying into Venice and out of Naples. If Naples is too costly, try into Venice and out of Rome.

I hope that helps,
Jessica

By: hather reilly

hather reilly — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:52:37 +0000

Hi Jessica,

Great site! I wanted to comment on the 2 week travel itinerary page but was unable to.

I’ll be going back to Italy for the first time since 10 years ago when I did a Summer semester in college! My Husband and I are going for our 5 year wedding anniversary for 2 weeks in September, and he has never been before. I’m having trouble narrowing down where to go because I want him to see everything I saw but there’s also some places I didn’t get to see and want to.

My “must” list includes Rome, Venice, Florence and Pompei. Ideally I’d like to do a quick stop in Naples, but not for anymore than a 1/2 day. I’d also like to get back to Ischia because I loved it so much. I’m also considering Sorrento and Cinque Terre if I can work those in somehow.

I like your itinerary and will have about 13 or 14 days, but wonder if I can chop a day or two off Florence/Tuscany and maybe one day off Rome to accommodate some of these other places on my wishlist. Any suggestions on how I can fit this all in, or what I should sacrifice? Also, where should I start and end the trip?

Thanks so much!
Heather

By: Jessica

Jessica — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:26:35 +0000

Hi, Jessica:

I think whether you do the cruise beforehand or not, your itinerary options look pretty good. The only adjustment I’d consider is basing yourself in a central coastal city – either Sorrento or Positano or even somewhere in between – so that you don’t have to move hotels. That whole coastal area is similar enough that moving from one town to another might not be worth it. And with 6-7 days in one place you can do lots of day-trips to other nearby towns and islands.

As for what site to use to book your trip, I think whatever site you’re comfortable with is the one to use. There may be better deals out there on different sites, so you might want to read about how to use different ticket sites just in case, but it’s also about what you’re comfortable with.

Ciao,
Jessica

By: Jessica Gennuso

Jessica Gennuso — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:51:15 +0000

Hi Jessica,

Thanks for responding to my earlier question. I think we have decided to fly from Venice (on Easyjet) after 2 days into Naples (we decided not to spend any time in Naples) head to Sorrentino for 2 1/2 days (spend 3/4 a day in Pompeii while based in Sorrento) and then Positano for the remaining 2 1/2 days. Do you think this would be too exhausting. We will be on our honeymoon so we would like to see sites but also relax a little and enjoy beach and coast.
If we choose to nix the 7 day cruise prior to our travel in italy. Our itinerary will be as below.
Venice 2 1/2 days August 2nd am to 4th
Rome 3 days August 4th – 7th
Sorrento 3 days – August 8 – 10th (visit Pompeii 3/4 day)
Positano 4 days Aug 11th to the 14th. Need to leave early am for flight in Naples on the 14th.
Do you think this is a good timeline?
I am concerned about the best way to book these trips. I usually use Expedia to book my hotels. Would you recommend another way? My flight has already been purchased. Sorry for the long list of questions.

Thanks,
Jessica