Italy help

[codemonkey]

hi guys,

would appreciate some help re our trip to Italy. we're planning to fly out of Toronto Friday night of the thanksgiving long weekend and land in Rome on Saturday afternoon and come back two weeks later on Saturday. that would make it 15 days including the days of the flights.

we're planning to hit the following places

Rome
Naples
Pompeii/herculaneum
Sorrento
Positano
Paestum
Cinque Terre
Milan
Lake Como

I'm pretty clear about how much time I wanna spend in Rome but things are hazy after that. not sure where to spend the night and how to travel between cities.

1) right now, I'm planning to spend four days and five nights in Rome. from Sunday to Wednesday, the days would be split between Vatican (one day), ancient Rome (one day), Tivoli/Hadrian's villa (one day), Ostia Antica (half day).
2) so on Thursday morning, we want to check out and head for Naples/Pompeii. the issue is that I hear that Naples is dangerous. so should we stay the night in Naples? or should we extend the stay in Rome and convert Naples/Pompeii into day trips? we could check out of Rome, do Naples/Pompeii and continue on to Sorrento and spend the night there. but not sure where we would keep our luggage during the day in Pompeii. would appreciate some tips here.
3) is Naples worth going to just for the archaeological museum? I've read pretty unpleasant things about the city.
4) can Herculaneum and Pompeii be done in the same day? or am I better off spreading Pompeii/Herculanenum/Naples over two days?
5) how many days should we reserve for the Amalfi coast region? should we spend two days in Positano?
6) is Paestum worth a whole day?

I've been reading a bunch of stuff but still can't get clear answers to these questions. would really appreciate some pointers.

thanks a bunch guys.

[Talamasca]

I did Herculaneum and Pompeii in the same day (and visited the Villa Oplontis in between as well). Herculaneum is pretty small and you can see it all in two hours tops. Pompeii is really big though so the bulk of your day should be devoted to that. The Circumvesuviana train connects both places and is easy to use and cheap. It's about a 10 minute walk to the Herculaneum site and just a couple minutes walk to the Pompeii entrance.

[Pete_Coach]

Rome is in the middle of the places you named and then you are going south, then back north and then east and then back to Rome.
How do you intend to get to these places? What is your means of transportation? This is critical as you are pretty well scattered all over the place. If you are using public transport (trains and buses) you will be spending quite a bit of time in transit mode schlepping your bags around.
For instance, Naples. Naples is a days worth of sightseeing. Herculaneum and Pompeii are each worth half a day but they are south of Naples and, where are you going to stay? Sorrento and Positano are farther south again and along the Amalfi coast. Nice places but unless you have a reason, they are worth an hour or so each. Paestum is farther south yet and worth the better part of a morning (maybe).
Then you got to get back to Naples to get a train to Cinque Terre which is a good days worth of train ride with a change in Rome and Livorno or maybe even Florence (to get to either Levanto or most likely to La Spezia where you need to take a bus to Riomaggiore) .
Then back to La Spezia to get a train to Milan for a day or two and another train to Como (for whatever reason). I am not a Como fan. I like Lago Maggiore much better but either way, most things are closed end of September because the tourist season is over. The lake district shuts down many of the hotels and tourists sites for the winter. Restaurants and shops close too. Only locals remain and it is quite dead.
All that and back to Rome to return home...whew, exhausting.

Your questions:

1) right now, I'm planning to spend four days and five nights in Rome. from Sunday to Wednesday, the days would be split between Vatican (one day), ancient Rome (one day), Tivoli/Hadrian's villa (one day), Ostia Antica (half day).
Sounds OK but there is so much to do... all of Rome is ancient Rome and walking from spot to spot will be the best way to see the place.The Colosseum is half a day, the Forum and Palatine hill is half a day. Don't miss Villa Borghese

2) so on Thursday morning, we want to check out and head for Naples/Pompeii. the issue is that I hear that Naples is dangerous. so should we stay the night in Naples? or should we extend the stay in Rome and convert Naples/Pompeii into day trips? we could check out of Rome, do Naples/Pompeii and continue on to Sorrento and spend the night there. but not sure where we would keep our luggage during the day in Pompeii. would appreciate some tips here.
Naples is not dangerous. It is a big city and like all other big cities, you need to be diligent. Don't do Naples/Pompeii/Herculaneum as a day trip. It is too far. You could make Sorrento your stop for the Amalfi and Paestum but you need more than a day.

3) is Naples worth going to just for the archaeological museum? I've read pretty unpleasant things about the city.
Again, Naples is not dangerous. there isn't a lot there so 1 day is enough to see it all.

4) can Herculaneum and Pompeii be done in the same day? or am I better off spreading Pompeii/Herculanenum/Naples over two days?
Yes, Pompeii and Herculaneum is a one day event. you will need most of the day to see it all. I really suggest you use the services of a guide. You can read and you cane get one of those recorded guides but, there are stories the guides can tell and questions they can answer that make the visit worthwhile and memorable.

5) how many days should we reserve for the Amalfi coast region? should we spend two days in Positano?
Positano is a tourist town on t a pimple of land. Most tourists see it in 2 hours. If you want to become intimate with the population, you need weeks, to see it and take some photos, you need a couple hours. Amalfi is a regioon as well as a town. the region has many towns and villages and lots of great sights.

6) is Paestum worth a whole day?
No...and if you missed it entirely, neither you nor Pasteum should feel offended.

Have a look at a map again and perhaps you could plan your trip a wee bit differently. October, while less tourists, is also when the areas are all shutting down. Cinque Terre may very well be cold and wet as well as mostly closed.
If you have never been to Florence, I would recommend you go there and in the Tuscany area, October is harvest time for grapes and olives and there is lots of activity going on.

[boyoflondon]

That is a jam packed trip given the time you have. You are all over the place and you'll find that it is just too much, and you'll spend more time trying to figure out how to get somewhere, then actually sightseeing.

I have spent 12 days in Italy this summer but only went to Venice, Florence and Rome (in that order) before flying out to Greece. If you are into museums and such, you better do your research well before so you know where you are going, how much it costs etc. In Florence for example, lineups are INSANE to say the least, so if you ever want to visit Uffizi, I suggest you buy your tickets online. As Pete mentioned, best way to see everything is by walking. I walked everywhere I could, only taking public transport from and back to the Hotel. Between the cities I've taken the speed trains and the ride was quick and painless seeing how these trains go 200+km/h. Do keep in mind the possibility of strikes and service closures. When we were in Rome, subway was shut down for most of our time there, trains were on strike, buses not working all the time.

[codemonkey]

I did Herculaneum and Pompeii in the same day (and visited the Villa Oplontis in between as well). Herculaneum is pretty small and you can see it all in two hours tops. Pompeii is really big though so the bulk of your day should be devoted to that. The Circumvesuviana train connects both places and is easy to use and cheap. It's about a 10 minute walk to the Herculaneum site and just a couple minutes walk to the Pompeii entrance.

got it. that is what I'd read too. I didn't know about Villa Oplontis. might have to drop in there too.

did you get a guide in Pompeii?

thanks for the reply. :)

[codemonkey]

That is a jam packed trip given the time you have. You are all over the place and you'll find that it is just too much, and you'll spend more time trying to figure out how to get somewhere, then actually sightseeing.

I have spent 12 days in Italy this summer but only went to Venice, Florence and Rome (in that order) before flying out to Greece. If you are into museums and such, you better do your research well before so you know where you are going, how much it costs etc. In Florence for example, lineups are INSANE to say the least, so if you ever want to visit Uffizi, I suggest you buy your tickets online. As Pete mentioned, best way to see everything is by walking. I walked everywhere I could, only taking public transport from and back to the Hotel. Between the cities I've taken the speed trains and the ride was quick and painless seeing how these trains go 200+km/h. Do keep in mind the possibility of strikes and service closures. When we were in Rome, subway was shut down for most of our time there, trains were on strike, buses not working all the time.

yeah, that is what I suspected too. we're probably trying to do too much for the length of the trip. maybe we'll scale back some time from the Amalfi coast region.

museums are cool. but I'm more interested in ancient history than art. would much rather spend time looking at ruins than paintings. I'm an engineer. so I don't understand art. :D

it might be blasphemous but (for now) I'm thinking of skipping Venice and Florence. the only places north of Rome I'm thinking of are Milan, Cinque Terre and some Tuscan countryside if possible. and seems like the cheapest and most time efficient way of getting to Milan is via plane. seems like I can get a cheap flight via Ryanair, etc. guess I need to do more research and drop some stops.

thanks for the reply. much appreciated. :)

[Talamasca]

got it. that is what I'd read too. I didn't know about Villa Oplontis. might have to drop in there too.

did you get a guide in Pompeii?

thanks for the reply. :)

I didn't have a guide in Pompeii. I studied art history and classical history in university though so I already had a good foundation in what I was seeing. :)

My mistake but the villa is actually called Villa Poppaea in the town of Oplontis, in between Herculaneum and Pompeii. It is exceptionally well preserved and if you have an hour or so, go see it.

[codemonkey]

I didn't have a guide in Pompeii. I studied art history and classical history in university though so I already had a good foundation in what I was seeing. :)

My mistake but the villa is actually called Villa Poppaea in the town of Oplontis, in between Herculaneum and Pompeii. It is exceptionally well preserved and if you have an hour or so, go see it.

cool.

gotcha will do. I think we'll dedicate one whole day to Pompeii and Herculaneum. so should be able to do Villa Poppaea too.

in your opinion, is it worth going to Ostia Antica if you're already doing a day in Pompeii/Herculaneum? asking because if not, I'll be able to divert that time in Rome to something else.

[Talamasca]

cool.

gotcha will do. I think we'll dedicate one whole day to Pompeii and Herculaneum. so should be able to do Villa Poppaea too.

in your opinion, is it worth going to Ostia Antica if you're already doing a day in Pompeii/Herculaneum? asking because if not, I'll be able to divert that time in Rome to something else.

I've never been to Ostia Antica but it looks nice. You will get a fatigued by all the sight-seeing in Italy. Even if you're a big art fan, it all starts to blend together after a while. Ruined columns and buildings everywhere, churches with the same types of religious paintings and sculptures over and over again, etc. so take that into account.

[andlai]

We are planning to stay in Rome for 2 days before boarding on a cruise. We hope to find a hotel close to the attractions. Thanks.

[HungJai]

We are planning to stay in Rome for 2 days before boarding on a cruise. We hope to find a hotel close to the attractions. Thanks.

I'm on the same boat!

going to spend 1 day before and 1 day after the cruise in Rome..

Looking for Hotel as well :(

Sailing Oct 9.

[mlc2000]

We are planning to stay in Rome for 2 days before boarding on a cruise. We hope to find a hotel close to the attractions. Thanks.

There are literally thousands of hotels in Rome.
We stayed at the Jolly Leonardo Di Vinci, which is where alot of airline crews stay.
(my wife's client flies for Air Transat and he recommended this place).
Rooms are comfortable, clean, very good breakfast included.

Its close to the Metro trains and buses.
Only thing, on-site parking.

When booking this online, make sure you specifiy 2 guests per room.
I booked rooms but it only designated 1 person per room.
Had to pay extra 20Eu for my wife when I got there :D

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187791-d203069-Reviews-NH_Leonardo_da_Vinci-Rome_Lazio.html

[GemInite]

There are a ton of old Italy threads you should check out, I spent my honeymoon in Italy last year and had 12 days and did just Rome, Florence, Cinque Terre, and Venice.

Cinque Terre was a day trip from Florence for me (3 hours to La Spezia, then another local train).

In Pete_Coach I trust, all his advice is solid.