Italy Amalfi Coast to Tuscany

Sinead Mc1

Hi folks.

Life long dream to head to Italy and it looks like it might finally be happening.

My husband and I have secured childcare for our children for 5 nights next June freeing us up to head together.

I am desperate to see both Venice and the Amalfi Coast. I understand they are quite the distance from each other (7+ hours on train?) but it will be some time before we will get a trip like this again. Is it at all possible to fit both in?

Is getting the train actually a good way to see done of Italy? We could fly from Shannon to Venice and then fly home from Naples to Dublin. Is this do-able at all in that time frame? Any advice v much appreciated 🙂

homewardbound11

yes . Driving in Rome and amalfi coast is not for the faint hearted ( and I love driving, and have driven in many countries ). It’s been a long time since I done it and drove from Rome to amalfi .
I’d take the stress away . Stay in central mild area and you won’t need a car. Bus it to pompeii.

Ted222

Ryanair fly from Venice to Naples. Takes about 1 hour 20 minutes.

As you’ve said, the train is a good opportunity to see a bit more of Italy. There’s a direct train from Venice to Naples that takes about 5 hours 20 minutes. From there, it depends where on the Amalfi Coast you want to go. Not much of it served by train so you may have to consider bus or private transfer depending on where you’re going. The bus journey along the cliff is an experience on several levels!

The obvious place to stay is Sorrento but I found it very touristy. Positano is a more authentic option, although not cheap. Amalfi town is nice along with Minori and Maori (I might have spelled that incorrectly!)

finbarrk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058364990/italy-amalfi-coast-to-tuscany

There is no Shannon - Venice flight.

Sinead Mc1

Sorry Finbarrk. I meant Dublin to Venice then Naples to Shannon.

The Nal

Stretch too far imo. Youre trying to do 2 holidays in 1. Venice is 500 miles from the Amalfi coast. Pick one and stay there. My vote is Amalfi Coast. 5 days is too long in Venice.

CelticRambler

I'm inclined to agree with The Nal. Yes, you could do it, but if these are two long-time wish-list destinations for you, it'd be a real shame to cram all that into two very short trips with three days travelling before, during and after.

For comparison, my parents - hardened travellers, but now in their 80s - recently did a two-centre trip to the south of Italy (Bari & Brindisi) and found that five days in each wasn't really enough. I'm not sure how many times I've been to Venice now, but you'll see nothing of the real character of the city if you only do the same whistlestop tour that the cruise-ship people do: it's somewhere that you need to explore slowly.

Incidentally, we took all (four) children to Venice, and they loved it; and the real Venetians loved seeing the children there too. DtrNo.1 celebrated her 6th birthday there, and was given a free rose by one of those fellas who usually sell them at 2€ a-piece to lovestruck couples. Having children with you anywhere in Italy is a great way to get special treatment.

Banzai600

worth noting, Amalfi / Positano are crazy busy….but stunning. we go to italy a fair bit, but we go off the beaten track now, away from the crowds. fly and hire a car. Were in Amalfi / Sorrento years ago, before it really took off. Was great but you could see it was going to be a hotspot. A colleague in work only back from Amalfi last month, she liked it but v v busy. We have looked into Tuscany, but you'll need a car so i was told by a couple of ppl. driving over there is fine though, parking can be a real headache in italy, depending where you are.

if it were me, do tuscany first, grab your hire car ( unless the train suggestion from venice - Naples works for you, less hassle ) , re the car, when you leave tuscany , drop it off say in naples airport, you can get a coach to sorrento / amalfi probably 20e tops each. but in june it will be very very hot there. some italian b&b's are great i have heard so dont rule them out, aircon is a must. stay outside amalfi , maybe sorrento to avail of cheapish accommodation , with parking. in that heat lugging around suitcases etc is worth keeping in mind, so 10kg should be enough each.

The Nal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122531659#Comment_122531659

Tuscany should be the #1 for anyone who hasnt been. Fly into Pisa, take in Lucca and then down to Chianti, Siena, San Gimignano, Volterra et al. Florence. Fly home from Bologna.

redoctober

We were in Tuscany last year. I know it's a different area but I would say focus on one area as posted above. It takes time to get around as roads are quite small and busy. Don't drive in the cities if you can avoid it. Otherwise you'll get fines for Limited Traffic Zones. June will probably be quite busy. I think by focussing on one region you'll see it better. We tried to cover a lot of Tuscany and you end up driving a lot. Tuscany needs a couple of trips I would say. Venice- I've never been but I'd save it for a long weekend sometime in Spring to avoid crowds.

Hibernicis

5 nights is short for what you are aiming for. I'd focus on one area, probably Tuscanny/Umbria. @The Nal has good suggestions, some of which e.g. Sienna and Florence are accessible by train and/or bus from Pisa if you don't want to drive. Venice is intrinsically beautiful but overrun with tourists and can be very expensive and a bit grotty, and a lot of the food offerings are "geared for tourists" and poor quality/value. Of the many places I've been in Italy it's very far down the list of repeat visit options.

yagan

It's doable, but rushed.

Two nights in Venice, then 5-6 hour non stop train to Naples, maybe transfer onto the circumvesuviana local train or ferry to get to sorrento, and then onto Positano via bus…..and then the rush back to Naples for the flight home.

Honestly Venice is very doable and enjoyable for 4-5 night. We once spent five nights in Venice in November when the city was quiet and we had it to ourselves. I'd never bother going back now as I felt we'd had the best we could get out of it. You're going in June when it will be heaving, but at least taking more than two days means you can go explore the other quieter islands of Venice too.

You could try to fit in both but it will be a blur and forgettable, or you could pick one destination and savour it for a lifetime. Both will still be in easy reach in the future.