What to do around Rome?

My family and I (3 people in total) are flying into Rome on the evening of July 28. From there, we will be spending all of the 29th in Rome and then driving down south in the evening. We will be spending 2 days on Amalfi Coast and eventually making our drive to Puglia on July 31. We have a masseria booked near the town of Grottaglie from the 31st until August 6 (a beautiful but isolated masseria that we stayed at before Covid but it's pretty far from the major cities). However, despite the beauty that our stay offers, what is worrying us is that we have already visited the main attractions and towns near our masseria on our trip to Puglia pre-Covid). On our last trip we visited:

- Lecce, Nardo, Taranto

- Ostuni

- Matera

- Alberobello

- Bari

We have included Monopoli and Brindisi in our itinerary as of yet. We would love to explore new places and towns that we have not seen before. Please give us any recommendations where we should go and what to include on our itinerary. Would love if anyone could share any hidden gems around our location. We would also appreciate if anyone can share beautiful beaches around the region.

Thank you in advance!

Thank you for your advice on my previous post. We have changed our travel plans a little bit and plan to spend 1 full day in Rome before heading down south and would love advice on how to perfect our first time in Rome. We will be arriving at Fiumicino at 5pm on July 28 and will get our rental car at the airport. We will be then driving to Rome and staying at a hotel about a minute away from the Colosseum and plan to leave the car at an overnight car park. Unfortunately, Colosseum will be fully closed on July 29, so we plan to visit on July 30 before leaving, hopefully. Here is what I have planned so far for the day of July 29 (hopefully everything is within a walking distance)

-Starting off our walk from our hotel near the Colosseum to the Piazza Venezia

-Trevi Fountain

-Pantheon, Piazza Navona

-Spanish Steps

-Castel Sant’Angelo

- Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel

-St. Peter’s Basilica

I have a few things we need advice on:

1) What is the best way to get around Rome, should we stick to walking? Should driving around with our rental car be avoided at all costs?

2) Please suggest any restaurants or cafes that you have beloved on Rome trips that we must absolutely visit.

3) Any other tips or places we should include on our itinerary.

We plan to leave Rome in the morning of July 30.

I am a bit lost to what we should do as my parents are not avid walkers but it is very difficult to decide what to do in the limited time we have there. Any advice would be appreciated.

Hi guys,

I am thinking whether it is worth trying visiting Syracuse this July or leave it for next year (2022).

I would fly from Toronto, Canada to Rome and then take a train to Syracuse.

Would you be helpful with a few questions?

1) Would Sicily or Syracuse allow for vaccinated foreign tourists visits starting in July?

2) I checked train schedule from Rome Termini to Syracuse (italiarail), and there are no connections at the beginning of July (10-12), while there are available trains to book in August.

Are there any restrictions for train transportation in July vs August?

3) Would you expect that crowds are less this year, or it is business as usual?

Thanks.

We're tossing around the idea of returning to Italy (late July or August) and wondered if we could get some recommendations on cities. We've done some of the 'must sees' on previous trips (Rome, Venice, Verona, Florence, Milan, Genoa, Siena, San Gimignano, Naples) and are now looking to put together a schedule that includes other biggies we've missed and perhaps less touristy hidden gems. We'll have about 2.5 weeks.

Anything recs you could throw my way would be greatly appreciated!

Hello everyone

Thanks for any help you can provide with this planning query. We plan to visit 4 places over 10 days late March next year. For few different reasons we have to do those 4 places and have only 10 days. Therefore I am looking for the best/efficient way to get these places. Our flight in and out is from Rome. We need to visit friends/ business in Venice, Tuscany and Naples. My initial thought was to stay in Rome for couple of days then travel to Venice then Tuscany , Naples and back to Rome via direct train. But wanted to see if we should instead travel first to Venice, then Tuscany, Naples and finally Rome to make the flight out easier? We are hoping to take flights and train but could get a car if need be especially thinking of Tuscany. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks again

My wife and I are visiting Italy for 9 days at the end of August/beginning of September (we're an active, foodie couple in our 40s). We'll spend the first few nights in Rome and then are looking at what to do for the last 6 nights of our trip. She's been to the North of Italy before, so tops on my list are going to Naples and the Amalfi Coast. A couple questions:

Should we expect lots of tourists along the coast from Aug Aug 30 - Sept 5? Or will summer crowds have receded by then?

And if it will be crowded, might it be better to base ourselves in Salerno instead of one of the smaller/more touristy spots? *I'm actually considering staying in Salerno regardless of crowd sizes, so we can experience a more 'real' Italy but still have access to the picturesque towns.

Any other suggestions appreciated! Thanks~

Thanks!

Hello!

We're headed on a month long trip to Italy mid July-August and could use any input / advice on the best places to stay. We're two musicians planning to do some music work and find an Airbnb to bunker down in for the month while we work on projects.

The current goal is to find a city near some water (lake or sea!), a small to medium sized city that doesn't feel overwhelmed by travelers or city bustle and has a small town more authentic feel to it. Since we'd be staying in and exploring the local area for a big part of our time, the local feeling is very important!

Ideally it'll be a place that we can get to from Rome without a car (we don't mind if its a long train ride) & it would be a place that could allow for little weekend trips to other cities and areas again without a car.

We've explored Como, Siena, Pisa, Bologna & Florence as possible options, but still having a bit of trouble sorting through the options. Hoping to get some advice from people with a bit more experience and knowledge than us!

Thanks so much !!

Long story short, I had two other trips in planning that my teen daughter eventually vetoed :)

She has requested a culture/sightseeing/city trip over the 'nature' and 'beach' options. She's had a really tough year and with all the anxiety about heading into high school, I would love to make this happen for her. I have about a month to plan this trip, so here's my first attempt at an itinerary. We will be flying in and out of Rome (only option for a direct flight), which we'll be skipping as we have previously visited:

Day 0: overnight flight into Rome, arrive 7:30 am

Day 1: Rome to Naples via high speed train, Napoli, Overnight in Napoli

Day 2: Pompeii tour, Overnight in Napoli

Day 3: Amalfi coast tour (bus tour or private driver), Overnight in Napoli

Day 4: Napoli in the morning, leave for Florence via high speed train, Overnight in Florence

Day 5: Florence, Overnight in Florence

Day 6: Tuscany day trip (bus tour or private driver), Overnight in Florence

Day 7: Train to Cinque Terre w/ stopover in Pisa, Overnight in CT

Day 8: Cinque Terre, Overnight in Cinque Terre

Day 9: Train to Milan, Overnight in Milan

Day 10: Milan in the morning, train to Venice, Overnight in Venice

Day 11: Venice, Overnight in Venice

Day 12: Venice in the morning, Venice to Rome via high speed train or flight, Overnight Rome near airport

Day 13: fly home

Would love to hear your thoughts:

- We like fast paced, but is it too fast paced? Any suggestions?

- I feel like Milan is a bit of a 'detour' and I wonder if it's worth just for one day?

- Should we get TrainItalia passes? Which one?

- I would love to have some flexibility and not prebook hotels in case we want to linger in one area more - is this too much of a risk? (I wouldn't have considered it but i feel like we could 'wing it' this year?)

- Is there anything else I need to pre-book? (ie. tours, transportation, admission tickets, etc).

Thanks all in advance!

I know i am early especially with Covid, but we are hoping to visit in third week of Feb 2022 to Italy, we have about ten days. Visiting from Vancouver, Canada.

We have only been to Rome 25 years ago, this time we hope to visit Florence, Pisa and Venice. We would like to drive ( five adults ), because we would like to include smaller pretty towns along the way between cities. is this a good idea or would train be more convenient? The weather seems wet but this is the only time we have and we thought Italy being south might be a better choice than some other european countries?

Any advice, comment, recommendation will be much appreciated.

I just booked a trip to Rome with my 13 year old daughter. We will be arriving July 30 Departing August 5.

This is our first time. We will take it slow. One or two sights a day and lots of walking, gelato, window shopping, eating and enjoying being together. We don't need to see it all.

I was wondering if I should book a few of the major sights now and "Skip the Line" or is that unnecessary with the lower crowds this summer. I will pay the extra to avoid crowds but would love to save the money for more gelato if I can. ;)

Also, any off the beaten path ideas for traveling with a 13 year old girl in Rome? She is mature, well traveled, loves to learn about food and the history that goes with it. But, is also a typical teen girl in many ways. Has many interests.

Thanks in Advance