Expert: Lisa - 10/7/2009

Question
My husband & I will be in Florence for 2 days, then Tuscany for a week photographing, then back to Florence.  We would like to go from Florence to the Amalfi Coastline and spend about 6 days, then go to Venice for about 4 days, then take the train back to Florence to fly home.  Does this sound feasible to you, and would you advise taking the train.  Also, what main town would we use for a destination and do day trips to the Amalfi coast towns?  Thanks,  Julie

Answer
Hi Julie. Sure, it sounds fine to me. I would definitely take the train unless you really love to drive and explore and don't mind paying a lot for gas. There are a few options:

1) Take the train to Naples and pick up a rental car
2) Take the train to Naples, transfer to the Circumvesuvian train line, and take it to Sorrento. Then rent a car or take the bus to Amalfi with stops along the way.

Check out these two websites:

http://goitaly.about.com/library/bl_amalfi_coast_maps.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CCVXMLzGeE

You could stay overnight in Sorrento and then continue on Positano, stay a few nights there, and Amalfi is nice, too. You can also hop over to Capri from Sorrento or Naples. Beautiful place and great photo ops. But you can't take a car there, so plan wisely.

To get to Venice, travel back to Naples and get the train there. Here's a website for train travel:

http://www.raileurope.com/index.html

Also, if you're interested in renting a car, check out kemwel.com. It's a European company.

Best wishes,
Lisa