Next June/July for Mom's 75th, but we are all meeting up at a villa outside of Todi for a week in the middle. Need advice on either end on any of the many questions I have!

We are 2 Adults, 25 year old niece (her 1st trip to Europe!), 16 Yr old daughter. Used to 5* Hotels & Silversea cruises, but have to be much more budget minded on this trip - those days may be fading! Still want nice to very nice, just not super expensive... :D Also must have internet access, even if just dial-up. Husband has driven all over Europe & refuses to drive anymore than absolutely necessary. And, the 3 of us ladies do not travel light, try as we might...

1.) Day 1/2 Flying LAX/ZUR/MUC/NAP Arr 21:45 (Trust me, awards mix-up - this was the best I could do & we're stuck with it & no one is very happy with me...)

I figure we'll be beat & could possibly misconnect somewhere along the line, so a close to airport, not too expensive chain hotel is fine for 1 nt. Looking at Holiday Inn, Rennaissance or BW Hotel Paradiso, all of which get mixed reviews - any suggestions? Another thought is to continue on to Pompeii immediately - looks like a nice hotel there, but can't remember name...

2.) Day 3 We've hired a driver out of Amalfi before, so thought we'd have him pick us up around 1100, drive to Pompeii, visit for 2 hours, continue drive to Amalfi Coast - any less expensive, but as easy ideas?

3.) Day 3/5 We loved Priano, disliked Positano (but figure the girls would love it!) - any hotel suggestions in Priano? Or I've read about the Villa Franca in Positano - how is that/has it gotten outrageous? Is it away from the heart of things? Thought we'd just use busses/taxis to take the girls to Capri ferry, Ravello, Positano. 2 nts here. Also looking at the Onde Verde or the Tramonte in Priano - any recs?

4.) Day 5 Amalfi Coast/Rome - Taxi to Amalfi, then train to Rome? Easier way to get to Naples for NAP/ROM train or use driver to get to NAP train station?

5.) Day 5/6 Rome - Hotel suggestions? Stayed at the Bernini Bristol before, but got lucky & upgraded to a suite. Other rooms looked kindof grim. Private guide suggestions? We obviously have very little time (we've been to Rome our last 2 trips, so are just stopping here for the girls) Would like them to see at least St. Peter's, Sistine Chapel & Colosseum/Forum, so will have to split into one visit that pm/other the next morning I think. Which would stay open later & be better to visit later, as opposed to next morning? Would like to just get guide for St. Peter's/Sistine if poss. They, of course, would rather shop than do any of this...

6.) Day 6 Rome/Todi - Train Rome/Terni & pick up car there make sense?

7.) Day 6/13 - Villa - any must-dos you highly rec in this area? - esp. restaurants, shops, wineries, etc? We might try to do the Palio (standing in piazza - those tkts are waaay too expensive), as it's on while we're there, but that might be way too ambitious. I've heard you have to hold it for 3 1/2 hrs at least - might be a problem... Want to visit Perugia, Spoleto, Orvieto & Montepulciano.

8.) Day 13 - Todi/Venice - Drop car in Florence & take train?

9.) Day 13/15 - Venice - Londra Palace Hotel Jr. Suite with 30 ft balcony loverlooking the Lido is our big splurge

10.) Day 15 - VCE/FRA/YYZ/LAX - Ugh!!

I know this is pretty ambitious, but originally were flying directly into Rome & no Amalfi Coast, but only flight I could get was 2 days earlier, so decided both we & the girls would enjoy that scenery & lots of spaghetti alle fruitti di mare! Also, any suggestions for restaurants, stops, stores, etc 25 & 16 year old females would like...

BTW, for hotels, could use AmExp points (what a waste!), but have burned most Marriott, *wood & Hilton - have tons of Hyatt, but that doesn't help a whole lot on this itin!

TIA for any help on any or all of this!!

BUMP - Any help on any part of this much appreciated.

Priano Hotels?
Rome Hotel?
Rome Guide?
.....

Take a look at www.througheternity.com and www.romewalks.com for walking tours of Rome. I took the "St. Peter's Basilica & Vatican Museums" tour with Through Eternity and the "Ancient City/Colosseum Walk" with Rome Walks this spring. I would recommend both, although I thought the guide from Rome Walks was a little better. They both advertise that they keep the groups small -- one walk had four participants and the other had six or seven (this was in Feb/March, so June/July numbers may be higher). I believe each company offers private guides, too (for a higher fee, of course).

I don't think I can offer any suggestions re: Rome hotels -- I stayed at the Hotel Aberdeen, a very nice, simple, well-located small place, but it sounds like it's less than what you're looking for (definitely not near 5* level).

Rome: I would suggest Intercontinental .... is a delightful property....is close to so much and even with the little time you have you will enjoy walking easily to lots of places....right at bottom of Spanish Steps, lots of shops, as you know since you've already been....teen things there too....IIRC, Forum is closed PM on Sunday though not certain....would get guide for Vatican, St. Peter's given your time contraints....pop into a cab on the morning you leave and see the Colosseum and Forum. If you want to use points you can always transfer from Amex into Priority Club for Interconti. Hilton Cavalieri, same thing, but not a good location for the time you have. You will love the hill towns. Montepulciano is one of my favorites. Have a great time!

Recently took a long weekend with my wife and two teenage kids in Rome. Had an absolute blast. We stayed at a pretty decent, relatively inexpensive hotel called the Hiberia that I found at Venere.com. It was a walk up a hill, but we walked everyplace -- Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain (near the hotel), Trastevere, the Jewish Quarter, the Piazza del Popolo, Villa Borghese ... . We hired a guide to tour the Vatican Museum -- a Princeton architectural/art history grad student who was terrific, though not inexpensive.

I'd second Montepulciano. Sienna is lovely if it is not croweded -- sounds like you'd be there for the ultimate crowd. From three or four trips years ago, I remember a number of lovely towns in Tuscany/Umbria. it is hard to go wrong there. Vinci, where Leonardo was from was a great day trip from Rome.

Have a great trip.

For a driver I'd recommend Salvatore Lucibello (info@driveamalfi.com) who lives in Amalfi

Rome: I would suggest Intercontinental .... is a delightful property....is close to so much .....

Be careful with IC de la Ville. Stayed there recently for two nights. First night we got an unfriendly reception guy and a lousy room (facing the street): very small, dark, low ceilings. Next day we met Guiseppe Vincelli, Dir. of Business Development, and got a very nice room. I believe it was in the hotel's executive area ... I am no more Ambassador, but Priority Platinum. The location is indeed very good.

I am not sure, if the tip to take a taxi is a good one. Most of Rome's taxi drivers are overcharging.... I believe that the IC has a limo service.

Check this:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/main.jhtml?xml=/travel/2006/09/02/etrome02.xml

BTW, Palio (in Siena) has taken place already in August ... have been there the next day...at Piazza del Campo.

Yes, Montepulciano, Montalcino and Pienza are nice .... Also Peruggia is worth seeing.
Another great place is Assisi! Very old town, very, very impressive "church and monastery". However, all those places might be a problem for your 75 year old mom ...
Read this from Wiki..: The Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi (St Francis) is a World Heritage Site. The Franciscan monastery and the lower and upper church (Basilica inferiore e superiore) of St Francis were begun immediately after his canonization in 1228, and completed 1253. The lower church has frescos by renowned late-medieval artists Cimabue and Giotto; in the Upper church are frescos of scenes in the life of St Francis by Giotto and his circle. On September 26, 1997 Assisi was struck by an earthquake. The Basilica was badly damaged (part of the vault collapsed, killing four people inside the church and carrying with it a fresco by Cimabue), and was closed for two years for restoration.

We also went to Cortona .. not worth it, however, we would have liked to see Anna Netrebko, the young Russian soprano, who had a performance the same evening in Cortona ....all sold out!

There is an upscale outlet mall, called THE MALL (15+ shops, GUCCI, FENDI, ARMANI, ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA, HUGO BOSS, LA PERLA, VALENTINO, YVES SAINT LAURENT and others), near Incisa in Val d' Arno (exit on Autostrada A1) Turn right and follow the principal street. You will immediately see the indications of THE MALL. After 8/10 minutes you will see THE MALL on your left, website: http://www.outlet-firenze.com/

Have fun ... :)

.....Vinci, where Leonardo was from was a great day trip from Rome.

Have a great trip.

Day trip from Rome :confused: I don't think so.... it's 330 km one way; total of 7 hours driving....
We have just been in Vinci on our trip from Florence to Lucca, and yes, it's worth seeing, when you are nearby ... Vinci's birthplace, museum and scenery..

I just returned from a week in a villa outside Todi. It's a lovely area. One of the highlights of our week was visiting the Perugina chocolate factory outside Perugia. Here's the article that sparked my interest: http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/umbria/pb_perugina.htm

Deruta and it's pottery is just a few minutes up the superstrada from Todi.

Here are our favorite restaurants in/around Todi:

La Scalette, in the old center on Via Ciufelli.
La Mulinella, down the hill from Todi.
If you happen to be on the eastern side of Todi, try out Le Noci in the small village of Grutti.
The best gelato, hands down, is at the top of the lift at the Porta Orvietana gate (not far from La Scalette)

Have a fantastic trip.

A very nice hotel on the Amalfi coast is the Crown Plaza Castellammare Di Stabia. http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/pc/1/en/hotel/NAPCS/at-a-glance

Plus you get points! And I concur on the IC Roma as a good choice.

A very nice hotel on the Amalfi coast is the Crown Plaza Castellammare Di Stabia. http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/pc/1/en/hotel/NAPCS/at-a-glance

Plus you get points! And I concur on the IC Roma as a good choice.

Did you actually stay at this property? Just curious since that area of the coast didnt seem particularly attractive when we stopped there in Spring 2005.
In addition Castellammare Di Stabia is best known (by some of us in the Marine industry) as the home of one of Italy's largest shipyards..not where one would pick for a vacation.

As to the OPs initial question regarding Priano ( which really is very small town) if he chose Le Sirenuse considered one of Italy's best resorts which although listed as being in Positano is actually in Priano, he couldnt go wrong.

http://www.fivestaralliance.com/luxury_hotel/naples/le_sirenuse?gclid=CNaf8Mq17YcCFQ8lUAoduRpggA

mike

Did you actually stay at this property? Just curious since that area of the coast didnt seem particularly attractive when we stopped there in Spring 2005.
In addition Castellammare Di Stabia is best known (by some of us in the Marine industry) as the home of one of Italy's largest shipyards..not where one would pick for a vacation.

Yes I stayed there. It has a very nice restaurant overlooking the bay and Pompei which is not as expensive as it looks. Really nice modern rooms too. The hotel is just outside of town on the coast highway. I could lay in bed and look out the window and see the bay and Pompei.

I went into town to snoop around and they were having a big festival that day. Lots of fun. I did some shopping and got great prices. Part of the town did look industrial, but the downtown is nice and a typical of the Italian coast.

Day trip from Rome :confused: I don't think so.... it's 330 km one way; total of 7 hours driving....
We have just been in Vinci on our trip from Florence to Lucca, and yes, it's worth seeing, when you are nearby ... Vinci's birthplace, museum and scenery..

Oops. We did it as a day trip. Was it a day trip from Florence? We took the train if I am not mistaken. That was on the first of about 7 or 8 trips to Italy, so I guess my memory is a bit foggy. Sorry?