roacher78

My wife and I will be in Italy August 17-26. We will be doing 4 days in Rome, 3 days in Florence and then still looking where to go for our last 2 days before heading back to Rome. We enjoy the outdoors and hiking so we were thinking of going to Monti Sibillini for a couple days and stay in Norcia at Palazzo Seneca.

I have a couple concerns about this but dont know how valid they are. First, renting and driving a car could potentially stress me out and I don't want to end up paying a ton of STL fines. Second, will Norcia be a ghost town? One from the earthquake last year and two due to all locals being on holiday at the end of August.

Perche

Welcome to the Italy Forum! Here are a few preliminary thoughts.

The Sibillini part is really interesting. You have the possibility of a great trip here.

You don't have enough time to do it all. The main killer of quality vacation time in Italy is packing too much stuff to do in too little time. It's no fun to be just packing and leaving, and not having any time to see and experience anything while you're in Italy.

I assume you arrive on the 17th. Your profile doesn't say where you are traveling from. Unless you are originating in Europe that day doesn't really count. I can stand the rigors of travel as well as most. If you are coming from the USA and landing in Rome, that's not a real day there. You can see some of the stunners like the Colosseo and Forum at night, grab a basic meal, and that's about it. You will be tired.its recovery time.

Your visit really starts on the 18th, when you will presumably be somewhat refreshed. I'm going to assume you are from the USA, since your profile doesn't provide the information. You can't fly out of Norcia. You'll have to return the car (a car will be necessary for part of the trip), and position yourself on the 25th in a city with decent access to an airport. That means that you have 7 days. You go by days, not nights.

It doesn't matter How many nights. That's hotel logic. If you get to Rome at 8PM that doesn't count as a day in Rome. Nights don't count. You go by jet lag free days. You don't have four days in Rome, three days in Florence, and two days in Norcia. Something has to give.

I was in Rome last Friday, and also passed through Florence. Rome can take the August crowds. It's strange that Italy closes down for most of August, when the most tourists go there. But Rome is large enough that you don't feel it. There will be fewer locals and many more tourists, but it will still be OK. Four days in Rome is nothing. It doesn't come close to scratching the surface. It's hot, but there is so much to do and see. You can even spend a day at the beach.

On a short 8 day trip like this, I don't see how you can squeeze in two more places to experience. Florence would normally be very nice but it will be like Dante's hell when you are going. So hot, so crowded, such long lines. People who go will like it if they've never been there before, but Italy has so much more to offer than horrible August in Florence, packed in crowds, zombie walking in the Uffizi, where tourists don't look at the paintings and sculptures, they are too busy using selfie-sticks to take pictures of themselves standing in front of the paintings and sculptures. It's going to be miserable in August.

Now, going to Norcia is an interesting thing. It shows you've done your homework. In Italy during August you don't go to Florence or Venice. You go to the mountains or to the beach. Sebillini would be your mountain escape, where you really should be in August. However, to do it you will have to cut down Florence. I'd consider dropping Florence to just an overnight stay so that you can walk by the Duomo, the Arno, and catch sunset at Piazza Michelangelo, and go to the Central Market to eat.

You wouldn't need a car until this point. Pick one up on the outskirts of Florence, outside of the ZTL. No problem then. You will need the car in Umbria. Then drop it off, but can't say anything about where since You didn't say where you are flying out of.

The Relais looks like a wonderful place to spend mid August in Italy, when everything is closed except for in Rome, Venice, Florence. My only concern is that I tried to call them. They seem like a great property. It was 1PM there. Using their website number, I could tell that I was calling France. While putting me on hold, they had a recording about how they are a chain of 554 hotels around the world. Not sounding very Italian. I called twice, and never got off hold of anyone; just spiels in German, French, and English, about the hotel. So then not using the 1-800 number, I tried to call the concierge desk directly. There was a recording in Italian saying, "no one is available to take your call at the moment. We will transfer you to one of our external operators." That put me back on the queue in France.

The hotel looks good, and had a great rate, and it is wonderful to experience that area of Italy in August, instead of being packed in Florence or Venice at that time of year. The hotel seems good, but might be somewhat hotel chain-y, since their phone calls get forwarded to France.

roacher78

Thank you for the helpful reply. For more background, yes coming from the US. Philadelphia to Rome, landing at FCO at 9am on the 17th. Depart from FCO at 11am on the 26th. So using the logic you spelled out that would give us 8 days. I think we'll be tired the first day but we'll have enough time to get a couple sights and a good dinner in.

Florence is what it is. We've never been before and want to see it. I know it will be hot and crowded but we'll make the best of it. Likely try to get away during mid day to be out of the heat and crowds, but we'll see.

Thought was Sibillini would be a nice quiet break from the craziness of Rome and Florence. For us, going on a couple hikes and eating good dinners is as relaxing as it gets.