Hi all--

Am trying to decide on the right amount of travel outside Rome while I am there. I am studying for one month and interning for one month so will be there in June and July and want to check out more of Italy. Thus, although I will be in Rome all week every week, I will not have all that much time to explore during the weekdays. So far I am thinking the following:

weekend 1: Stay in rome, maybe go to Ostia Antica
weekend 2: Florence
weekend 3: Capri/Sorrento
weekend 4: Venice
weekend 5: Stay in Rome, maybe do a day trip to Sperlonga
weekend 6: Stay in Rome, friend visiting for weekend
weekend 7: Amalfi Coast or Perugia
weekend 8: Stay in Rome

A couple notes: I have squeezed some trips right in a row towards the beginning. This is because I am assuming that we will get out of class at a reasonable hour on Fridays in June, whereas I really don't know when I would get out of work during July (I'll be interning with a law firm--don't know if big firm lawyer's hours there are as crazy as they are here or not).

So my main questions are:

1-does this seem like too much to squeeze in? I have cut out a lot already after realizing that my grand plan to visit somewhere each weekend would leave me exhausted and rushing around. I know that the Estate Roma (?) fest is going on then so there will probably be lots to do in Rome. And I am thinking the two weekends on the beaches in Capri/Amalfi b/c I will want to just relax and get away from the city. And I really want to go to Capri, Sorrento and Positano which sounds like too much for one weekend. However, the idea of visiting Perugia for Jazz Fest seems enticing too...

2-How early do you think booking is necessary for these months? Part of me is tempted to wing it and only book Venice (looks hardest to find rooms) for now and then see if I make friends with anyone during my class who would like to travel with me--and then decide when to do my other weekends based on that. But my budget is realistically going to be around $50/night for each of these places (though I know I will likely break that a time or two) and rooms in that price seem even more limited.
And I am the uptight sort who likes to have reservations especially since I am on a budget and it will be high season.

I have gotten so much great info from browsing around this site/board so I must say thanks to all of you! It has really helped my trip planning in terms of apartment rental, cell phone, just general info. (not to mention providing an escape from studying for my finals...which I should be doing right now )

Oh and one more question--does it cool down a lot at night in Rome? I know here in the US some places like Colorado cool down to the point you need a jacket at night, while other places cool down only a little. Trying to decide how many long sleeves to bring.

Thanks!

-Melissa

First, there is so much to see in Rome that I hope you research whatever interests you -- art, architecture, history. Rome is a treasure trove that just keeps getting better as you peel back the layers.

For weekend trips, you need to decide how much time you're willing to spend traveling round trip. If you haven't yet, go to Trenitalia and look up travel times. When you include the time to and from the train station, a trip between Rome and Venice will take over five hours.

Sorrento will take well over three hours -- two hours to get to Naples and another hour to transfer to and ride the Circumvesuviana (local train around the Bay of Naples).

Capri is beautiful, and you can get there by hydrofoil -- from Naples or from Sorrento or Positano or Amalfi. But again, you should plan on taking at least four hours to get to Capri from Rome. (Positano and Amalfi you cannot reach by train, so either boat or bus connections will be required and will further lengthen your travel time.)

Sperlonga you can get to from Rome in about an hour and a half. It probably has better beaches that Sorrento, Positano or Capri -- the beaches there are mostly small rocks rather than sand.

Many businesses don't start the work week until Monday afternoon -- but I don't know if that custom will apply to your law firm. If it did, you could try to leave Friday after work and come back Monday morning.

I have no idea about lodging for $50 a night, but June and July are very popular months and I would prefer to have reservations everywhere -- both for peace of mind and for not wasting time trying to find a place to stay upon arrival, then settling for something less than optimal when I could have done better with planning.

A sweater or a jacket should be enough for evenings in the summer. You likely wouldn't need your SF "leathers" except maybe for boat trips at night.

Meltae

in your planning consider that in general June is better than July to go to beach places because the more you approach to August the more they get incredibly crowded (although during weekends it will be crowded anyway)

Also consider that thursday june 2 is national holyday and many people (including myself ))will be taking a long weekend break. Also june 29 is holyday in Rome (St Peter and Paul's day)

In terms of working hours ... it depends a lot. Generally speaking you can expect very long working hours (well into the night). At least based on my experience, I am used to working with law firms in Milan, could be that here in Rome they are a bit more relaxed but I wouldn't count too much on that.

Have fun

Thanks for the advice. Sounds like it is a good idea to book ahead. I know the 5 hours to Venice is a lot for a two day trip, but for some reason I just have it stuck in my head that I must go there.

Re Venice, could you plan to go there for a few days before your return trip home? That way, you could see more of Venice and put off facing reality a bit longer.

I hadn't even thought of trying to go to Venice at the end. That could actually work quite well since my ticket is pretty flexible. Good idea!