2 Weeks in Italy

When: April/May 2025

Danielle’s Highlight: Private boat tour of the Amalfi Coast

Jason’s Highlight: Pompeii, Colossum, and vespa-ing on the Amalfi coast

Where we stayed: AirBnBs and Hotels

• Florence: Santo Spirito

• Salerno: Vicolo della Neve

• Santa Maria di Castellabate: Il Casino Di Mare

• Rome: Hotel Genova & Rome Airport Hilton Hotel

TLDR: Italy is amazing. We were here 13 days and it was barely enough to scratch the surface. We recommend flying in on one end of the country then flying out from the other to avoid back tracking. The high speed trains are great. Make sure you book reservations for popular sites in advance to avoid long lines (skip the line tickets are worth it).

Itinerary: This is our 2 week itinerary with 4 cities: Florence, Salerno, Santa Maria di Castellabate, and Rome.

Day One: We arrived in Rome at 8 AM and immediately hopped on a train to Florence. Day one is always doozy due to lack of sleep and time changes. I highly recommend studying the airport map ahead of time and have all your booking details handy. There are buses and taxis, but we found that the time it took to walk to the Airbnb was nearly the same as public transportation. Like most Italian cities, most of the roads are cobblestone which makes hauling heavy suitcases hard, so keep that in mind when you're packing! With all of our international travels, we leave day one very unstructured to wander and nap. Jason and I went to a rooftop bar for caprese and wine for lunch. For dinner, we grabbed some pizzas to go and enjoyed people watching at Piazza Santo Spirito (a plaza and fountain). Of course the night ended with gelato!

• Loggia Roof Bar: Gorgeous views and great food. You definitely want to sit outside here! We had caprese and salami with burrata. Regarding wine, you can't go wrong with the house wine. It's all so good.

• Gustapizza: We chose this place because we could get to go/"takeaway" and it was much quicker than trying to get a table. We also were able to get wine to go. This restaurant is only a short walk to Piazza Santo Spirito which is a plaza with benches and a fountain; a great pizza and wine picnic!

• Gelateria Artigianale La Sorbettiera: Rated 4.8 on Google. This is in Piazza Santo Spirito and was amazing!

Day Two: We started out day with a timed entry to the Galleria dell'Accademia to see "David". I had read that if you arrive early to museums you might miss crowds. We showed up at 8:30 and it was already swarming with people. We decided to grab to go sandwiches from the famous All' Antico Vinaio. We then checked out a nearby wine window! Up next was the Uffizi Gallery, another must-see in Florence and home to "Venus". Florence is known for it's steak, so at least one steakhouse needs to be on the itinerary! We went to the steakhouse, Braceria All'11. While the rest of the family turned in for the night, Jason and I went to one more bar where we made friends with a French couple and played games (with the help of Google translate).

• Galleria dell’Accademia: David is the main site here and a must-see in Florence. The museum is surprisingly small and took us about 1 hour to walk around. Also David is huge!

• All' Antico Vinaio: A well known sandwich shop. They have a wide variety of options. I recommend ordered a few and cutting them up to share. At least try one with pistachio!

• Wine Windows: These are little windows around the city that are attached to a restaurant. You ring a bell and can order a glass of wine. It's such a simple but fun thing to do in Florence. There are a lot of online resources about where you can find all the wine windows in the city.

• Uffizi Gallery: The infamous Venus painting is located here. It is an extremely old museum that should be checked off of every art-loving-traveller's list.

• Braceria All'11: This was a highly rated steakhouse near our Airbnb. Once we decided the type of steak we wanted, the waiter brought out the raw slab so we could "inspect" it and approve. The cooked steak came out on a hot cast iron and we could sprinkle salty char over the top, which was amazing!

• The Fiddler's Elbow Irish Pub: Not sure how or why we ended up in an Irish bar, but it was a great time! They have a pool table and there was a French couple playing. We asked to join and spent the rest of the evening playing pool and Bank. Oh and we totally beat them at pool.. (USA, USA, USA!)

Day Three: We started day three with a timed entry to the Dome of the Duomo. It was a decent trek to the top and we were rewarded with great views. After exploring the rest of the Duomo, we wandered around the markets. Lunch was a random pizza place, Ganza, which was so good! We spent the afternoon doing a private food tour and then watched the sunset from the Ponte Santa Trinita bridge and admiring the Ponte Vecchio.

• Duomo: There are a few different ticket options for seeing the Duomo properties. We did the Brunelleschi Pass so the Dome was included. You need to book a timed entry slot for the Dome. We decided to start our tour with this, so we weren't stressed on time later. The line for the Cathedral was soooo long. We skipped it. You could consider doing the Cathedral right when it opens, then do the Dome. The walk up the Dome wasn't bad but it is 463 steps!

• Ganza: This was a randomly found pizza restaurant. There was a huge line for a pizza place next door, so we came here instead and it was great! They were small individual pizzas and great for a light lunch.

• Food tour: We found a private food tour, which was great considering we were traveling with a 2.5 year old. We did the "Florence Exclusive PRIVATE Food Tour with 6 or 10 Tastings" through Viator. Our guide gave some tidbits about the history of Florence and we tried a wide array of foods.

Day Four: Jason and I offered our Aunt/Uncle services to babysit our nephew while the rest of the family did a bike ride through the Tuscan countryside. They said it was a fantastic experience! For the afternoon, we went wine tasting in Tuscany.

• Bike Ride: We were babysitting while the family went on a ride. They booked through AirBnB here. They said it was very fun and beautiful!

• Wine Tasting: Once babysitting was done, we were off to wine tasting! We booked this tour: From Florence: Chianti Wine & Food Tour with 2 Wineries. We took a bus to two different wineries and the small village, Monteriggioni. We enjoyed the tour, but it felt a bit rushed at the wineries. Going to Monteriggioni was cool because it's an intact medieval-walled hilltop village. If this tour is the only one that is available or works with your schedule, then I'd do it. However, I think it would be worth looking for other higher rated tours instead.

• La Bussola: We had a late dinner here and it was fantastic. I ordered a parmasean dish where they light a big parmasean wheel on fire and stir in the pasta which creates the sauce from the melting cheese. Amazing!

Day Five: We left Florence and headed down south to Salerno via high speed train. I've already said it, but the high speed trains are great! We checked in to our place in Salerno, then took a taxi to Pompeii. We could have stopped at Pompeii on the way down, but didn't want to deal with our bags. After Pompeii we wandered around Salerno.

• Pompeii: You have got to visit Pompeii! It was so cool. We booked this tour: Pompeii: Entry Ticket and Guided Tour with an Archaeologist. I highly recommend doing a tour! Our guide actually had her phd in archaeology and was so knowledgable. There was a ton of info we would not have learned without a guide.

• Wandering: Salerno is a medium sized city that sits along the water. It feels slightly less touristy than some of the other nearby towns.

• La TrAversa: We found a randrom restaurant to grab dinner at. This was a kid friendly place with outdoor seating and a great house wine.

Day Six: We wanted to explore the Amalfi Coast, but didn't want to deal with the hassle of driving or getting stuck in a heard of tourists. We found Blue Dream Boat Rentals and explored the coast by boat! It was one of, if not the, best day of the trip. We got off the boat around 5 PM, found some dinner and then retired for the night.

• Amalfi Coast Boat Tour: We booked through Blue Dream Boat Rentals. It was so amazing! I had some issues booking through the site, so I sent an email and the customer service was great. We rented a boat with a skipper, so we didn't have to worry about driving or parking the boat. The captain had our itinerary already mapped out too, so we didn't have to think at all. We stopped at a few viewpoints and took a little swim before pulling off at some towns. We had an hour to check out both Amalfi and Positano. I would do this tour over and over again!

• Ristorante Trattoria Ippocampo: Our lunch spot, which is only accessible by boat or a steep path. It only has 4 stars on Google, but we thought it was so good. I (Danielle) had the carbonara and it was probably the best one I had in Italy.

• Tagliere e Calice: We ordered what looked like pizza toast. It was a piece of bread with pizza toppings and it was very good!

Day Seven: The family split up this day because everyone wanted to do something slightly different. Jason and I took a ferry to Amalfi and rented vespas. We wanted to explore the coast from a different view. We met up with the parents for a cooking class in Amalfi. We took the ferry back to Salerno and everyone got dinner together.

• Ferry: We went back and forth on how we wanted to access the coast and get the vespas. I was nervous about driving out of Salerno because there is a little heavier traffic in that area.We decided to skip the busy area and pick up vespas in Amalfi. The Travelmar ferry was super easy and a fun way to see the coast.

• Vespas: If you ask reddit about riding vespas on the Amalfi Coast, you'll be bombarded by negatively from people who have never done it. We actually did it and it was so, so fun! We did a two-seater and Jason drove us. It was incredible feeling the breeze with that gorgeous costal view. We also could manuever around traffic easily and navigate populated areas better than with a car or bus. Just slow down around corners and when buses pass. As the passenger, I felt safe the whole time!

  
  

• Ristorante km0 praiano by chef Antonio: We stopped in Praiano for lunch at this cute, little restuarant. The dad was the chef and the daughter was the waitress. While we waited for our food she asked if we wanted to make our own tiramisu. So fun! The do cooking classes here, so everything was all set up for a later class. The food was great and fresh.

• Cooking Class: We found a cooking class in Amalfi: Amalfi: Cooking Class and Farmhouse Visit With Meal. This was excellent! It was lively, engaging, and the food was delicious! I highly recommend this class. We made several different dishes as a group and then ate family style.

Day Eight: We left Salerno and started the drive to Santa Maria di Castellabate (SMC). We got checked into our rental and relaxed at home for the day. We did make out outing for an Aperol in town, which was about 5 minutes walk from our villa. It was nice to have a day without much to do.

• Siamo Fritti: We stopped in Agropoli for lunch on our way to SMC. The name of this restaurant on Trip Advisor is "We Are Fried." They have croquettes and fried calzones. It was good, but only if you're okay with fried things! This restaurant was also right across from the beach.

• Casino di Mare: We splurged on our lodging in SMC and rented this villa. It was pretty incredible. The grounds were huge and it was a great place to just relax.

• Spiaggia dello Scario: This is one of the beaches in the neighborhood we were staying at and was where all the restuarants were by our place. We grabbed Aperol Spritzes and sat by the beach for a night cap.

Day Nine: We spent the day in SMC and made our way to the beach. We found some beach chairs and basically just hung out all day. After the beach day we wandered futher into SMC. They were having some sort of festival so there was music and dancing in the town square. SMC is very cute and the city center had unique art and knit pieces strung above the walkways.

• Beach: We walk to Lido Costa d'Oro, which was the beach closest to the villa. A few folks went out on a kayak or took a dip in the ocean. There was a cafe nearby that we could grab drinks and snacks at. We tried to get there early so we could get chairs together. All of the front row chairs were taken, but there were several options still left. We were there in the shoulder season, so I imagine the beach could be quite busy in the summer.

• Bistrot Belleville: We chose this restuarant because it was right next to the town center and had a view of the sunset. The food was good and they had some different options, like a hamburger, not only Italian.

Day Ten: This area of Italy is known for buffalo mozzarella, so naturally we started our day with a mozzarella facility tour. This was fun and made for a good breakfast/brunch spot. We then went to Paestum, which is very well preserved ancient city. After Paestum we went back to the villa and hung out for the night. We did a homemade pasta dinner which was delicious with amazing Italian ingredients!

• Tenuta Vannulo Mozzarella Facility: This is about 30 minutes from SMC. It is a large facility with a leather shop, ice cream and yogurt shops, and a guided tour. You get to try a piece of fresh mozzerella, which was amazing! We booked our tour time directly through their website. Bookings need to be done in advance!

• Paestum: This is an ancient city famous for its three exceptionally well-preserved Greek Doric temples, dating from about 550 to 450 BCE. It was similar to Pompeii, but still different enough that it's worth visiting both. They also have a museum full of ancient artifacts.

Day Eleven: This day was my mom's birthday! We wanted to get outside and adventurous. We drove about 30 minutes to Palinuro. We hung out on the beach and went rock climbing. Even if you aren't a climber, Palinuro was an amazing place to hike around and wander the beach. Once back in SMC we went to Fuego Steakhouse for a birthday dinner.

• Bar Trivento: We came here for breakfast pastries and after climbing for lunch. It's actually a gas station cafe. They had a large buffet and surprisingly good food!

• Climbing: We have multiple climbers in the family, so this was a bucket list item for the trip. Our brother-in-law brought a rope and we had 3 harnesses that we could just share. This was a very fun and unique activity. It should only be done by or accompanied by an experienced climber, as you have to trad climb the first ascent to make it a top rope route. This is the location on Google Maps: Climbing Area Spiaggia della Molpa. In order to access the beach you have to cross a river via a small boat that is attached to a rope. It's quite the place!

• Fuego Steakhouse: This was considered one of the best meals of the trip! We had a wonderful experience ordering several dishes to share. The steaks were incredible! Also be sure to order some lemoncello; it was our favorite!

Day Twelve: We woke up early to drive back to Salerno to catch a train to Rome. We got into Rome around 2:30 PM and stayed near the Roma Tiburtina station, because we didn't want to haul our luggage around for just a two night stay. We checked in then made our way to the Colosseum. Rome is amazing and there is history literally around every corner. We slowly meandered towards the hotel and grabbed dinner at La Fata Ignorante.

• Colosseum: You can't go to Rome and not visit the Colosseum! I highly recommend a tour, and one that includes the underground. This was so incredible and leaves you in awe of how the ancient Romans lived. Our guide said that no matter where you are in Rome, you're likely standing on ruins. We booked: Colosseum: Underground and Ancient Rome Tour. It is no longer showing on Get Your Guide, but there are plenty of other options that are highly rated. Make sure your tour included the Forum and Palatine Hill (most do).

• La Fata Ignorante: This was a great meal and a slightly more upscale restaurant. It is also near the Tiburtina station.

• Trevi Fountain: We had just enough energy to hit one more site. The Trevi Fountain might be a tourist trap, but it's still a must see. We actually ended up seeing it again the next day, but it was cool to see it at night. It is a beautiful and impressive landmark.

Day Thirteen: We had a big day ahead of us, trying to soak Rome in in a day. We travelled to another country... Vatican City! We happened to be in Rome on the day they chose the new pope! Our sister/sister-in-law, brother-in-law, and nephew were on the Vatican premises when the white smoke blew. It was pretty incredible! We mostly wandered Rome and stopped at any interesting landmarks, like the Pantheon.

• Vatican: We booked a tour to visit the Vatican because it is so large and we wanted full access to the grounds. Unfortunately due to them choosing the new pope, we couldn't enter the Sistine Chapel. This was definitely a bummer, but we still had a great time seeing the Vatican. We booked this tour: Rome: Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museums Tour & Basilica Access. Sadly we were a little disappointed in our guide. We didn't feel like there was much interesting or unique info given. He mostly pointed things out that felt kind of obvious or was just written on the info placard.

• Pantheon: We acciednlty stumbled upon the Pantheon. It is a former Roman temple and one of the best-preserved ancient architectural masterpieces in the world. It is famous for its continuous use for nearly 2,000 years and as open for visitors/tours, but the line was super long. We did not go inside, but it was cool to see the outside and to hang around this city square.

• Piazza Navona: Another town square with fountains and statues that we stubmbled upon. Like I said earlier, around every corner is history and beauty in Rome.

• Bo.no. - Monti By Armonia: Our last meal in Rome. It was a cool looking restaurant near the Tiburtina station. They had classic Italian food and the carbonara was good.

• Hilton Rome Airport: We had an early flight and didn't want to deal with Rome traffic before an international flight. We stayed at the Hilton that is directly next to the airport. It was so worth it!

Bonus: Venice and the Dolomites

• On a separate trip, we visited the northern parts of Italy and it was equally fantastic. Check out our post here to read about these locations if you want to add them to this itinerary. There are high speed trains that can take you to Venice within a couple hours.

Overall Tips:

• High speed trains are amazing! Utilize them to get between major cities. Make sure you book directly through the train websites. There are many convincing 3rd party booking sites that are more expensive and sketchy (like RailNinja). There is Trenitalia and Italo. You can use the third party sites like ItaliaRail to compare routes, but just make sure you aren't spending more money to use a 3rd party site or getting scammed!

• I (Danielle) had never had carbonara before. It is sooo good in Italy. I have been trying to find a comparable carbonara in the US and nothing is as good as Italy!

• The Amalfi Coast is incredible. Positano is probably the most well known, but it was actually our least favorite town. It was extremely crowded, which ruined the specialness that the other towns have. Amalfi felt like a better mix of upbeat and lively, but not feeling like a sardine.

• If we could do this trip again, we personally would remove one SMC day and add another Rome day. There is so much to see in Rome and it would be been nice to slow down there. However, even with 1.5 day we still felt like we got a good feel for Rome.

You can't go wrong with any city or plan in Italy. It is incredible, beautiful, and TASTY!

Ciao,

D & J