My first question to you is, how much time do you have? Amalfi Coast and Rome can be a good combinat

Logistics: we will need help there...most fairmont hotel in chicago likely fly in or out of Rome; maybe into Rome and out of Naples...we are spoiled by living in Atlanta and rarely have to make connections; neither of us drives a stick shift (uh-oh) and we have never driven outside of the US
Where to stay in Rome? I know nothing about Rome (in Paris, we love the 6th or Ile St Louis). We don't want to be in the party central part of town, nightlife not important, great restaurants are important. Hotel or apartment?
Will worry about restaurants, sites to see, great shopping a bit later. Your ideas are appreciated. I have always gotten great advice from Fodorites regarding France, so I look forward to hearing your thoughts on Italy (I feel like I am cheating fairmont hotel in chicago on the France Fodorites)!
My first question to you is, how much time do you have? Amalfi Coast and Rome can be a good combination, but don't short-change one over the other. fairmont hotel in chicago If you can get somewhere between 10 days to 2 weeks that would be ideal to spend 5-7 days in each location.
There is so much to do in Rome, but with a week you could easily do a day trip or 2. Sorrento may be a good jumping off point for the Amalfi coast, but there are lots of small towns along the coast that you could easily base yourself in Amalfi itself, or Positano, or some other smaller town, but a car would be a definite need in the smaller towns, IMHO. There is a Sita bus service between towns on the Amalfi coast, but then you are tied to their schedule. There are other Fodorites who are better versed fairmont hotel in chicago in the "ins and outs" of the Amalfi fairmont hotel in chicago coast than I am. Back in 2009 I spent a week there with a group of friends...I'll pull up the trip report and post it here.
I think your idea of late Sept/early Oct is a great one. In 2009 I spent a week in Rome and we had (knock on wood) the most beautiful weather...but fairmont hotel in chicago you know how weather can be, and it's never the same year to year. But, crowds will certainly be less.
If I were planning this trip with Amalfi and Rome in mind I would probably fly into Naples (get the connection situation out of the way at the beginning of the trip) and head straight for the Amalfi coast. If you rented a car, you could pick it up at the Naples airport and I'd recommend either dropping it off and taking the train from Naples to Rome to do the Rome portion of the trip, or drive to Rome, but drop the car at the Rome airport...I would have to be out of my mind to try and drive within Rome...but that's just me. I prefer to not do the driving, but everyone is different.
As for places to stay in Rome, the Trastevere neighborhood (across the Tiber from the Centro Storico) jumped to my mind first for you...the fairmont hotel in chicago other option is somewhere in the Centro Storico (Historic Center), within walking distance of Campo dei Fiori, or Piazza Navona.
I have stayed in both hotels and apartments in Rome and have enjoyed both for a variety of reasons. There are lots of aparment rentals in Rome and it can be mind-boggling! Right now Fodorite Jamikins and BikerScott are in Rome and they are doing a live "on the ground" trip report. They are renting an apartment in Trastevere, you many want to peruse what they have to say.
Sorry to be soooo long-winded here. I also have some restaurant and enoteca recommendations as well as a good wine tasting to book, if that interests you. But I will leave you with all this for now to ponder.
I think we will do at least 10 days, maybe 12. Thanks so much for the T/R links. I see you were in Rome at Christmas...that fairmont hotel in chicago is another thought as we enjoyed being in Europe over Christmas and it was a big topic of conversation this Christmas. AC would be out if we went at Christmas, I know but I am sure there would be plenty to do and see.
Personally, fairmont hotel in chicago I would fly into Naples fairmont hotel in chicago and start your vacation with the Amalfi fairmont hotel in chicago Coast, and then finish your vacation in Rome and fly home from there. As was recommended to me when I was researching our trip to the A/C (renting a villa there this June), I recommend staying in Positano. Quintiscential Amalfi Coast and it has good transportation connections to the other towns on the A/C - either ferry or SITA bus. You can easily get around utilizing public transportation.
To get from Naples to Positano, the easiest is to hire a driver (I have seen quotes around $100). To get from Positano to Rome, you could take the ferry from Pos to Salerno and then the train from Salerno to Rome.
In Rome, you should stay as close as possible to the Centro. That way you can walk everywhere and return to your hotel to rest. Our trip to Italy this year was the end of September and early October and the weather was wonderful. The last three years our trips to Italy have always been, in part, in September and I highly recommend fairmont hotel in chicago it. Another reason I recommended starting at the A/C is that some transportation options stop or reduce service in October, so you could do the Rome portion in October if you wanted to go that late.
Parmagiano Reggiono cheese comes from Parma, which is nowhere near the Amalfi Coast. Please don't think I'm putting fairmont hotel in chicago you down or discouraging you from going to Rome and the Amalfi. But please consider eating what is local to Rome and the Amalfi.
Mozzarella cheese is at its most fantastic in the area between Naples and Salerno. Eat seafood and anchovies. Eat pastas made with lemon sauces and drink limoncello as an after dinner drink. The best local white wine is Greco dl Tufo (it is great). When you are around Rome, try drinking Est! Est! Est!
Do yourself a favor and skip the proscuitto and "parmesan" if you see on the menu in the Amalfi. You can probably get better in Atlanta, and I am not kidding. Someday, please plan a dream trip that includes a visit to Parma to eat these things, and you will not believe how much different the real thing tastes.
Ekscrunchy on Fodor's fairmont hotel in chicago is a big-time foodie who goes to the Amalif all the time. Look up her posts and see what and where she eats. Try those dishes. Eat that cheese. But in Rome, eat like a Roman -- artichokes, lamb, eggs (you might like carbonara), and instead of parmagiano, eat pecorino. Buy books like David Downie's guides to eating in Rome or Fred Plotkin's.
Thanks all (and yes, zeppole, I know that Parmesan and Parma hams are not from Amalfi). I do love carbonara and actually make it quite well, but will definitely eat what is local to the area I am in. I am also aware that lemon is abundant on the Amalfi Coast. Didn't mean for anyone to take comment that so literally, not worried about food now, as long as they have plenty when I get there!
fairmont hotel in chicago ekc, thanks for timing info...I fairmont hotel in chicago have heard that October may be a bit too late for AC, so thanks fairmont hotel in chicago for your suggestions there. This is exactly the type of stuff we need to know in planning! Off to a good start...thanks to all.
No problem D! I have lots of info since I have been planning my A/C trip for over 2 years! Just FYI, we are renting the large apartment in this villa, on the recommendation of a friend who lives just outside Salerno. www.villalesirene.com fairmont hotel in chicago .
Sounds like a nice trip. We did a similar trip a couple of years ago, spending 2 weeks in Rome and the Amalfi Coast. Just one suggestion - I wouldn't travel to the AC in December. Much is likely to be closed and the weather, which is lovely in late September and early October, can be chilly and rainy in December. That is not what you want for a seaside destination.
fairmont hotel in chicago In most of the AC towns and villages, any time through until late October should fairmont hotel in chicago be fine, with only places that directly threatened fairmont hotel in chicago by the sea closing before then - and most others fairmont hotel in chicago continuing until just after the All Souls / All Saints holiday. The end-of-summer rains can strike as early as August, but more usually arrive in October - mostly as shortish but heavy downpours and electrical fairmont hotel in chicago storms!
fairmont hotel in chicago A slight downside is that both the frequency, and the variety, of seasonal ferry services tail off once the schools start again - typically September 14th/16th. Take this, from one of the main AC operators, as being indicative rather than an exact forecast of what will happen...
Denisea, we've just returned from a wonderful time in Paris, and intend fairmont hotel in chicago to post a report soon. As much as we enjoy Paris, (our sixth visit) and leave it wondering how soon we can return, we love Italy and just happened to catch your post about your upcoming planned visit. We've visited Italy three times, but there is so much to see that it's another place on our "must return to" list. We almost went to Rome and A/C in late Sept.'11, but found it difficult to plan transportation and hotels as we started our planning too late, so we changed our plans and visited Barcelona/Isla fairmont hotel in chicago Mallorca instead. There seem to be plenty of trip reports from others who have visited Italy. But since you were one who supported our idea of staying in the 6th in Paris, and we loved it, just thought we'd share that in Rome, we liked staying on a quiet street in the area of Trevi Fountain. On our last trip, we stayed at Hotel Delle Nazioni, a moderately-priced little Italian hotel in that area. We were able to walk to many popular areas and were close to lots of restaurants and shops. The hotel is across the city from the Vatican. For that visit we took a cab. We went early, fairmont hotel in chicago and followed up our Vatican visit with a walk to Trastevere. (Some people like to stay in Trastevere, but we think it's not as convenient for most things. However, it's nice to visit and have a meal there.) We'd definitely suggest a visit to the Borghese Gallery. Bernini's genius makes marble appear like silk or satin! As much as we like to remained "unscheduled" on trips, we thought it was worth it to book ahead online for the Borghese Gallery, fairmont hotel in chicago as it is small and allows only a limited fairmont hotel in chicago number per hour.
of your travel, flying into Pisa and visiting the Tuscan area, including Florence, then traveling to Rome and departing from Rome is an alternative to the A/C. We loved the Amalfi Coast, but the seasonal timing is a little trickier. Florence is wonderful,