Europe

Your days add up to 27 - what about the other 33? Florence deserves more than a daytrip.

Tuscany is the whole region of Italy, so have you decided where you're staying during those 7 days? I would say that Pisa really is a "side trip" that you can go to and back to your hotel in one day. But Florence and Siena need more than a day trip. Personally, I've stayed a three nights (2 full days) in Florence, then bussed to Siena and used it to see the sites of Siena, plus as a base (with rental car) to see the Tuscan hill towns and even Assisi in Umbria. My other question is whether you listed your cities in your trip order? Venice, then Naples, then back up to Rome and thence Tuscany seems out of sequence, for example, unless you have specific travel reasons for it. Layout your day-by-day itinerary and I suspect more people will comment in detail. And remember to "burn" 1/2 a day each time you move from city to city. Buon viaggio / Bon voyage! EDIT: P.S. So my original answer doesn't sound too critical, I should add that overall the pace of your plan sounds quite nice.

3 days in Naples is 2 days too many. Other than that, it sounds fine. Have a great trip!

Since this is your first trip to Europe, I would strongly suggest that you get a copy of RS "Europe Thru the Back Door' guide book if you do not have it yet. It is designed for folks just like you. Also, get RS Italy and France guide books also if you do not have them already. You can order them elsewhere on this web site (see "Books"). I go to Europe every summer and always get his latest guide book for the area I am seeing that year. Minor changes quite often, but I usually move along last years book(s) when I return from Europe. Happy travels and I hope to see the day when I can spend TWO months in Europe at one time.

What are you planning to do for the other month? If I had a choice between August and September for Italy, I would definitely choose September - not quite as hot and humid.