Itinerary help please; family 4 includes 2 early twenty year olds

Both Itineraries look fine. If you area all fairly fit / active I might take a night from Rome and move it to Lauterbrunnen. There is enough there to keep my family busy for several days (we do love the mountains and hiking / biking though). The other thing that occurs to me is that it would be best to have Switzerland at the end of your trip as more trails will be snow free the later you can go.

The other thing I would consider is taking a night from Florence and a night from Rome and adding a stop for 2 nights in Venice. For me 4 nights in Munich would be too much, unless I'm doing a few day trips, and 5 nights in Rome would be too much (I was overwhelmed after 3 nights).

I strongly disagree with the last poster...Rome deserves 5 nights. It is such an amazing city with a ton of things to do.
And it changes as the day goes by...e.g. seeing the Colosseum in the bright noon sunshine and late at night is totally different....at least for me. It is very vibrant and busy (so I see why some people may not like it)....but it is precisely why I did and I think your sons would love it!

It is so nice that your sons are on-board with this family trip! Lucky you! Enjoy!

Don't take nights away from Florence or Rome!

In Rome, be sure to include a visit to the Basilica of San Clemente church (described in Rick Steves' guidebook), which includes 2 layers of history beneath the current church (which is historic itself). Kind of a 3-for-1 church/museum/museum.

i agree to the fact that staying in Munich for four nights is far too much. Two days should be sufficient.
The same for Lauterbrunnen which is cute but does not diserve 3 days but two
Florence needs at least four days and better 5 - There are as many things to see in Florence than in Rome but everything is so very near to each other.
Rome 5-6 because Rome historical centre is huge (about 5 miles from one side to the other part of the historical centre
Amalfi coast is fantastic, try also to visit Capri island and Pompei and Herculanum are certainly worth a visit.
With the fast train, you get to Naples in two hours from Florence.
The Tuscany coast and the Island of Elba have also much to offer but if you go to Pompei, I think chosing the Amalfi coast is a very good choice.
Enjoy your trip.

Hello juliwca,
I recommend the first itinerary, because being at Pompei is a high priority for you. I think that itinerary is good. But I would choose to delete one night from Rome, and add one night to Lauterbrunnen. If you will be at Lauterbrunnen area (Berner Oberland) two days, the sky might be covered with clouds one day, thus you could not see mountains. If you will be there three days, and one day is cloudy, you could go to Lucerne on the cloudy day, and you would have two days for seeing the mountains near Lauterbrunnen. I think, for most people, being at Florence one whole day is sufficient, and go on a day trip (via bus) from Florence to a hill town in Tuscany. And, being at Rome 4 nights, that would be three whole days. I would be at Rome two whole days, and go on a day trip from Rome to Orvieto.

I'd choose to go south, Almalfi coast over CT. It's early in the year and you will want to be further south for something resembling beach weather - plus you can get to Pompeii.

I'd also skip Lauterbrunnen in favor of Venice. It's too early in the year to expect decent weather in Lauterbrunnen. If the weather isn't good, it's a waste of time. Lauterbrunnen is best experienced later in summer (for me ideally early September).

I'd also like a little time to see Salzburg. If you leave Munich early, you can spend an entire day there and see most of the best sights by foot. I'd plan one night, then train out the next morning.

"The same for Lauterbrunnen which is cute but does not diserve 3 days but two"

I'm going to disagree very much here as well. Three nights is the minimum time you should stay in any Alpine destination. Two nights gives you only one full day, and if the weather doesn't cooperate (Alpine weather is VERY fickle), you risk having that one day become little more than a rain-soaked view of fog from your hotel window. Two full days gives you a little more insurance. Also, for an active family, I would try to move the Swiss portion of the trip as late into June as possible. May is usually still the shoulder season. Conditions vary from year to year, but two years ago there was still a heavy layer of snow on the trails in some Alpine resorts up until June.

My teenagers and I visited Italy last summer. Highlights include Cinque Terre where we stayed in Monterosso and at Hotel Villa Steno (Rick recommendation) which was great! Hiking and beaches (a little pebbly but still very nice). We did a day trip to Venice from Florence and it was fine but I wish we had spent more time in Venice. We also did a day trip from Rome to Pompeii which worked out great. I think spot on with 3 days in Florence and Cinque Terre but I would do just 4 days in Rome. In Rome, we rented an apartment through Navona Suites near Piazza Navone which was a great location to the sights, city, restaurants and neighborhoods of Rome.