12 days in Italy, and considering Sardinia (or Corsica).

Jan, while you're waiting for input from folks who've been to Sardinia and/or Corsica (I haven't) you might want to take a look at flight options on skyscanner.com to see what the transportation looks like in terms of both cost and time.

I remember seeing at least a couple of threads about Sardinia on the forum in recent years. You might be able to find them via the Search box at the top of the screen. (Look for the magnifying glass.)

Thanks for the heads up on Skyscanner. I used to use it all of the time, but haven't in recent years.

I've seen other threads on Sardinia, and I'm trying to decide between either that or Corsica, as I don't think that I want to do both in the same trip (lots of driving is not my idea of a holiday). Wondering a bit about logistics, also. And I'm trying to see if it's it's worth it for the travel time that it would take to get there. This will be a rare time that we have a direct flight, and the thought of flying again is something that we'd like to avoid, if at all possible.

Both of us would love to see the southern Le Marche (and do some biking there, as well). Food and wine are great in either location, so that's a toss up at this point :)

September-October of 2016 I visited both islands and had a fantastic time. To limit driving, for your trip, I’d recommend just Sardinia since you’ll already be in Italy and your flight choices will be more plentiful. I flew Alitalia round trip to Càgliari, rented a car and circled both islands (ferried the car to and fro at Santa Teresa Gallura). You could also consider flying to/from Alghero or Olbia and fly open jaw to reduce the amount of driving. The road system is good and traveling point to point is not that far as the crow flies. Be prepared for a slow go since the roads are hilly and very twisty. What seems a short drive when looking at a map can be a long drive because of the island's rugged but beautiful terrain.

Flying to any of the three airports on Sardinia is only about an hour long flight and the airports a small and easily managed.

I spent about 3 weeks in Sardinia this past September (2017). It was one of the best trips I've ever done. For you, with just 12 days (really just 10 days, counting non-travel days) you can't see much of Sardinia (we spent 3 weeks and went all the way 'round the island, and felt like we just scratched the surface, even though we were moving fast). Agree with Philip's points above, but with so little time you should confine yourself to only a part of Sardinia. Maybe fly in to Olbia and out of Cagliari. That could make a nice 10-day introduction to the eastern side of the island. Only problem is there's so much to see and do, but it would give you a nice taste. You don't have time to do both Sardinia and Corsica - save Corsica for another trip.

Have you listened to the recent podcast on Corsica (a phone interview with a recent visitor) from Annie at Join Us In France?

https://joinusinfrance.com/category/corsica/

There is plenty good information there, from a very enthusiastic man who was visiting a foreign exchange student whom he had hosted. My take-away trivia is that he did better, surprise to me, on Corsica with Italian than French.

A good listen.

I’ve been to both and both are beautiful. Corsica is smaller (a bit bigger than the big island in Hawaii) and maybe more rugged. Sardinia has a drier climate and landscape in most parts. Food is good in both. However Corsica is at least 50% more expensive for both food and accommodations.
Most things to do there revolve around nature, particularly beaches, scuba diving, but also mountain hiking. In April you will probably not be able to take advantage of the wonderful beaches and sea both islands offer. There are some historical places of interest, although not as much as in the mainland.
Corsicans yearn for independence, so locals not necessarily like the French. Actually once in a while they enjoy blowing up some of their villas. But there are of course many French transplants who moved there from the mainland. The Corsican dialect is a Tuscan dialect very similar to the dialect spoken in Italian islands of Capraia and Elba, therefore closer to Italian than French (Corsica was sold to the French by the kingdom of piedmont and savoy in 1768). I generally spoke Italian there. Most non native Corsicans transplanted from mainland France, speak Italian fluently given the huge number of Italian tourists there in summer (probably more numerous than the French). If you speak French or Italian you can survive easily in Corsica. With English only not so much, especially outside the top tourist areas.

Thanks for the input, peopel!

It looks like both islands are not recommended (which I figured), and perhaps Sardinia may be the better choice. I suppose that we could fly from Rome, rent a car in Sardinia, then fly from Sardinia to Florence for a few days, then back to Rome. Or go to Florence first, then fly to Sardinia (and then from there to Rome).