13 day itinerary

Most traveling to Italy for the first time would prefer to take in Rome, Florence and Venice. Flying into Rome and out of Venice would be preferred or vice versa. To add in Naples might break the camel's back unless you had 4 full weeks. Rome itself is worth 7 nights, as there's just so much to see. Florence is another city that should be seen in detail. Venice is just so unique and one of our favorites. You can wait to get there to purchase your train tickets and get reservations. Their fast trains are truly fast, and it doesn't take long to get from city to city. The time consuming part of travel is checking out, getting to the train, getting off the train, finding your next hotel, checking in and getting into your room. Then you've got to get your bearings on where you are in the next city and how to get around to the sights you want to see.
Have a great time!

Hi Rosanna. Just to present another view, I think 13 days is plenty. Start your plan with 3 days for Rome and 2 days for the other cities, that's only 9 days - after reading guidebooks, add more time where desired. Enjoy your trip!

Thank you for your suggestions. I think spending a couple of days in Florence and Venice might work for us. I was also wondering, should we get a Europass, or should we just purchase tickets for each city as we go? Thanks!

Do not buy a pass; Purchase tickets as you go. If you can commit to a day and time, on the freccia trains (Rome-Naples; Naple-Rome-Florence-Venice) and buy in advance, you can save a lot of money on Trenitalia or ItaloTreno.

Our first trip to Italy in 08, we had 5 nights in Rome (really, about 4 full days, and took a day trip for Herculaneum/Mt Vesuvius), then 2 nights in Cinque Terre, 1 night each in Genoa, Bologna and Venice...we only spent one night in Venice as we were flying out to London and the flights were much cheaper on the Sat night. I fell in love with Venice and have had 2 subsequent visits there...this year we returned to Venice for 2 nights (had 3 in 2010), and spent 2 nights in Florence...I think for 13 days (is that full days? Or include your flying in and out days?), you could certainly do 5 days in Rome (make it 6 and go to Naples for a day if you want), 3 days in Florence and 3 in Venice...but one caveat...had I known we would have rushed thru so much of Rome in our short time there (and still missed so much), prob would have skipped the day to Naples...but it was our first big trip anywhere, and like so many, you want to see everything. And you also learn alot about time on trains (fast trains may cost more, but the time savings can make it worth it), and don't discount what people say about the time checking into and out of hotels/accom and getting to the next place - it can eat up precious sightseeing time, so the fewer moves, the better.

There is a fast train from Rome to Naples. You could even visit as a day trip from Rome. It is best to fly open-jaw - if you haven't purchased air tickets yet, arriving in one city and leaving from another, instead of back-tracking on the train. . . . unless you are already locked into round-trip flights to Rome. If you can arrange it, I'd recommend starting in Venice, then Florence, then Rome and finally Naples. You could easily stay overnight in Naples, then take the train to Rome's Termini station and then take the Leonardo Express train to the airport - unless you can get a flight home from Naples.