2 week italy

You need more time in Florence than in Siena and Lucca so I would take one night from one of those places and add it Florence. Make sure you buy your Uffizi tickets ASAP because those tickets sell out early.

Hello-

Without knowing what your goals are in these locations or if you have been before- I’d say you have too many locations and not enough time in a few of them.
3 night stay is really just 2.5 days.
Sorrento has so many possible day trips- Naples, Pompeii, Capri, Amalfi- that I would do 4 nights there. Your first day is a wash as you will be jet lagged.
Rome needs 4 nights minimum, you won't get there til mid day from Sorrento so 3 nights again means just 2.5 days. The major sights in Rome each need a good half day (Colosseum, Vatican)
Florence needs 3 (unless art is not your thing) and you could just day trip to Siena.
3 in Lucca seems like 1 too many- especially since Rome & Florence deserve more.

Unless you need the car to poke around the Tuscany countryside I see no need. A car in Siena is nothing but a pain.

Sorrento 4- day trips of choice (Naples & Pompeii could be combined - very long day!)
Rome 4
Florence 4- day trip to Siena
Lucca 2

(we've been to all locations except Lucca)

I LOVE SORRENTO! I always stay at il Nido (ilnido.it) which is above the town. IMHO they have the best food in Sorrento for both breakfast and dinner. Dinner on the veranda, overlooking the entire Bay of Naples - it doesn't get more romantic than that!!! 3 nights isn't bad. You could squeeze in a daytrip around the Amalfi Coast, and either Capri or Pompeii. That's leaving you very little time for Sorrento itself - remember you have to arrive/unpack and then pack/leave so you really aren't there very long. If you like pottery, Sorrento has some amazing colors in their ceramics. My passion though is their linen shirts (after over 12 years my closet is more than full!).

Can you consider staying in Siena and day tripping to Florence? It's easy by bus. Siena, for my partner and I, is much more interesting at night than Florence. I'd then cut some time and add it to Rome, which itself could fill your two weeks. Lucca is a beautiful city. I just saw that it is on your list so here's another suggestion for your planning: stay in Florence and day trip to Lucca (by train) and Siena (by bus). Florence becomes, for me, a better home base. But again, you could shave some time and give it to Rome.

Where are you flying from? Naples and Pisa may be convenient in some respects but expensive in others.

You'll be getting lots of suggestions - people on this forum are full of excellent ones! Give us more information (likes, must dos, less interested in) and we'll all be glad to help you with planning, which is a great part of the trip itself!

We loved Sorrento as well
We are actually changing our plans for next trip and either starting or ending in Sorrento
Can’t decide!

Hey ChristineH: if you fly into Rome and train to Naples then boat to Sorrento you'd be getting to your hotel just about when you could check in. The boat ride is so relaxing (especially if you flew coach) and becomes part of the vacation. Ending in Sorrento has lots of pluses but the big minus is getting to the airport without having to lose a night in Sorrento. Can you really decide which trattoria you want to skip in Sorrento? Sometimes I plan my stay based on the wide variety of meals!

We can fly direct to Naples from Newark or vice versa home direct from Naples
We’ll spend 2 nights in Naples either way and are skipping Rome this trip
Naples is new to us so just not sure if we want to end or begin there and we do plan to ferry to/ from Sorrento
Good thing we have lots of time to plan, looking at April/May 2022

I should start a new thread though as this is njackson’s ;)

I don't know if it is age or just my disposition, but on a trip of that length, I really really need one stay to be at least four nights. When you add up all of the time you will be in transit, it is substantial. Remember you have to do laundry (or wait for a service) at some point.
Please share if you have day trips identified. For example, seeing Pompeii, Capri, the Amalfi coast from Sorrento will take a day. I feel like you need time to enjoy the views. Why rent a car--I don''t really see where you would have time for it.
If you are set on flying into Naples and out of Pisa (I like both airports, found them small and easy), then I would save Rome for later, after all, it will always be there and flights to Rome are easy. Put those days toward Sorrento/environs and Tuscany.
Or, do the Amalfi coast area fully plus Rome, or do Tuscany more and pop in a coastal stay there (there are places just as gorgeous as in Campania). Those are the itinerary combinations I would consider with your time frame.

Thanks for all your help so far.

We are flying from Manchester in the UK. Okay I am thinking of Sorrento x 4 nights, Rome x 3, Florence x 4 and then Lucca x 3 and then this should give more flexibility to do day trips from Sorrento and Florence/Lucca with less moving accommodation.

In terms of our interests we like good food, drink and entertainment. Then we will want to see some of the art and history but more want to experience the places rather than ticking off all the tourist attractions.

Thanks again!

I think you will be much happier with that arrangement--best wishes!

This is looking good! Enjoy the planning. Make lists, prioritize, revise, dream. there are some excellent videos on YouTube to give you a good idea of what you are in for. My motto, which you are welcome to use, is: I DESERVE THIS!

In my mind Florence/Siena/Lucca are all in Tuscany so you have 8 nights in that region but only 3 in Rome and 3 in Sorrento.
And in Tuscany, Florence has the most to do but the least amount of nights.
I imagine you must have daytrips planned from the other locations?
I would at bare minimum add 1 night to Sorrento and take it away from Siena or Lucca; whenever you won't have the car.

I would be prefer to drop Lucca or Siena to make the overall plan even better.

Of course you need everything to go well Covid wise to make this trip happen. My thought for this year is to make smaller trips with just 1 or 2 bases max and save the grander trip for 22

EDIT: I see you already revised and went with something similar to what I was suggesting, leaving my post since we seem to be on the same page. Good luck. I have hotels on the AC booked (holdover from last year) and Airline credit both for Sept. 21 but have mentally concluded it is not happening.

With the qualification that Siena is my favourite Italian city, and I'm very fond of Lucca, I think you are short changing Florence.
Both Siena and Lucca are 75 minute trips from Florence - so both easy day trips.

I'm not sure if you ahave been to Italy before, but arriving in Naples is quite a way to start. I'm very fond of the city - there is a great deal to see and do it is "Gritty" when compared to your other destinations. Obviously, from Sorrento you are in easy reach of the Amalfi Coast and the ruins of Pompeii/Herulaneum

Purely a personal opinion, I'd spend slightly less time in Tuscany (possibly 5: 3 for Florence and day trips to Siena and Lucca and add to Rome.

I have been to all these places and enjoyed them all.

3 nights in Sorrento is fine if you go to Pompeii, Sorrento, Capri and the Amalfi Coast.

3 nights in Rome is just ridiculous, there is much, much more to see in that wonderful city. In three days you would just manage to see the Vatican, Sistine Chapel, Coliseum, Forum and a bit more. Plan on at least 5 days.
Florence deserves 3 nights if you want to do both Accademia and the Uffuzi museums. If you skip one, skip Uffuzi.

Siena you can do easily in a full day, also same for Lucca. At a minimum, cut each to two days and add to Rome

Ah! flying from UK makes your first day different- you won't be dealing with jet lag or time change.

I like your new plan-
You may find that you don't need 4 nights in Sorrento if you are not interested in all the of the day trips from there.
You may find you really do want another night in Rome.

There is a bus from Naples airport to Sorrento-
https://www.sorrentoinsider.com/en/naples-airport-to-sorrento
Lots of other good info on the Sorrento Insider site

We used Mondo Guides www.sharedtours.com for Pompeii and Capri and really enjoyed both but have no need to return to Capri.
We will likely use them next trip for an Amalfi coast drive.

You could visit Pompeii on your way to Rome (but that will cut into your actual time in Rome!)

Lots of options, so do your homework and decide what you really want to spend time on. Not everyone wants to visit the Vatican for example. (we did Pristine Sistine and TBH I have no desire to go back to Vatican Museums- glad we did it and saw the Chapel but rest of the place was a nightmare)
Not everyone feels the need for a full blown tour of Colosseum, etc. We did a tour on our first visit then just toured on our own the next time. RS guide was great for the Forum.
If you want just a bit of art in Rome visit the Borghese (book in advance- time slots are just 2 hours so not a huge time commitment to see some jaw dropping art).
Or simply pop into any church you pass- they are free and full of surprises, plus nice and cool inside especially in Sept heat.

Happy planning!