2 weeks in Italy!

I suggest you post your planned itinerary for comment. Many of us think Rick's itineraries are borderline nuts for independent travelers. I fear you're going to be spending a very high percentage of your valuable vacation time traveling from one city to the next. One of the joys of going to Italy is simply being there.

"a day at the Amalfi Coast "

A day? Where coming from and going to?

I didn't see first post, but that was a very good suggestion. Plan on saying no less than 3 nights in each location. However only 2 full days is inadequate for major cities. Crowd in too many stops and you end up seeing less.

I wouldn't do a day trip to the Amalfi coast from Rome. You will spend most of your day traveling back and forth to Rome. Save it for another vacation when you can spend some time and enjoy it. Yes, your planned itinerary would help

Further to the above....suggest you post your itinerary including specific travel dates and times (even if those are just proposed dates at this point). Many people fail to account for the basic fact that it takes a day (sometimes more) to get from the US to Europe, and that on your arrival day (no matter what time your flight lands) you will probably be pretty wiped out from the flight/jetlag/lack of sleep/pre-travel stress, so that arrival day will not be usable for much. And you need to fly home, too. So when speaking loosely about "2 weeks", your actual, usable time on the ground in Europe typically works out to be several days less than that. Also, each time you pick up and move, you burn most of a day...so "X nights" allocated to someplace gets you "X-1" days actually being there. So...post your proposed itinerary with specific dates, and you will get more useful help on how to manage the time that you have.

Agreed with the above - the main joy I discovered of being in Italy is simply being in Italy. If you could post what you plan to do as far as approximate dates/locations, the board could better offer suggestions.

Ricks 2 week plan for the most part

You would be better served if you spelled out what it is you plan to do. Even if we could figure out what you mean by "Ricks 2 week plan", we have no idea which 'for the most part' you are planning

A day trip to the Amalfi Coast from Rome is somewhere between ill-advised and 'just plain nuts'

Agree that Pisa is not worth the time. Much better spent elsewhere.

I have been to the Amalfi Coast four times from Rome and the shortest time we ever stayed there was 4 days. We will never spend that short of a time on the Amalfi Coast again. By public transportation you are looking at over five hours each way. It just doesn’t make sense for a single day. I would either cut out something else or save it for another trip.

I have added our travel plans but after reading all of your post I may have planned to visit to many cities. Thank you for all of your input

Simply too much. Too many too short stays, too much time spent in transit, too many far flung locations.

2 night stays means you have just 1.5 days actually being there. That will also vary depending on how long it takes to get to your next destination. CT to Venice is an especially long haul with multiple changes.

1st train to amalfi Coast for the day.

There are no trains ON Amalfi Coast- you could train to Naples then to Sorrento but from there it is bus or ferry to Amalfi coast- or train to Salerno then ferry or bus to an Amalfi town- but this is way too much and way too far for a day trip. If you must see Amalfi then give it 2 nights. (take from Orvieto)

Train to Orvieto

from "Amalfi" or from Rome?
Haven't been to Orvieto myself yet but will visit in Sept. I thought about 2 days but no interest in Civita- really much more interesting things to see/do in Tuscany/Umbria just because Rick used to like it doesn't mean you need to go there. I mean it's basically a "dead town".
I think 3 nights in Orvieto is at least 1 too many- especially without a car. Orvieto could actually be a day trip from Rome- quick train ride.

7th Florence

add a night to Florence take it from Orvieto

11th Venice
12 th Venice
13 th fly home

Venice could also use another night and I really really hope you are flying home from Venice!

I may have planned to visit to many cities

This is an understatement.

Going to the Amalfi Coast as a day trip, from Rome, and returning to Orvieto on the same day? Sorry, I know you won't want to hear this, but IMHO that sounds brutal and very unrealistic.

Overall, your trip has too many one-night-stands. And you have "2 days" allocated in major destinations that need more time. Both will kill you.

Remember: every time you pick yourself up and move to another place, you burn most of that day, just with the necessary logistics of life and of traveling from place to place. You can not magically and instantly transport yourself from place to place. That takes hours and hours. So when you say "City X, 2 days" then you really get ONE day there. One day in Rome. One day in Siena, one day in Florence, one day in Venice...

I would urge you to reconsider. I think your proposed pace will leave you exhausted and disappointed. You need to cut stops - and more than just one or two.

Amalfi Coast and CT have a lot in common. And they are geographically far from most other things. Pick one, not both.

You do not have enough time for all your stops. Cut several (I'd suggest you cut Orvieto, Civita, Assisi, and EITHER CT or the Amalfi Coast). You need more time in Rome, maybe Florence, and definitely Venice.

You say you are flying in to Rome but you don't say what city you are flying out from. If that's also Rome...you need to be in Rome the night before you leave - so there goes one more day.

What I see is that your flight arrives at 650PM on the 28th. Getting to your hotel and having dinner, is all you will really do that 'day'

On the 1st going from Rome to "Amalfi Coast" and ending in Orvieto. I suspect you will be so 'done in' that the rest of the trip you will feel like you are always a step behind, ( you realize that is over 400 miles of travel?)

As you plan to go to CT, skip the Amalfi Coast and add that day to Rome.

Still a busy schedule, but gives you a chance to not spend the entire vacation feeling like road kill.

I may have planned to visit to(sic) many cities.

for the correct emphasis is should be "tooo" many cities

Remember 'less is more' Less runny around = more enjoyment

Agree on many comments.

There's no way to enjoy the Amalfi Coast and get to Orvieto in the same day.

I recommend skipping the Amalfi Coast during this time of year, and visit in late September for another trip.

When leaving Rome (just after breakfast) - drive directly to Civita and then stay in Montepulciano.

blynch5150--

I am curious- do you already have lodging booked for all these locations? If so can they can canceled/changed?
And if you don't you really do need to settle on an itinerary and get to booking ASAP

You said you are following "RS itinerary" not sure exactly which one but his itineraries are really too fast paced especially for a first time traveler to Italy (again I assume first timers). You just don't need to see all those places- maybe on your 2nd and 3rd trips but not necessary for a first trip

We are planning our 4th trip to Italy now- so far have spent a total of 37 nights in Italy and have not seen CT- don't plan to go there on our next 16 night trip either. We didn't get to Amalfi til our 3rd trip- (and when there we spent 9 nights).

I have to ask- are these the places that YOU are interested in?

A 15 night trip that gives you a really nice taste of Italy would be something like this:

Rome 4 nights- (5 is better- but...)
Florence 3 nights
A Tuscan hilltown- 3 nights (2 if you give Rome 5)
A "coastal location" in this case CT works best- 2 nights
Venice 3 nights

You will return.

ETA- I'll just add this- I see you are from LA- I am a California girl myself- although lived on East coast for a long time now- my family is still all in Calif- you have some of the most beautiful coastline in the world there- I don't see the need at all to "See" Amalfi coast.

Thank you to all! I have decided to stick with CT and not visit the Amalfi Coast on this trip. I am looking at all of your suggestions and plan to eliminate a few stops so I can enjoy my trip. We fly home from Venice and not Rome by the way.

Dropping the Amalfi, as well as some additional destinations, is a very good decision. That one is much, much too far for Rome>Amalfi>Orvieto in a day. The itinerary Christine offered up is an excellent plan for a first-timer, IMHO, although I might cut the hilltop nights, add 1 night to Rome and 2 to Florence; day trip to Siena from there. If you felt you'd seen all you wanted to in Florence in 2.5 of your 4.5 days, you could add a day trip to Lucca.

Rome: 5 nights/4 full days (as arrival day is a wash)
Cinque Terre: 2 nights/1.5 days
Florence: 5 nights/4.5 days. Day trips to Siena and maybe Lucca
Venice: 3 nights/2.5 days

You'll want to get your reservations for the CT pronto as it's a tourist magnet that books up fast and early for high and shoulder seasons. I also reshuffled the order and put that one after Rome to shave a bit of the 5.5 - 6+ hours rail time it would otherwise take from CT>Venice.