3 Teens, 2 weeks, public Transportation, best itinerary.

What time of year will you be taking this trip?

I think your itinerary would be smoother, with less time sitting on trains, if you hit the Cinque Terre after Lucca and before Venice. You could then travel from Venice to Milan via a Freccia train. It's a fairly quick trip (as little as 2-1/2 hours), so you could probably spend the morning in Venice before heading to the train station. Honestly, with as little time as you're going to have in Venice, I'd drop the idea of getting an early start and stopping in Verona.

I do not have children and am an art lover myself, but I wonder whether the Vatican Museums plus the Borghese Gallery on the same day will not be art overkill for teenagers.

You've been to Cinque Terre a lot more recently than I have. Yours is a short trip, and 3 days of it is dedicated to CT and the transportation in and out. Given the recent reports of conditions in the area, I'd use that time elsewhere, but from the perspective of someone who saw the Cinque Terre before they were overrun, I understand the temptation to include them. It's just that the trip feels really rushed to me.

The Blue Grotto tour draws a lot of negative comments. It is not cheap; you pay separately for the little rowboat that takes you into the grotto--information that may not be provided to you until after you've paid for the first part of the trip. And weather conditions sometimes don't allow entry into the grotto. A trip around the island is another option, which I think is worth considering.

Afterthought: Even the regular tickets to the Vatican Museums were selling out early during the fall of 2022. Early-access tours seem to be in even greater demand. Don't let this slip up on you. It's possible you'll need to get those tickets a month or more in advance. You can monitor ticket availability for Vatican-operated tours here: https://tickets.museivaticani.va/home/calendar/visit/Biglietti-Musei

How about Lake Como instead of Cinque Terre? We made that choice with a group of seven and never regretted it. Lake Como is lovely and it would require less travel time. My group of young adults adored it.

But generally I would say trying to do too much. For example, we went to Pompeii and Mt Vesuvius but on different days.

We are a family with two teens. This itinerary would exhaust them, let alone us. I would add a day to Rome and Venice and drop CT.

Don’t try to do the Vatican and another museum on the same day. Maybe see the Pantheon that day.

“Early, early” and teens equals “grouchy, moody” in some cases. I see 4 “early” days in your plans. Doesn’t bode well.

Your grandkids are lucky to have you as grandparents, and this will be such a special time for all of you!

I would concentrate on your “must do’s” and drop the rest. I think the less hotel changes will be better, too.

Rome deserves at least one more day. And as others have commented, that’s even too many museums for me! Would you all enjoy a food tour for something fun? And for teenagers, I think they would enjoy the evenings of walking through the main sites. The Pantheon is gorgeous lit up at night, and there’s a lot of younger people in the piazzas and of course, at the Trevi Fountain.

My daughter went with me last September for her first time, and we skipped the Vatican and just stopped in several churches as we walked around Rome. They’re beautiful and worth seeing, and we didn’t have any crowds. Not that you shouldn’t see the Vatican, but I don’t picture teenagers appreciating it if it’s a very early morning start.

If you’re doing Cinque Terre, see it when you’re in Lucca/Pisa. Pisa can easily be a 30-minute stop on the way to/from Cinque Terre.

Since you’re going to Sorrento, seems a shame to not see the Amalfi Coast. Could you skip the Pisa/Lucca/5 Terre and use those days for an extra day each at Rome & Venice and add time to add a day to ferry to Positano & Amalfi?

Even for active and energetic teens it sounds like way too much! Logistically speaking you really should slow down. Especially days 3,4,5,and 6. And on day 6 don’t count on the Blue Grotto unless you spend the night on Capri prior. And day 5 touring Pompeii and then hiking to Vesuvius would be exhausting. Pompeii is huge and a full day adventure all by itself. And you didn’t say, but if you are going in the heat of summer it will be even more difficult. Slow down a bit and enjoy being in Italy together!

italy is best taken slowly. You're possibly going to overdose the kids on culture, art, history and food to the point where the trip is one big blur. That swing south to Naples, Pompeii and Capri is just pushing it over the top.

The pace of this itinerary is certainly ambitious. No idea why you would go Lucca-Venice-CT as you are just doubling back on yourself. I wouldn't call CT a "zoo" because it lumps all of us into a category that is a bit unsavory. There are a lot of tourists that day trip (from cruises particularly) to CT now. They want to see the beautiful villages and great scenery as much as tourists that stay in CT. This makes daytime trains between villages a dire challenge. Check on which trails are open as well. This changes quite frequently, as you possibly already know. All that being said, I enjoyed my visits to CT but have no desire to return. From Naples, why not spend a few days based in Florence before heading to Venice. You can easily day trip to Pisa/Lucca from there, as well as to Siena if you are about ticking boxes and major sites.

Very ambitious and what lucky grandkids, I hope they appreciate all your efforts!

I wondered how much you had involved them in the itinerary & plans? If you take some of the above suggestions and maybe add a second rest day, plan on fewer hotel changes, then print it out, including exact start times from hotels, and show them the plans. It would be great if each of them would consider something they'd like to do. The kids I met on food walking tours seemed to really enjoy themselves, I recommend Eating Italy, Testaccio.

PS, I would suggest a trial run-through of being all packed & ready to go. I just don't see first time visitors, especially teens, packing light enough for this much moving around.

not knowing when the trip might be and understanding that you know Italy well after 4 trips, and agreeing that you already have a gallon in a pint pot, I'm surprised that with the trips to Capri and Vesuvius from Sorrento you don't seem to be taking any time at all along the Amalfi coast despite being right there....

I agree that an extra night in Venice will probably be of more lasting value than a quick stop in Verona.

Thank you everyone. I am sorry, I didn’t mention but the trip is in August. Hence the early starts to avoid midday heat. Then heading out for evening sites. Our teenagers are ok with early rising, and I figure they will zonk out on the longer train rides. I will revisit the itinerary. Thinking Venice needs to happen right after Sorrento because Naples to Venice train shows 4 hours. And I will add extra night in Venezia. And then we head over to Lucca and do Pisa, skipping Verona. Will likely skip Capri. In a previous trip we did the Amalfi Coast and I felt it did not compare to CT. All comments were valuable. Thank you.