9 night intinerary - CT or not?

I would do 2 nights in Vernazza and add a night to either Florence or Rome. IMHO, the CT is like the Mist Trail in the Yosemite Valley - beautiful, but very crowded and kind of a one-note. The trail is the highlight, and you can do that in a day. We spent 3 nights in Monterosso and it was one night too many. I don't regret the visit, but there are better places to see in Italy.

When you have 2 nights, you really only have 1 day for sightseeing. The rest of the time is spent travelling to and from next destination. With 9 nights, I would definitely stay in only 3 cities, or 2, and do day trips.

Which you eliminate would depend on your preferences.

Very good idea to fly into Venice and out of Rome!

If you have 9 nights, that would be 7 full days of touring. I would recommend no more than 3 destinations, and I'd only do 2. Going to the CT is going to take a lot of travel time. Would Venice satisfy your craving for a waterside destination?

With 7 days for touring (some of which will be spent on a train getting from one place to another), I would do 4 days in Rome and 3 in either Venice or Florence, depending on your interests.

steve,

My suggestion would be to continue with your plans to visit the Cinque Terre, but in the interest of efficiency and minimizing travel times a change of order would be prudent. You might consider Venice > Florence > Cinque Terre > Rome, as that will be the best route. Those four locations will give you a good sample of Italy, and provide information on which to plan further trips.

Be sure to plan touring carefully so that you don't waste any time. The RS Italy guidebook has lots of great information to help with your planning.

Great info everyone! Ken, that was my original plan to go Venice>Florence>CT>Rome; I only recently changed the order upon further study of the RS guidebook. I am grateful for your knowledgeable feedback as I was hoping to get further clarification on the best order for travel between the cities.

steve,

I'm glad the information was useful. As this is your first trip to Italy, you may need transportation information between the locations you'll be visiting. If that's the case, post another note.

I also wanted to provide my usual cautionary notes on using trains and other public transit in Italy. There are some potentially expensive "caveats" to be aware of so be sure to do some "homework" on those in the guidebook.

I would go three by three, given you only have 9 nights total.
Venice - 3 nights
Florence - 3 nights
Rome - 3 nights
You could allocate one of your days in Florence to make an excursion to Siena,
.....or if it was still eating at you, to Cinque Terre - if the weather was favourable and you made a very early start.

How many full days do you have in Italy, not counting your arrival day or your departure day?
Where are you flying in from - the US west coast, or someplace considerably closer (say, London)?
Do you sleep easily/well on airplanes?
Have you been to Europe before?

Thank you all so much for the feedback! Due to the relative shortness of the trip, I think we have decided to go with David's suggestion of 3 nights each in Venice>Florence>Rome. We'll be commuting between cities via train and although I do have the RS guidebook and will perform additional research online, any further caveats/tips (as you mention Ken) with regard to train travel is greatly appreciated. We are very grateful for your quick responses and expertise - this is a great online community!

Nine nights on the ground is only 8 full days and a few hours on the day of arrival in Venice (when you will be tired and jet lagged. If you go to the Cinque Terre, you will be devoting very little time to the 3 main city destinations in Italy. If that is your desire go for it, but I would at least shorten my stay at the Cinque Terre. But if you like small towns there are a lot much closer to Florence. From Florence to Vernazza is nearly a 3 hour trip with likely 3 separate trains (change in Pisa and La Spezia).

Flying multi cities or open jaws is a very cogent strategy. We use this method frequently, depending on our itinerary. Good work.

As for Le Cinque Terre, IMHO, this could be skipped. Since you only have such a limited time in country, sticking to Venice, Florence, and Roma will provide plenty to do. Someone mentioned that you lose touring time due to transit times from place to place.

Italy may seduce you and you will want to return. You could save Le Cinque Terre for another time.

Buon viaggio,

I also would recommend cutting down to no more than 3 cities, and even suggest that you consider just 2.

Never underestimate the time wasted in packing, checking out, going to the train station, waiting at the train station, riding in a train, going to the new hotel, checking in and unpacking and just grabbing one meal for just hunger's sake at some point in that day instead of enjoyment. Most attractions are closed in the evening. If you ar super organized, you may bre-book and fit in one attraction on the travel day, but will probably be limited to a walk of sites nearby your hotel.

Your original itinerary 2 nights venice = 1 full day, 3 nights CT = 2 full days, 2 nights florence = 1 full day and 2 nights Rome = 1 full day.

The less travelling you do the more time you will have for your travels.

EDIT: I just read OP's post today of decision to go with just Venice-Florence-Rome. 3-3-3 nights is one option. Also consider 2-3-4 nights. First option would be just a bit more relaxing to start your trip and to get over some jet lag. But second option gives you more time where there are more things to see and do. FWIW, Venice is more expensive than Rome. Up to you to decide what is important or more enjoyable. But I would not suggest reducing your nights in Florence; so many good things to see and eat there.

Steve, I'd consider 4 nights in Rome as well (a 2-3-4 split) because it's the largest of the three and so there's so much ground to cover there. Then again, how you split your time may depend on what you're interested in?

If you love the sea and hiking I would keep the CT and Venice. I would actually drop Florence all together with your limited days. What do you want to see in Florence? It only art, then leave that for another trip and get your art fill at the Vatican Museums in Rome. Sure you'll miss the David but a good reason for a return trip to Tuscany next time.

If you don't mind a 6 hour train ride from Venice to the CT (leaving early like 6 am makes it easier) I would fly into Venice -3, train to CT -3, train down to Rome -3. You can take a train from Vernazza to Monterosso then a high speed train direct to Rome. Some will say it's not good to cross the continent and Venice is so far away, but what do you want to get out of your trip. I'm not a big fan of doing all big cities and like some smaller town. Venice - Florence - Rome for me is too many big cities.