9 nights in Italy late September - Seeking itinerary

Fly to Genoa, Venice, or Naples.

Genoa is a gateway to the Italian Riviera and hiking opportunities like the (popular) Cinque Terre. There are other beautiful spots in the riviera besides the Cinque Terre (which I love) however. You could train from Genoa, stop in the Cinque Terre, maybe stop for a night or two in say Lucca or Florence, and train down to Rome for flthe last 4-5 nights.

Or fly to Venice - a unique, one-of-its-kind city that is full of unique architecture unforgettable scenes but is also mobbed with tourists, especially during the daytime. You can avoid the tourists if you wish to - just figure out how to get away from the big tourist areas like Rialto and San Marco. Train south, maybe stop in Florence and or Bologna, and train to Rome.

Or fly to Naples - do the Amalfi Coast, Capri, Pompeii, then head north to Rome by train.

Your choice! Hard to go wrong - depends on your interests.

For inspiration, look at the itinerary of the RS 'Best of Venice, Florence, Rome ' and the 'Heart of Italy' tours.

Two nights minimum in any location. For 9 nights, limit yourself to 3 locations and you can have a 'medium pace'.

Ending in Rome makes your departure for home easier than being somewhere else.

If this is the OP's (and group's) first trip to Italy, I'd fly into Naples--if there's a direct flight--and stay In Sorrento or a combo of Sorrento and Positano, 2 nights and 2 nights. If you just want to chill with scenery, stay in Positano all 4 nights. If daytripping to Pompei, Naples and Capri is your bag, then stay in Sorrento all 4 nights.

Then train up to Rome for 4 nights before flying home.

Wow thanks everyone. Andrew, I will do some research on Genoa, Cinque Terre route. I heard great things about CT. Joe, great info on the 2 tours which give me a lot of good idea where to go. Jay, I will also do a little more research on flight option from Paris. Originally, we were thinking about doing the big 3 cities (V-F-R) but were thinking it may be a little too much history and art and not enough of nature scenery. Weren't thinking of going the route from south to Rome but this now can also be an option. It sounds like we need to make multiple trips to this beautiful country. If any other experts have more to share, please do. This forum is amazing.

FYI, although Genoa is worth seeing, I suggested it as a convenient place to fly into to get to the riviera and the Cinque Terre more than as a highlight destination on a first trip. With the limited time you have, I wouldn't spend a night in Genoa itself.

Thanks for all the responses gents. I may add 1 more night making it 10. Would 2 nights in Venice, 2 in Cinque Terre, 3 in Florence, 3 in Rome be too cramped? If so, I will do 2 Venice and split the rest between Florence and Rome.

4 destination in 10 days is too much travel to really see/visit anywhere. Stick to 3 destinations

That's my $0.02 worth

Yeah, I will take that advice. If time allowed I'd like to branch out on daytrip to surrounding area. Are there any close by daytrip spot I should focus on from either Florence or Rome? Perhaps some place a little more nature scenery. Thanks again for all your great tips.

Mid-30s traveler here who also traveled to Italy in late September: FWIW, my husband and I really enjoyed our time in Sorrento and used that location as a place to slow down and unwind. (And as with any "port" town, there are the obvious tourist traps associated with the town but there are hidden gems and back alleys and lots of charm as well).

For one of our days in Sorrento, we rented a boat (from Nautica Sic Sic) and drove ourselves over to Capri and also wandered up the coast toward Positano. The freedom of having our own transport was glorious (not really much more expensive than a ferry ride!) and it was amazing to go to the back side of the island and anchor the boat and tender to a little restaurant.

Another day, we took a cooking class (Sorrento cooking school) which was a couple of stops away (took Circumvesuviana train) at a charming resort---came away with amazing recipes and memories.

And of course, there is easy access to Pompeii/Vesuvius which are quite interesting and don't require advance reservations so you can judge your mood/energy and decide what you'd like to do "on the fly".

Hi Melissa, that sounds like a nice vacation. We are a little torned since it is our first time to Europe, not sure when we will have a chance to return, and wanting to make the most of it. We are leaning toward the iconic cities and perhaps come back to do the coast in the future. We will do one more round of chat with the group and decide soon to book all the details. Thanks for sharing your trip. I will also share this with the group.

We better hurry to book.