Add to Rome and Florence stays and skip Venice.

Could you share with the RS Crew your thinking behind including Sorrento in this itinerary? That's the place I would skip for a trip this length, but perhaps you have specific reasons for wanting to go there?

Agree with Mary Sue. Skip Sorrento as it is somewhat "out of the way". Add one night to Rome and two nights to Venice. That will give you four nights each in Rome, Florence, and Venice before heading to Munich.

My first thoughts were similar to Mary Sue, but then I wondered if you are tied to your flight details.

Venice 3 nights
Florence 3 nights
Rome 3 nights
Sorrento 3 nights
fly from Naples to Munich
Munich 3 nights

Don't drop Venice for your first trip to Italy. It is an amazing city.

Thanks for the advice.

I should have stated this in my first post but my wife and I always wanted to see the Amalfi Coast/Positano, etc. So Sorrento must stay on the itinerary, I know I'm going away from my other destinations, but for the short trip down, it will be worth it.

My only options are to keep current plans or add days and skip Venice.

Best regards
Darren

darren, it would have been helpful if you had put your home city in your profile - then we might have a hint of whether the purpose-built resort city of Sorrento is actually worth visiting for you. Although we (not you ... ) have recently been scolded here for suggesting that an OP change their itinerary, you have asked us: "Venice" or "No Venice"?

I cannot imagine omitting Venice and insisting on the Amalfi Coast. Actually, you could consider Cinque Terre, which is not so much of a hike. In addition, Venice is in physical danger, and hints of future restrictions on daily visitor load have surfaced. Go now. The puzzle to me is that you scheduled more nights in Florence than in Rome, which I have been to three times. If you care about one of the principal centers of Western culture, why do you care so much about one of the centers of United Kingdom sun-seeking tourism?

To be clear, my wife and I spent 5 nights in Sorrento, on our fifth trip to Italy. My highest priority was Pompeii, which was worth it. We spent 240 Euros for a car and driver for an 8-hour visit to Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello. Are you aware how much extra effort it is to visit the AC from Sorrento? (Lots of people do so, I'm not trying to talk you out of it.) Two years later, we visited Capri on two consecutive days. While it was important to "tick that box", the degree of luxury is far below that of a non-Beaches (i.e. mass tourism) destination in the Carribean. As Lonely Planet wrote, "seeking the glitterati, and finding only their prices.

Your wife wants to go to Sorrento/Amalfi Coast, go to Sorrento/Amalfi coast. The time it takes you to get there may seem like a lot in terms of your other destinations, but it's reasonable if it's a priority. After all, you'll be in Italy, what's a few extra hours to be where you want to be? Unless you already have another trip planned to spend time there, go for it.

Oktoberfest !!! Are you not a beer drinker, Tom ?

We did our first trip to Italy last October and Venice was our favorite but if you skip it this trip you can go back to it another. There's no wrong move in adjusting travel only excuses to go back!!

Given your priorities, your original itinerary seems like a good one. Don't skip Venice.

I have been through a brief tour of the Amalfi Coast, and I've recently spent a week in Venice. I'm sure Amalfi is nice for a longer visit, but by no means should you skip Venice in favor of the AC.

My tuppence worth.

How can anyone skip VENICE on their first time to Italy? There's no other city in the world like it.

Venice->Munich is easy. Air Dolomiti flys direct between those 2 cities, and I take that flight almost every year.

Opinions vary:

Personally been to all of the places on your list and rank the Amalfi Coast #1
Though I also have a preference for Positano or another town on the Amalfi Coast over Sorrento
I do strongly feel you need to drop something either way.

Venice, Munich or Sorrento to me needs to go.
So if you really want to see the Amalfi Coast ; which is fine ; you need more time for it.
Drop the 2 nights in Venice ; add 1 to Rome and 1 to Sorrento. Florence with 4 is sufficient the others seem too low to me.

By the way, we went to Venice this fall and it was our first time there and our 3rd trip to Italy within the past 5 years so it is possible to go to Italy and not visit Venice. I am glad we visited and enjoyed it but it would not be very high on my places to return either. Would rather go back to the Amalfi Coast any day.

I just think you have too much travel time and too little "enjoyment" time.

Your arrival day in Rome is more of a non-day, arriving kind of zonked and getting through the airport and to your hotel takes hours too. So 2 full days in this intense city while you're getting over jetlag.

Rome to Sorrento: .5 hr to Termini, 1 hr to Napoli, .5 transfer to Circumvesuviana, 1 to 1.25 to Sorrento, .5 to hotel/check-in. That's 4 hours give or take, not including packing/unpacking. So you have 2.5 days here.

Sorrento to Florence will take more than. Not only is the train ride from Napoli almost 2 hours longer, but you have to allow more transfer time in Napoli - the Circumvesuviana often runs late and you need to allow for that. So you have 3 days and an evening here.

So Venice? NO. It's a vacation, not a marathon. Venice is my third favorite city in the world, but it's not worth short-changing yourselves on your other wonderful Italian destinations. (I'm pretty lukewarm about Munich)