Cinque Terre or Almalfi Coast, Sorrento,Capri, Positano

Are you flying open jaw? Given your direction of travel (north from Rome) CT is the better option. I would also suggest flying home from Milan so you don't have to double back to Rome.

If you're going to Rome, Siena and Florence in that order then the CT is your best bet, only a 2 1/2 hour train ride from Florence through some beautiful countryside. The others you mentioned are south of Rome, although not really that far, but clearly in the opposite direction the rest of where your trip is heading. Only old town Monterosso and Vernazza were damaged and much of Vernazza is back open, with the rest supposed to be by the end of summer, and they really need your money now. There are hotels in new Monterosso and the only beach is there, although it is mostly pebbles and not sand. The water will be cold at that time and the weather unpredictable, 60s and windy to 80 and pleasant. If you like hiking there is a nine mile trail from Monterosso to Riomaggiore, a spectacular view, and you can stop in another town every few miles for a glass of wine, some food and rest. I'm not sure about the trains there because a lot of debris covered the tracks, but I'd imagine they are open by now. Check out Rick's latest blog on the area. Two nights there will allow you to both rest and relax, and experience the hiking trails which are a must. I'm going back there in September alone, after taking my wife and her mother a few years ago. If you go there you won't regret it. Enjoy.

Vernazza is still recovery from the flood. All other areas are pretty much back to normal. We were in Monterosso recently I didn't see any real visible damage in town. As far as Cinque Terre or Almafi coast, it is a tough choice. I would look at RS books and videos to decide. Cinque Terre you can pretty much see in two days very easily. Even in one day you can see all 5 towns. The train makes it real easy. Almalfi you would want more time for and there is proably more to see. In Almalfi Coast you have Sorrento, Positano, Ravello, Almalfi and a day trip to Capri. You also have Pompeii which is close by near naples. So if you just have a day or two go to Cinque Terre. If you have three days or more I would to Almalfi and put Capri and Pomeii on the agenda. Our first trip to Italy was to Rome, Florence and Almalfi Coast and we loved it. We recently went back to Lake Coumo, Cinque Terre, Milan, Padua and Venice and really liked how we spilt the two visits.

Anne, If I read your post correctly, you'll only have 10 days "on the ground", so IMHO you DON'T have time for Sorrento, Capri, Positano and the Amalfi coast. As all of your stops are in the north, the Cinque Terre would absolutely be the best choice. You might travel Rome > Siena > C.T. > Florence. As you love "small quaint towns, old buildings, good food and the sea" the C.T. is the perfect choice. If you'd like an example of what you can expect, have a look at This Website. You'll be able to sample excellent seafood as well as Pesto in the area where it was invented. Also, be sure to try Sciacchetrà (a sweet dessert wine), which is produced in the area. For travel in mid-September, I would suggest getting accommodations in the C.T. booked NOW!!! Happy travels!

Anne, We've just done both Amalfi coast and CT recently. Amalfi is more of a "drive / bus then browse around the towns" sort of visit. CT is more of a "hike between the towns and then browse around the towns" sort of visit. Since we're more of the walking / hiking type folk, we enjoyed CT more than the Amalfi coast, although our favorite part of the Amalfi coast was our trip to Capri, where we walked the whole island practically in a day! In the CT we stayed in Riomaggiore (Edi's rooms in the harbor...fantastic location) and enjoyed the hikes that were open between the towns (look for my other posts on the hikes). I also cover the state of the towns as of May 1st in a post...basically Vernazza was a building site, but they will have done almost all the work before you arrive. The other towns are looking great. Cheers!

The Cinque Terre is still recovering from the floods of last year. For now, I would recommend going to the Amalfi Coast region, but there is no way to fit in all of those destinations in one day. You would have to stay at least 1 night to fit in a good chunk of this. Most people vastly underestimate the time it takes to get from Point A to Point B in Italy. Last September, the Circumvesuviana from Naples to Sorrento took an hour and a half.

@Scott M., "The Cinque Terre is still recovering from the floods of last year." I believe some clarification is in order. The floods of October 25th mainly affected the "old town" section of Monterosso (the "new town" section was largely untouched) and Vernazza. The other three villages didn't sustain any damage and are open for business as usual. Of the two affected villages, the "old town" section of Monterosso is mostly back to normal and tourist season is fully underway. Vernazza is also open for business, but construction and rebuilding are still in progress. Also, the trails from Monterosso to Vernazza and Riomaggiore to Manarola are open (hopefully the other two will open soon). Perhaps David can confirm that my facts are accurate. Given the relatively short time frame of this trip, the fact that most of the other places being visited are in the same general area, travel times to the Amalfi Coast and finally the criteria for "quaint towns" etc., I stand by my previous suggestion. Cheers!

Anne, I'm happy to confirm Ken is correct: Of the CT towns, you'll only possibly notice anything amiss in Vernazza, and they are likely to have got almost everything done IN TOWN by the time you arrive. We were in old town Monterosso, and whilst there is some work going on, unless you knew about the October flood you'd probably think that there were just renovating a building. I highlighted IN TOWN, because they are also working hard on the trail system, which got washed out too in a couple of places. The classic "route 2" is open between several towns (see my detailed CT trails post on this), but not between Corniglia and Manarola, and I see that taking months to get ready. There is still the boat and train option between Corniglia and Manarola, so it's not an issue at all. Plus, if you've walked between Monterosso and Vernazza, you've already covered part of the coastal route, which is substantially similar to that between Corniglia and Manarola. Cheers!