Does our itinerary make the most of our time in Italy?

Great - thank you for the quick response! I just looked up train schedules and I think the original itinerary will work as well - i was concerned there may not be too many trains from Rome to Vernazza but that doesn't seem to be a problem :)

Thank you, everyone, for your ideas! I appreciate reading everyone's thoughts. I did go a few years ago to Venice, Rome, and Verona but wished I'd traveled more places due to the "extra" time we seemed to have in each place. My husband and I are young (I guess that's subjective!)/active and are packing very light (we plan to do laundry 1/2 way through the trip inorder to be able to pack less!). I can appreciate the posts suggesting choosing 3 locations, however I am pretty sure we can do it :) The main reason for the original post was to see if anyone else had experience going a similar route and if the order of locations made sense to make the most of our time as well as to check on the train schedules/# of trains available each day. So, thanks again to all and I appreciated reading everyone's suggestions :)

Personally, I think it is a little too ambitious for the amount of days you will be there. By the time you travel from point to point and drop your luggage at your hotel, you will basically only have a little over a day in each place. I would drop either CT or Venice and plan to come back. Anyway you end up doing it, have a great trip!

Technically, it will work. but as Judy mentioned it is a bit ambitious for the time you have available.

Believe it or not, but when you change locations, you will lose at least a half day in the transitioning from place to place. Packing, checking out, getting to the train, traveling, getting to the hotel and checking in etc.

That really doesn't leave you a lot of time in your destinations for enjoyment and sightseeing.

If you plan on leaving in the morning after breakfast, you are basically having a very late lunch and dinner on arrival day, then one full day, thenleave again after breakfast in each of your destinations. Rome, Florence and even Venice you could spend a week in each city.

Many people would suggest (me included) that perhaps you limit yourself to three destination in your time frame.

Kim - Try not to pay too much attention to the negative responses that think it's "too ambitious" You are on your trip - getting as much of a taste of italy as you can in a certain timeframe. I've taken many people on a very similar Itinerary as yours' and they have loved it!! Go For It !!!

Ciao, Greg

As was said it is your trip.

Your first order would seem to be the best one. The "problem" with going directly from the CT to/from Venice is the amount of time on the train. It usually takes 5+ to 6 hours.

Malpensa is a ways out of town so remember to factor in the travel time for your departure.

What/where is Malpensa?

Malpensa is Milan's main international airport, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) northwest of downtown Milan. It's connected to the city by an airport train that runs to Milan's Cadorna station, for connections to the Metro and suburban and regional train lines. But most people usually take one of the two buses that run right to downtown Milan, to the city's Centrale train station.

Oh, ok - got it! Thank you :)

for my two cents: i would eliminate milan. just me. but if you do go, be sure to go online and get advance timed entry to see The Last Supper, which, to my mind, is the only thing you really HAVE to see in milan itself.