February in Rome, Naples, and ?

True, the AC weather is unpredictable. If you stay for 2-3 days and it's all rain, it would be a bust. OTOH if the weather is good, the AC is great. I stayed in a wonderful B&B in Salerno and rented a car. I drove along the AC on 2 days, found parking (mostly free, a couple times very low cost), had great views from the road (the best part of a visit to the AC is the views) and traffic was light. Not many restaurants were open, hardly any tourist shops (a plus in my book), but Salerno restaurants were excellent and cheapest. I spent a full day exploring Salerno's historic center, and another day driving to Paestum to see the Greek temple ruins (the best I've seen, except in Sicily, better than in Greece. On the way I stopped at Tenuta Vannulo (buffalo dairy farm) and had the best cannolo ever and some excellent gelato. They are known for their mozzarella. I was lucky with the weather, no rain and few clouds. I had been in Naples for several days before that and enjoyed it. It is the best base for the ancient cities. There are more than just the 2 most famous ones. The National Archaeological Museum is a wow.

Castle of Caserta, Tivoli if you haven't been to Villa d'Este or Hadrian's Villa. There are three smaller ancient sites around Pompeii that are absolutely worthwhile if you have the time. A five-site ticket includes one visit to each. They are not "just like Pompeii." As mentioned, Paestum, but more travel time is needed for that.

Maybe just spend more time in Rome. That time of the year will be less busy and not as rainy as the end of the year, so you could luck out on really nice days, where you can enjoy some Winter sunshine and eat great food. There are also plenty of museums to keep you occupied in case it rains.

I’m planning on taking extra time.....

How much 'extra time' are you trying to fill?

Is your departure point for home fixed or flexible?
Where are the 'been there-done that' locations?

Thanks for the responses. Probably will be in Rome 5 nights and will have another 5-6 more after I’ve seen all the majorr sights in Rome. Haven’t been to Nero’s golden house so will try to hit that. Also haven’t been to the Vatican in 20 yrs so will take advantage of the February crowds to see that again. It seems like Naples has cleaned up and is considered a little after that. When I was first there briefly in 2000. So thinking about using that as a home base after Rome. Just can’t find good returning flights from NAP so I guess I’ll return back the last night and stay near FCO.

Hello,

I think you'll enjoy Italy in late February. We had good luck with the weather and really appreciated the 'off-season' benefits.
I have included my trip report in case it might be helpful. If you can squeeze in a side trip to Sicily like we did, you will find some fantastic Greek sights and great wines! Hope you have a wonderful trip!

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-february-march-in-italy

In February 2017 we hit Rome for 6 nights and had great weather, 45-60 degrees, just a sprinkle of rain. Few tourists, a perfect visit. We were on a roll.

Until we went to Sorrento for 5 days. Monsoon rains--cold, nasty days. Cancelled a trip to a farm right across the water from Capri. But we pivoted and took the Circumvesuviana to Naples, and a cab to the Archeological Museum--wonderful. And one day when it started to clear up, we took the SITA bus from Sorrento to Positano. But...we got off one stop too early, thought we screwed ourselves. Then we started to walk on the sidewalk, the coastal road in fog and sun, slightly downhill about a mile, and saw those beautiful Positano vistas you usually see from the ferry or the bus. It was magic. I love it that time of year.