First time in Italy - 12 days in July

Rome deserves more time without a doubt. It has to be my favourite city and I've been many times, back there this coming Saturday, and still not covered it all. I much prefer it to Florence despite its charms but I'm more interested in ancient history rather than Rennaisance art. I suspect your children will be more enamoured with Rome than Florence.

Definitely hit the Amalfi coast and allow your children some beach time as it will be very hot in July. Pompeii might be too much for the younger ones, I've been there in July and there is little respite from the intense sun, notwithstanding the crowds.

Florence is not my favorite, this would by my itinerary:

11 Rome
12 Rome
13 Rome
14 Rome
15 Sorrento/Amalfi Coast
16 Sorrento/Amalfi Coast
17 Sorrento/Amalfi Coast
18 Sorrento
19 Train Sorrento -> Naples, Fly EasyJet nonstop Naples NAP -> Venice VCE, Spend night in Venice
20 Venice
21 Train Venice->Milan, spend night in Milan
22 Fly Home

I have two kids that are similar ages to your kids. We have traveled to Italy numerous times. Do you want family quality time where you remember the trip, unwind a bit and enjoy each others' company, or do you want to feel like you are constantly rushing, checking things off a list and packing/unpacking? I always go for the former.

If this was my trip, this is what I would do:

July 10 - Arrive in Rome, rest, go for a walk
July 11 - Rome (you'll still be very tired; kids likely to wake up at noon)
July 12 - Rome
July 13 - Rome
July 14 - Travel to AC
July 15 - AC
July 16 - AC
July 17 - AC
July 18 - Travel to Lucca
July 19 - Lucca
July 20 - Lucca
July 21 - Travel to Milan
July 22 - Fly home

So basically, you can't do everything. Pick three places and do them right.

I wouldn't add any more stops to the itinerary. Add extra days to Rome, Sorrento/AC, and Florence. Rome is vast, and you never run out of things to see and do. You might consider adding a day trip by ferry from Sorrento to Capri. And extra days in Florence could include day trips to Lucca and Pisa or Siena or a guided tour to some of the other hill towns. Then go to Milan the night before you head home. With fewer hotel changes you will actually have more time to enjoy yourselves.

I like Emily's itinerary built from your post.

I suggest you do some serious research, especially since this is your first trip to Italy. In my opinion, you've chosen the worst time of year to go to Rome and the Amalfi coast. It will be very hot and very crowded. I haven't been to AC, but I have been in Rome in late July/early August.

Have you bought your airline tickets? If you are locked into flying into Rome, I'd spend most of my time in northern Italy, but definitely not Venice or CT.

First time in Italy - 12 days in July

Nope. You also say you "don't want to be too rushed." First step towards that is to be honest with yourself. If, as you say, you arrive on July 10 and you depart on July 22, that's 11 days, not 12. You can not and should not count your arrival or departure days as usable, no matter what time your flights are. If you are flying from far away, you will be wiped out upon arrival, and very likely will be at about 50% of yourself the following day, so plan accordingly. In July, it's going to be hot hot hot, and just walking around is going to wilt many people a lot quicker than you expect (depends on what you're used to). If you thrive in heat, OK, but if you're built for the northern latitudes like many of us, be careful and calibrate your expectations, or you risk spending a lot of your days running from one gelato shop to the next, eventually prioritizing good air con over sights. You have the advantage of long days in summer but don't underestimate how the heat might take a lot out of you.

With just 11 days - at best - I think your plan is already a bit too ambitious. No way would I add more stops, I'd actually consider cutting down your itinerary.

You don't mention Venice in your itin - no interest? Yeah, it's swarmed with crowds, but so is everyplace else on your list. And there's no place like it. It's not going to get any less crowded with the passing of the years.

10-11 days (which, realistically, is what you have in usable time) is really a very, very short trip to Europe, BTW - my minimum is 2 weeks (14 days there) and even that's a bit crazy IMHO. If there's any way you can squeeze in a few more days it would really give you a better trip.

That said, with just 10-11 days, I'd do Rome, Florence, Venice, and fly out of Milan.

Yes, the Amalfi Coast and surrounding area is wonderful, but...you don't have time for everything. Must have Amalfi? OK, then Rome, Florence, Amalfi. In that case I'd skip Milan entirely unless you must fly from there.

Good luck.

With the time you have, and with your flights into Rome and out from Milan, going to Sorrento really does not work well.

For this trip, being as short as it is, I would work north from Rome to end in Milan and do just 'one-way' travel to best use your time and minimize 'traveling'.

Accept the fact you will not see everything this trip, make this a limited enjoyable trip and then plan for the next trip to cover other areas.

For your first time, limit your stays to 3 places. It takes quite a bit of time to pack up, check in and out of hotel, get to train, and travel. Especially with 3 kids. You don't want to keep moving.

Arrive in Rome - 4 nights
Train to Florence - 3 nights. Day trips if you wish, Siena and/or Lucca
Train to Venice - 3 nights
Train to Milan - last night before flying home the next day.

Also, I like to watch videos with kids and see what they are interested in. Let them have a say. Youtube has millions!

Not being rushed and 3-4 locations in 11 nights seems rushed to me. And do you really want to pack and unpack that many times. I'd suggest Rome and the Amalfi Coast OR Milan/Florence and Lake Como but you already bought your airlines tickets. Our first trip to Italy was into Rome and out of Milan for 12 nights but really 11 days... we planned poorly - I've learned - but anyway left FCO and headed to Tuscany for a week (7 nights) at an agriturismo with a pool and we did day trips from there ( we had a car) then we drove to Barolo (Piemonte) spent 3 nights at an agriturismo there and day tripped from there. Our last night was near MXP and we flew home the next morning. I hate packing and unpacking which is why we tend to stay longer in less places.

Since you're "flying" to Rome on the 10th, you won't arrive until the 11th.
You only have 11 nights. Keep in mind 2 N = 1 day plus a few useable hours.

10th. Fly.

11th. Arrive Rome. Taxi to lodging. Check in, or drop bags. Late lunch.
It's now 2- 3 pm. Wander around as long as the kids allow, have dinner and head for bed.

12th. Rome. Colosseum?

13th. Rome. ?
The Borghese Gardens has bikes for rent and a zoo, might be a place for the kids to let off some energy.

14th. Train to Sorrento. 2hr30min.
Again check in, lunch explore Sorrento.

15th Day trip to Pompeii.

16th. Amalfi Coast tour by ferry or bus. Or private tour.

17th. Trains (2) to Florence. 4hrs31m.
Arrival days are all similar.

18th. Florence.

19th. Florence. Day trip to Lucca?
1hr11m.

20th. Train to Milan. 1hr40m. Visit Duomo?

21st. Malapensa Express to MXP 1hr.
Only do this if you have a mid-late morning flight. Otherwise, stay at the airport the night before.

As you can see, though it looks like you have a lot of time, it's really not enough for a relaxing adventure.

Try to do 2 areas doing day trips and have a more enjoyable experience.