FIRST TIME TO ITALY! PLEASE HELP!!

Vueling Airlines has daily flights from Naples to Barcelona, so I don't know how it can be any easier. Your itinerary has a logical flow. I would not change a thing. You can book your train tickets in advance to save money at www.trenitalia.com. You should be able to find some place to stay. Look at www.booking.com.
Vueling site is http://tickets.vueling.com/

For lodging, go to Cross-Pollinate.com for Florence and Barcelona since you already have rooms for Venice and Rome. It is a very easy site with lots of information about safe, reasonably priced places to stay in good neighborhoods. I have used them numerous times and have been very happy with our lodging. They have B and B type places rather than hotels. Don't panic.

This is why God invented guidebooks. Rather than trying to figure it out all on your own with "way too much info on internet," get a good guidebook. The Rick Steves books for Italy and Spain will more than pay for themselves as they are esp. helpful to Americans traveling to Europe for the first time. Stop searching around on the Internet and get those two books. Now.

I don't think you're spending adequate nights in your locations, especially when booking apartments. It takes longer to get "checked in" to apartments and check out. You don't simply go to the desk and get a key to a self-explanatory room. If the electric is not included in the room rate, the owner needs to come by and read the meter when you check out. I rent apartments only when I'm spending 4 nights or more. This my opinion after many trips to Europe and making mistakes. Others will disagree with me.

I'd add a day onto Naples, or move Naples to Sorrento so you can see both Pompeii and the Archeological Museum, while enjoying the beautiful seaside for a day or two of a mid-trip leisure.

If possible, could you arrive in Venice, or is air already booked. There are direct flights from JFK into Venice. That would eliminate the travel between Milan and Venice. Every time you change location you lose at least a half day of enjoyment on your trip. Check out, taxi to airport or train, ride train or fly to next location and then taxi to next hotel or apartment, check in, etc.

DO get the R.S. Guidebooks for Spain and Italy, the previous poster was correct about that. You may even want to eliminate Madrid and go home from Barcelona, since you will have less than one full day in Madrid because day of departure doesn't count as flights to the U.S. leave in the A.M.

Sounds like a great trip. Be sure to visit Siena for an entire day while you are in Florence. The bus is the best way to get there because it is as fast as the train and stops right in the medieval area. For Venice to Florence to Rome to Naples, train is the way to go. You might consider spending three days in Barcelona and three in Madrid if you are interested in amazing art and cultural museums!

I would definitely stay in Sorrento rather than Naples. A beautiful little town. Easy trip to Capri or Positano as well.

My wife and adult daughter took a mother/daughter trip this past fall for 2 weeks. Flew into Venice and flew home out of Rome. They visited Venice, Florence, Siena (Agriturismo), Assisi and Rome. Your trip is a bit longer and you want to see Naples and Barcelona. This sounds OK. Just fly www.vueling.com from Naples to Barcelona and fly home from Barcelona. Note that Vueling is a nice Spanish budget airline. Budget airlines have really low fares months in advance. As the travel dates approach, the fares begin rising. If this is appealing to you, buy now and do not wait.

As a side note, I have my wife and daughter's complete 2-week travel agenda on an Excel spreadsheet. It includes where they stayed each night and what they did each day. It has the costs as well. If this can be useful in your planning, send me a PM with your email address and I'll send it to you.

Hi,

Definitely agree with flying into Venice. Try to get a window seat because the views are wonderful as you arrive.

Your itinerary lists the larger cities, but make sure you go to at least one smaller town for a better overall experience. Someone mentioned Siena - a bus ride from Florence, or Verona is very nice (Romeo & Juliet) with a very walkable old center and used to tourists. It would be a nice location in between Venice & Florence if you're taking the train (highly recommend).

I just searched on Expedia.com for hotels and am finding availability.

For transportation, check out www.rome2rio.com Enter two cities, and it will show the options for train or bus and amount of time. You can click on the left column, and it takes you to the train site, etc. for schedules.

Grab a RS guide book, relax, and enjoy planning your trip!

I would check airbnb for apartments in your various locations, they will note if there are extra charges but I have never paid extra for electricity or had trouble checking in. Each unit has plenty of reviews from travelers to let you know if there are problems. It is an American company that holds your money and does not release it to the owner until after you have checked in. So, very safe and no foreign transaction fees or wire transfers.

Remember to breathe while planning. For hotels, check booking.com and read reviews (done only by guests and listed by dates of stay) as well as look at the photos. You can filter by location, price, number of stars. This will help you get some control over the information.

Download some of Rick Steves' audio tours and listen to some parts of some of them before you leave, this will boost your confidence and relieve some of the stress. And get the guidebooks. Last summer I went to five countries I'd never been to before and his turn-by-turn style was really helpful for a first-time traveler.