First timer in Italy - 2 weeks

Your schedule looks pretty good. It is a full schedule. I would not add anything. You could visit CT from Florence but it is some distance but CT is really a large area. I would save it for the next trip. Florence will keep you busy.

I don't what you mean by parking in the country side. It is wide open country so you can park about anywhere. If you are asking about parking in the towns, cities of Tuscany then that is a bit more complicated. Most have public parking areas and garages but find and sometimes if something is going on, it can be difficult to find a spot. I would take the car all the way to Rome drop it near Termini (main train station). Public transit from Amaifi can be complicated with a couple of changes depending on the method you use. With a 9.30 departure, you will need to be there by 7.30/8.00 and I would not chance it with public transit.

Personally I find Naples to be about as save as any city in Italy. It has a reputation, probably deserved, but we have never felt unsafe in the city center.

Looks like a pretty good itinerary to me! You can easily drop the car in Orvieto and take the train to Rome. Sorrento has the best transportation options along the Amalfi coast. You might want to splurge on a private transfer to the airport, rather than stay in Naples that last night. Naples is umm... Let's just say that Sorrento has far more charm.

Hello! My husband and two children have traveled to Italy many times. I actually planned a friends ten year anniversary in Italy that had them flying into Rome and then going to Cinque Terre, Florence ( Tuscany ), and then flying out of Venice. This is something you can most certainly do IF you have the energy and stamina. Personally, I would skip Amalfi and Naples and go straight to Cinque Terre. You WILL want more than one night there for sure. It is gorgeous. If you do go to Amalfi it is beautiful but do not take the bus there if you can avoid it. My reason for that is that we did so and missed our stop due to being packed all the way in the back. We could not hear the stops or see where we were for each stop and missed our stop for Sorrento and ended up in Amalfi. Luckily us and a few Aussies became friends on the bus as we all missed our stops and ended up there. It was very nice, Pompeii is great and I would recommend a full day there. I have not been to Capri. For Tuscany, I highly recommend Il Canto Del Sole. It is an amazing farm house out side of Siena. Good luck!

Amalfi, Positano or Praiano are my favorites along the Amalfi Coast. Sorrento is not on the Amalfi Coast.

I am in Napoli now, it's fine. Loud, but fine. Leave time for the Archeological Museum if you are also visiting Pompeii.

• No, not too much, but do not stretch yourselves with a night in Capri. Not worth it.

• If you are going to the Amalfi Coast, skip the Cinque Terre. Spend your time in Tuscany in Tuscany.

• Try Montalcino or Montepulciano as a Tuscan base. We prefer Montalcino, but other prefer Montepulciano. The drive between them and through Pienza is lovely.

• I agree with the advice to drop off in Rome at Termini Station. You will want GPS, by the way.

• You will be fine in Naples.

Your itinerary looks good to me, but it is loaded. Do plan on a little down time and please post when you returned on how it worked out.

-Looks good.
-I am unfamiliar with Tuscany, but you should clarify if you want to stay IN a town or at a rural farm-stay type of place and you should also come up with a list of the places you wish to visit. Tuscany is a large region.
CT is a long day trip depending on where you are staying in Tuscany, so consider just hiking (and getting your coastal scenery fix) on the Amalfi Coast instead.
-Good plan. To find drop off and pick off sites, have you searched your preferred rental agency's website? They usually have maps of all locations. If you want an automatic, sometimes you need to pick up at an airport (though I have not always had to do so).
-I don't think you have time to include Capri as an overnight without shortchanging somewhere else, and I would only move a night from Florence.
-Naples is a fascinating place with thousands of years of history. If you have no interest in it, that is fine--vacation days are scarce, after all--but let's stake the notion that it is a horrible hovel! I was nervous about spending my last night there just because I did not want to lose the vacation zen I had from the coast, but it was tons of fun, and I would not have skipped seeing the artifacts from Pompeii or eating the pizza. If you want to spend your last night in the AC, then the only way I would feel okay doing so would be to arrange for a private driver to the airport (probably around 100 euro). Look at the Hotel Piazza Bellini for a great location in Naples, near the historic core and the Archaeology Museum. Taxi to the airport less than 20 euros and less than 20 minutes. Use the same precautions you would in any large city.

Thank you for all of the helpful comments!

Just to clarify, we do want to stay in a town in Tuscany. We're debating between Cortona, San Gimignano, Siena and Montalcino. If we pick one of these places, is it close enough to visit the other Tuscan towns?

Based on your recommendations, we've decided to skip Capri and Cinque Terre and will stay in Naples for our last night because of our early flight. I can't wait for the pizza!

This past April I stayed near San Gimignano, it was my first trip to Italy. We had a car as well. We easily visited Siena and some Balsamic Vinegar farm in Modena. The drive was nice. I loved it so much we are returning there next month. I love Tuscany and I highly recommend it. Its such a beautiful place. Enjoy your trip! http://www.casolarelibbiano.it/bed-and-breakfast.php Oh personally I think your schedule is a bit much but you can always adjust it.

Apologies, didn't have a chance to read through all of the previous replies. We made 5 stops on our 13 days on the ground in Italy, and it was quite full, but not too much. I probably wouldn't have done more than that, and might be a little hesitant to pack in Cinque Terre too, but in the end it depends on how badly you want to see it/how unlikely it is that you'll be able to return and see it another time. I think many people do either Amalfi OR CT, so it is probably fine to just pick one of those places.4

I would research what your priorities are to do and see. For me personally, I would not put Rome as having less time than Florence and equal time as Amalfi/Tuscany, as there is SO much to see and do there (we easily spent 4 days and had more we would have liked to see), but then again everyone's tastes of what they would like to see is different. You may already know this from previous travels, but bear in mind that every time you switch cities, you lose a half day or so by the time you check out of one hotel, ride a train, and get checked into your new hotel. So 3 days becomes 2.5 days.

Hope you have a great time!