First Trip to Europe & Want to See Italy....for 5 year anniversary!

I haven't been yet, but I've heard Capri is overpriced. What a lot of people do is to stay somewhere along the Amalfi coast, and take the boat into Capri for a day trip. I'm going to be staying in Sorrento because it seems to be easiest for transportation to all the places I want to go, but some people like Positano or Ravello.

As for Venice, with high speed trains available it only takes a few hours to get there. Most people prefer to start their trip in Venice because it's a great place to get over jet lag and the flights seem to work better that way. What you should plan to do is to fly "open jaw" or "multi-city" into Venice, and then out of Rome easy peasy! Florence is another wonderful city that is along the Rome to Venice route.... So how about 2-3 nights in Venice, 2-3 nights in Florence, 3-4 nights in Sorrento (or other Amalfi coast town), and 4-5 nights in Rome.

Try this itinerary. It's for 12 NIGHTS ON THE GROUND. Remember that 2 nights in a place is one full day in a place. 3 nights in a place is only 2 full days in a place.
Fly to Venice. If u arrive in the AM, see Murano and Burano islands in the PM immediately after checking in and leaving your luggage at the Venice hotel.
Venice: 2 nights. Visit Venice.
take fast train to Florence (2hr trip)
Florence: 3 nights (day trip to somewhere else in Tuscany while there, e.g. Siena or San Gimignano, etc)
Take fast train to Naples, then commuter train to Sorrento (about 5 hr trip) or Positano (bus from Sorrento)
Sorrento or Positano: 4 nights (while there, take day trip to Capri, day visit to Amalfi Coast, day visit to Pompeii, maybe even Procida or Ischia island)
Take commuter train to Naples and fast train to Rome (2.5 hr trip). Visit Naples for a few hours while en route (you can leave your luggage at the station storage while visiting the city.
Rome: 3 nights. Visit Rome.
Fly home from Rome.

Roberto gave you great advice. With the fast trains, your longest journey between cities would be under three hours, except for the leg to Naples. Check back with more questions when you are ready to fine-tune your itinerary, you are wise to give yourself enough time to plan properly.

I think you'd be smart to fly into one city and out another (called open jaw, or multi-city when you're doing a search for airfares). I like Roberto's idea of flying into Venice and out of Rome. In between, you could spend some time in Tuscany.... walking, biking, stopping for wine and food along the way! The Amalfi coast and Cinque Terre are other options.

I'd suggest going to Rick's tour descriptions on this website to get some ideas of places you can go. You can also look at scrapbooks that previous tour members put together and get a feel for what each city/town has to offer. This may give you some ideas of where you'd like to go on your own.

Congratulations on your upcoming anniversary! You will have a wonderful trip.

We've been to Italy on quite a few trips and never made it to Capri. We stayed in Sorrento and the water was too rough to get to Capri.

Starting in Venice and out of Rome is the best I agree. Remember, seeing and meeting new people and eating and drinking delicious wine all take time to enjoy. Don't rush.

Have a Great trip!

Hi Candice,

I can't think of a better place to spend an anniversary than Italy! We are returning to Italy this September for the 5th time and I can never get enough.

As for itinerary, I like Roberto's suggestions. Having already been to Florence, I would opt for the Tuscan countryside personally instead. I think that would also give a more balanced mix of large city/ laid back locations to your itinerary. You could rent a car for this section if you want to explore hill towns. Agriturismos are a great way to travel in this part of Italy.

Capri is best as a day trip from the Amalfi coast in my opinion. You can catch the hydro foil from Amalfi or Positano and spend the whole day on Capri. We prefer to stay in Ravello and this also gives you endless hiking trail options around the Amalfi coast.

Lastly, I think I would actually prefer end of October to March. We were there late October one year and there was some really great weather. Plus, it's also nice to see the leaves changing in Tuscany at that time. In march the trees are all still naked.

Have fun!

If you visited the Cinque Terre, you have an area with 5 towns - one for each year of marriage! It's one of Rick's vaunted "back doors," and it's reachable by train. If you're looking for great outdoors, food & wine, but not so much a museum location, there's no better place! The paved walkway between the 2 southernmost towns is even called the Via dell' Amore - walk of love. When we were there, the Via was closed for reconstruction, so depending on their periodic trail maintenance, you might or might not have access to it in Sept. 2015.

We visited Rome, Sorrento, and Capri (a daytrip from Sorrento) in December 2012. It was cool but not cold, and it rained some days but only one had a downpour. Locals toted umbrellas most days, and all the museums in Rome had umbrella racks inside the entrances. October may give you somewhat different weather results. If you have your heart set on Capri as a getaway, both Capri town and Anacapri will probably have better lodging prices in October than during the high tourist times of August. For what it's worth, locals in Sorrento told us that April was their favorite time of year, the time they would visit if they didn't live there.

In the Naples/Sorrento/Capri area, if you can fit them in, both the ancient Roman sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum are fascinating for their architecture/history.

I have to agree with the timing of Oct over March. I know there can be some rain but I do think you might have a much better chance of some warm weather then. I was there last Oct. (at the end) and the weather was fantastic...75 every day and rain only 1 day out of 15...I know there is never any guarantee, but I have also been in March and it was very chilly and extremely windy. I don't know that I would plan for that many days on the coast and Capri in March. Otherwise, Roberto's itinerary sounds great, except I would also stay in the countryside in Tuscany and take a day trip to Florence...especially given that you aren't into a ton of museums. That will give you enough time to see the city and the highlights of one museum. I prefer the smaller towns as well, and you will have Venice and Rome. Have a great trip.

You've had some good advice above. I would also recommend that you stop Googling and start focusing on one fairly comprehensive source of advice, such as Rick Steves' Italy 2014 guidebook. Before getting the book, you can get a taste of his Italy itinerary priorities and more at http://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy.

I realized my earlier post was focused on October, and re-reading your original question, I was reminded you'd said March was your likely travel time. When we were planning our visit to Capri, although we didn't stay overnight, it was apparent that some of the island slows or shuts down in the "off season," with many lodging options not available outside of the late Spring/Summer. You'll still find things to see and do, but with shorter hours, and maybe not as much will be open or available in either October or March as in April thru September. Accommodation prices could be lower, though, for the places that remain open.