Florence/Rome/Sorrento - Firming up the Itinerary - Suggestions needed

RS recommends Mondo Tours in the Guidebook. They offer a variety of shared and individual tours. We thought their shared tour of Pompeii was great, and they have boat tours. I would favor a boat tour of the AC over a car/van tour, as the latter is just too much time in a vehicle on curvey roads, and in congestion.
Have a great trip!

Sounds like an amazing trip for you and your family. The overall itinerary looks good. Here are a few suggestions based on my experience in taking college-aged kids in 2018, friends in 2023, and my upcoming trip here in 2026.

• August 6: The Academia and Uffizi are both amazing. You can do both without a tour, the Rick Steves guides are excellent for the Uffizi. I would recommend going early to the Uffizi (first tickets) as it gets very crowded. Stop and enjoy along the way a coffee at the rooftop cafe at the Uffizi (directions in the Rick Steves guide). If you want to combine the Academia in one day, the book later in the day to minimize the mid-day crowds.
• August 7: We have taken day trips from Tuscany with a guide we absolutely love and they have been memorable. An alternative since you have not been to Florence before is to stay in Florence and visit the Duomo and the excellent Duomo museum and maybe combine with a food tour or cooking class. Mama Florence has an excellent class that combines a market tour with a cooking class. We still make the recipes today in our kitchen.
• August 9: Rome-Colosseum: you can certainly visit without a tour, however, if you plan on combining with the Roman Forum, I would recommend a tour. We have done without a tour of the Forum and it was a very hot and frustrating experience following the Rick Steve's guide. I wanted to go back with our friends and we took a tour and it was so much more enlightening and relaxing, even though it was still very hot.
• August 10: Vatican/St. Peter's. I have visited without a tour mid-morning with my college-aged girls, husband, and friends. I have never had so many people angry with me. It was too hot, too crowded, and too much lack of context, even with the RS tour. When we visited with other friends in 2023, my husband was so upset about our last trip that he was not going to go. I booked the Walks of Italy early entry tour so that we were inside when it first opened. While it was still crowded, it was more manageable and the guide was excellent, even my husband who I dragged along reluctantly agreed that the tour was worthwhile and actually enjoyed the time. August 11: A suggestion for your private transfer to Sorrento, combine it with your visit to Pompeii. We booked a private transfer through Mondo tours and had about 2.5 hours in Pompeii with an excellent guide that they arranged. It is a efficient use of travel time and for a first visit 2.5 hours was enough for us. We are going back to Pompeii on this trip to explore more and if you feel so inclined, you ca do that on the 13th, otherwise, you have another free day to do something different. If you go on the 13th, Mondo has an excellent group tour. August 12: Highly recommend a food tour of Sorrento. We loved the Gourmet Girls food tour. These are local ladies you take your away from the tourist area to experience a taste of Sorrento. August 14: We did not take a boat tour on our last trip because all ferries and boats were cancelled due to bad weather, so I don't have any recommendations for that. however, we did take a wonderful tour of the Amalfi Coast by private driver with Wine Tours Amalfi Coast and are doing so again on the upcoming trip. Even if you don't like wine, they have experiences that combine the Amalfi Coast with cooking classes, lemon tours, etc. The owner Daniele is a sommelier and this was one of our most memorable experiences and meals in Italy.

Transit: On transit: train tickets are super easy to book, the Trenitalia app was easy to use. On the Amalfi coast, the local buses are often too crowded, a private driver is a better bet (although more expensive).

I'm curious (because I dd this last month) who you are using for the transfer from NAP to Sorrento and what the price will be?

Many thanks!!

Let me know if you want a recommendation for a restaurant while you are there!! We spent four nights an had a magical time in Sorrento; I would not want to leave and wade into the crowds on the Amalfi coast at the time of year....

Be very careful with those wonderful lemon-filled chocolate candies that they sell all over. I could not stop eating them!!!

If you're considering climbing the Duomo in Florence, make sure to book your time slot ASAP. Morning slots fill up fast, and considering you'll be there in August, you'll want a morning slot.

Definitely purchase advance online tickets for both the Accademia and Uffizi Gallery. Both are amazing and extremely popular. You don't want to waste time waiting in line for tickets, or not able to get tickets at all. We used Rick's audio guide for the Uffizi, and it was excellent. No need for a guide.

If you have the time while in Florence, the Central Market is fun for wandering around, looking at all the delicious foods, and having lunch or snacks here.

I'm going to do a chime-in on several different topics:

• I would try to get over to Trastevere at some point in Rome because it's a very charming neighborhood
• Colosseum and Forum I kind of believe in splitting up into two days by getting the 24 hour ticket, seeing the Colosseum day one and then returning right when the Forum opens the next day (use the Foro Romano entrance on the south side) so you can see the Forum without any crowds. If you see the Forum after fully touring the Colosseum, you're going to be tired out somewhat and it will already be crowded. By splitting them up, you get a much better experience.
• Vatican Museums and St. Peter's I would also split up into two days if possible. If you can arrive at St. Peter's super early you can get in before the crowds. It's a lot to see and you don't want to be rushing. Obviously, it's not possible for both the Vatican and Roman Forum/Colosseum on your timeline.
• Herculaneum is totally worth seeing as well.

You’re spending only one full day dedicated to Florence which is not enough.

I think Capri and the Amalfi Coast are great if you spend at least a couple of nights there, but as day trips from Sorrento they’re not that nice (too little time to explore, you’re there when it’s super packed with day trippers).

A couple of tweaks:
I would add a night to Florence, remove a night from Sorrento, and skip the Amalfi Coast or Capri day trip.

Since your transfers and hotels are booked I guess there's no sense in suggesting you eliminate one of your three destinations. Of the three, Sorrento/Naples/Amalfi Coast was by far my favourite but the most difficult to visit due to chaotic transportation. We enjoyed Capri far more than the Amalfi Coast and took the first ferry of the morning over and visited it on our own.

In Rome I'd recommend a tour of the Colosseum that also includes the Forum and Palatine Hill which were more interesting than the Colosseum. We used Through Eternity Tours for both it and the Vatican. We also did an evening tour of Rome with Through Eternity. https://www.througheternity.com/

I would absolutely 100% book a tour for the Vatican Museums, and book the earliest entry tour you can find. I know it's more expensive, but that is a place I will never go back to in the middle of the morning or later--it is insanely packed and in August, will be insanely hot. The tour is worth it.

Sorrento is a perfectly nice, purpose-built postwar resort town, built on a cliff overlooking the Gulf of Naples. The Bristol has a fixed (not floating) swimming platform in the Gulf, reached by the hotel elevator. However, we found Sorrento more useful as a daytrip base. We spent five nights in a sister hotel, the Ambasciatori, and enjoyed it. Sorrento is not a beach town.

You are under-rating Capri. Pompeii opens at 9 AM.

Are you using the the word Amalfi to mean Amalfi Coast or town of Amalfi? This is very very crowded, as is transit there.