Florence Side Trips

IMHO it won't be possible to take a day trip to the Amalfi Coast from Florence due to the distance and travel time. Even travel to Sorrento would be a long day, as it involves at least one change in Napoli. Using Salerno as a destination, travel by train will take a minimum of about 3.5 hours or a maximum of about 9 hours each way. A minimum travel time of seven hours return won't allow much time for sightseeing.

That doesn't seem practical for a day trip, but perhaps one of the others will have a suggestion that I'm not aware of.

100% agree with Ken on AC.
Cinque Terre is a close to a unique, crowded coastal experience as you can get from Florence. I personally think it is longer (at 2.5+ hours one way) than I would spend on a day trip but many people do it.

April on the coast can be iffy weatherwise but will also probably help cut down on crowds.

Have a great trip,
=Tod

Our rule for day trips is 90 minutes or less. From Florence you can visit Siena or Bologna or Lucca or Pisa easily in that time

Welcome to the forum, Goldie -
Just echoing the others: the Amalfi Coast is not a day trip from Florence. It would take a minimum of 7 hours sitting on trains to/from Salerno (I wouldn't even think about Florence>Naples> Sorrento) and then you have to add the time to deal with transport (ferries or SITA buses) when you get there. It can be a day trip from Rome: closer to 90 minutes o.w. to Salerno by fastest trains versus 3.5 hours from Florence due to its distance from the coast.

We're all different but my own time-is-money value equation is to spend less of it dealing with transport and more of it sightseeing. There are some very nice day trips you could make from Firenze that are easily reached in shorter amounts of time; I see that the Cinque Terre has been suggested. Give a shout if you need even more ideas from the gang? :O)

To add: Balso's idea below to spend at least 1 night in the CT if at all possible is a good one. Sightseeing the region does involve use of local trains and/or ferries, and even this trip takes a bit of time accomplish from Florence. You'll feel much less rushed if staying overnight.

One question? Does your April trip fall over the Easter-week holiday?

Cinque Terre is a close to a unique, crowded coastal experience as you can get from Florence. I personally think it is longer (at 2.5+ hours one way) than I would spend on a day trip but many people do it.

The Cinque Terre are the closest "substitute" to the Amalfi coast (the latter is not feasible from Florence).
A day trip is doable, but with a week in Florence, you could conceivably remove a night and spend it in the Cinque Terre, or in Pisa. That way, over the course of 1.5 days, you could see both CInque Terre and Pisa. If budget allows, I would even keep the accommodation in Florence and just book a simple hotel for the night for your excursion.

Goldie,

If you're interested in visiting the Cinque Terre instead of the Amalfi Coast, that is possible as a day trip from Florence (I've done that), albeit a long day. If you leave fairly early and are prepared to come back later in the evening, you should be able to brieflhy see all five of the towns. I prefer to start in Riomaggiore (the most southerly town) and finish in Monterosso, so that I can enjoy a fine meal there before returning to Florence. Monterosso is the largest town of the five and there's an "old town" and a "new town". It has the greatest number of restaurants, stores and other tourist amenities, as well as the best beaches. It also has easy access to the ferries that travel between the towns, should you want to see the scenery from the water, although I'm not sure if they'll be operating in April (I didn't check).

Check the Trenitalia website to get an idea of the trains available on that route. You'll likely have at least two changes, one at Pisa Centrale and one at La Spezia. The trip from La Spezia to Riomaggiore is only about eight minutes, and the trips between each town are also very short.

Have a look at the current copy of the Rick Steves Italy guidebook to see if the sights there might interest you.