dianak, since you and others have brought up some potential alternatives over the last 24 hours, I’ll make some additional suggestions:
1) regarding Florence (and potential day trip to Siena), as you’re not really museum hoppers, you could still hit Florence for the Duomo, and see the replica statue of The David (and other statues) outside of the Palazzo Vecchio in the Piazza della Signoria square and move on. If you stayed for a night, you could head to the Tuscan Coast the next day (more on that to follow). An outstanding cooking class option in Florence is from Chef Michele at Riva Lofts.
2) Our last trip to Florence, a couple years ago, involved staying for several nights and visiting lots of museums and other sights, and was followed by a couple of nights in Siena. We took the train, but then found it difficult to get into the Siena old town. A long line of people were waiting outside the train station for a taxi to take them up into the old town, but taxis weren’t showing up. The Rick Steves guidebook described a bus stop nearby, but wasn’t clear enough for us to find that stop easily. We eventually located an unmarked elevator just outside of a shopping mall, and took it down to what turned out to be the underground bus stop. Getting on the bus, which was standing room only, turned out to be like a dangerous amusement park ride, as the bus careened around curves going up steep streets, and our wheeled luggage spun all over the place as we stood, trying to hang on to the bus and our bags. Not fun, although the town itself is interesting, and there are exceptional restaurants in Siena. Going for just a day, though, might be more trouble than it would be worth.
3) You also mentioned the Cinque Terre, and concerns about unacceptable crowds. Our last time there was in October (supposedly kind-of off season) in 2023, and Vernazza was literally packed shoulder-to-shoulder on main street, a solid mob of people. Tiny Corniglia was so full that the shuttle bus running between the train station and the town itself above the station couldn’t handle all the people, and so it drove away leaving lots of people still at the stop. We gave up on the bus after 2 had come and gone and walked down LOTS of steps to reach the station on foot. We stayed in Riomaggiore, which was only slightly less crowded. Restaurants were fully booked, and we had to hunt for places to eat on the nights we hadn’t made reservations. Our first trip to Cinque Terre had been magical. Back then it was not crowded. This second trip was an ordeal, and now I don’t want to ever go back.
4) So, you mentioned maybe the Tuscan Coast, rather than Naples/Sorrento. I’ve recommended this here before, but let me recommend Chicca and Arnaud’s Casa Toscana https://cookingintuscany.cc/casa-toscana/ . We’ve stayed in one of her 2-bedroom apartments twice, and have taken many in-person and online cooking classes from her (and she’s doing a free online gnocchi class on April 6 - see her Website). Her place is just below the hill town of Castagneto Carducci, and just inland from the beach town Donoratico. We’ve had a car, and she recommended local LuMaTos, which allowed us to have a car for a few days after we arrived by train. She may also be able to provide transportation alternatives.
5) Also, what if you saw Pisa (architecture!) on your way between Florence and Castagneto Carducci?
6) If you were to visit this part of the Tuscan Coast instead of Naples/Sicily, you could catch a ferry just a little south of there, at Piombino, over to the island of Elba (where Napoleon was exiled), instead of seeing Capri. And while it’s not on the scale of Pompeii, there’s the Etruscan archaeological Necropolis of Populonia, also close to Piombino.
7) Skipping Naples/Sorrento/Elba/Pompeii could also give you extra days in Rome or the other locations farther north.
