hello everyone :) venice, florence, cinque terre, rome in that order? or ven, cinque, flo, rome

I prefer the first option, with the Cinque Terre later in the trip, for a change of pace, and a shorter travel day to get there from Florence. Then you can continue to Rome by a coastal route, instead of back through Florence.

Train schedules are easy to view through the DB link at How to Look Up Train Schedules and Routes Online. www.trenitalia.com sells tickets starting 3 months ahead, if you want to secure a few advance-purchase discounts.

I second Laura's response. That order is efficient for travel and offers a really nice progression of the locations. Cinque Terre is a nice spot to relax in between the big cities, Florence and Rome. Have a wonderful time!

Seconding Laura and Holly's votes: that order makes the most sense.

Italian rail tickets are available 120 days in advance.

The first one:
Venice > Florence > Cinque Terre > Rome (via the coastal railway route).

wow thank you everybody!!! :)
I'm feeling the love already

ok here is what we are thinking so far (we have 15 nights to play with)
(i would appreciate your thoughts and comments)

in this order
fly into venice for 2 or 3 nights than go to
florence & chianti valley 3 or 4 nights than go to
cinque terre 2 or 3 nights than go to
sorrento & positano & amalfi coast 3 or 4 nights than go to
rome for 2 or 3 nights than fly home from rome

which cities/regions would you spend the most/least at?

thank you in advance!!! and thanks again for all your reply so far you all have really helped me :)
sincerely
joe :)

which cities/regions would you spend the most/least at?

Depends on your interests? Personally I think you're cutting Rome really short as there's a lot to see in that one. I also think you can trim one of your coastal destinations as I don't know as you need to do BOTH the Amalfi/Sorrentine and the CT on the same trip, especially if it's your first time to Italy.

I'd cut the Cinque Terre and add those days to Rome. While we enjoyed the CT, I wouldn't keep it at the expense of quality time in the Eternal City, especially if you're including another coastal destination. Sorrento/Amalfi does involve backtracking, though -which we usually try to avoid - so you could switch which coastal location to drop.

What time of year are you planning this trip for?

I'd suggest:
Venice 3 nights
Florence only: 3 nights
Florence day trips: add one night per each day trip you take
(Chianti is not a valley, it's a hilly area within Tuscany)
Cinque Terre 2 nights
Amalfi and Sorrento area 4 nights min
Rome only 3 very min or better 4 nights

I agree with Kathy. Cut Amalfi and add some time to Rome and CT to give you more beach time.

15 nights is not really enough to include two areas that take a long time to get to/from. Instead of seeing how much you can fit in, start by looking at each destination and thinking about how much time you want to be there.

Venice - do you want to spend a day going to the islands? Do you want to visit one or more of the grand palaces and art museums? Or do you just want a day to see the highlights and get a taste of the city?

Florence - how much time do you want to spend seeing the great paintings, frescoes, sculptures in the many museums and churches? Do you want to take day trips (Siena, Lucca, wine tour)?

Rome - ditto.

Now, how much time is left over? And what do you really enjoy seeing and doing? Everyone's interests are different. Fortunately Italy has tons to offer for every preference.

Thank you everyone! :)

Thank you for my Chianti correction.
I'll try to answer some questions:
We are going in July or August. Those are the only two options we have.
My wife and I like to hike. Hiking the Cinque Terre and the Path of the Gods on the Amalfi coast are 2 things we are really looking forward to doing.
We absolutely want to do a wine tour in Tuscany. Any suggestions?
We don't have to see every church, painting, or statue but of course we will hit all the obvious ones.
Thank you again everyone!!! This is extremely helpful.
Sincerely,
Joe :)