HELP - first time in Italy! 9 night trip

Yes, you will be missing out if you skip Florence so the answer is, come back to Italy sometime and see it! You want water then you Venice and Positano are your best choices. Venice is unique and you will have the things you mention that you like and you can do things you can't do here (USA). Gondola rides, bell towers, centuries old Bascilicas, palazzos that are spectacular, and islands. Rome is a must for first timer to Italy. Florence is the center of the Renaissance, so as such, it is art and architecture. A spectacular city in its own right, but given what you have said I would do Venice, Positano, and Rome. If you can change a day, drop one in Positano. It is steep, hilly, and the beach is composed of pebbles, not sand (hurt my feet).

Have a great trip.

I'd stick to the Amalfi Coast and Rome, and do some sort of excursion when you are in Rome. If you don't want five nights in Rome, you could stay longer down south, or go to Orvieto or something.
You could not pay me to fly all over the country on vacation. I understand wanting to see "more," but you lose so much time in transit that way!
I have been seven times, and I have not seen Venice, Florence, or Rome. Of course all are full of world class art and history and culture, but so is virtually all of Italy. I will see them one day (maybe when I am older and cannot do the driving and hiking I do now). You can always go back, but you cannot do over a trip that is full of too much bustling around at the expense of enjoyment.
If you are not interested in Florence, don't worry about it. There are a gazillion places you will never see--it does not matter!
This is my hobby horse as you can see, but in all seriousness, be sure you have calculated the actual travel time you will spend traveling and ponder how those hours could be spent instead.

ETA If you feel you have to see Venice this trip, I would also consider staying a really minimal time in Rome. People will clutch their pearls, but I would much rather have ample time in the place I really wanted to see (in your case Venice) that splitting it with another place just because you fly out of there. You can sample Rome and see if you want more.

It's going to take you the better half of your arrival day 10/21/19 to arrive in Positano not to mention jet lag. You will have basically 3 full days there. Then you need to consider the time it takes to get from there to Naples then take a train all the way to Venice. I'm guessing it has to be around 5/6 hours. By the time you arrive in Venice and get to your hotel the day is gone. That will leave you 1 day for Venice and in my opinion not enough time and too much traveling.

I would spend 5 nights in Rome. Rome needs at least 3.5 days so 4 nights. You could take a day trip to Florence from Rome. Or take a day trip to someplace else and save Venice and Florence for another 9 night trip.

What do you mean by, "explore the Amalfi Coast?" How do you plan to do that? On foot? By bus?

Ignore people who tell you to go to X instead of Y unless they can give you a very good reason that makes sense to you, given your personal interests. Especially ignore people who only spent a night or two in Venice and didn't like it because it was so crowded. They should have stayed longer and gone somewhere beyond the train station, Rialto Bridge and Piazza San Marco!

Don't let thinking about what you're not going to be able to see spoil your anticipation of this first trip to Italy. After all, you're not going to see London, Paris or Athens either. There are always difficult choices to make. Read about the destinations that are convenient, given that you are flying into and out of Rome, and choose those that sound most attractive to you.

I love Venice, but I must caution you that if you try to see Positano/Amalfi Coast, Venice and Rome by spending just two nights in Venice, you are not going to have "basically a day and a half" in that city. You are going to be at risk of being one of the travelers who doesn't much like Venice because you didn't have sufficient time to get away from the super-high-traffic locations. The Freccia train just from Naples to Venice takes a bit over 5 hours. But you will not be starting in Naples. You are staying in Positano, which doesn't even have a train station. So you'll need to get up (and it's a vacation--how early do you really want to get up and check our of your hotel?), take a bus to a train station, wait for a regional train, take that train to Naples, wait for the Freccia train, and spend five hours traveling to Venice. Even then you're not ready to start seeing Venice; you have to get to your hotel and check in. Unless you choose to stay right near the train station, you may well need to take a vaporetto then wind through some back streets on foot to get to your hotel. That can take time. This entire process is going to be nearly an all-day affair. So you won't have 1-1/2 days in Venice; it will be more like one full day and a few evening hours on the day you arrive.

That's not how I'd like to be introduced to Venice, but I understand the attraction.

Aside from the fact that I may be biased since Florence is my hometown, however considering the short duration of your visit, as well as the time of the year you are going (end of October may be rainy), I’d consider Florence over the Amalfi coast.

Also, although I love Venice (my parents told me that I was conceived there), I would also favor Florence over Venice in your case (due to distance), although I think you should do both.

Gordon says that you can’t ride gondolas and see beautiful Palazzo in the US. Actually you can do both, ride a gondola and see Palazzo, on the same block of the Las Vegas strip. You can even go up the Eiffel Tower in between.

"You can always go back, but you cannot do over a trip that is full of too much bustling around at the expense of enjoyment."

I love that quote from Valadelphia! I couldn't have expressed it so well, but to me it is key. There are places we fall in love with and like to return to, but I've always thought it was a shame to blitz through so many places, so fast, that you shortchange every one of them and really need to repeat the entire trip to see all the things you missed. I'd much rather see my key sights in fewer cities on the first trip (wasting less time in trains, buses and cars) so I can move on to some fresh territory.

It is your vacation, but also it is 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 hours from Salerno to Venice, even with high-speed trains. Then 4 hours back to Rome. As such, spend more time in the Rome area and less time riding trains. You could easily spend 4 nights in the Amalfi coast and 5 nights in Rome, with maybe a day trip to Tuscany.

Loving all this advice. It sounds like doing Venice and Amalfi Coast in one trip given the time we have is pretty much out of the question since we are also doing a few nights in Rome.

That being said... would you pick Venice over Amalfi Coast in general?

I know no matter what we are going to have an amazing time, it’s just so hard to pick the best itenerary!

Well this is a trip for both of you. So the trick is to get the right blend. I agree with the person who said see what you want. And if your husband wants to see the Amalfi Coast and you want to see Venice, go for it. There is no right or wrong except for blitzing through and thus enjoying none of it. Yes, it would be a long day to get to Venice - so just spend your nights in Positano and Venice, with a night in Rome before your trip home. Rome (and Florence) will still be there when you are ready for them. Just don’t rush through and enjoy none of them.

With your flights being in/out of Rome, Positano and Venice for your time frame is setting yourself up for a lot of 'traveling' at the expense of 'being there'.

I suggest a more 'compact' area of travel.

My favorite cities in Italy, in descending order are:
Rome
Florence
Venice
Naples-Pompeii-Sorrento-Capri-Amalfi Coast

2.5 days in Rome is not enough at all.
If you insist on going to Positano, just spend all your other days in Rome. You can always come back for more in Italy.

We didn't hit Florence until our 3rd trip to Italy...go where your heart tells you, not where other people tell you. I had a few people say - oh, you can't skip Florence on your first visit!!. Well, it was still there 4 yrs later! For the record, Venice is my fav place anywhere - love at first sight when I walked out the door of the train stn.

My only comment - you are going to have a really long day going from Amalfi Coast to Venice (if you are using train - Rome2rio shows about 7.5 hrs fr Positano to Venice) - I hazard you will pretty much lose that day, giving you only one full day in Venice...and I've had two 5 night stays in Rome and still haven't seen everything...(I'm breaking my own rule of go where your heart tells you...sorry).

Welcome to the RS forum!

Your limiting factor is having to fly both in and out of Rome, and I'll solidly vote with the rest against trying to cram too much into too little. Much as I adore Florence (I'm an art/architecture geek) if your Other Half wants water then head to Amafli Coast for 4 of your nights and spend the other 5 in Rome. There is a lot of ground to cover in that one, and you could day trip to Florence (abt. 90 minutes by train from Rome) or Orvieto (abt 75 minutes) if you wish. I'd skip the wine thing as wineries can be done in the U.S. but not taking in the history, art and architecture very old Italian cities and towns have to offer!

Positano... You might consider another location in that general region? As noted above, it's not an especially convenient location to get to and doesn't have much to offer if you get some rain...which has higher probability in the later fall months than in summer. Ferry service to/from that one is also not guaranteed if weather throws a curveball - boats can't dock there in very windy on stormy days - although it does have frequent SITA bus service.

True, Positano definitely has its fans here but for convenience of getting around and alternatives on possibly rainy days, I'd go with Sorrento. While not technically on the A.C., it's at the doorstep, is larger, and has cheap train service to Pompei, Herculaneum and Naples as well as ferry (weather permitting to Positano) and SITA bus services around the coast. Book a hotel with a view of the Gulf of Naples and, well, it'll be plenty pretty enough!

Oh, and about museums? While he may think he's not wild about them, Italian "museums" defy definition. Many of the old churches (and most are free) are wonderful museums in-and-of themselves. There are museums which are small enough to be easily digested and housed in fascinating buildings, e.g. Galleria Borghese in Rome or convent of San Marco in Florence. Add the open-air excavations, like Pompei, Herculaneum, Forum, Palatine, Colosseum, etc, and, well, you get the idea?

Basing in just two locations will allow you to do things that please BOTH of you with little of your precious time spent relocating and reacclimating: take in a few churches or a major excavation and then find a spot to kick back with some wine, a view and/or some people watching. Having the time not to rush through Rome will go along way towards upping the enjoyment factor of that particular city. Just IMHO. :O)

I am going to agree with others, skip Venice this time. The traveling time is too much, you will not get to see much besides the train. Day trip to Orvieto from Rome, it's a little over an hour, and will be a relaxing time.
I like the idea of going to Sorrento, instead of Positano, for the reasons already mentioned, but if your husband has his heart set on Positano, by all means go there.
You will enjoy wherever you go!

Welcome to the forum! You've gotten a lot of good advice.

Google Maps is a great tool to familiarize yourself with distances. It will help you get a feel for how long it takes to get from one location to another. You'll see that Tuscany is not what I consider a day trip's distance from Rome.

Many folks when going to Europe for the first time want to see it all and end up seeing nothing. I prefer quality over quantity. You don't have much time and moving from one place to another eats up a lot more time than you realize. For some perspective, think about trying to see San Francisco, Napa Valley, Los Angeles and San Diego in 9 nights.

Look into Fall/Harvest festivals, since you'll be there late October. That would be a great day trip. I did a quick check for festivals near Rome. There's one in Marino, but it is usually held earlier in the month. I'm sure there are others. Check here.

I really encourage you to see Rome and one more destination at most.

Oh, I think you should it all: Rome, Venice and the Amalfi Coast. You will be so excited about your first time there, that even if you have one long travel day who cares? I love both Venice and the Amalfi coast more than Rome, and more than Florence. Go where you want to go. You will have no regrets.

For example:
Oct 21rst: 4 nights on the Amalfi Coast (on the water: Positano or Amalfi or Capri; try to see Ravello)

Oct 25th: either train to Venice or fly one way Naples to Venice (VCE), tons of flights from Ryan Air, Easy jet, from 34$. For example take the 8:45am from Naples, Arrives in Venice at 10am. (find out your flight on skyscanner. com but book direct with the airline. Obviously this would be a very early day, leaving at 5am from Positano to get to Naples in time. Or you can take a later flight, the 15:35 arriving at 16:50. From the Venice Marco Polo airport you are 1 hour from Venice proper (take the ferry -Alilaguna; or treat yourself to a water taxi). That entrance on water into the Grand Canal is priceless.
Make sure you book a hotel IN Venice and not in Mestre.

2 nights in Venice (you will still get to have 2 evenings and 1 morning, which is the best time of the day to see Venice)

Oct 27th: the rest of the trip is easy: you take the train to Rome (3 hours).

It sounds so simple that many overlook this step, but I still plan every trip by writing it out day by day, including all travel times. That is the only way I can tell if I am overdoing it. You can't do three places that far apart justice in 9 days, so you just have to choose the pace that is best for you.

I also do what valadelphia does.

Create a calendar and note the times of arrival - when does the train arrive that you might take.
Drop in your need to see ideas each day by noting the opening/closing times and placing them by general areas so you aren't running back and forth all over a town.
Look at a map while you do this.
Imagine how long it may take you to visit the David or a tour of the Sistine Chapel. You may be wrong, but you know your own pace better than anyone. Note the activities that you determine as of now that are Have To versus Could be Nice.

Every day has an itinerary, but it doesn't mean that it all has to be done. And it usually isn't because we DON'T know what we will find interesting in that moment and day.

I do this for EVERY trip I have ever planned and it serves us all well.