Help, I need itineray suggestions. Where to go for first day of trip after arriving into Rome

I can't imagine wanting to rent a car and drive in a strange country after an overnight international flight(?) - but I'm not sure where you are flying in from. If you are starting somewhere else in Europe, not such an issue.

Still, I would just take the trains personally, anyway. A car is a huge hassle in many of the places you want to drive, and Italy has a fantastic train network.

I would agree with Andrew that a car would be both undesirable and impractical to go from Rome all the way to CT on your arrival day. In addition to the liabilities surrounding driving while jet lagged on unfamiliar roads, it would be a very long day. It would likely be after 11:00 by the time you hit the road, and it's a 5 hour drive, minimum. Add in time for potty and lunch break. And then there's the problem of parking, since none of the CT towns are particularly car friendly.

A train is a possibility, but it will require 2 changes and anywhere from 5 to 7 1/2 hours.

Either of these mean you wouldnt arrive until late in the afternoon. And you would need to leave the next day for the train ride to Venice. It just isn't worth the trouble and exhaustion. Perhaps you could extend your current reservation in Venice to include your arrival day, and either fly or take the train there.

If it were me, I'd save Cinque Terre for when you have more time - even a day trip to CT from Livorno (later in your trip) would be a full day.

After an overnight flight to Rome, I'd rather stay somewhere close to Rome and spend most of the day outdoors in the fresh air getting over jetlag, perhaps Ostia Antica or Orvieto, before heading to Venice.

I'd just go into Rome and get a hotel room near Termini, find out when you can get into your room, drop the bags at the front desk, get some lunch, take a long walk to see some sights you have not seen before. Then early dinner and get to bed and rest up for tomorrow.

Otherwise, take the train to Florence and do similar.

We decided to do one of the Rick Steeves audio tours the first day. It hits some of the piatzas, the pantheon, and ends at the Spanish steps. Figured it added a lot of flexibility when I wasn't sure how durable everyone would feel after the long flight.

Too bad you didn't choose to fly into Venice as it would have saved both time and $$ backtracking to Rome but it looks like you've already bought tickets?

Voting with the others that you don't have adequate time for the CT, and it's a lousy place to have a car anyway. As you only have 1 night before heading to Venice - and a potentially jet-lagged one at that - I'd just stay in Rome on arrival day and get on a train to Venice the next morning. Or you could go straight to Venice: 4.5 hours by train from the airport with one change in Rome, or the 11:08 direct train. I wouldn't buy tickets in advance, though, as arrival days can be sketchy: there's always a risk of a delayed or cancelled flight or other snag.

Nope, I personally wouldn't get into a car for a long drive after an international flight either.

Day 13 Naples (Mount Vesuvius climb)
Day 14 Rome then flight (travel only day)

If your flight is in the morning, staying in Rome the night before might be advised.

Assuming your flights are fixed and not changeable, I would consider these options. ( no particular order)

1- go to CT on arrival day and spend your time there -- no visit to Venice

2- go to Venice on arrival day and spend the 'extra' night there

Unless your flight out of Rome is 4PM or later, I would not even think of spending the night in Naples and dash to FCO the next AM .

Getting to the airport 'too early' makes for some boredom. Getting there too late makes for a lot of misery

Why not take the train to Bologna for the first night and then continue on to Venice the next day? Bologna is about half way to Venice, and it's a city you've not yet visited. Another option would be to take the train to Padua, which is less than a half hour by train from Venice. The Intercity trains from Padua to Venice are just as fast as the Freccia trains and considerably cheaper.

That's a fair amount of back and forth. I just returned with my two kids and we did trains only. Venice and CT are a long way from Rome, even via rail. You'll burn half your day just traveling and will get tired out before your cruise even starts.

We started our two week vacation with 6 days in Rome and we still didn't see half of what we wanted to, so I would highly consider just doing that. If you are arriving from the US, Day 1 and half of Day 2 are going to be difficult to begin with. And all it takes is one day of rain to mess up plans, so it's nice to have a bonus day in each location.

But if CT is on your bucket list, it's certainly doable - I would just think about how much you really want to do before going on a cruise! I'd just take a train to keep things simple.

Enjoy!
Scott