High level 13 day itinerary - looking for initial feedback to refine

I love your trip! You've done more planning than we did our first trip and we loved it.

If you want less Rome, there are some day-trips from there you could consider (e.g., Orvieto). I'm sure others will chime in that Rome has plenty offer without needing day trips.

A lot old hands on this forum will give you experienced guidance on taking out a stop. That works for many people. Our first trip we hit more stops but then we really didn't want to miss out and thought we may never be back. I don't know if there is right answer there. All I will say is this: Man o man, you're gonna have a great time!

Marco makes some good points!

Hello,

I played around with the idea of switching up the order of your stops. I am also including the link to our recent trip to Italy so that you can see how we spent our days in Rome, Pompeii, and Naples.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-february-march-in-italy

If you are interested, I really really recommend Paestum as a day trip from Salerno.

Arrival day: Rome

Day 2-4: Salerno

Day 5: Fast train to Venice (9:59 a.m. - 3:34)

Day 6-8: Venice

Day 9-10: Cinque Terre

Day 11-13: Rome

If it was me, I'd play around with the hotel prices, availability of entrance to sites and museums, and adjust my days as needed.

Have fun and enjoy Italy!

Due to flights costs we are flying in and out of Rome so not ideal for north/south travel plan so trying to figure out most efficient way to go to where we want to go.

Does flying into Venice and home from Rome really cost that much more, taking into account the extra train fares you incur to do what you propose?

If you do the Rome in/out, what time do you arrive? It may worth looking at going to Venice that day, and then doing Rome at the end. Saves a hotel change.

@SunnyBlueFlax - Thank you for taking the time to analyze my itinerary and provide some good feedback. After a bit more research I really like your idea of using Salerno as a base for AC as it has direct train/bus routes, so I think we will do that. I'm thinking something like your recommended in reverse however, as we have friends who may be in Rome the first few days that we are there and may want to hook up with them.

Great feedback from everyone so far. Keep it coming..lol. Thanks

temp_bb, you've done great research. I totally understand flying roundtrip to/from Rome. I am doing the same in August/September, although I have a long train ride to Venice immediately after landing. Not only is the cost significantly different but the flight times work much better.
No, you do not have too many days in Rome especially if you can meet up with your friends.

A couple questions for you:
Is there a reason you have not included Florence?
How important are Amalfi Coast and Naples?

Because of the long train ride from Cinque Terre to Naples with minimal time there, an alternative itinerary could include
Sept 30 Ostia Antica day trip to see Roman town ruins.
Oct 5 train to Florence
Oct 6 Florence sightseeing
Oct 7 train to Rome

Have you thought about adding an Eating Europe Rome food tour? It's an interesting way to see a neighborhood, plus you have to eat anyway. https://www.eatingeurope.com/rome/

Have a great time. Buon Viaggio!

To avoid being overwhelmed, I concur with your itinerary. Do what you posted. Why not? FOMO lurks for every traveler. You cannot defeat it. To accept it is to free yourself.
No matter how much you tweak you will miss something. The more you solicit advice, the more you will be overwhelmed.
You've already done a large amount of work.

We chose Salerno for that very reason --- the easy logistics for trains to Pompeii, Paestum, Naples, and Rome. Added Bonus is that it's a great town. Not too small, not too busy. It will be a good counterbalance to your other busier locations.

Not sure if you already use it, but I like Rome2Rio as a quick way to compare transportation options. For your question, I put in a random day in June, just to test possibilities.

Yay Salerno! It is great for dat trips and nice to come back to a town that is not solely touristy after your sightseeing.

Too bad that your friends overlap with you in Rome in the beginning, it would be more fun to take out that "extra stop/transit day" and go straight to a far away place and work your way back to Rome to do your "visiting" before you fly out....

On the other hand, there is a lot of benefit to arriving in Venice by train instead of plane, at least in my experience.

Getting from VCE (Marco Polo airport) to your hotel in Venice is either slow and tiring after a long flight (using the slow and noisy Alilaguna across the lagoon, or bus to Piazzale Roma plus vaporetto), or expensive (using a water taxi).

When you arrive by train after spending some time elsewhere (like Rome), you are over the jet lag and travel fatigue, ready to enjoy Venice. After a nice relaxing train ride, you arrive in Venice itself, and walk out of the station to be greeted by a splendid sight—-the Grand Canal right in front of you. I always pause at the stop of the steps to enjoy the scene; I never tire of that view.