How is this trip and recommendations?

I would skip the Amalfi coast/Capri , you need more time there then just two nights. You also need more time in Rome. There is so much to see and do in Rome. The Vatican can take a day with seeing the museum and the sistine chapel and St Peter's and seeing the Castel Saint' angelo which is nearby. Churches, museums, Spanish Steps, sitting in outdoor cafes, walking the streets, the list goes on and on. I would also spend the rest of the time in Venice as Venice is the most amazing, beautiful, unique city and needs more time than just two nights. Take into consideration, checking in and out of hotels, getting to and from hotels to the train station and time taking the train from Florence to Rome and then from Rome back up to Venice. How are you getting from Rome to Venice? It is I think a 5 hour train ride from Rome to Venice.
Your first flying into Paris, spending three nights in Paris, then flying into ? Florence and staying in Tuscany for 7 nights, are you spending any time in Florence? Then train down to Rome and then get back to Venice? Is this the way it is or what is the order of the cities. You do not need ( and it is a huge hassle) a car in Rome and Florence. You do need the car in Tuscany, but drop the car off in Florence and take the train to Rome. Have you ever been to Paris before? 15 days is a nice amount of time but if it were me, I would spend the time in Rome, Venice and Florence and skip Paris for when you have a nice amount of time ( 5-7days) in Paris. It is a beautiful city which 3 days ( which includes getting into the city and jet lag leaves you with 2 1/2 days. I am not sure if I am answering your question, but I am trying to tell you that each place you mention needs time in it to see it and enjoy it. Italy and even Paris is all about cafe life, sitting down, having a drink, relaxing and then going walking around and not feeling rushed that you only have three days ( which includes travel time). I hope this helps you think about what you want to see and do. But each city is amazing and even if you cut out stuff, what you see where you are is amazing and worthwhile.

You are going to use the better part of one sightseeing day to get to Amalfi, so it's a long way to go for a day and part of another day. After 10 nights in Rome over 2 visits and about the same over 4 visits to Venice, I'd add one night each to both.

Are your flights already booked? Most on the forum would recommend flying out of Rome vs Venice because it is much easier to get to the airport in Rome as most flights from Venice to NA leave early morning and it can be a hassle to get to the airport.

What time of year are you going? That could have an impact on whether Amalfi/Capri is worth it. Another thought is you could do six nights in Tuscany instead of 7. (There's no law that says you have to use all the days of a gift certificate.)

First, since you are going from Paris to Tuscany, it doesn't make sense to fly to Rome. Then you have to back track to Tuscany. I don't know where you are staying in Tuscany, but since you are already staying one night in Florence, consider staying 2 nights instead.

Skip Amalfi, too much time traveling, checking in and out of hotels, etc. Stay in Rome 3 nights, then head to Venice for 3 nights. Less traveling time and more time in each city makes a more relaxed vacation, IMO.

Wow, thanks for the all the replies and info thus far. We are planning to go in early April (2016). Our flights are not booked yet - as we wanted to iron out the plan before committing. The flight does leave early out of Venice, but it was a bit cheaper than going out of Rome. With the Canadian dollar so low, we thought we'd save some money by doing that. That's the same reason we added in Paris, it is a lot cheaper going to CDG than flying directly to FCO/VCE from YVR.

The plan is like this as of now,
Paris - 3 nights
Florence - 1 night
Tuscany (day trips to Pisa, Cinque Terre, etc) - 7 nights + Car rental
Amalfi/Capri/Pompeii - 2 nights
Rome - 3 nights
Venice - 2 nights

Thanks!

Keep it simple. Remember less arrangements = less stress = more enjoyment.

We will be spending 3 nights in Paris, and will have 15 nights in Italy...
Flying from Paris to Rome for 4 nights
Then getting a car and going in Tuscany for 7 nights (we have a gift certificate that we need to use)
Then dropping the car, possibly in Florence and taking the train to Venice for 4 nights
We fly out of Venice

You could take a night from Venice and stay in Verona en route, or day trip to Padova/Vicenza from Venice.
(I'm assuming you can work Florence visits in to the 7 days of Tuscany).

Personally, I wouldn't do the Amalfi/Capri with only two nights, and you've allotted very little time for Florence itself. Your itinerary is also sort of all over the place; from the north to the south and then far north again.

I'd fly into Venice, spend 2 nights
Take the train to Florence, spend 2 nights
Rent the car and do whatever you're planning to do in Tuscany for 7 nights (Florence is IN Tuscany, BTW)
Take the train to Rome and spend your last 4 nights.
Fly home from there.

I'd love to see you add 1 more night to Florence somehow (maybe one of those 7 nights allotted to Tuscany?) but that's just me.

The Amalfi coast, Naples and Capri are wonderful but IMO you need more time to visit them properly. We spent four nights there recently and could've stayed one more day to visit Herculeum.

van,

I agree with the general consensus that it would be better to skip the Amalfi Coast / Capri, especially as you only have two nights for that portion of the trip. Two nights will only provide one full day of touring, and Capri will take the better part of a day to visit. On top of that, it will take the better part of a day (4-6 hours) just to get to that area from Florence. My suggestion would be to add the two nights to Florence or Rome.

I'd suggest a slightly different order, travelling Paris > Venice > Florence > Tuscany (where?) > Rome. Have a look at easyJet for flights from Paris to Venice, both from CDG and ORY (I'd use ORY as it's smaller and easier to navigate). Book your return flight from Rome / FCO.

If you haven't travelled in Italy before, there are a few potentially expensive "caveats" to be aware of, both with rental cars and with public transit (trains, Metro, etc.). If you need more information, post another note. DO NOT drive in Florence as the city is saturated with automated ZTL (limited traffic area) cameras, and expensive fines will result for each pass through one. Roberto or one of the others will be able to tell you the best places to rent and drop off the car. ZTL areas are prevalent in many towns and cities in Italy, so you'll have to be vigilant everywhere.

Note that you'll also need the compulsory International Driver's Permit to drive in Italy, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L.

Amalfi/Capri/Pompeii - 2 nights

I must add my voice to the chorus! That's one day to do three days worth of touring. I would not go to the A.C. for less than 4 nights. Venice at 2 nights is severely short-changed in your itinerary, as is Roma at only 3 nights. Make the Amalfi Coast "next time" and do justice to Roma and Venezia.

Another voice for deleting the Amalfi Coast -- too much travel time for the amount of time on site. Suggest adding one more day each to Venice and Rome.

Very good advice from Ken on the driving/ZTL issues. And no, you do not want (or need) to drive in Florence.

Parts of Italian cities and sometimes entire towns are pedestrianized or off-limits to vehicular tourist traffic so you won't be able to just drive into them and park the car anywhere. This even applies to accommodations which fall into ZTL areas: special permission is needed (issued through the hotel) to bring the car in long enough to unload and then park it elsewhere if they don't provide parking on site. If you know where you intend to travel in Tuscany, you might want to gather a few tips from RS'ers who've done the same with a car?

Thanks everyone for the feedback. We have adjusted our trip and have this as the plan now. Amalfi will be left for another trip.

Paris (3 nights) > Venice (2 nights) > Florence (2 nights) > Tuscany (7 nights @ Marriott) > Rome (4 nights)

We may cut short Tuscany and spend another night in Florence. As for the car, we only need it for the Tuscany segment. We will be taking the train from Venice to Florence and from Florence back to Rome. We were thinking of getting the car somewhere near Florence and dropping it off there as well.

Paris (3 nights) > Venice (2 nights) > Florence (2 nights) > Tuscany (7 nights @ Marriott) > Rome (4 nights)

Oh, yes, that's much better. I would add a night to Venice, maybe not stay in Florence at all. It's easy enough to spend a couple of your Tuscany days there. If you haven't been to Paris before, 3 nights isn't enough, especially since you arrive there jetlagged and sleep-deprived.

There are some places in Europe where 2 nights is enough, but I think it's too short for any of the places on your list.

So I'd skip Florence and add a night to Paris and Venice. And if you want to take advantage of the lower fares home from Venice, how about this route:

• Paris-- 4 nights
• fly to Rome -- 4 nights
• pick up car in Tuscany -- 7 nights
• end in Venice -- 4 nights

You could always day-trip in to Florence while you're in Tuscany. And if you like it, you could spend more time there on your next trip to Italy!

Question on the car rental. Would it be better to get the rental from Mestre, do Tuscany and return it at the FLR airport? Or to get it from and return it at the FLR airport?

"Paris (3 nights) > Venice (2 nights) > Florence (2 nights) > Tuscany (7 nights @ Marriott) > Rome (4 nights)"

The last Itinerary you posted sounds good. My suggestion would be to leave Venice at two nights but also spend a couple of nights in Florence. Also, reducing "Tuscany" by one night and adding to Florence would be good, as that would allow a day trip to Lucca or other nearby locations.

Where in "Tuscany" will you be staying? Note that Florence is the capital of Tuscany.