Input on Itinerary

Looks like a pretty good itinerary. No one night stands.
3 nights in Naples is about the most we usually see for travelers reporting in here, should work since your husband has specific reasons for wanting to be in Naples.
What time of year are you going?

September 2015.

September is good, you avoid the intense heat of the summer in Rome.
Depart after the Labor Day crowds fly back to the US to get the kids in school.

We should take a poll here: I'm going to guess it would be over 75% for Venice over Naples.
But it's YOUR trip and you get to do it the way you want!
:-)

If you thought you could make do with one full day of seeing and doing things in Naples, you could take one day from Naples and give it to Rome, which would give you a 5th full day in Rome (and you won't see it all even then).
Or you could leave it like it is, if you want 4 full days in Rome and 2 full days in Naples.

Shannon,

Your proposed Itinerary looks fairly straight forward, but one change I'd suggest is to deduct one day from either Florence or Rome, and add to the Cinque Terre. It's going to take about half a day to get there from Florence, and a day and a half isn't much time to have a look at the five towns. Once you get there, you may wish you had booked more time! Have you considered which of the towns you want to stay in?

One important point about the Cinque Terre, is that I'd recommend booking accommodations as soon as possible! Even in September, it can be very busy there. I typically start booking in February or March for travel in September.

FWIW, I think that Naples is a great place to finish your trip, especially since you want to see Pompeii. You might want to visit the Archeological Museum in Naples prior to your visit to Pompeii so that you can see the artifacts from Pompeii. You might consider a short tour with a local guide such as Pina Esposito as you'll learn far more about the history than on your own.

Naples is often been described as a bit "gritty and intense" compared to other places in the north, and I'd tend to agree with that. Be sure to wear Money Belts there, as some of the best pickpockets in the world operate in Naples. If you have an hour to spare, you might enjoy watching THIS entertaining video. Despite the "issues" that I've mentioned above, I would have no hesitation in returning to Naples.

If you take the Circumvesuviana train from Naples to Pompeii, you'll have to be vigilant as it has a bit of a "reputation". It's somewhat of an "old clunker" as trains go, but it will get you to Pompeii (the station is called Pompeii Scavi). You might consider a local guide at Pompeii also, and you can either book one from the listings in the guidebook such as Gaetano Manfredi or use one of the guides at the entrance that will no doubt offer their services.

One final point to mention is that there are some potentially expensive "caveats" to be aware of when using trains or other public transit in Italy. If you need more information, post another note.

Hi Shannon, I would definitely recommend the day trip to Siena; your itinerary is heavily weighted towards the larger cities, and the smaller towns are worth experiencing and some of our favorite experiences.

If you decide to change from Naples to Venice (another vote for Venice! but it is your trip), here's options to give you what you wanted in Naples: there's an excellent cooking class - "Cooking Class in Rome" that we both really enjoyed last September. And, Ostia Antica, located within the Rome tram system was very interesting - a substitute for Pompeii.

I'm going to disagree with Ken (yikes). I think 2 nights in the Cinque Terre is enough. If you leave Florence in the morning, you can even stop for a few hours (all you need) in Pisa to see the Leaning Tower and the church and baptistry (even better) on your way. You'll still have the afternoon, a full day and 2 evenings to explore before heading to Rome. I wouldn't take a day from Florence because it's your first stop after the long-haul flight and you'll be jetlagged. I wouldn't take a day from Rome because there's so much to see there and it is likely to be pretty hot so you may want to go at a slower pace.

Since you sound a little unhappy about missing Venice (which I love), have you considered starting in Venice and dropping the Cinque Terre.

Thank you everyone for your input! I have some things to consider- I think regardless it'll be an excellent trip.

I still need to think on Venice- I know it's a beautiful place and truly unique. I'm 99% sure I want to keep the Cinque Terre on the itinerary. In regards to lodging, I'm leaning towards Monterosso because of the beach and more options, but I've done very little research on this yet. I like the idea of taking a day off from Naples and distributing elsewhere- I figure it can't take that long to do the archaeological museum, visit pompeii and eat a pizza. I don't think I'd need to do Capri or the Amalfi coast since we'll get a taste of the coast when wer'e in Cinque Terre.

As others have noted, your itinerary looks good. I do have a few thoughts based on what you've shared and other have posted:

I think initially basing in Florence will work well. You might want to consider a day trip to a nearby hill town or down to Siena depending on what you like to see and do.

The time you have for the Cinque Terre is sufficient. You can hike to and visit all five towns in the day and a half you'll have.

Four and one half days in Rome will allow you to see a lot of the big sites.

Depending on what you want to see and do around Naples, you could stay in one of the smaller towns down the coast and day trip. For example, Sorrento is on the train line just south of Pompeii and Naples, just north/west of the towns along the Amalfi coast (e.g. Positano), and on a ferry line to Capri. I'll also throw in a recommendation for Herculaneum if you have an interest in ancient history. It is remarkably intact and can be seen in an easy half day (Pompeii will take a full day).

Have fun!

There are trade-offs in every decision. Starting in Venice, for instance, leaves less time for another big city. However, many people see the highlights of Rome in 2 full days instead of 4 and are happy with that experience, and happy to include something completely different in Venice. That's a change I would make if it were my trip. With 3 full days in Florence, you definitely do have time for a side-trip to Siena or a Tuscan van tour.

For 3 nights in the Naples area, Sorrento is a more low-key option that still has convenient transportation back toward Pompeii and toward the Amalfi coast. You would probably brave the crowded Circumvesuviana train with your luggage in order to get there.

You'll probably find that you can book your flights, hotels, train tickets, and museum reservations all without the help of a travel agent, but will be more confident to do so after more research. Glad to hear that you are starting to plan now for September, so that gives you lots of time.

I bet you have some nice beaches in Houston. The beach in Monterosso is tiny but looked sandy. The other beaches I saw were smaller and pebbly. Please don't waste a day in Italy to go to the beach! A great thing to do in the Cinque Terre is to take the ferry from one end to the other in the afternoon (later is usually better). The views of the towns are lovely, especially with the sun at your back.

As Rob said, Pompeii needs a full day. It is a huge site and some of the walking is slow and somewhat difficult. Herculaneum can take another 1/2 day. The Archaeology Museum in Naples has a lot to see. I'd say a minimum of 3 hours. There is also both ferry and hydrofoil service between Naples and Sorrento, ideal for another day trip.

I would really try to squeeze in 2 nights in Venice, especially if you can get a flight there.

Eeek, Galveston beaches are not nice in my opinion. I'm not much for the beach- but I'd like to spend some time sitting outdoors and enjoying the scenery. Thanks for the input :)

For what it's worth, and this is only a little tweak because overall it's a great itinerary, I'd cut one day off Rome, and instead of basing in Naples, base in Salerno. We're actually doing this in March for 5 nights. Never been there, but am staying at a little B&B (which seem more prevalent in Salerno than hotels) and they provide guide services. And Salerno is centrally located so that Pompeii, Paestum, anything on the Amalfi Coast, and Naples are an hour or less away. We are planning on a day trip via train to Naples, which I've always wanted to visit.

YAY Salerno!

It all depends on what you are looking for, Salerno definitely has connections to Naples, Amalfi, Capri, Positano, Vietri, Pompeii, Paestum and Herculaneum with easy access....

I love Salerno, it has a small town feel even though it is a big city. You can easily feel at home there and explore a town that is not so touristy.....the historic center is great and you can easily get to many nearby cities....

But I have always felt a little "lost" in Naples, and it is probably because I have had friends show me around and I have only gotten small tastes of the city on day trips, I feel like I would enjoy it more if I stayed there for more than a day.....I don't want you only getting a small "hustley bustley" taste of Naples and not enjoying it like I know it can be enjoyed....

Salerno has amazing pizza too!

And while people LOVE Venice (I have never been, going in May) it definitely is a different feel than Naples for sure......really if you wanted, you could drop the Cinque Terre and take in all that the Sorrento and Amalfi Coast has to offer and do big city and beautiful coast in the same time....