Is my itinerary too ambitious??

My personal opinion is that there is no reason to try to cover so much ground in a country like Italy that is jam-packed with wonderful places to visit.

Within 2 hours of Venice you have places like Lake Garda, Ravenna, Bologna, Verona, Trieste, Padua, Modena, etc.

More relaxation, less driving, less unpacking is always a good thing.

You definitely need more time in Rome. I assume you're going to Pompeii from Naples-I think it is a must see for your kids.

When the question is: is my itinerary too ambitious? - the reply is always a resounding YES, because it is and you already know it.

As a second reply, I wonder where the ambition is. As a musician I am used to whirlwind concert tours, the last being last July - 16 days in China including air travel to/from Europe (24 hours each, door to door), 6 cities, 5 travels by train, 8 concerts. Thank God our contract mandates weekly rest days. I would never do such thing in my leisure time and paying out of my pocket. It would not be ambition but simply a sure way to get tired paying a lot of money.

We are planning to visit Procida while in Naples. I can definitely look into Pompeii! Thank you for the suggestion.
I like the idea of staying near Venice but this is our one and only trip to Italy, most likely. Which is why we're trying to see so much.

Hi there, Julie! Welcome to the forum!
LOL, quite often when someone asks if their plan it too ambitious, they already have a hunch that it is. :O)

That's what I'd say about your itinerary; 5 locations is too many, although we all travel a bit differently. 2 nights only gives you 1 FULL day in each location once you subtract the time to relocate from one to another. As well, if that one full day ends up being the one that some of the attractions you most wish to see are closed, or, in the case of the CT, you're stuck with a day of rain and the trails are shut?

A couple of questions?

Where in Tuscany are you looking to go?
How are you intending to get around? (I hope not via car)
Why Naples? (Edit: I see it's because of Procida and not Pompeii)
What are your family's interests? What, more specifically, are you wanting to do/see on this trip? Knowing more about you guys might help us to help you narrow down to where you might add/subtract nights. At first glance? I'd definitely add to Rome.

this is our one and only trip to Italy, most likely. Which is why
we're trying to see so much.

As someone else commented, 2 nights = 1 full day. On those travel days you'll lose up to 6 hours on each when you consider the time it takes to check out, get to the train station, getting to your next hotel... you'll likely see much less than you'll expect because of the time wasted getting from place to place.

Have you made a list of sites you want to see in each location? If it were me, I'd then prioritize that list and do some serious cutting. Also, does your 10 days include your airport days for arrival and departure? If so, now you have 8 full days for travel.

This is so helpful already. Thank you to everyone for your input. To answer some questions:
Naples because it was the one and only request of my ten year old, lol. For the pizza. But I may need to reconsider it.
We would have a car in Tuscany only. Otherwise, the plan is to travel by train. Probably going to check out San Gimignano while there and Siena.
We'd really like to see the highlights in each area. Nothing is off limits and nothing specific is a "must see" for us. We're very flexible. We picked the cities we've always wanted to visit and are planning the trip based on the cities.
We fly into Venice on April 2 at 3:20 and leave Naples on April 12 at 11
I'm very clearly seeing that I need to reconfigure a few things. Ughhh, I am so new to this!
Would this be a better itinerary:
Venice (3 nights)
Tuscany (2 nights)
Rome (3 nights)
Naples (2 nights)
Or eliminate Naples altogether?

If you add an extra night to Rome, you could make a daytrip to Naples. It's about an hour by train.

IMHO, the plan is already looking better!
Personally, I'd cut Naples - pizza isn't a good enough reason to keep it - and add a night to Rome and another to Tuscany (hotel locations TBD). Assure your young person that they WILL have pizza, and you can find it pretty much everywhere!

The car: you know that you have homework to do before getting behind the wheel in Italy, right? Getting an International Driving Permit (IDP) for each driver and boning up on the rules regarding where you can and cannot drive the thing? There's a helpful ebook - "Definitive Guide for Driving in Italy" - you can order at the bottom of this page:

https://italybeyondtheobvious.com/about/travel-philosophy/

There can also be some complications with rental offices that are closed certain days/hours. No matter; as the plan comes together, you'll get some help from folks in the know about where to rent and return.

I did not know all that you mentioned about the cars, but I think it might be necessary for Tuscany?
So if I cut naples and go there for a day from Rome, would that be much better?

If you can change the flight out of Naples, I'd say split the time between Venice and Rome. Otherwise, make it Venice, Rome, Naples.

The kids will probably like exploring on foot and in boats in Venice, and there are a number of sites that are kid-appropriate. In Rome you'll need public transportation but that, too, will likely be a new experience for the kids (and maybe you, too). If you want an out-of-town day trip, Ostia Antica is a good destination from Rome.

I encourage you to include the kids in the trip-planning. Some age-appropriate history or travel books about Venice and Rome will make this a lot more interesting for them. They're old enough to help select destinations and to figure out an itinerary and travel details.

Please note - you are planning on being in Italy over Easter and Easter Monday. Closures and crowds.

You’ll need to plan accordingly.

With only 10 days I would personally limit the trip to only three places. If you look at the itinerary for Rick Steves Venice/Florence/Rome trip, as an example, it is 12 days. I have done this tour, and it was great, but I still found it rushed. And I didn’t have to do the driving. You see more by staying in place longer because it takes time to pack up and relocate. There are lots of places you could reach by train from both Venice and Rome so it might even make sense to just use those two places as bases, and do day trips. You may not even need to rent a car. Take a look at the guided day trips available from these two places and see if it would work for you. It might be less stressful, and more efficient to use the train.

I support fewer stops completely... And I understand that you are overwhelmed with the possibilities in each place... Having said that, you and the kids should watch the RS "Travel Skills" three episodes/ (available for free on You Tube) and then have a family discussion about reading about each place and each person picking two things that they really want to see in each potential location. We try to think in terms of AM, PM and Evening blocks and each change of place counts as one block of time. More travel fewer activity blocks. With kids most evening blocks will be mealtimes - with or without pizza. AND, to appreciate being in Europe in general but Italy in particular, you have to slow down a bit. Warning - A child taken to Europe will inevitably want to go back later maybe as an exchange student or on a Junior year abroad. You can guess how I know that. Mostly HAVE FUN!

As all above have stated- yes it is too ambitious!

10 nights- 3 locations would be my advice but I can see just Venice and Naples or Venice and Rome working well.

This is over Easter- arriving at VCE at 3:20 means you probably won’t even be at hotel til 6-7 If you only give Venice 2 nights that is just 1 day- not near enough time in Venice.

If your daughter can deal with no Naples for pizza then split your time between Venice and Rome. You can eat pizza anywhere in Italy and you will find that is quite different from American pizza. Maybe look for a pizza making class for her instead.

I would say skip Tuscany.
Tuscany hill towns will need a car and I don’t think it’s worth the trouble to rent a car for just 2-3 days. You’d need to pick it up and drop it in Florence probably. Driving is easy but does come with a lot of warnings, you would need a decent sized car for 4 people and luggage.
Traveling from Venice to “Tuscany with a car” is not as simple as it sounds. Train to Florence- pick up car, drive to Tuscan hilltown- spend 2 nights (really just 1 day) visit SG, Siena - then return to the car on your way to next city -just not going to be the relaxing time it should be. You could train from Venice to Siena- stay there 3 nights then just rent car for 1 day to visit hill towns or do a guided bus tour or if budget allows check ToursbyRoberto.com- he gets excellent reviews.

Anyway my point is Tuscany needs more than 2 nights.

Venice 5 nights- gets you past Easter weekend so travel would be midweek- probably better than travel ON Easter or Easter Monday.
Look for fun things in Venice for the kids- Row Venice is very well reviewed here- fun for the whole family. Take vaporetto out to the lagoon islands. Maybe take a day trip to Verona and/or Lake Garda.

Rome- 5 nights
You could day trip to Naples just for pizza. Or do a pizza making class.
Take a day trip to Orvieto for your hill town experience ( we had what I consider our best pizza ever while there)
Visit Ostia Antica in place of Pompeii.
Rome itself needs all the time you can give it.

Naples- why Procida? If you only have 2 nights in Naples you don’t have time for that- you only have 1 full day. I would guess kids would like Pompeii- so fascinating. Otherwise I really can’t see any reason for Naples- most folks save anywhere south of Rome for 2nd, 3rd or even 4th trips to Italy.

Glad to see you are willing to make changes.
Come back and share what you come up with.

Flying into Venice and out of Naples so those two cities won't change.

and this

Or eliminate Naples altogether?

So has airfare been booked or not?

With the time you have trying to span Venice to Naples is really overly ambitious.

Your revised plan is better than the original.

If the point of going to Naples is pizza and the island of Procida, trying to do that as a day trip from Rome is likely to be more exhausting than fun/enjoyable.

Given the ages of your kids, it suggests you are late 30s to early 40s, so I am puzzled why you think this would be a 'once in a lifetime' trip. Expect/plan to return.

Hi! So, it's a once in a lifetime trip financially. If we have the opportunity to get back to Europe, I will want to see other places for sure. As for age, ahhhh - I wish late 30's. Closer to 50 lol
As for the airfare, I did book it but it can be changed. I wasn't initially interested in changing it, but the resounding responses to skip Naples lead me to reconsider.

If you really believe this is your only trip to Italy then that's even more reason to slow down and enjoy the 2 or 3 locations most important to you. Honestly if you keep anything like the pace of your first itinerary you will never want to travel to Europe again!

Your original itinerary reminds me if the old movie “If it’s Tuesday, this must be Belgium” ;)

While I get trying to satisfy your kids with their requests- they will have the opportunity to travel themselves when they are a bit older whether thru study abroad or on their own.

Tuscany is beautiful, but most folks go for the wine tasting. What will you kids be doing while you're thusly engaged? And- do kids truly enjoy the vistas?
I'd recommend saving Tuscany for an adults trip- like when you're visiting the kids during their study abroad months.

Another vote for Row Venice- whole family rowing lessons on the back canals, 90 minutes, around 100 euros total.
If there's any way to extend your trip by another day or two, you will not regret it! Stay put longer and actually BE in a location.
Have a great trip!

I wrote a treasure hunt for kids in Venice. Wrote it years ago, but Venice does not change that much. It’s here.

https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/venice-for-teenagers-762890/

Have a wonderful trip!

Our first trip to Italy (at the time we didn't know we'd return a few more times), we studied the Rick Steves recommended itinerary and proceeded to go even faster. We had a great time!

Now that I'm older, I'd go slower. (my kids -- both in their twenties-- would go faster.) I think there is a pattern for more experienced travelers to recommend longer stays. Why? Good reasons-- like repositioning costs time and energy. But back then we actually loved the repositioning-- the trains, the driving, the buses, the boats. And long days? Why not! It was all part of the adventure. Our train to Naples was cancelled by a strike-- so we rented a car. And because we had a car, we added extra sites. Sure it was frustrating at times-- like finding parking. But great memories.

Only you can decide what is right for you. We loved Cinque Terre. It was breathtaking. Personally, I would not go again during peak months. April may still be good. I'd defer to the more seasoned travelers on that. If you think it's too ambitious then take something out. And the advice of the folks above is great. They know their stuff.

Happy travels!

I would add one more night in Venice and one more night in Rome and skip Cinque Terre on this trip. I predict you will return to Italy sometime in the future.

We didn’t make our first trip to Italy until I was 63. We have been back three times since that first trip, including our first RS tour this spring (Village Italy). Never discount that you might be back. We were hooked. Enjoy with your kiddos, take your time, you have gotten some really good advice.

Tongue-in-cheek recommendation: https://www.italiainminiatura.com/en

I agree with the general sentiment that more time in fewer places is never a bad idea. But it makes me sad to see everyone say nix Naples when it was the only thing the ten year old requested. I am not one of those that thinks kids get to dictate (I don't even have any), but I would put consideration to what all family members want.
OTOH, skip CT--you can hike in coastal villages just about anywhere in the world, but there is no other Naples. You can insert some nature time at one of your other stops: go kayaking in Venice, or a Tuscan countryside excursion, or visit the coast or an island while in Naples.

If you keep Tuscany in your itinerary, I would definitely do a day in Florence rather than Siena and San G. Staying in Florence would be much easier than going to Tuscany. We have never been to Tuscany as we love Florence and aren't interested in wineries. It's a long day, but if you don't go to Naples and add the time to Rome, you can do a day trip to Pompeii. We traveled a lot with our child and think you should always prioritize some of their wishes. I will say that I'm not a fan of Venice. Our trip to Italy with our daughter when she had just finished 6th grade was Florence and Rome, including the day trip to Venice. There is a cat sanctuary at the Largo Argentina ruins in Rome that may be of interest.

I am sure you will have a wonderful trip!

I think a lot of your trip planning should revolve around a few factors:

What kind of personalities, interests and travel styles do your kids have?

How comfortable are you with researching driving in Italy, the routes, ZTL zones and actually driving in a new place with foreign language signs? We enjoyed driving in Tuscany and didn't have any problems, but we were very well prepared.

I think flying into Venice is great and you will all enjoy it and you definitely should give it 3 nights. And I think ending in Naples is good, especially if you are flying home from there. I am sorry, I would not go to Naples just to try pizza, it is not that memorable. But I would go for Pompei. I don't know anything about Procida, but it looks beautiful, and it has the colorful look of CT. It also seems to have nice beaches, so that could be a nice break from the busy cities, for a day trip. If you go there, maybe give Naples 3 nights.

Now to fill in the middle. It is over Easter, so the crowd factor will be significant. Rome will be packed. Absolutely no to Florence. We were there in October 2023, and it was almost unbearable with the crowds Easter would not be fun. I would definitely skip CT.
We loved Tuscany and did not do any wine tasting. We enjoyed the peacefulness, great food, lovely vistas, and charming towns. I think it could be a nice break from the hustle and bustle of Venice and Rome. But would your kids be bored?

So the recommendation would be Venice-Tuscany-Rome-Naples with getting a car after Venice and dropping it off in Rome. The flexibility of a car with kids and the ability to stop somewhere unplanned is great. But you have be up for the drive.

OR Venice-Rome-Naples, all by train.

All good choices, but be realistic with your decisions. Enjoy!

Pompeii, Vesuvio and Capri are all day trip possibilities from Naples that may interest kids. So, maybe Venice, Rome and Naples?

You have all been so helpful! We've decided on Venice (3 nights), Tuscany (3), and Rome (4). I don't worry about my kids being bored in Tuscany because I think we'll enjoy a little relaxation time and our B&B has a hot tub surrounded by beautiful scenery, which is always a plus! My husband doesn't drink, so wineries won't be the priority. Family time and the views - we will appreciate that. Thanks for the tips about driving. I think we're up to the challenge and looking for a little adventure!

I'm sad to cut out Naples. I was kind of joking earlier about Naples and the pizza. My son does want it (yes, he's 10 - and on the spectrum so not likely to go on his own one day), but my dad's family is from Naples so we thought it would be a nice addition. But we've decided we can go next time! I've been convinced that we will visit Italy again in the future! :-)

I've enjoyed all of these responses. You have all been so kind. Thank you!!

"I wrote a treasure hunt for kids in Venice. Wrote it years ago, but Venice does not change that much. It’s here."

YES!!! We love to search for geocaches! They will LOVE this!

Sounds like a wonderful plan!

I highly recommend this place for lunch!
They also, have a farm tour. The food is fantastic and the views are what you dream of.

https://podereilcasale.com/en/restaurant/

I think this is ambitious, that you'll be spending so much time traveling internally that you won't get a sense of the places you see, and it would be stressful to continually pack and unpack, get to each new destination, find your hotel or airbnb...

I'd personally limit it to three locations at most, even better just two. With 4 or 5 days in each location, you can slow down, see a lot, discover a favorite cafe and restaurant.... Also, you can take day trips from each of the locations, so in reality you will get a taste of more than "just two" locations, but with the benefit of not having to pack your suitcases each time. (From Venice, I'd go to Ravenna, to see the world's greatest mosaics, easily doable in a day.) - Remember, you can always come back to see the places you missed.

So, I would suggest Venice, Rome, and Naples-- two nights in Venice, four in Rome, and four in Naples.

Train travel is a delight in Italy, I urge you to take high-speed trains between your destinations, and the local ones for day trips from your destinations-- it's easy to access the stations, all of which are generally located in the heart of the cities, and it's easy to get from them to most hotels or rentals. Having driven in southern Europe, including Italy, I'd urge you not to drive there.

Anyway, good luck on whatever you do. I suspect that you'll be so smitten you will figure out how to get back multiple times.

OP's 9-15 starts:
"You have all been so helpful! We've decided on Venice (3 nights), Tuscany (3), and Rome (4)."

Sorry if I missed it - where are you planning to stay in Tuscany? It would be easiest and save time to stay in Florence and do a day trip/tour into Tuscany if you want to visit another town or towns. Depending where, I’d recommend train, bus, or private car/driver rather than dealing with a car rental and driving.