Italy 10 Days Venice/ Florence/ Rome/ Amalfi Coast?

With just 10 days, do the big three. You really don't even have enough time to do justice to them. The Amalfi Coast is too cumbersome to get to. That would eat up one of your days; and getting back to Rome (I'm assuming that's where you'll get you return flight), another. 3 for Venice, 3 for Florence, and 4 for Rome. By the way, you should try to fly open-jaw, into one of the cities and out from another.

I'm wondering if it is wise to skip Florence (as I would be visiting Rome..) and do Amalfi Coast, what do you think? Is Florence very different from Rome? Pardon my ignorance!

Rosalyn is correct. You'll see plenty in those three spots and you really don't have time for a 4th location. Venice, Florence and Rome are all well-connected by train. And she's also right about the open-jaw flights - save yourself some time by flying into Venice and out of Rome.

How many nights do you have? A rule of thumb is if you have x nights, you really only have x-1 days because of travel to and from your destination. And that one day or night can make a big difference on a short trip with too many cities.

I would agree with above. If you have 10 nights, i would suggest the big 3, fly open jaw, 3 nights in Venice, 3 in Florence (it is worth it) and 4 in Rome.

If you prefer doing the Amalfi Coast, i would suggest 5 nights in Rome and 5 nights in and around the Amalfi Coast area (Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento, Amalfi, Positano, Capri are all possible destinations). If you can fly open jaw in or out of Rome or Naples or vice versa, that would save you doubling back.

It's a little too much for 10 days. I'm a big advocate for Campania (the region that the Amalfi Coast is in) but if you're only going their for the Amalfi Coast I don't think it's worth it.

Don't cut out Rome no matter what. But for the rest of the trip it's probably easiest to cut either Venice or Amalfi. North Americans and Northern Europeans seem to love refined and cultured Venice and Florence. I haven't been to Venice but I found Florence underwhelming. Campania is more like the stereotypical imagined Italy of Italian Americans (like myself); loud and chaotic but endearing and dripping with sun, seafood, tomato sauce and mozzarella. We were faced with a near identical dilemma on our honeymoon and opted to do 4 days based in Sorrento (seeing Naples, Pompei and Amalfi Coast), 5 days in Rome and 1 day in Florence as a day trip from Rome. We loved it but if I were to it again I might cut a day off of Rome and look into possibly doing Venice for 2 days instead of Florence. I personally found a day was more than enough to see everything we wanted to see in Florence (unless you hope to see the Tuscan country side outside of the city). 3-4 days is enough for Rome.

Venice is unique, so definitely include Venice. (3 nights)
And Rome, well it really is impossible to leave it out. (4 nights)
That leaves 3 nights for ... either, Renaissance Florence (arts and churches), with a possible trip to Siena.
... or, the Amalfi Coast with Positano's beach, the Isle of Capri and the ruins of Pompeii.
Your preference. Your choice. Good luck.

Thanks all the the reply. They are very helpful. Am also wondering if I could substitute Amalfi Coast for Cinque Terre? What do you think?

Is Amalfi Coast easily accessible by train/ public transport? I have been reading up online and it doesnt seem as well connected as the other cities.

Cinque Terre is several trains and a couple of hours from Florence.
Amalfi Coast is trains again (via Naples) and approx 2 hours as well from Rome.
With Pompeii and Capri I think AC offers more of a diverse experience than CT.

Is Florence very different from Rome?

Here's where you're going to have different opinions, and none of them are wrong depending on individual taste. We both loved Florence (5 nights and wished we'd had more) and I do think it's a different enough animal than Rome. It feels smaller and more Medieval, and the amount/quality of Renaissance art is terrific.

With 10 days, Venice,/Florence/ Rome is a classic, first-timer's introduction to Italy because of their individual histories and architecture, and the ease/speed of transport between them. Fly into Venice, out of Rome, and take fast trains between them.

Since you are interested in natural beauty, I would visit the Amalfi Coast, Venezia, and Roma.

It would be better to count nights rather than days, since several of your days involve nearly a half-day of travel (not actual hours but in terms of sightseeing time, time to check out of one place, wait for transportation, travel, check into hotel...).

There is no substitute for the Amalfi Coast, in my opinion.

I agree with the previous posts on doing the big 3 (Rome, Venice and Florence). You can do 4 in Rome, 3 in Florence and 3 in Venice. You can Save Amalfi for another trip since there's a lot to fit into a few days there and you don't want to spend a lot of your time traveling from city to city.

You can easily do a day trip to Cinque Terre from Florence. I did this last summer with 'CAF Tours' and it was great! It gave me a little taste of the Italian Riviera and I'm already planning a trip back next summer.

Thank you all for the advice! I think I will go with Venice (3), Florence (3), Rome (4) and give Amalfi Coast a miss this time.

Considering to do Cinque Terre but I understand that some parts of the trail is still closed. Is it a good idea to visit still? And hike the remaining trails that are open?

Since I am not heading to Amalfi Coast, any recommendation of nice beaches near Rome/ Florence/ Venice? :)

huiyee, your problem with the CT is time: as it is you'll realistically have 2.5 days in Venice, 2.5 days in Florence, and 3.5 days in Rome: figure on losing 1/2 day every time you have a move. Another location means shorting something else, and what you have is really bare minimum to do each of the 3 cities justice.

That said, you could do it as a long day-trip from Florence. RS Italy expert Roberto very recently posted this info on a special Jubilee-year train between Firenze Campo di Marte and La Spezia that is the absolute fastest transport option.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/florence-to-cinque-terre-and-back-an-overlooked-option

La Spezia is the southern gateway to the 5 Terre, and you'd switch trains there to any of the villages. There are MANY trails within the park; you are probably referring to the "Blue Trail" that's actually 4 separate segments between Monterosso in the north and Riomaggiore in the south. Two of those segments are indeed closed and probably will remain so throughout this year.

http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/Eindex.php

Besides time, this is not a good trip for a rainy day so weather can be a complication as well. The villages are going to be mobbed, and you may feel overrun unless staying overnight - there's more breathing room when the day-trippers leave - or hitting higher, lesser-used trails.

Don't want to throw a wet rag on your interest in this but there are a number of things to consider?

I wouldn't bother with the Amalfi Coast/Gulf of Naples (which I presume would include visiting Pompeii and Capri at least) if you don't have at least 4 nights available for that location. And given your total vacation, the only way you could do that is by visiting Rome and the Amalfi Coast only (i.e. skipping both Venice and Florence).

If you want to do the Cinque Terre instead of the Amalfi Coast, that would probably be better given your interest to see also Venice and Florence.

You can be at the Cinque Terre from Florence in less than 2 hours by taking the Frecciabianca from the Firenze Campo di Marte station.
You could visit the Cinque Terre as a day trip from Florence or, if you are willing to devote 2 nights to it, in between Florence and Rome. In other words your itinerary would be:
Fly to Venice > Venice > Florence > Cinque Terre > Rome > Fly home
Try to spend at least 2 nights in each location to minimize hotel changes (Rome needs at least 3 nights).

If you decide you want to stay in the CT, you need to get all over reservations yesterday; most of the hotels book up for high season months in advance. You may end up staying just outside of 5 Terre (not a bad option) if you can't find anything still open which suits.

If you love the sea and nature I would definitely make the effort to do CT if you are giving up Amalfi... I know the Big 3 is what everyone does, which is exactly why I resist what 'everyone does' :)) I have been to Italy a number of times and when I long for Italy, it is very rarely the cities.... I love the sea, the countryside, small villages and of course, Venice. I had been to Italy about 5 times before I made it to Rome... so don't feel like you have to see what most people see.... make your choices based on your interests. I will never forget my first view of the Mediterranean as I drove along the seaside near Portofino... It was evening and there were yachts moored and a full moon shimmering across the water....

Huiyee,
ask yourself this question. Am I going back?
I bet you will so leave Positano for another time. It is a very different side of Italy compared to the
three other cities. It will also keep your traveling distance to a minimum. Ciao