Italy in March - where to go?

10 days is just enough time for 3 locations
Venice 3, Florence 3, Rome 4

Do you know where you will fly in and out of yet?

March is a bit too early for Amalfi coast, ferries won’t be running til April

Thank you for confirming my thoughts. Our group would like to go to pompeii. I was just looking at tickets. We can fly into Venice and out of Naples for the same price as flying into Venice out of Rome. I was just trying to quickly run the logistics of staying in Naples which I would assume would be 2 nights in order to see Pompeii and fly out. your thoughts?

as I think it through, I don't think flying out of Naples would be easier. Looks like the train only takes 2hr 11 min from Rome to Pompeii so staying in Naples would only save 2hrs. Not sure what I would do with our luggage if we did Naples just for 1 night. I think it would be easier to fly out of Rome.

Have been north, south and in between in March and there may be some cold weather and rain, or it may be warm and sunny. March can be an unpredictable month all over the world, but generally it should be better in the south of Italy rather than the north.

If Pompeii is important, then by all means spend a night or 2 in Naples. Go there from Florence if you will see Venice and Florence first. Any hotel I've ever stayed at will allow you to leave your luggage with them either before check in or after checkout for a few hours. Or there should be luggage storage at the train station. Then train back to Rome for your remaining days before flying home.

My 2 eurocents, consider Sicily should that truly be minimum 10 days on the ground in country. An isle of wonder, for certain and fascinations beyond compare, truly fantastico.

The Cinque Terre ferries begin operating late March. I was there at that time and the weather was warm and sunny and it never rained the two weeks I was in IT.
Ten days doesn’t allow much time so the latter itinerary would work best considering Venice deserves two nights if arriving in the morning, Cinque Terre two unless you hike. Add a day if hiking between Monterosso and Vernazza. I’ve heard the views are more scenic from Vernazza to Monterosso, but it looked steeper than hiking in the opposite direction. Hikers that were coming from Vernazza weren’t smiling either. Florence deserves three nights and Rome four nights.

FYI, both Pompeii & Herculanum offer luggage storage. I inquired just recently - here are the email addresses if you want to write: Pompeii - [email protected] and/or Herculanum - [email protected]. You can also take the Circumvesuviana train from Naples to both Pompeii & Herculanum - 30 min ride. That same train runs to Sorrento, so, for example, take the train from Rome to Naples, get the Circumvesuviana, stop at Pompeii (store your bags) & continue onto Sorrento or do the reverse on the way back to Naples. That's what I'm doing when I go next year but I'm flying in/out of Naples as I'm visiting Puglia, the Amalfi & Sicily. https://www.italiarail.com/pages/routes/naples-to-pompeii

Remember that’s 2:11 + getting to and from the train in each direction.
Fly into Venice, out of Naples. Arrive at hotel in Naples late in the afternoon, visit Pompeii and the Archaeological Museum in Naples, fly out next morning. The Museum completes your visit to the ruins because that’s where the artifacts are kept. Well worth the trip to see both.

I've just booked myself to Venice in March. I've got a looming sense of urgency to see it (before it, you know... drowns), and I'm perfectly happy to trade iffy weather for no heat and less crowding. (I'm sticking to the north and going to Milan from Venice.)

Kelly- How many NIGHTS do you actually have on the ground in Italy?
Counting your trip in NIGHTS gives you a clearer picture of the amount of time you really have.
I am going to assume 10 nights.

If you want to go to Pompeii then go to Pompeii and give it the time it deserves. Since you can fly out of Naples stay there 2 nights so that you can visit the Archeological Museum as well as Pompeii.
Visiting Pompeii as a day trip from Rome is brutal.

Fly into Venice
Venice 2 nights
Train to Florence
Florence 3 nights
Train to Rome
Rome 3 nights
Train to Naples
Naples 2 nights
Visit Archeological Museum on the day you arrive in Naples after checking in to your hotel and dropping bags. Next day go to Pompeii
Fly home from Naples.

The Archeological Museum is closed on Tuesday so keep that in mind when planning.

Those are all really minimum recommended stays in major locations but it is doable and all the connections are easy and direct.

If you skip Florence you could do Venice 3, Rome 4 then to Sorrento for the last 3- as long as your flight out of Naples isn't too early in am you can stay last night in Sorrento.
If you skip both Venice and Rome then fly into Rome out of Naples and split your time evenly Rome 5, Sorrento 5
While in Sorrento you can see Pompeii, Naples for a day, a bus or guided drive along Amalfi coast for a day.
Mondo Guides offers very affordable tours:
https://www.sharedtours.com

A good alternative to Pompeii is Ostia Antica which is just outside of Rome.

Thank you, everyone! I appreciate all the great ideas!!!

Train companies

Trenitalia - regional and fast trains
https://www.trenitalia.com/content/tcom/en.html

ItaloTreno- fast trains
https://www.italotreno.it/en

Both have easy to use apps

Circumvesuviana ( Naples to Pompeii)

https://www.positano.com/en/naples-to-sorrento-train-schedule?timetable_route=sorrento_napoli

Italiarail ( linked to above) is a reseller that doesn’t offer all available options